Wood burning stove - the trials and tribulations

redlady_1

I have a Town and country multi fuel stove and I love it. However, this is my first full year with it and so am experimenting. I obviously dont want to damage it so just need to know whether this is ok. I have been trying to keep it in all day or night using logs. Now this I can do if I close all the vents down and I come home to a warm house. However, I then end up with a major soot issue on the glass, I mean it is completely black and can only get it off with a brillo pad (minus soap). I then burn the fire hard. Will this sooting up damage the fire if I do this throughout the cold winter? any advice as to how to stop this? I did manage to reduce the soot levels last night by opening the tertiary vent half way at the back. Is this the best method to keep it in?

Thanks very much

Swipe

If you are sooting the glass that badly you will also be creating creosote in the flue/chimney. I recommend using a stove top or flue pipe thermometer. One of these (or both) will give you a good idea of the safe burning temps so you are neither burning too hot or too cool. I'm also assuming your wood is well seasoned.

John_3:16

Your glass should get a little grey but not black. I would say don't use it like you are. Stoves are best to keep flames in all the time. As has been said how dry is you wood?

We have found that burning our stove fairly hard and putting the last log on at 10pm still gives us good warmth in the morning.

lamplighter2

what wood are you using it should not go black just like that, it makes me beleive you are using fir to burn if you want to tar up chimney then burn fir and if not cleaned regulary it will start to blocj the chiney. best wood are seasond ash beech oak any hard wood.
and buy from a proper log supplier or tree surgeon the latter may need to season for a year to dry out i will not have fir in my house what comes out of it is like a very sticky glue

woodstoveman

For once I don't have much to add - you got some really good replies here. It is an issue of the wood you burn and how you burn it. And the problem is not really the dirty glass but the dirty chimney that you can't see. The dirty glass is sort of doing you a favour because without it you could have gone on doing the wrong thing for a long time thus causing some serious problems for yourself. Its a bit tricky to explain but in simple terms you can only reduce the amount of air going through the fire once all volutiles have been burned and only the carbon from the red ash is left. If you don't follow this rule you're simply creating creosote and a lot of it!!! Not a good idea. Just keep poking and you'll get the hang of it! Good luck

redlady_1

Thanks for the advice. Well the wood isnt an issue but I am trying to keep it in overnight or as long as possible during the day. If I burn it hard then the glass is clear. It is only when I close all the vents down that I get this build up. The chimney has just been cleaned which is why I decided to experiment now rather than later on. So, any suggestions as to how to keep it in please?

Swipe

I use smokeless coal to keep mine in overnight

redlady_1

Do you totally close it down or keep some vents open? Up to now I have used coal ( a derivative thereof) and closed the vents half way (all of them) but this takes quite a bit of coal, yet others close the whole thing down and use wood. As this is my only real source of heat I am trying to maximise the heat efficiency for when those chilly mornings come!

crphillips

To be honest your just going to have to experiment with your settings. Nobody will be able to tell you whether to shut the vents completely or leave them open a little as ever stove and chimney is different to one another.

If you close the air down to any fire it will create soot. If yours is sooting up then try opening the vent a little.....obviously there will be a trade-off between how long it will stay in and how clean the glass will stay.

When the air vents are closed on some stoves there will be virtually no air getting to the fire so the fire will go out and the glass will soot up........other stoves may allow a little air in even when the vents are closed fully (this is especially true for the smoke exempt stoves) so this will keep the glass cleaner but the wood may not last the full night......then there are stoves such as Charnwood and probably some others where the amount of air that is allowed into the stove with the vents fully closed is adjustable so you can tweak it to your specific requirements.

You'll just need to experiment and use trial and error.

redlady_1

Which is kind of what I have been doing. I have kept the fire in using logs but suffered this soot build up when I have closed all vents completely. Now I dont have too much of a problem with that but just wondered whether it was dangerous, and it would appear it is. Not to mention it is always good to hear others experiences of how to do these things as there is little info out there, I guess because each stove is different. Hopefully I will have this nailed before the seriously cold weather comes.:D

coldstreamalways

Is your wood a bit green still? If it's not been seasoned for long enough, I expect this could happen. (I just wouldn't bother cleaning the glass!!)