why do i keep having explosions!!!???

[tooold]

A person might mistaken the woodstove "oil canning" as it heats and cools as explosions. (me just throwing that out there)

 

[aaronmach1]

Ash does have the reputation for being able to burn "wet", but it doesnt always burn well wet. I have a lot of ash trees I have cut down lately. I used my cheapo moisture meter to find some in the 20-25% range. I found some 23-25% and tried to lit a fire using this wood. I didnt burn very well at all. I needed my damper almost wide open for that particular load of wood for it to stay burning. It may work in a pinch but its far from ideal. You could spend $5 on a over priced bundle of firewood at a gas station and see if that helps. If you have to use the ash, try and split it first even if its wet. Rounds are harder to burn than split pieces. I find water trapped under the bark on wet rounds making them hard to light and prone sizzling.

Your doing the correct thing in asking questions.

i cannot thank everyone enough for so much helpfull info here. This site is great.
I cant firgure out why though with the same wood i was using before it burns like junk now. All my problems seem to have started after i just installed the new stainless flue liner. The flue liner sticks up 6 inches higher than the old flue so it should have helped.plus its a little smaller inside now and should heat quicker thank those big old clay tiles.

Just had another small POOF! all i did was open exuast damper load another log close door, then i opened the load door temp damper a little more and poof smoke puffed out it.

 

[Chris-PA]

i cannot thank everyone enough for so much helpfull info here. This site is great.
I cant firgure out why though with the same wood i was using before it burns like junk now. All my problems seem to have started after i just installed the new stainless flue liner. The flue liner sticks up 6 inches higher than the old flue so it should have helped.plus its a little smaller inside now and should heat quicker thank those big old clay tiles.

Just had another small POOF! all i did was open exuast damper load another log close door, then i opened the load door temp damper a little more and poof smoke puffed out it.

So what happened with the dry walnut logs - or was the description above with those?

 

[aaronmach1]

well seems to be burning pretty good today! knock on wood! Yesterdays problems with getting the fire going etc., may have came from 1 big thing. i replaced both door gaskets to help seal and yesterday i did a big tightning job on the loading door, and now there is no more door leaks.....which means duh i need to relearn how to adjust the burner to make it happy and have enough air.(since its not getting air from through the door seal now). Im also getting more familiar with the auto damper on the door. And ive been keeping the door from the garage open a crack too.
So a good day of burning. And last night i didnt even try to shut it right down all the way for a slow burn, i just turned it down some and let the auto damper do the work and i got my first burn over 6 hours. Its all starting to work out i think. Tomorrow ill be addressing the venting issue and coold air duct issue. thanks guys
After a long day of cutting wood im going to hit the shower!

 

[Chris-PA]

Cool - that sounds like progress! :msp_smile: I hope it continues to work for you.

 

[aaronmach1]

Cool - that sounds like progress! :msp_smile: I hope it continues to work for you.

WOE!!!!!!! Man this auto damper is running me in circles, i just cant understand it. i thought i had it but nope. I had a decent fire going and set auto damper between high and low and the flapper was still closed. O well i guess dumb thing fire was at 250f flue temp.(external magnet thermo on pipe) well i had to go up and check dinner. Started eating etc. 10 mins later i hear basement smaoke alwarm going off. What the heck i flew down the stairs. Was a terrible burning like chemical smell but no smoke. Wood furnace dial thermo was at 220f and external exhaust pipe temp was 600f!!! I hurried up and shut up the stove to cool it and pretty much couldnt do nothing till it cooled down. Wtf is the idea behind this auto damper thing, it seems like it opens and closes when it wants.

 

[baroil92]

Why argue?

Burning wood in your home, or in an owb takes a certain amount of trial and error, and a HUGE amount of common sense. It makes very little difference what some scientific test results were because I'm almost positive that every scenerio was not explored. If something doesn't seem right,it probably isn't.
If your not sure about something, shut the damn thing down until you've talked to a pro. or feel absolutely confident, that you've rectified the problem.
Saving a few bucks burning wood is hardly worth your life or the life of your family members.

 

[aaronmach1]

I dont know, this auto damper shuts itself then the fire burns at 200 flue temp. Seems like its burning ####ty so i open the door. For a second i can see its barely burnin and then it flames right up because the door is open. So i close the door and it stops burning good again. This is with the ash pan damper open 3 turns out and the auto damper on medium or high. It just keeps closing itsself thoug. Fire was burning like turd so i cranked the auto damper open all the way and it about blew my hand off with a violent explosion. Even the woman came down to see what happend.
Do i need a new one? if so the hotblast 1400 on looks identical.
http://www.discountstoveparts.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=35_93&product_id=191

 

[CrappieKeith]

If I were you I'd dis-continue operation until the install was proper as per the manual of the appliance by a professional.
The issue you are having is a drafting issue...many things can cause this . for those urging you to use your common sense...please do yourself a favor and disregard.
After about 10 days you common sense is not getting your issues squared away....nor are those of the peanut gallery here at AS.

Either you have not looked at all of the suggestions or there is something going on here we are not seeing....hire a pro.

 

[aaronmach1]

If I were you I'd dis-continue operation until the install was proper as per the manual of the appliance by a professional.
The issue you are having is a drafting issue...many things can cause this . for those urging you to use your common sense...please do yourself a favor and disregard.
After about 10 days you common sense is not getting your issues squared away....nor are those of the peanut gallery here at AS.

Either you have not looked at all of the suggestions or there is something going on here we are not seeing....hire a pro.

Yes id say its about time to hire somone. This is getting real ####ty for me. Now the thing will be trying to find somone around here that deals with wood furnaces....

 

[aaronmach1]

this thread has come to an end. Today my dad and i hooked up a cold air return and boxed in the blower, added a outside makeup air supply and few other odd jobs and im burning without any trouble now.Also added the paperclip to keep the auto flapper open a little. (delcorbin idea) Also trying to learn all the setpoints all over because the furnace acts a little different of course but its all for the good after a day of burning today. Using less wood too! Thanks a ton to everyone who participated in this topic and helped me sooo much! Speacial thanks to CrappieKieth for alot of time spent on helping me!