MikeR
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| posted on 7/10/18 at 07:02 PM |
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Is my wood too wet?
So completely off topic but it keeps the mrs happy so means i get more time to work on the speeduino setup in a warm lounge....
Got a wood burner installed into the lounge over summer. Bought 2 cubic meter of kiln dried wood - figured i'd pay a bit more the first time to
hopefully get wood i could burn immediately. Seem to have a problem keeping it burning. Starts off with lovely flames with kindling, get some nice red
embers, put the kiln dried wood on and it starts burning but unless i have the primary air open it seems to die (very small flame / hardly burning /
smells outside the house). Split some bits to see if smaller bits would burn better (neighbours view) and had a shock. Outside of the wood if 15%
moisture. Inside is 25 to 30%+
Does anyone know if the wood is too wet / ive been ripped off?
Am i doing something else wrong? Burn kinding for 15 minutes with both primary and secondary (air wash) open to ensure a good draft, when bright red
embers still small bits left add a log.
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AdamR20
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| posted on 7/10/18 at 07:35 PM |
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Yep, too wet sadly. Ideally need 20% inside. I've heard that a lot of 'dry' wood isn't! Probably needs a few months more
drying out.
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02GF74
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| posted on 7/10/18 at 09:30 PM |
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Stick it in the stove to dry it. 
Go round your area to look for houses getting new roofs, then ask for the pallets, locost and dry.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 06:26 AM |
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Simple answer is yes it's far to damp
And yes you have been ripped off, happens all the time, sadly. Advertising wood as "kiln dried" is just a license to print money and in
reality is quite expensive and time consuming to do and can only be done economically on a very large scale. Go and google the process and
you'll see what I mean.
Fully dried wood should have spectacular cracks due to shrinkage, be very brittle and quite light when you pick it up. It should normally also be
split too, wood that is not is a big warning sign. As soon as you put it in over hot embers it should burst into flames. I use one small firelighter
block and no kindling and up it goes.
You don't have much options at this time, even if you split the wood fully now it will take months & months to drop to even < 20%. I
would suggest you buy some briquettes instead for this winter and hopefully for next your wood will be ready. Using the wood just now, well it will do
sod all tbh except vanish before your eyes while not heating your house.
Also if you have a lot of smell coming from the stove then chances are you are not keeping it hot enough as the flue only works if it is hot which
will also be due to the damp wood. Wood burning stoves should best be used at full power to reduce the tar and build up in the flue. I'd also
recommend you clean and empty the ashes completely when not in use as downdrafts will quickly blow ash particles into your living room making it smell
like your house has burnt down...
I'm not much of a fan of living room stoves tbh, their mucky things most of the time and a bit of a hazard for kids. We've only ever had
them in the utility room or a boiler room for a very good reason. In my current house I've recently installed our first cooker stove rather than
a just the previous boilers my family has used over the years and yip it's also just as smelly and dirty as ever (was in there hoovering it out
last night) however I just love it 
[Edited on 8/10/18 by Mr Whippy]
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SJ
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 07:09 AM |
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Out of interest, what sort of stove it is and what do you mean by 'unless I have the primary air open'. Mine only has one air feed -
external in my case so it pulls air from outside the house.
Once it is burning it pretty much never goes out, and I'm not particularly careful with what I put in it.
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RedAvon
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 07:32 AM |
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If it is newly installed I would check you have sufficient ventilation to the room that the wood burner is located. The air controls need to suck in
air from somewhere. I have two controls similar to yours and it is surprising how much air volume they need.
Apart from the wood issue it would be worth checking the difference with a window open or when there is a good breeze across the top of the chimney.
And as above, don't let the ashes build up in the pan underneath as this makes a difference on mine so I clear it every day after use.
Hope this helps
Ian
Bricoleur
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 07:38 AM |
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Many modern stoves have a lower conventional vent at the bottom and another at the top to both keep the glass cleaner and to supply a second source of
fresh air theoretically to allow further burning of the gasses above the fire and up the flue. Mine has this, can't say it's easy to see
if this works, it has an effect but... Only should be used when the fire is really going as otherwise it reduces the effect of the bottom vent.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 07:49 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by RedAvon
If it is newly installed I would check you have sufficient ventilation to the room that the wood burner is located. The air controls need to suck in
air from somewhere. I have two controls similar to yours and it is surprising how much air volume they need.
