My Log Burner Not Getting Hot.

redlady_1 wrote: »

At £40 for the logs I would start by looking into what kind of wood is in that batch. That is where your problem may indeed lie. If its a multi fuel burner why dont you try it with coal and see what happens?

Although, if you do, better make it smokeless fuel, rather than ordinary housecoal. Bituminous coal produces amounts of soot that lined chimneys just can't cope with.

patjenkins wrote: »

When we had problems, the installer came round with a wood moisture content measuring device and our wood was 30% moisture where it should be below 20%.

He also said if you have too much draw on the chimney, this can pull the heat away from the fire, so you might need a damper...

---Just a thought.

Has anybody used a moisture meter on their own wood stock? I presume that it measures the resistance/conductivity of the timber ( I have never seen one). If so can anyone compare the reading from the moisture meter against that of a ohmic reading on a digital multimeter. As these are more readily available it may be able to help with the problem reported in this post and assist in diagnosis, indeed I would be curious to know what readings are obtained for reference. ---Just a thought. Spacing for probes would need to be spaced the same as moisture meter when measuring.

I'd be suprised if it was a problem with too much draw........we never really have issues with too much draw on stoves nowadays as they're so well built and very airtight it doesn't matter how much the chimney is drawing.....if the vents are shut then they're shut........the old stoves or poor quality stove (which yours isn't as it's a Chanrwood) used to leak air everywhere and this is why flue dampers were needed. It's actually been outlawed to fit an after market flue damper. You won't need one with a country 4.

There could be a few things causing your problem:

1) Wet wood - if there are no visible cracks in the timber and the bark isn't peeling away then it;s most likely it's wet. Put it to one side in a well ventilated area and save it for next year. Ask around and buy some seasoned wood from a recommended supplier. The shop where you bought your stove should be able to supply you with wood suppliuers assuming you live near them. Symptoms will be the glass blackening, wood hissing and water bubbling out of the end grain, difficult to light.....etc.

2) Poorly installed and not enough up draught - You'll know this because the fire will be difficult to light. Can you open the door and leave it open without smoke spilling into the room?

To use your stove properly you shoudl open all air vents when lighting and start off with paper and very dry softwood kindling.......make sure you keep all of your lighting material indoors......if it gets slightly damp it makes life a lot harder. Light the kindling and let it burn until charred. Then add a ouple of smaller logs. You could also leave the door slightly open for an extra boost of air.....i find this helps some stoves and hinders others but you should be able to tell by how the fire responds when you open and shut it. Leave all your vents fully open for approximately 20 mins or until the wood has properly caught fire. You can add more wood now. Then close you bottom vent completely and adjust your top vent until the flames stop moving irratically and you get a nice clean burning flame with a gentle flicker. This will be the setting to obtain maximum heat from your appliance. If you leave the vents open too far it will take all of the heat up the chimney rather than heating the body of the stove.

The Counrty 4 stoves are great and our customers are always amazed at how much of an area they heat for their size. You should easily be able to heat a room of around 5m x 5m x 2.4m.

It should be untouchable within 30 mins or so. Sounds like your wood is wet. If you open the door by about 5mm is there a noticable draught fanning the flames?