# Woodstove Heating problems



## Mattie420 (Apr 2, 2013)

We use a woodstove to heat our home. The first few months was a breeze and quite delightful knowing how much money were saving compared to running the propane heat unit. Now a few months into it, it seems to be getting harder to keep it going through out the night. I used to be able to load it full, put the air control at about halfway and it would have a nice thick ember bed when I would wake up to refill it (about 2am-4am) and then when we woke up in the morning turn the air control on full blast and before you know it, its picking up right where it left off the night before. BUT NOW...I load it full, and if I don't get to it to refill it by 1:30 then its gonna be out. If I do get to it by 1:30 then I have to get back to it again in another couple hours, and then another couple hours all night long to keep it going. If I get to it 30 minutes late then Ive missed the ember bed and have to start a new fire all over again which is no fun at 2am, 3am, or 4am. Because of this I have recently started sleeping downstairs so I don't miss it (and I still miss refilling it while it has embers most nights) I clean the woodstoves ash regularly. My question is, what in the world has changed from the first few months to now? I get my wood from the same guy everytime and it looks the same everytime (type, seasoning, ect) It also doesn't seem to burn with the same intensity that it used to, example, before, when we got it going it would be literally roaring and putting off a lot of heat. Now it will be going full blast and it doesn't seems to be putting off the same amount of heat and doesn't burn as long as it used to...HELP! The cost of propane and heating a 2000sq ft house with it, is insane, and I would literally need to pick up another job to bring in $800-$1000 per month in the winter months to be able to pay for it (yes its that expensive we tried the first year at this house to heat with propane and it nearly broke us) What can I do differently or what am I doing wrong? I am so close to just giving up on it and getting another job because I spend time getting it going at night, then I sleep downstairs losing decent sleep and time with the wife, have to get up and restock the fire every hour and a half to two hours, then I find that I missed the ember bed so I have to make a fire, losing all that sleep that ill never get back, and if I successfully get it going again(which is rare cause im so darn tired) I go to sleep and cant get up again in another hour and a half to do it all over again. Then the house is cold in the morning and I hate having to watch my kids come downstairs and being cold because I failed to spend every ounce of energy I have into the fire. Its a nice newer woodstove too, Vermont Castings Resolute Acclaim. Ive been very successful in getting wonderful tips here on this forum and hope you guys can help me out with this issue. Thanks in advance!


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## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

If you're sure the wood is the same, then I would check the seals, on our stove there's two doors one to fill it, and one to get the ashes out, the lower one also has a air vent, which the stove can open and close depending on the water temp. 

If the seal on any of these isn't good and clean then you'll have problems
The lower ones being faulty give too much air in when damping it down and it won't run overnight, and the upper ones leaking will let air straight in and up the flue not going past the wood and therefore not being used. Also check the chimney, if it's got slightly blocked it won't draw so well and could cause your lack of heat, but that won't be causig it to burn out faster.

BOTH of them are faulty on ours lol, so ours won't burn for more than an hour or so at a time (it's not designed to be filled once or twice a day anyway) so ours goes out probably about two hours after last filling. I would replace them, but I have no clue where to get the things! It is a bit cold in the morning, but not terribly so.

But your best thing will be jumpers and slippers. children will survive just fine in a cold house!


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

What were your low night time temps. when it burned to your satisfaction? What are they now? 

What varieties of seasoned wood are you burning? 

Has the diameter of the wood changed? 

With a little thought and advice from other wood burners here you should be able to solve your problem. 

We live in zone 4 and 90% of the time I put the last load on at 11:00 pm and have good coals and warmth at 6:00 am.


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## osbmail (Mar 6, 2014)

Mine burns longer with deep ash bed so the long I wait to take out ashes the longer burns I get .After 2 to 4 weeks stove builds up so much ash stop burning I have a older Vermont casting. You probably have a newer one with the removable ash pan.


