jpm
Platinum Member
that stove installation is bad .it's to close to the wall the rear heat shield only works for the rear not the sides .is the floor ceramic or stick down? curtains ? be very careful
Wood stove woes
- Thread starter forgeblast
- Start date
- Views: 6818
WayneB
Elite Member
good luck with the smoke situation
charlz
Elite Member
So you think the chimney would need to be extended another 5-10 feet? It is hard to tell from the photo.
Building a chimney chase might help support/hide if you don't need to go too far but if you have to go another 10 feet I would think about moving the stove to another part of the house just for aesthetics.
charlz
Elite Member
A flue needs to be at a certain temp before it will draft properly. If you had problems I would just use more and small kindling when starting the fire to produce a lot of heat quickly and get a draft going. Sometimes you need to crack a window in the same room to help get a draft going.
WayneB
Elite Member
Starting a fire in a Vermont Casting wood stove, directly from their manual:
Burn only solid wood in the Defiant, and burn it directly on the grate. Do not elevate the fuel. Do not burn coal or other fuels.
The bypass damper must be open when starting a fire or when refueling.
Do not use chemicals or fluids to start the fire. Do not burn garbage. Never use flammable fluids such as gasoline, gasoline type lantern fuel, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluid, naptha, engine oil or similar liquids to start or 吐reshen up a fire in this heater. Keep all such liquids well away from the heater while it is in use.
1. Open the stove bypass damper, and open the primary air control fully.
2. Place several sheets of crumpled newspaper in the stove. Place six or eight pieces of dry kindling split to a finger-width size on the paper. On the kindling, lay two or three larger sticks of split dry wood approximately
3. Light the newspaper and close the door. Gradually build up the fire by adding a few 3-5 (80-120 mm) diameter pieces of split firewood. If this is one of the first few 澱reak-in fires, let the fire burn brightly, and then let it die out.
During the break-in fires, do not let the stove get hotter than 500ｰF. (260ｰC) as measured on an optional stove-top thermometer. Adjust the air control lever as necessary to control the fire.
Some odor from the stove痴 hot metal and the paint is normal for the first few fires.
NOTE: Some chimneys must be 菟rimed, or warmed up, before they will draw sufficiently to start a fire. To correct this situation, roll up a couple pieces of newspaper, place them on top of the kindling and toward the back of the stove, light them, and close the doors. This will encourage the smoke to rise rapidly, making it easier to establish a good draft.
Once the draft is established, open the front door and light the rest of the fuel from the bottom. Do not light the main bed of fuel until the chimney begins drawing, and repeat the procedure as often as necessary if the initial attempt is unsuccessful.
4. If your Defiant has been broken-in previously using Steps 1-3, continue to build the fire gradually. Add larger wood with a diameter of 3-4 (75-100 mm). Continue adding split logs of this size to the briskly-burning fire until there is a glowing ember bed 2-3 (51-75 mm) deep. (Fig. 34) A good ember bed is necessary for proper functioning of the non-catalytic system and may take an hour or more to establish.
When reloading, best results will be achieved if you first de-ash the stove by stirring the fuel bed to allow ash to fall through the grate into the ash pan.
Do not break the charcoal into very small pieces or pound or compress the charcoal bed.
It is important that air can circulate through the charcoal bed during the burn. Larger pieces of charcoal allow more air to circulate under the wood, resulting in the fire reviving more quickly. (Fig. 35)
For best results when refueling, wear long-cuffed stove gloves to protect your hands and forearms, add fuel while the stove still has plenty of glowing embers to re-kindle the fire, and include some smaller pieces of wood in the new fuel load to help the stove regain its operating temperature quickly. Use this sequence as a guide to successful refueling:
1. Open the damper.
2. De-ash the stove as described above. Open the ashdoor and check the level of ash in the ash pan. Empty the pan if necessary and replace it in the stove. Close the ash door.
