Drolet High-Efficiency Wood Stove. This high-efficiency wood stove is EPA certified and offers a. WITH LOVE FROM IDAHO! Tiny Wood Stove LLC 1329 North Biztown Loop Hayden, Idaho 83835 208-352-3417 support@tinywoodstove.com. The oil embargo of 1973 encouraged a surge in sales of airtight wood-burning stoves that provided a more affordable alternative to traditional potbelly stoves. 'The older potbelly-type stoves had. Page 1 EPA Approved SSW30FTAL High Efficiency Air Tight Wood Stove For Residential Installation Models: SSW30FTAL, SSW30STAL, SSW30FTAPB SSW30FTPB, SSW30FTAPB, SSW30STAPB Homeowner's Installation & Operation Manual 630001 SSW30 cover SAFETY NOTICE: Read this entire manual before you install and use your appliance. If not properly installed, a.
If your wood burning stove is smoking morethan usual then there may be an issue with the wood, the operation of the stoveor even a problem with the stove itself.
As many different elements of having a firein a wood stove need to come together for a successful fire, there can be anumber of reasons why a wood stove would be smoking.
So why does a wood stove smoke?
Themain reasons why a wood burning stove is smoking can be:
- The wood is too wet.
- The stove or wood is too cold.
- The draft is poor.
- The fire didn’t get going well.
- The air vents aren’t open enough, or were closed down too soon afterlighting the fire.
- The stove door was closed too soon after lighting the fire.
- The fire is too small.
- The room is too airtight.
- The damper is closed.
- The chimney is blocked.
When a fire in a wood stove burns the woodinefficiently, there is a higher chance for the fire to be smoking as a result.The main reasons why your wood stove smokes can therefore be typically narroweddown to the main components of a fire in a stove that affect either the wood or the air supply.
We’ve had issues with our wood burningstove and multi fuel stove smoking over the years and so I’ve explained themain reasons why wood stoves smoke in more detail below.
Why Does My Wood Stove Smoke?
The Wood Is Too Wet
One of the most common reasons why a woodstove smokes is due to burning wood thatis too wet.
Wood needs to be dry enough to burnefficiently in a fire. Wood that is freshly cut is high in moisture content,which is why wood needs to be dried out (known as seasoning) over a period oftime before it’s dry enough to be used on a fire without causing issues.
One of the main problems with burning wetwood in a stove is that it can cause more smoke to be produced than usual. Forthe fire to burn the wood efficiently to produce heat, the fire needs to firstburn off any excess moisture within the wood. The higher the moisture contentof the wood, the harder it will be to burn.
When the wood is being burnt inefficiently,such as when the wood is too wet, moresmoke can be produced as a result.
Small amounts of smoke can be part of thenormal operation of a wood burning stove. If you’re seeing unusual amounts ofsmoke being produced, check to see whether you’re using wood that has been ‘well-seasoned’ or ‘kiln dried’, as these terms typically denote wood that has beendried long enough to be used as firewood.
You can also season your own wood, and I’ve explained how we do it here.
Moistures meters will be able to give youan accurate reading of the moisture content of your wood. Look for a moisturecontent readings of around 20% or less. The lower the moisture content of the wood, the better it will burn andthe less likely it is to produce smoke.
Compared to wet wood, wood that is dryenough to burn:
- Is darker at the ends.
- Has less visible green colors.
- Is lighter in weight.
- Can be splitting at the ends.
- Makes a hollow sound when hittogether.
- Has bark that can be easier topeel off.
The Stove Or Wood Is Too Cold
A stovethat is too cold, or wood that istoo cold, can cause a fire in a woodstove to smoke.
It takes longer for a fire to bring coldwood up to combustible temperature compared to wood that is at room temperature.During this time the wood can be burning inefficiently, and the fire can smokeas a result.
We bring in our wood from storage outsideat least a day before using it on a fire in our stoves. We have a storage boxnear the stove that we like to keep the wood in, and by bringing it in from thecold outside the wood has time to warm up to room temperature.
Ensuring that wood is at near to room temperature before being added to the stovehelps it to burn more efficientlyand produce less smoke as a result.
A cold wood stove can also cause a fire tosmoke. Cold air trapped within the stove can push down on the fire and causeany smoke being produced to leak out into the room.