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

osbmail said:


> Mine burns longer with deep ash bed so the long I wait to take out ashes the longer burns I get .After 2 to 4 weeks stove builds up so much ash stop burning I have a older Vermont casting. You probably have a newer one with the removable ash pan.


This is something I learned the first year.
Don't keep cleaning out the ashes! It makes you work harder for less heat.
Also you have to plan your wood a year ahead of time. Seasoned wood will give you more heat for less wood and make you work less.
I have an old Fisher Grandpa clone.
I can get a hot fire by 9pm, load it full, go to bed and wake up between 4 and 6 with a warm house and a bed of ready coals. I shut the door vents completely closed and the damper barely open. It slow cooks all nite long.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

You could have one or more problems. First thing is as was said,the quality of your wood. If it is a lesser wood or a not so seasoned wood you just don't get the heat out of it.Too much ash and you don't get enough air to keep the fire going good.An air leak would give you a hotter fire but it would burn down faster. Creosote buildup in the chimney will limit the draft keeping the fire from burning hot.Your stove pipe getting buildup would do the same thing. If you have a heatilator in the stovepipe it could need cleaning.Most airtights have a smoke baffle above the fire inside the fire box. This needs cleaned out also. It gets buildup and limits the draft the chimney will pull.Most good air tights need a 8" stovepipe and it should be vented into a 12" lined chimney.
If you go thru these things and still have a problem,it's your wood.

Wade


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Are you running the stove exactly the same or changing how you run it too keep the same warmth? More air in faster burn to keep house as warm. Also how is the wood stored? Is it damper now than at the first of the season? Do you store any wood in the house before burning it to take dampness out....James

....James


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

All of the above are good ideas but I would just about put money on the idea that the wood you are burning now has a higher moisture %. Its impossible to look at wood and tell if it is ready to burn. Sure you can tell if its fresh cut or a few months old, but 18% wood looks the same 12% wood and 12% puts out a whole lot more heat. 

Get yourself a moisture meter and learn to use it you will be shocked to see what wood sellers are calling seasoned wood. 

In other words you are burning about half your wood just to boil off excess moisture. That leaves a lot less available heat to warm the house. Also are you absolutely certain the wood you use now is exactly the same species as you had before, there is a huge difference of potential heat form different species. 

Good luck, dont give up, you can solve this.....


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

doingitmyself said:


> All of the above are good ideas but I would just about put money on the idea that the wood you are burning now has a higher moisture %. Its impossible to look at wood and tell if it is ready to burn. Sure you can tell if its fresh cut or a few months old, but 18% wood looks the same 12% wood and 12% puts out a whole lot more heat.
> 
> Get yourself a moisture meter and learn to use it you will be shocked to see what wood sellers are calling seasoned wood.
> 
> ...


I would just about bet money ^^^^^^^^^ this is the problem. Buying wood is like buying a pig in a poke....you really have NO idea what you are buying most of the time.

In addition to the moisture content, you could also be buying a less dense species of wood....say red maple, or yellow poplar. Neither of them will last anywhere near the time good, dry hickory or oak will last. I've actually seen folks advertise poplar (even white pine !!) on Craig's List like it's something anyone would want to purchase !

You need to learn your wood species...and you need to buy your wood a year ahead of time and store it in the dry so you KNOW it is properly seasoned, not take the word of a wood seller.

Wood is a GREAT fuel (been using it 40 years myself), but all wood is NOT equal, unlike propane.


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## Mattie420 (Apr 2, 2013)

Well the system I have is the exact same, changed all seals this past fall, the only thing j can think of then is wood moisture which is making sense to the problem I have. I was able to find an old piece of wood from the first round he brought me and compared it to the new stuff and wouldn't us know, it looks like the same species, at the same thickness, but it hasn't been seasoned near as much as the first round. I guess I should call and see if he's got any drier wood this next time and if not then I'll have to find someone else. I'm also going to take into consideration all the other hints and tips you guys have given me. I'm due for another load of wood so I should be able to find out if it it the wood within the week. Thank you guys so much I don't know what I'd do without ya


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

In all honesty, if he is selling you green wood,99% of the time he doesn't have any seasoned wood. I can't vouch for this person's honesty but continuing to purchase from the same vendor may not be advisable.
You really should take the time to check out everything in your system also.Fortunately I have been burning wood my whole life and can pick up a piece of wood and tell by the weight and temperature of the wood if it's going to burn good. You can feel a difference in damp unseasoned wood but it takes years to be able to.
I'm glad we were able to help in some small way.