Apart from the wood issue it would be worth checking the difference with a window open or when there is a good breeze across the top of the chimney.
And as above, don't let the ashes build up in the pan underneath as this makes a difference on mine so I clear it every day after use.
Hope this helps
Ian
Yeah totally, mind there is no reason for the smoke to go up the flue other than the rising hot air. Sounds obvious but if there is any pressure
difference between to top of the flue and the room such as caused on a windy day the air inside may very well just go down the flue even if you have
down draft preventers fitted. I had to fit a large vent in the eve and ceiling on the south side as wind coming from the North would blow down the
flue unless the the stove was very hot. You have to play a bit to find the ventilation that works for your house.
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JeffHs
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 10:37 AM |
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See if you can find a reputable supplier who sells seasoned logs. I buy mine in June and store dry until the winter but they're good to burn as
I buy them. I won't buy kiln dried logs on principle - waste of energy when time will do it for free. Get yourself a stove thermometer and make
sure you keep the temperature within the recommended range. I run my little Clearview at 400 to 500 Fahrenheit ( gauge is American) and it burns clean
with very little carbon on the glass.
I've felled a lot of trees over the years and burned them on the stove. General advice is to season for 2 years but I've found that
provided the tree is dropped in the winter when the sap's down a year will do provided the logs are split and stored dry with air flow around
them. I took a log from each felling, weighed it green and stuck a label on, then weighed it periodically over 2 years. 95% of the weight loss, which
is water drying off, is in the 1st 12 months.
Mine is a multi fuel burner so it has a grate underneath to let air through which is necessary for coal and smokeless, but wood burns best with no air
underneath so I don't empty my stove but let the ash build for a couple of weeks or so.
Persevere. Fitting my stove is one of the best things I ever did. It's the best thing about dark nights. Feet up by the fire. I love it.
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 11:30 AM |
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from the site I bought my stove -
Most stoves have a primary and secondary control air vents. These can be found on the front face of the stove, (one at the top and one at the bottom),
and control the flow of air in and out of the firebox, therefore giving control to regulate the rate at which the fire burns and therefore the heat.
To simplify matters if you have both the vents open then you will feed the fire with oxygen and it will burn both rapidly and hot, alternatively if
you close both vents you will starve the fire of oxygen and it will eventually expire. The primary control is always the lowest control vent. This
control allows cold air to pass under the grate, thus feeding the fire with oxygen. The secondary control vent regulates the hot air that is
introduced to the firebox, which allows the fire to burn at higher temperatures. Burning at higher temperatures allows all the flammable gases to burn
before they are lost up the chimney, therefore optimising the stoves efficiency. When burning wood, once the fire is established the bottom air
control can be closed so that all the air for the fire comes via the top air control. Slight adjustment of the top air vent will now control the fire.
If the fire start to go out then opening the bottom air vent should rapidly revive the fire. Each stove behaves in a slightly different manner and as
you gain experience of its operation you will quickly learn which settings optimise the performance of your stove.
I have a grate & ash pan but my stove is large so they is a considerable amount of ashes in the morning. A smaller stove in the living room
should be fine with no ash pan or grate
[Edited on 8/10/18 by Mr Whippy]
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SJ
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 11:40 AM |
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Mine just has the one control - the lower lever in the one on the left in the pic - ignore the tank. The secondary air is fixed - the top holes are
partially covered with a plate.
Mine works better with some ash in it so lean it every week or two depending on use.
