# Wood stove issues....



## PrtyMolusk (Aug 13, 2000)

Howdy-

Our hose has a nice, older Jotul brand wood stove, ca. 1975. Did well all through last season, but is having some smoke problems this year.

Could be my fault......

During the summer it apparently was bumped (perhaps by the dogs during play) but our first fire of the season found smoke coming into the house where the stove pipe passes through the wall. After trying to obtain a decent 'seal' I lined everything up and found the stove about 1-3/4" 'low' (the exit pipe was at an angle that would not allow the male to fit into the female).

I put some 1-2-3 blocks under the legs ( the 2" side) and the pipe lined up much better and mated easily. I also turned the door to be more central to the living room; we had not noticed, but it was turned considerably away from room center.

Now I'm having some major smoke problems nearly every time we have a fire. Unless there is a ROARING fire, smoke frequently comes blowing out of the door vent. We NEVER had this happen all of last year.

Ideas? Hints? ANyone work with wood stoves or do installations that can give a guy some tips?


:help:


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## NoWake (Feb 7, 2006)

Somewhere there is a machinist or toolmaker with an empty spot in his Gerstner or Kennedy where his matched set of precision ground 1-2-3 blocks used to be. :lol:


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

NoWake said:


> Somewhere there is a machinist or toolmaker with an empty spot in his Gerstner or Kennedy where his matched set of precision ground 1-2-3 blocks used to be. :lol:


lol...you weren't the only one that caught that! 

sorry, can't help you out on the stove problem.


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## twohats (Oct 1, 2004)

snowman11 said:


> lol...you weren't the only one that caught that!
> 
> sorry, can't help you out on the stove problem.


 You can have mine sence this states great economy has put them out of use.


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## Creek-Chub (Apr 15, 2004)

Sounds like a problem with draft. Just out of curiosity, can you sort of "sneak" the door open little by little without it happening?


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## SabikiRig (May 1, 2004)

PrtyMolusk said:


> Howdy-
> 
> Our hose has a nice, older Jotul brand wood stove, ca. 1975. Did well all through last season, but is having some smoke problems this year.
> 
> ...


Few questions...

I am not familiar with that brand stove. But, this same issue happens with the wood stove at our place.

Do you have fire brick on the inside?
When was the last time the stove pipe was cleaned out?
Is the stove pipe stainless or regular steel? (Stainless steel does not get as much creosote build up as regular steel.)

If you think the stove was bumped maybe some creosote or other debris could have fallen down the stove pipe and onto the fire brick causing a restriction.

Every fall I run a small chain down our stove pipe (stainless steel) to clean out the pipe. If you have somone inside the house they should be able to hear debris fall down the pipe.

Next, I take the fire brick out of the top of our stove and clean out the entire top of the stove and remove what may have fallen down the stove pipe. Reinstall the fire brick and you should be all set.

I stay away from burning anything else but Oak to keep any creosote and other build-up down.


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## Supa Roosta (Jul 1, 2003)

snowman11 said:


> lol...you weren't the only one that caught that!
> 
> sorry, can't help you out on the stove problem.


Same here!

Probably uses a surface plate for a cuttin board!:lol:


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

Supa Roosta said:


> Same here!
> 
> Probably uses a surface plate for a cuttin board!:lol:


ooh...i'm guilty on that one

stupid old cast iron surface plate...what did i really think i was going to do with it?


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## Rootsy (Nov 1, 2006)

Had this happen at mom & dad's when I was a youngster. Chimney was plugged from burning wood that was not properly seasoned and my mother didn't like a hot home and would let the fire smother and keep the firebox temperature low.... 

I have a chimney much like you speak of where the previous owners had a wood stove in the dining room. Every summer the starlings build a nest in the chimney. Never fails that I hear one 3 or 4 times a summer that is trapped and I have to remove the cover and let them out, chase them through the house and toss them to freedom. There is a cap on the chimney but they still manage to make it in...


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## oldforester (Feb 12, 2004)

I would start by making sure the chimney is clean and clear. Then the air intake could be checked.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

1oldforester said:


> I would start by making sure the chimney is clean and clear. Then the air intake could be checked.


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## NoWake (Feb 7, 2006)

Supa Roosta said:


> Same here!
> 
> Probably uses a surface plate for a cuttin board!:lol:


 
When I die, any relatives who visit my grave will probably wonder why some 'L.S Starrett' fella's name is on my headstone. 


As far as the woodstove I would definitely check to make sure the chimney isn't plugged.


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## Wetlandhunter (Jun 7, 2005)

snowman11 said:


> lol...you weren't the only one that caught that!
> 
> sorry, can't help you out on the stove problem.


If he needs to raise it up a little more we can sell ya some 2-4-6 precision ground toolmakers blocks. ISO certified if you need then you could have ISO certified wood stove risers.
I'm old fashion I just go turn the digital thermostat up.


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

get the chimney clean is first step. then you should be able to keep hot air going up....thats sort of what hot air does. not sure why our polititions haven't floated away so don't ask.


PrtyMolusk said:


> Howdy-
> 
> Our hose has a nice, older Jotul brand wood stove, ca. 1975. Did well all through last season, but is having some smoke problems this year.
> 
> ...


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

step one.... build big fire under it.
step two,,, get some really nice steaks.
you take it from there.


snowman11 said:


> ooh...i'm guilty on that one
> 
> stupid old cast iron surface plate...what did i really think i was going to do with it?


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## Wetlandhunter (Jun 7, 2005)

Supa Roosta said:


> Same here!
> 
> Probably uses a surface plate for a cuttin board!:lol:


You may want to remind him that scotch brite and sandpaper do not make a good choice of toilet paper but are reuseable for cost cutting measures.