Wade


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

I'd say you figured it out.:thumb:
You are right about it looking about the same. It takes some experience to see and feel the difference.
It took a few times for me to notice the difference, so I'll explain it in my own words.
Others may offer a little different view on it, but there's no harm in getting feedback if it solves the problem.

Color: Even though that varies from dark red in red oak to white in poplar, seasoned wood tends to look grayish after awhile. I keep mine covered, but the pile is exposed to the elements.
Just like a man who is "seasoned" the older it is the grayer it gets.
If it still looks bright, fresh and close to its natural color, it's still "green".

Weight: As everyone said, green wood has more moisture content or water. As it dries it gets lighter. Get familiar with how much a particular species feels in your hands when it's just split and when it's been dried for a year or more. No matter if it's hardwood or pine, it all weighs less when it's dry.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Most wood sellers don't care. Some of them even think logs cut for a year or two are "seasoned"....they aren't. If the wood isn't SPLIT, it basically will not dry. I don't know of a single person around here that doesn't cut/split it one day, and sell it within a week or so.

As I said, either buy, or cut, next winter's wood NOW so you know it is properly dry, or every load you get will be this hit or miss type of thing.


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## BlackFeather (Jun 17, 2014)

One other point, On cold nights, especially during a high pressure system, the air gives better lift and my stove, even when completely shut down, still burns faster than on warmer cloudy damp days. Same idea of smoke moving near the ground during a low pressure system and smoke rising right up during a high pressure system. So I'm not sure if the outdoor temperature has anything to do with your problem or not. I wouldn't think it would get that cold in North Carolina.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Problem 1 - the stove is rated for a house up to 1600 sf and you have a 2000 sf house with an upstairs. You are having to use high firing rates and a lot of your heat is walking upstairs unless you have a stairway door.

Problem 2 - Moisture, as mentioned. Water in wood not only gets turned into water vapor, but a lot of it goes through phase change to steam which REALLY sucks out energy.

You can remove a little of that moisture by stacking wood near the fireplace and letting the heat drive the surface moisture off INTO THE ROOM. Since a higher relative humidity inside makes a 70 degree room feel more like a 72 degree room, you'll get a little benefit (and maybe one or two less nosebleeds or chapped lips). The heated air near a stove is like desert air and removes surface moisture pretty good.

If you have a completely open flue, you might want to consider a stack damper. On super-cold nights, a stack damper is about the only thing that will keep the stack heat from FLYING up the flue.

Loading for overnight. Load some small stuff, then the largest two logs you can find - with bark ON. The bark acts as an insulator and the burn time is longer.

Work WITH the natural instead of against it. In the late evening, crank it up and get the heat in the house to 80, then load and choke it set the thermostat for the propane to 50 and go to bed. Use electric blankets. In the morning, kindling and paper in the stove and crank the thermostat up for 15 minutes. A cold house in the morning is NORMAL in the north and the amount of propane you use will be minimal. My brother keeps his house at 50 all the time (preferred), my dad used to let me know that when he woke up it was common for there to be ice in the water jug in his bedroom. Kiddies are cold for twenty minutes? Put them in charge of building the fire. It'll give them something to do that will keep them warm and interested.


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## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Kiddies are cold for twenty minutes? Put them in charge of building the fire. It'll give them something to do that will keep them warm and interested.