[img]
 
Description
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MikeR
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 03:08 PM |
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[big long reply lost when i hit post so shorter version to follow]
I've got a woodwarm pheonix firegem 5kw - https://woodwarmstoves.co.uk/stoves/phoenix/phoenix-firegem-5kw
The two air feeds are primary for lighting letting air in via the grate. Secondary for doing a clearwash (keeping the glass clean) and getting warm
turbulant air into the fire. Supposedly once the fire is lit you close the primary if you're burning wood. The secondary is all your supposed to
need. You can make an adaption so the secondary can't be completely closed to keep the fire running all night. I don't have this adaption
but am leaving the secondary fully open and opening the primary a bit to keep the fire flaming. If i do have both open i have much less issue with
getting a good flame.
The smoke problem is from the neighbour. They've complained of an acrid smoke. This seems to be when i'm struggling to burn the wood.
They've had a wood burner for years and have passed on their wisdom - the wood should be 2" by 4", thats what the french do and what
they do, filling every half an hour.
If i am struggling to burn the wood then i seem to create charcoal which implies to me the large bits of wood aren't getting enough air or heat.
When i get charcoal i end up opening up the primary and get a blue flame dancing around the coals.
The 'kiln dried' wood i bought looks like this....
 
wood
Neighbours view is they all need splitting at least in half - although he also though that if they've aired for a year the internal water
content wasn't important.
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SJ
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 03:31 PM |
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That certainly doesn't sound right. Once mine is hot I don't really get any smoke, and I burn much bigger bits than that, but as I said
mine is designed to always have the bottom vent open [normally about half way, but full if the wood isn't as dry as is ideal].
Can you get some advice from the manufacturers?
Why not get hold of a small qty of really dry stuff to see if that makes a difference - most diy shops sell the little net bags.
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steve m
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 07:16 PM |
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Not that I know anything about wood burning stoves, !!
But a friend had one, and I know he brought wood in from outside regularly, and kept it in the same room as the log burner, and would always only use
the wood that had been inside for 6 weeks or more
This process started about August, and he did have an enormous wall of wood in his lounge,
Perhaps the OP has been storing the wood in an area that could be damp, or even wet
steve
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 07:48 PM |
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If you want to clean the glass I've found mr muscle oven cleaner absolutely amazing, spray on, wait 5 minutes then just wipe off, glass is
spotless.
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MikeR
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 08:15 PM |
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The wood sits either side of the fireplace before being burnt (well not right next to obviously, got a few bricks and an air gap between them).
Going to try burning some smaller wood thati know is 20% or less. Then will try another burn with some big wood that i know has seasoned for a number
of years.
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Markymark
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| posted on 8/10/18 at 08:52 PM |
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Interesting thread
Had my stove for a few years now, took a while to get it right
The biggest issue when I first started was not letting it get hot enough before shutting the bottom vent, as said above, get a flue thermometer.
Wood from DIY stores or garages is utter crap, get most of my wood from the side of the road and let it dry for 2 years, got some great big bits of
oak at the moment.
I was told it is best to leave an inch of ash in the bottom of the stove and set the fire on top of that, works for me.
Best thing to clean the glass ive found is a piece of damp kitchen roll and dip it in the ash, cleans it off a piece of cake. To be honest it only
smokes up when letting the fire die out. Is there there any way of stopping that?
Mark
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MikeR
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| posted on 9/10/18 at 06:46 AM |
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I did have a stove thermometer but i only have 6 inch of pipe before it goes into the chimney. Trying to run it to that temperature seemed to leave it
too cold - I seemed to be turning it down and then having no flame on wood i knew was dry (stored indoors for at least four years).
Will try again and see ifi get different results now
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TimC
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| posted on 9/10/18 at 08:11 PM |
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Best combo of thread title and opening sentence I’ve seen for a while. Bravo.
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MikeR
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| posted on 9/10/18 at 08:57 PM |
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OMG - I hadn't done that deliberately. Just re-read the first post, burst out laughing and then had to explain to the mrs why i was
laughing.....
I'm sure you can imagine the look i got 
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MikeR
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| posted on 13/10/18 at 06:15 AM |
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Bought some kiln dried wood from b&q. Winced at the price. Lit the fire and it was fab. Perhaps it was the wind increasing the draw (can't
rule it out) but it behaved as i expected and we fab.
To me it's case proved. I've been ripped off with wet wood.
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