If smoke and waste gases can’t leave yourstove effectively then less fresh air can get to the fire. A fire that smoldersdue to a lack of oxygen can start to smoke because it can’t burn the wood verywell.
We therefore typically leave the door onour wood stove open for a while before starting a fire. With the door closed,the stove is shut off from the air in your home and can be colder as a result.
Leavingthe door open helps to bring the stove up to roomtemperature before being used, andcan help prevent your fire from smoking.
The Draft Is Poor
If there is insufficient draw on your stove from the flue, then this canprevent waste gases and smoke from being pulled up the flue and out of yourhome.
The draft helps to circulate air into thestove from your home and out through the flue. Cold air trapped within the fluecan prevent sufficient draw on your stove to start a fire, and so you can use aheat source before having a fire to help warm up the flue and start the draft.
To help warm up our own wood stove beforestarting a fire we like to place a lit piece of rolled up newspaper under theflue outlet inside the stove.
The heat from the flames provides risingwarm air that helps to displace any cold air trapped within the flue. If youcan see smoke from the newspaper rising up into the flue then you’re in goodposition to be able to light a fire in your stove.
The Fire Wasn’t Started Correctly
At the start of any fire in a wood stove wewant to bring the stove up to operating temperature as quickly as possible.
If the fire struggles to get going after being lit then more smoke can be produced.
To help a fire to get going, we lay a bed of crunched up newspaper at the bed of our stove (a bed of ash an inch or two deep can also help improve the efficiency of your fires.)
Small bits of kindling can then be added ontop of the newspaper in a crisscross pattern to help the air to circulatebetween the wood. Be sure to use dry pieces of wood, and softwood is moreuseful at this stage of the fire compared to hardwood because it catches alightand burns more quickly.
Before lighting any fires, ensure to openthe air vents on the stove all the way.
By lighting the newspaper at a couple oflocations across the stove, the fire can spread evenly to the wood. By leavingthe stove door open, the fire should catch hold of the wood quickly and startto rapidly burn through the initial bits of kindling.
If you aren’t supplying enough air to the stove at this stageof the fire, or using wood that isn’tdry enough, then the fire will struggleto get going and can start to producesmoke as it’s trying to burn through the wood.
I’ve explained in more detail here how to build and light a fire in a wood burning stove.
The Air Vents Aren’t Open Enough
If the fire doesn’t receive enough oxygen to burn through the supply of wood in yourstove, then it can start to smoke due to inefficient combustion.
A lack of oxygen can be a result of air vents on the stove that are closed or not open enough.
All air vents on your wood stove should befully open before lighting a fire and remain fully open while the fire catcheshold of the wood.
As the fire burns through the initial bitsof wood to form a bed of hot coals, progressively larger sized logs can beadded to the fire to produce more heat. To improve the efficiency of the fire,the air vents should be closed down until the fire is calmly burning throughthe wood, without causing it to smolder and produce smoke.
It’s generally inefficient to leave the air vents on your wood stove wide open throughout a fire because it can rapidly burn through the wood, and you’ll need to add more logs to the fire more often.
If the airvents are closed down by too much, then a lack of oxygen can cause the fireto smoke due to incomplete burning ofthe wood. Be sure to not close down the air vents too soon after lighting afire to help prevent the fire from smoking.
To helpprevent the wood stove from smoking, openup the air vents in stages until you can see the flames gently burningthrough the wood and not producing any more smoke.
Our wood stove only has one controllableair vent, which is located underneath the stove and controlled by a handle thatsticks out the front. If the fire is struggling and smoking as a result, toincrease the airflow to the fire we simply need to pull the handle towards usto open up the vent.
Many other wood stoves can have twocontrollable vents. Wood burns betterwith a source of air from above the fire and so you’ll want to open up the secondary air vent (typically locatednear the top of the stove) to increase the airflow to the fire from above.
On multi fuel stoves, open up the secondaryair vent to control the help stop the fire from smoking as it serves oxygen tothe fire from above. The primary vent serves air to below the fire in a multifuel stove, and so this vent won’t make as much of an impact to a wood fire asthe secondary vent.
You can read more about primary, secondary and tertiary air in stoves here.
I’ve also explained in more detail how to use the air vents on a wood stove to control the fire here.
