Major issue with wood-stove - Need advice!

[s219]

Stove and pipe scares me a bit, at least in the sense that it's not something I'd leave alone when burning. It's ripe for a chimney fire. I'd also clear out all that flammable stuff nearby the stove!

 

[Dutch445]

another idea (pellet stove is good also) is coal stoves.
if you want to be able to go 24 hrs between fillup, a stoker coal
stove will work, and give off a very constant heat, and could
conceivably heat your whole house if sized right.
you won't find a more inexpensive heat source, (unless you are on some
electric co-op). maybe you are close enough to the mines in PA it might
be worth a look. i know tractor supply is starting to carry Kimmel coal in
some of their stores, and a competitive price as coal is quite popular
around here.
another good forum for coal burning is nepacrossroads.com

 

[HEC]

another idea (pellet stove is good also) is coal stoves.
if you want to be able to go 24 hrs between fillup, a stoker coal
stove will work, and give off a very constant heat, and could
conceivably heat your whole house if sized right.
you won't find a more inexpensive heat source, (unless you are on some
electric co-op). maybe you are close enough to the mines in PA it might
be worth a look. i know tractor supply is starting to carry Kimmel coal in
some of their stores, and a competitive price as coal is quite popular
around here.
another good forum for coal burning is nepacrossroads.com

After 30 years of burning wood I now burn coal and love it . That being said you will still need to have a proper draft as coal needs air also . One way to get a draft with coal is a power vent which many people do use if needed .

 

[rswyan]

Couple things:

1. Check the door gaskets ... including the one that should be on the door for the ash clean out - if there is an ash clean out.

2. Long(ish) lateral/horizontal runs of stove/chimney pipe is a no-no ... or at least certainly less than ideal ...

Including the outside it looks like you probably have 8' or so of horizontal pipe.

Lose the 90 elbow and replace it with two 45's and some straight pipe set at a 45 degree angle.

3. Are there any other combustion appliances (gas/propane water heater, forced air furnace) in the home that would create negative pressure in the basement ?

 

[buckshot721]

My insurance company would plotz if I had that type of stack. Stop building small fires in it, its not gonna get hot enough to start a good draw.

 

[tcartwri]

This is going to be tough to hear if money's tight, but that is a disaster waiting to happen. Don't ever show your insurance company or your mortgage lender through the house, or let them see that stack.

 

[MarkF48]

If that install were in my house it would not be there long, but to address the draft and smoke odor that permeated the house, consider the clothes dryer that exhausts air to the outside. It will create a negative pressure in the house that needs to draw air from somewhere and that stack from the wood stove is as good a place as any. If the fire is just smouldering it will pull smoke and fumes into the house. Even if it not going you'll get a creosote odor. I have a coal stove and I'm very carefully to ensure a good draft and it's usually there when the coal is burning hot, but if I let the coal burn down on warmer days, I have had a sulfur smell come from the coal stove if I happen to start the dryer. Bathroom exhaust fans are another source that can create negative indoor pressure in the house. Yep, CO detectors throughout the house for coal and pellet stoves.

Don't want to encourage using that stove, but lighted loosely crumpled newspaper works well in my coal stove for getting the draft going quickly.

Vinyl floor tile under the stove???? I wonder if it's old enough to possibly be asbestos and if so I wouldn't worry about it burning, just other health hazards.

 

[MossRoad]

First things first.... Have you ever had the chimney cleaned and inspected?

 

[Deere Dude]

Here are a couple pics of the stove and of the chimney pipe...

Thanks in advance,
David

A couple things comes to mind. I would put insulated pipe through the wall and outside with a cap on it. The specs for my fireplace say the top of the stack needs to be 2' higher than any roof within 10 feet. And wind braced for sure. Any more than that make it difficult to clean, which I would do just to see what is going on.

rsryan? mentioned getting rid of the 90s but that may be difficult to do with the tight spaces you have. For fireplaces, at least the last couple I put in, was to have no more than 60 degrees worth of elbows in the system. A 30 deg to offset and then 30 deg up.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Couple things:

1. Check the door gaskets ... including the one that should be on the door for the ash clean out - if there is an ash clean out.

2. Long(ish) lateral/horizontal runs of stove/chimney pipe is a no-no ... or at least certainly less than ideal ...

Including the outside it looks like you probably have 8' or so of horizontal pipe.

Lose the 90 elbow and replace it with two 45's and some straight pipe set at a 45 degree angle.

3. Are there any other combustion appliances (gas/propane water heater, forced air furnace) in the home that would create negative pressure in the basement ?

RS,

1) - Is there such a thing as high temp silicon I can use to MAKE a door gasket?
2) - After I am working and have paid off all the lawyers, fixed the leaking roof, etc, I will def look into the 2 45's and maybe put a damper in even...
3) - the electric dryer vents into the basement where it sits, yes there is a Heat Pump fan on the main floor.

All others on this thread,

A couple clarifications... I DID NOT BUILD THIS, it came with the house in August 2010 & I never intended to use it, in fact I planned to tear the house down and rebuild. I lost my job 3 days after buying it. Plans change. Currently I happen to be unemployed again, 6 months out of work so far, and I am in the middle of a horrible divorce and my financial situation would have to improve to be "broke", trust me you really do not want to know more.

The stove will not fit through the door in any angle, and will require being cut up to be removed.

This stove worked as is, and heated the house for the folks living here from 1991 until 2007. It has worked fine for me both in May, and for at least 2-3 weeks prior to Sunday. I failed to get a draft ONE time I am sure due to cross wind etc., if I had known to open the window I bet it would have drafted just fine then also. I can easily get the entire 1400 square foot basement up to like 90 degrees when it is burning well, even with rotten wood...

All the tiles under the stove have peeled up and it is bare concrete underneath. Once again I did not build this.

When is it burning, the chimney pipe seems to flow awesome. Either it is too huge to be effective, or it is clogged with creosote. I will get it swept somehow (no idea how to get up there with out a man lift) once I am working again.

So far, I will try opening the window when lighting, and vinegar in saucers to absorb smoke odor.

I kept the basement door and main front door open all day with a prevailing breeze and aired the house out, luckily it was 68 degrees today.
Things are much better now smell wise.

Thanks for all of the advice and concern for my well-being (and sanity?) I am being careful and will not burn anything down, or die of smoke inhalation.

Thanks all,
David