What's Going on?

musikfan6 · Post by **musikfan6** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 10:22 am

OK, this is odd, folks.

I just checked my stove and the thermostat on the surface is reading almost 600 degrees. That's really high for my stove, and it almost never gets that high unless the hopper is empty. I just looked inside and my hopper is still about 1/3 full but the coals are starting to burn IN THE HOPPER - they're starting to glow! What' s going on? I have my stove set at 4 which is "normal". It's only about 26 degrees outside right now. This is weird. What should I do??

WNY · Post by **WNY** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 10:23 am

Is it windy? its probably pulling a better draft....

musikfan6 · Post by **musikfan6** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 10:28 am

WNY wrote:Is it windy? its probably pulling a better draft....

Not really. I am running the circulator on my furnace right now, just to get the air distributed through the house.

Is it safe for the stove if what I described starts happening? Should I just fill the hopper up all the way, or will that just make it worse?

WNY · Post by **WNY** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 10:37 am

Maybe you have an air leak, door seal, vent, etc.....it might be pulling more draft somewhere. Are you running a Baro Damper?

Also, have you changed coal? Some burn a bit differently then others.

musikfan6 · Post by **musikfan6** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 10:42 am

WNY wrote:Maybe you have an air leak, door seal, vent, etc.....it might be pulling more draft somewhere. Are you running a Baro Damper?

Also, have you changed coal? Some burn a bit differently then others.

I have one of those "generic" dampers that just has the flap with the weight, no numbers or fancy adjusters.

no, I haven't changed coal- still working through the same load I got a the beginning of the season.

I have no leaks to my knowledge, but then I'm a novice at this and would not know the signs of any leaks in the seals, vents, ect. Everything appears to be burning normal.

This just has never happened before. The coal in the hopper only ever starts to ignite if it is just about empty. I'm not sure if this is due to the fact that I'm running the stove on 4 for a longer amount of time and the stove is just burning harder. Not sure at this point....

SteveZee · Post by **SteveZee** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 10:51 am

Check above the hopper(door to hopper if it has one) to make sure there no air leak from above. Sometimes a bit of coal cuts caught in the groove and the door above the hopper doesn't seal.
If its ok, fill the hopper up and shake down. The fresh coal will bring it down a bit and dial back to 3 if you're not comfortable running at 600. I can run my cylinder at 600 and do on cold days. Eats a bit more coal but thats about it.

musikfan6 · Post by **musikfan6** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 2:00 pm

THanks for the advice folks.

I said earlier that it wasn't windy today, but I went outside and it's pretty blustery, so I'm sure that this is drawing a stronger draft on my chimney which is probably making my stove burn faster. Shook down and refilled the hopper. Just checked it a few minutes ago and everything looks "normal". We'll relax now!

Good day to you all!

Post by **franco b** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 3:27 pm

If you take a flashlight you can see the thermostat flap on the right side. Be aware that there is a small flap door within the larger door. If with that high heat situation the doors are not closed then the problem is there. If the flaps are closed then I would suspect the ash door not sealing.

musikfan6 · Post by **musikfan6** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 6:24 pm

franco b wrote:If you take a flashlight you can see the thermostat flap on the right side. Be aware that there is a small flap door within the larger door. If with that high heat situation the doors are not closed then the problem is there. If the flaps are closed then I would suspect the ash door not sealing.

Did you see my last post? I checked it again not long ago and everything looks normal now. Do you think it was the high winds outside?? It was weird, but now it seems ok.

Post by **franco b** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 8:58 pm

musikfan6 wrote: Did you see my last post? I checked it again not long ago and everything looks normal now. Do you think it was the high winds outside?? It was weird, but now it seems ok.

If with high wind and consequent high draft the stove wants to over fire it indicates that excess air is getting into the stove somewhere, most likely through the ash pit door or less likely the thermostat is not closing. Play with the baro you have to get it to open more easily. Wait for windy cold conditions and adjust it so that the flap opens with wind gusts.

wsherrick · Post by **wsherrick** » Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 9:08 pm

You have the classic symptoms of an air leak.

I'm On Fire · Post by **I'm On Fire** » Sun. Jan. 15, 2012 5:16 am

I agree with the air leak consensus. I had the same problem with my stove's hopper doing the same thing earlier this season. I shut the drive down on a Friday, changed all door gaskets Saturday and was back up and running by Sunday afternoon and haven't had any more issues.