The Stove Door Was Closed Too Soon
Much like how closing down the air vents ona wood stove too soon after the fire has been lit, closing the door on the stove too soon can also cause the fire tosmoke.
On our wood stove we’re able to close thedoor quite soon after lighting a fire because enough air can get to the firethrough the air vents. If there is insufficient air getting to the fire throughjust the vents, the fire can start to smoke due to lack of oxygen.
If you’re finding that your wood stove is smoking when closing the stovedoor, leave the door open for awhile longer to help get the fire going as it burns through the first bitsof wood.
It’s recommended not to leave the door to your stove open for the duration of the fire, and you can find out why in another article here.
The Fire Is Too Small
To maximize the efficiency of your woodstove and to prevent the fire smoke producing smoke, you’ll need to built and maintain fires that aren’t toosmall for your particular model of stove.
If you’re underutilizing your stove byhaving small fires then the stove will struggle to get up to operationaltemperature, where a cleaner burn of the wood will be provided and less smokewill be produced.
To help reduce the chance that your wood stove smokes, be sure have fires that are sized in line with the sizeof your stove.
Our stove thermometer shows the differentoperating temperatures of a stove.
At the lower temperatures, creosote can beproduced because the wood is being burnt inefficiently and can be producingsmoke as a result of poor combustion. Small fires can contribute to lower stovetemperatures.
You’ll want your stove to be within themiddle temperature range, labeled as ‘bestoperation’, where the fire is producing the most amount of heat from everypiece of wood.
If your stove is burning ‘too hot’ then the stove is producingmore heat but the fire is burning through the wood too quickly andinefficiently.
Be sure to also not build fires that are too big for your stove, as this can cause ‘over firing’. You can read more about over firing on wood stoves and how you can prevent it here.
The Room Is Too Airtight
If your room or home is too airtight, then the fire canstruggle and produce smoke due to a lack of fresh air.
Hot air that leaves the stove via the flueneeds to be replaced fresh air from the room. Air within the room can be replacedeither with air from other areas of the house, or from the outside through avent in the wall.
Wood burning stoves will typically requirea vent to be installed during installation if the house is deemed to be too airtight.
Because our house is newer and thereforemore airtight, we have a vent in our living room where our wood stove islocated to ensure that there’s always a fresh supply of air for the fire.
If your wood stove is smoking, try toincrease the air supply to the fire by:
- Opening any doors to the room.
- Opening any vents in the room.
- Cracking open a windowslightly.
The Damper Is Closed
If your wood stove has a damper (typically locatedin the stovepipe above the stove) then it mustnot be fully closed during a fire or it can cause the fire to smoke due toa lack of oxygen.
A wide open damper can allow much of the warmth generated by the fire in a stove to be lost up the flue. A damper can be used to throttle back how quickly warm air and waste gases leave the stove in order to produce more heat through processes such as secondary combustion.
A damper that is closed during a fire canact as a barrier, preventing smoke from leaving the stove. This in turn canprevent fresh oxygen from getting to the fire and causing the fire to smoke dueto incomplete combustion of the wood.
To help prevent your stove from smoking, ensure not to fully close the damper during a fire.
Read more about fireplace dampers and how to operate them here.
The Chimney Is Blocked
A flue that is dirty of blocked can alsorestrict the flow of air up the flue, and in turn cause the fire to smoke.
It’s recommended that chimneys and flues are cleaned at least once per year, and more often if you’re burning wood regularly in your home.
Federal Airtight Wood Stove Parts
Burning wood can release creosote, which isa substance that can line the inside of your flue and reduce its effectivenessof providing a draft on the stove. Creosote can be produced in higherquantities when the wood isn’t being properly combusted and the fire isreleasing smoke.
Small Airtight Wood Stove Operation
If your wood stove is smoking, have yourflue or chimney swept if it hasn’t been so within the last year.
Airtight Wood Stove Operation
Further Reading
How To Use A Wood Burning Stove
How A Wood Burning Stove Works
Parts Of A Wood Burning Stove Explained
Why Smoke Comes Out Of Your Wood Burning Stove When Opening The Door
How To Efficiently Use A Wood Stove
How To Clean Glass On A Wood Stove And Keep It Clean
Why Your Wood Stove Isn’t Getting Hot