If they're complaining about being cold.. a few weeks of tending the fire will soon shut them up, when they realise how much work it is to keep warm in the mornings. Our fire is out by about 2am. I don't relight it untill 3-4pm would simply burn way to much fuel if I had it on all day, and would have to stoke it every hour overnight, not being one I can damp since the doors are knackered!

I did forget to mention outside temp, if that has dropped even 5-10 degrees everything inside could be totaly the same and that's making the difference. I notice a huge difference in burn times when it's colder, since the heat is being lost so much faster the boiler has to burn more.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

TnAndy said:


> Most wood sellers don't care. Some of them even think logs cut for a year or two are "seasoned"....they aren't. If the wood isn't SPLIT, it basically will not dry. I don't know of a single person around here that doesn't cut/split it one day, and sell it within a week or so.
> 
> As I said, either buy, or cut, next winter's wood NOW so you know it is properly dry, or every load you get will be this hit or miss type of thing.



Andy,there is one more step you forgot to mention. If the wood is not stacked,just thrown in a pile it will not dry. It has to be stacked to allow air flow thru the wood to remove the moisture.Cutting firewood is not a science but it's also not a simple task to get it from the log to ashes. There is a learning curve and it you have not been brought up around it there are many things you don't see that needs to be done.

Wade


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

Funny thing about wood is it heats everytime you handle it!! LOLOL Have the kids go bring in the wood in the morning for the days usage, that will warm their butts just fine!! LOLOL I have had wood chores for 47 years!!LOLOL


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

All else the same, the only thing I can think of is outside temperatures. When it is very cold out, the wood will burn a lot faster than when it is warm since the draft will be stronger. Also, if it is very cold out, the stove will not feel as warm to you since more heat is lost to the outside.


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## buslady (Feb 14, 2008)

Tap gently on the stove pipe. Does the cresote fall down? Does it sound hollow? Look at the top of the pipe outside. Does it look like it is drawing right. 
My kids removed the pipe on my house top and cleaned it out. It had a lot of cresote on the top cover. It is now burning better, and putting out more heat.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

buslady said:


> Tap gently on the stove pipe. Does the cresote fall down? Does it sound hollow? Look at the top of the pipe outside. Does it look like it is drawing right.
> My kids removed the pipe on my house top and cleaned it out. It had a lot of cresote on the top cover. It is now burning better, and putting out more heat.


If you have excessive creosote buildup, it would make your flue smaller and could cause it to draft faster. But it is a bit early for that to happen I think, given you just started using the stove. 

I still propose outside temps as a cause - to test this theory, take note of outside temps and how well the wood burner works for you.


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## Mattie420 (Apr 2, 2013)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Problem 1 - the stove is rated for a house up to 1600 sf and you have a 2000 sf house with an upstairs. You are having to use high firing rates and a lot of your heat is walking upstairs unless you have a stairway door.
> 
> Problem 2 - Moisture, as mentioned. Water in wood not only gets turned into water vapor, but a lot of it goes through phase change to steam which REALLY sucks out energy.
> 
> ...




We have additional electric heaters in the kids room for night time use and we do keep the upstairs closed off so there is no problem there.

I thought I was a genius for figuring out that stacking the wood by the woodstove would dry it out quite well =P, but I guess it's common knowledge

I like the idea of doing two big pieces of top and smaller stuff underneath cause I'll usually just throw all the big ones I can in there and the finish up the small space of top with a small one or two (top loader)

And the kids are 3yo and 1yo so I can't quite put them to work on it yet but little man (3yo) is very interested in daddy building the fire in the mornings. So it will be no time before I can teach him to do it for me. 

Again tho, I'm glad to have the help of people that are much wiser at this then me and one day I'll do my best to pass all this down to the next generation


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## Mattie420 (Apr 2, 2013)

TnAndy said:


> Most wood sellers don't care. Some of them even think logs cut for a year or two are "seasoned"....they aren't. If the wood isn't SPLIT, it basically will not dry. I don't know of a single person around here that doesn't cut/split it one day, and sell it within a week or so.
> 
> As I said, either buy, or cut, next winter's wood NOW so you know it is properly dry, or every load you get will be this hit or miss type of thing.


