bozodog
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/19/07
Posts: 8931
Loc: SW Michigan
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I was always told to place the female end of the stove pipe facing up... It's creosote, I'm sure. You need to be sure to burn well seasoned wood, HOT. Cold, slow burning fires will cause your dripping, along with green wood.
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Fairness as equal treatment does not produce fairness as equal outcomes.
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CabinConnection
Big Foot
Reged: 01/20/04
Posts: 18902
Loc: The Indianhead's Left Nostril....
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Quote:
what sort of residue would be the result of burning the wood in this heater?
Mostly water which is a natural by-product of the combustion. It condenses in the pipe when the gas cools as it gets further away from the fire box. Made dark from the creosote and soot in the chimney flue.
Normal flue installations take this into account, and have that water run back towards the box where it just gets "burned up" again. Horizontal runs are troublesome, regardless of which way the pipes are oriented.
Other than it being a PITA, don't worry about it. If you can get your fires hotter, it'll "go away".
I also wouldn't worry about creosote build up and subsequent potential for flue fires anywhere in the near future (this season). You don't seem to be having enough fires in that thing to have any significant build up. And from your previous descriptions, the wood you're burning is fine.
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howardgillis
Handyman
Reged: 07/22/07
Posts: 971
Loc: Fort Mill, S.C.
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the female end is up. The male end is over the rim of the round exit vent on top of the heater.
if seasoned means old, then this wood is seasoned. It's got to be 8+++ years old...? (no green wood)
my father had 3 stacks and all covered by tarps. I kept 60 pieces of the best looking ones, not rotten at all. And gave the rest away. At the bottom of the piles was rotten wood, bugs, etc.
Luckily a lady and her kids came along with trash bags and needed wood so bad they took all the rotten stuff, small pieces of bark, etc. making the cleanup alot easier.
She was the last one to come out as others had gotten the rest. Multiple persons came out for free wood, two reasons: 1. to heat their home 2. a couple college guys going camping.
This creosote is moving at a snail's pace and easy to control.
The only issue has been disappointing fires and amount of heat. Other than that, I was getting a little smoke out the place where the stove pipe elbow connects to the heater. The clamp really had to be tightened very tight and that problem is over. I assumed smoke would rise up, and not side ways, so the exit stove pipe is a 45 degree elbow as it heads out the window to a 45 degree up and a rain cap.
Between the oil heater under my desk, this wood heater, electric blanket, and the propane heater, I'll survive the winter and be in a house by next season.
The kerosene space heater was most efficient but the prices per gallon are not lower than gasoline like they were when I last bought 250 gallons. I got mine for $1.49 and now it is $2.99 or more. It used to always be cheaper than gasoline and then that changed.
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bozodog
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/19/07
Posts: 8931
Loc: SW Michigan
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Quote:
disappointing fires and amount of heat.
Fire building is a learned art.
Here is what I learned heating with wood for 3 winters, here in SW Mich.:
Wood: Split, dry and cut for the firebox hardwood. 16"L, typically.
Starting:
-> Air tight(ish)-> Cabs method of kindling on top is best without a grate(flat bottomed). Depending on height, smaller split logs 1st, at starting, then I would open and twist up a daily newspaper into several stick size bundles. On top of that, whatever you're using for kindling. Sticks, fine splits, clean pine/fur scraps. If smoke wants to back into the room, use a couple loose, lightly crumpled sheets of paper and "heat your flue up", for draw. As the splits on the bottom get burning well add a log or two. Once the box gets hot, and the fire is really burning well, with a nice bed of coals, add more wood. Only then close the door. When you retire to sleep, pack in logs to fill the box. Use the damper on the pipe, and the vents on the unit to control the burn.
I used to build two nice hot fires a day in a cheap Chinese "Parlor Stove" that would burn coal too. It had a grate and ash box w/vent on the bottom. And a vent in the UNsealed door. The house in the worst of single digit temps never went below 52f.
First thing in the AM: Start a hot fire. (frequently, there was still enough coals to fire up fast) Load the box, damp vents and stack down. Return from work: Repeat, adding logs and getting the house up to 70ish before filling and damping down at bedtime.
You just have to learn to build a well burning fire. If you're around most times, keep a small one going with a log or three during the day.
I hope you get the hang of it. Heating with wood is, IMO, a cozy, comfortable, enjoyment. I miss it.
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Fairness as equal treatment does not produce fairness as equal outcomes.
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