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## steve ypsi (Nov 24, 2002)

no if and's or buts, the chimney is restricted, burn burning wood for 30 years, once in the fall I knew the pipe was clean in the spring and climbed on the roof and wasp's had a big nest blocking the flow.


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## PrtyMolusk (Aug 13, 2000)

Howdy-

"Somewhere there is a machinist or toolmaker with an empty spot in his Gerstner or Kennedy where his matched set of precision ground 1-2-3 blocks used to be."

Yeah, that would be _me_......they're an old set of less than stellar flatness and squareness.....

Chimney is not the issue. Cleaned it in September, and once she gets really hot there's no problem.

I'm looking more at draft. I've noticed that when I open a window to clear the smoke the fire definately grows.

Seems self-defeating to keep a window open while burning wood to heat the house, though.....

Perhaps I'll next try twisting it back around to face the 2nd floor stairway more directly; perhaps the original owners had done it to take advantage of whatever cold air might be descending the stairway.


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## Backwoods-Savage (Aug 28, 2005)

Les, have you done some insulating or installed new windows or something like that? If your stove burns good with a window open that just means it is not drawing enough air to feed the fire. 

By all means, get that fixed before you end up having health problems or worse, a fire. This is not something to make fun of as it is serious.

Because that stove is getting pretty old you also might consider this might be the time to buy a new stove. Plenty of them allow a way to draw outdoor air to feed the firebox. That also is a great way to reduce drafts in the house because the stove needs lots of air to burn.

One other thing to consider is clothes dryers. If you have a gas or propane dryer and it is running, that will definitely reduce the amount of air available to the heating stove. 

Good luck.

btw, for any who want more answers to wood heating problems, look up hearth.com and go to their forum. Lots of knowledge there.


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## wagoneer (Nov 22, 2004)

Did you raise the stove to match the stovepipe after readjusting the pipe? If so, you must have changed the angle of the pipe where it goes horizontal to go through the wall, right? Does it still have enough angle to flow smoke 'up'? That would make sense why a roaring fire still flows good, but a lower one does not...

Jotul is a good name, they may have had an 'air inlet kit' for their stoves even back in the 70's. May want to look into one and see if you can pull in outside air directly into the stove. Whether you see it or not, you are pulling cold air into the house to feed the stove. It is much like having that window open.


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## PrtyMolusk (Aug 13, 2000)

Howdy-



wagoneer said:


> Did you raise the stove to match the stovepipe after readjusting the pipe? If so, you must have changed the angle of the pipe where it goes horizontal to go through the wall, right? Does it still have enough angle to flow smoke 'up'? That would make sense why a roaring fire still flows good, but a lower one does not...
> 
> Jotul is a good name, they may have had an 'air inlet kit' for their stoves even back in the 70's. May want to look into one and see if you can pull in outside air directly into the stove. Whether you see it or not, you are pulling cold air into the house to feed the stove. It is much like having that window open.


Wagoneer, I did indeed change the pipe angle! The horizontal portion was angled upwards and the edge of it just wouldn't 'feed' into the exit pipe. I thought I was making things 'better' in an improper installation by raising the stove so that the smoke pipe was more horizontal and could therefore feed more deeply into the exit pipe......

Guess I'll be hitting that site when I get home tonight......


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## Backwoods-Savage (Aug 28, 2005)

Les, don't forget that any horizontal pipe needs to have a minimum of 1/4" raise per foot, so don't run it level.

Here's the link:


http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewforum/2/


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## ronintank (Dec 4, 2007)

We used to have a wood burner in our basement.
never had any draft problems untill i installed new windows and doors.
Then i would get puffs of smoke when opening the wood stove door and sometimes i would get puffs of smoke coming out of the stoves air inlet.
1 day when i came home from work i smelled what i thought was gas(propane) running thru the house to find the problem it was my propane water heater. It was back drafting thru the 3 inch water heater chimminy while the water heater was heating water.
I cracked a window open and i a couple min. everything was drafting back to normal.
The new windows and doors sealed the house so well the wood heater could not get enough air for proper drafting.
I knocked a hole thru the basement block wall put a screen over it to allow freash air in to feed the wood burner.
This fixed the problem.
3 years ago i removed the wood burner and installed an outdoor wood heater that heats the whole house and hot water so no smoke or wood mess in the house and my home owners insurance is cheaper.
I have plans to run a hot water line to the garage to heat it as well. Maybe a project for next summer
That was a good fix.


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## Topshelf (May 24, 2005)

SabikiRig said:


> Few questions...
> 
> 
> _*If you think the stove was bumped maybe some creosote or other debris could have fallen down the stove pipe and onto the fire brick causing a restriction.*_
> ...


 
Good advice all the way around. My wood burner gets the top section vacumed out with a shop vac in the summer after cleaning the flue. Youwouldbe surprised at the amount of cresote that will fall down inside the stove and possibly block the flue.


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## tdejong302 (Nov 28, 2004)

Thank you backwoods for making a very serious issue become more important. It amazes me that so many people on this forum laugh or make jokes at peoples issues. We need a jokers fourm. Then these folks can joke all day long at each other. No need to respond negatively to a postive comment. God bless and Dennis you keep smiling.


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## Backwoods-Savage (Aug 28, 2005)

Thanks tdejong. You are correct that this is a very serious issue. Heating with wood or coal can be very satisfying and save a lot of dollars but people must know just how dangerous it can be. Take this seriously at all times.


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