3. Open the griddle, load the wood (smaller pieces first), and close the griddle.
4. Close the damper.
5. When the surface temperature reaches 450ｰF. (230ｰC), adjust the air control for the amount of heat you desire.
NOTE: If the remaining charcoal bed is relatively thick (2-3?51-75 mm) and if your fuel is well seasoned, it is possible to add fresh fuel (smaller pieces first), close the door and damper, and reset the primary air control for the desired heat output within five minutes.
Burn only solid wood in the Defiant, and burn it directly on the grate. Do not elevate the fuel. Do not burn coal or other fuels.
The bypass damper must be open when starting a fire or when refueling.
Do not use chemicals or fluids to start the fire. Do not burn garbage. Never use flammable fluids such as gasoline, gasoline type lantern fuel, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluid, naptha, engine oil or similar liquids to start or 吐reshen up a fire in this heater. Keep all such liquids well away from the heater while it is in use.
1. Open the stove bypass damper, and open the primary air control fully.
2. Place several sheets of crumpled newspaper in the stove. Place six or eight pieces of dry kindling split to a finger-width size on the paper. On the kindling, lay two or three larger sticks of split dry wood approximately
3. Light the newspaper and close the door. Gradually build up the fire by adding a few 3-5 (80-120 mm) diameter pieces of split firewood. If this is one of the first few 澱reak-in fires, let the fire burn brightly, and then let it die out.
During the break-in fires, do not let the stove get hotter than 500ｰF. (260ｰC) as measured on an optional stove-top thermometer. Adjust the air control lever as necessary to control the fire.
Some odor from the stove痴 hot metal and the paint is normal for the first few fires.
NOTE: Some chimneys must be 菟rimed, or warmed up, before they will draw sufficiently to start a fire. To correct this situation, roll up a couple pieces of newspaper, place them on top of the kindling and toward the back of the stove, light them, and close the doors. This will encourage the smoke to rise rapidly, making it easier to establish a good draft.
Once the draft is established, open the front door and light the rest of the fuel from the bottom. Do not light the main bed of fuel until the chimney begins drawing, and repeat the procedure as often as necessary if the initial attempt is unsuccessful.
4. If your Defiant has been broken-in previously using Steps 1-3, continue to build the fire gradually. Add larger wood with a diameter of 3-4 (75-100 mm). Continue adding split logs of this size to the briskly-burning fire until there is a glowing ember bed 2-3 (51-75 mm) deep. (Fig. 34) A good ember bed is necessary for proper functioning of the non-catalytic system and may take an hour or more to establish.
When reloading, best results will be achieved if you first de-ash the stove by stirring the fuel bed to allow ash to fall through the grate into the ash pan.
Do not break the charcoal into very small pieces or pound or compress the charcoal bed.
It is important that air can circulate through the charcoal bed during the burn. Larger pieces of charcoal allow more air to circulate under the wood, resulting in the fire reviving more quickly. (Fig. 35)
For best results when refueling, wear long-cuffed stove gloves to protect your hands and forearms, add fuel while the stove still has plenty of glowing embers to re-kindle the fire, and include some smaller pieces of wood in the new fuel load to help the stove regain its operating temperature quickly. Use this sequence as a guide to successful refueling:
1. Open the damper.
2. De-ash the stove as described above. Open the ashdoor and check the level of ash in the ash pan. Empty the pan if necessary and replace it in the stove. Close the ash door.
3. Open the griddle, load the wood (smaller pieces first), and close the griddle.
4. Close the damper.
5. When the surface temperature reaches 450ｰF. (230ｰC), adjust the air control for the amount of heat you desire.
NOTE: If the remaining charcoal bed is relatively thick (2-3?51-75 mm) and if your fuel is well seasoned, it is possible to add fresh fuel (smaller pieces first), close the door and damper, and reset the primary air control for the desired heat output within five minutes.
OP
forgeblast
Elite Member
Yeah it does have two dampners, both are opened wide when starting, i use kindling and
broken up fire starters to warm the stove up, and then as it get going i add wood to the stove.