My wife got me a splitting maul for my bday (dec 1) and my dad had a lot of trees taken down on his property (he's givin to me) so I have been hard at work splitting that wood for next years supply. Also I'm going to keep buying wood once a month throughout the year (like i have this winter) so by next winter I will be stacked and ready to get through the winter without having to get out there every month and stack the pile for that month.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

How long ago were the trees taken down and what species of trees?


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

drying wood under a roof and not just a tarp over the wood helps a lot , wood dried 2 years under a tarp isn't as dry as wood dried 1 year under a roof

Ideally you want to have a your wood a year in advance so that it has time to dry , if you can get a year ahead on purchasing wood , and split sack and let it dry under a roof it will be ready

I cut mostly standing dead wood so mine starts some dry but I cut a bunch of green maple this last spring after a storm had it all cut, split and under a roof right away and I am already burning it and it is dry

I built a very simple 8x12 foot wood shed , with a tin roof and 3 sides it makes wood so much drier than any tarp ever did 

it may take longer to dry where you are but , when it is cold zero or below everything gets dry very dry


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

My father-in-law built a wood shed with only posts and a metal roof and some boards at the back, so the wood dries out from all directions. He has even people stop in his place to comment on the wood rack - I guess it qualifies as a big attraction in our neck of the woods LOL. It is a nice rack though - I can snap some photos and post them if people want.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Yep, please post some pictures of the wood rack. Our hoop house works but doesn't look the best...


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## beenaround (Mar 2, 2015)

doingitmyself said:


> Get yourself a moisture meter and learn to use it you will be shocked to see what wood sellers are calling seasoned wood.
> 
> Good luck, dont give up, you can solve this.....


Was thinking the same thing along with the stove needing some maintenance.

Needs a better system, needs a better supply, needs a good nights sleep. 

Check the windows, someone may have let the cat out one and not locked it. Lose a lot of heat that way.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Mattie420, you're pretty much through wood heat season. :dance:

What did you learn? :idea: What changes have you made? What are you planning on doing differently in the next year? :shrug:


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## Mattie420 (Apr 2, 2013)

Switched wood and it burns thru the night, booted my old "wood guy" and got a new one. Ive learned a lot thru this first full season of woodstove heating including what to look for a how to feel wood. I appreciate your guys' help


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Good! And you'll learn a lot more in the next 10 years, too... :thumb:


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I have had wood heat all my life. Even after I bought my own home I burnt wood. Over that time I have learned that if you put a draft control in the stove pipe and a damper is in the lower area of the stove your wood burner you can regulate burn time real well. 
When it is well below zero here I open the damper a bit to allow for a stronger burn and just fill the furnace more often but the house is always at least 75F in the coldest room the North west corner of the house.
Also the bigger the chunks of wood the slower they will burn over a load of tiny split stuff as it doesn't have as many or as big of burn surface.
I only take the ashes out when the pan if full but it does not effect the burn rate as the greats are self cleaning.

When the stove pipe and chimney start getting plugged with cresol build up the wood burner will let you know as soon as you open the fire box door as smoke will come puffing out same result as having the draft closed.

My furnace is a England 28 3500 Best wood burner I have ever had but the really old warm morning pot belly was a close second.



Winter 2013/14 was the first winter for it. Even with it being a record setting below zero temp winter I burned 1/3 less wood with it than the Old Southern Aire wood burner it replaced.
Never had to clean the chimney till the spring. Same this past winter used less wood than I ever have to heat the house and we had the second coldest February in record keeping history.

I cut my wood in in the winter, then in the fall I will haul it to the walk out and stack it. I normally only split it small enough I can handle it. Then as I need it for the furnace I will split it as big as the furnace will take and do some smaller stuff to fill any open spots.




























 Al


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