The stove was originally on white burber carpet. That was one of the first things we took out, its all tile over cement board now.
I have been throwing around the idea of moving it to the great room, but i cant see doing that for the next couple of years as i dont want my two year old burned.
Ill have to look under it to see if there is a fresh air hookup....your right the house is not fully sealed, once we get the new doors though this is something that will have to be done anyway.
Do you think i could seal the doors from the outside? I cannot put a sheet of plastic on the inside, the kiddo would be wrapped up in it before i was done.
broken up fire starters to warm the stove up, and then as it get going i add wood to the stove.
The stove was originally on white burber carpet. That was one of the first things we took out, its all tile over cement board now.
I have been throwing around the idea of moving it to the great room, but i cant see doing that for the next couple of years as i dont want my two year old burned.
Ill have to look under it to see if there is a fresh air hookup....your right the house is not fully sealed, once we get the new doors though this is something that will have to be done anyway.
Do you think i could seal the doors from the outside? I cannot put a sheet of plastic on the inside, the kiddo would be wrapped up in it before i was done.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
When our youngest was about two she touched the glass on the wood stove. Which had a fire going.
She has not done it since. Once was enough. :thumbsup:It did not hurt her but her scream sure scared the scat out of us. :laughing: And of course we had told the kids a gabizillion times not to touch the stove.
At least ONE of them touching the stove as a lesson they both learned. :laughing:You do not need to connect the outside combustion air to the stuff. Though in your case it would be best. If the air comes in behind the stove it will either be used by the fire or heated by the fire. At least that is how ours works.
I can see the kid getting wrapped in plastic.
I have seen people put clear plastic over windows to winterize old houses. Twas not THAT ugly. :laughing: And it sure was better than being cold. I would think it would work for those gawd awful sliding glass doors. I really hated our sliding door in the old house. That think leaked money and never would slide correctly for very long. Hated it.
Later,
Dan
WayneB
Elite Member
Go to your local hardware store and they will have the window plastic that you install and use a hairdryer to tighten the plastic. Once installed it looks fine. We did that in our older part of the house when our kids were younger, but now with just my wife and I we have shut down the old part during the winter. They also sell a kit that will cover the slider door you have. Once installed you will be surprised how much it will cut down on the cold air drafts.
Dmccarty is right about the outside air for the stove. It will or should work just fine with room air. If it was me I would work on sealing the windows and doors first and then move onto the failures / problems with the wood stove.
Wayne
Dmccarty is right about the outside air for the stove. It will or should work just fine with room air. If it was me I would work on sealing the windows and doors first and then move onto the failures / problems with the wood stove.
Wayne
dmccarty
Super Star Member
Agreed.
Stop the air leaks first. That sounds like the major problem.We do not have blinds on our windows. Nobody can see the house so why spend money on blinds? :laughing: Last winter we hung sheets up in the kids rooms since they are the farthest rooms from the stove. It helped keep them a bit warmer even though the windows do not leak any air. Even a non leaky window is still a hole in the wall.
The plastic used to winterize houses is much better looking than the old sheets we put up.
But since nobody could see the sheets we did not care. :laughing:The blinds we ordered should be here soon.
Not soon enough though given the freaky cold weather we are having.Later,
Dan
RonMar
Elite Member
Found you a 3100 installation manual at the link below. Page 14 has the fresh air plumbing installation info. Around back on the pedistal, there should be a square cover plate screwed on. Remove this plate and there should be a 4" hole or collar on the bottom rear of the stove body. that is where the combustion air enters the stove. If it is just a hole in the bottom plate, it will need a collar adapter(flat plate with a pipe on it) to go from the flat plate to the 4" ductwork. The air duct can either come in from the back, or up thru the floor. It is nothing special, just 4" non flamible aluminum dryer ducting...
http://www.quadrafire.com/~/media/Files/Quadrafire/Installation Manuals/man_3100_ACC.ashx
