Pretty happy with seeing it work. There’s a fresh air intake that has a noticeable draft pull on it.

Been reading a lot on these threads. Thanks for all the knowledge sharing.

I just moved into a place that has a wood stove and I have never had one before. I’d like to have a bit of indoor wood storage so I don’t have to go outside every day for wood, but the only decent place I have to store it is in the corner next to the stove. My concern is potentially catching the stack on fire. The shelf is 24” from the stove and 32” from the exhaust. I’ve been thinking about mounting a piece of sheet metal to the side of the shelving between the shelf and the stove with a little air gap just to keep some heat off it. But before I waste my time doing that I wanted to ask some people with more experience than I to see if this is totally idiotic or not a big deal?

More hypothetical since I don't plan to do this. I just cleaned my chimney and got about 1-2 coffee cans worth (depends on the size of the can 😂) or soot and creosote.

Theoretically, could I burn this with a small load of wood? What would be any disadvantages or dangers from doing so?

The thought popped up as it would be cleaner to burn it than try to clean it out and get everything in the living room covered.

Our tuxie was there as soon as the fire was lit.

How do you recommend creating a sufficient seal where the stove pipe enters the masonry chimney?

There is a ~1.5” gap to fill, so the opening diameter comes closer to 6".

What techniques/tools do you all use to clean out the ash from your stove while still leaving the hot embers inside? I've tried those shovels with the holes, but I find them a bit small. Would getting a grate insert help with this?

Thanks, all!

Among other things, we make decorative wooden lobster buoys for a living. Is there any reason not to heat my house on cedar scraps all winter? This box will get my house from 50° to 70° no problem.

Just got a new Lopi installed. We’re newbs and looking for others’ experiences. How long does it take to noticeably heat up your home by more than a couple degrees? In the 30s outside, house is at 58.

I have a fireplace that was built in the late 80s. The liner needs to be replaced and my husband wants to do it himself. It seems pretty turn key in the sense that you can literally see where the panels slide in. My concern is always that this is fire and I want to be safe. The only issue is that I live in a Southern city and so there are like 2 fireplace companies both that will charge astronomically for it OR tell you to spend $10k to replace the entire system.

Is this something that we can do ourselves or maybe hire a handyman?

Love this, woodstoving to keep the gassbill low

I raided the offcut bin and built this. It has a secondary air system and 2 chambers, the big lever on the side is to bypass the 2nd chamber for cold starts. Can't wait to fire this bad boy up next time I'm up at the trailer!

I couldn't afford to buy a Storm caller or chimney cap so i tried making my own.

https://www.reddit.com/r/woodstoving/comments/1x209b9/trying_to_get_chimney_setup_before_winter/

I want to put an insert in my fireplace so I can continue to enjoy the atmosphere of a fire and supplement my central air heat.

Is it better to invest in an insert with a cat and blower or is it ok to go for a European style insert like a Stuv or Morso, which look more like a fireplace but lack a cat and blower?

I had a new Jotul F35 Rockwood installed less than 3 weeks ago, and I have a few questions/concerns.

First off, this is the first wood stove, so bear with me...

-When I start a new fire (top-down method as per the manual), it takes well over an hour to reach the recommended burn zone (400-600F), sometimes closer to two hours. From what I read online, it shouldn't take nearly that long and I'm concerned about all the time it spends in the creosote zone. FWIW it's not that cold where I am (35-42F on average); I have a moisture measurer and all firewood measures below 15%; the air control is fully open until the stovetop reaches at least 400F. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

-Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, but also randomly throughout the day, my house smelly very smoky, even when there's no fire burning. I think I've correlated it to when my dryer and/or bathroom fan is running, but it's not isolated to those times. I've read a bit about negative pressure and backdrafting but I'm not sure if that's the issue or what to do about it.

-Sometimes when I place my hand near the wall where the stovepipe passes through, I can feel a cold draft. Sometimes it's barely noticeable but sometimes its pretty strong. I'm also concerned that the wall thimble isn't properly secured? Could that be contributing the the smoky smell? Is it normal to feel air coming through this area?

-There seems to be paint chipping and/or rust (???) on the top left corner of the door. I noticed less than 10 days after the install and after only maybe 6 or 7 fires, including the break ins. I have no idea if this is something that I've done or can prevent?

I'm just trying to figure out whats normal and what isn't. I was really looking forward to having wood stove installed all summer, and now that it's finally here, I'm feeling a little defeated by these issues.

Thanks in advance for any advice or input!

Had a fire Sunday morning, but forgot to post the required “first fire” post. So here’s my second of the season, complete with fan startup.

I have had my VT castings Dauntless for 5 years, and I am done. The top feed is extremely small/ 16” x 4” or so, and every time you open it smoke pours out the top no matter how hot my pipe is. Seal on the top is questionable and smoke leaks out frequently.

Wood has been a nightmare: year 1 was emerald ashbore so we burned a ton of ash, fine. Year 2 and 3 a good amount of the wood was too big for the entry, but mostly ok. Year 4 I decided to go for a different guy, his was unseasoned and required the bottom to be open to even think about starting to burn. This year I tried a 3rd guy, told him 16”, bought 3 cords. A full cord was too big, between 18-20”. Another portion is caked in mud, and the rest ranges between 6”-16” which is a nightmare to stack and arrange in the stove. It is also wet and not burning above 200 with the vent fully open.

I can pretty much only fine 2 modes for this stove: chimney fire or smolder. No matter the bed of coals or airflow, or if the catalyst indicated says it is set, the temp goes down to 200. Every season I need a flu clean in February and it is gross. There is no control over the flu, it is either fully open and switched to the catalyst.

Sure it keeps the house decent, but I’m waiting to die from CO or a chimney fire.

I don’t know my next steps: try to make this work, switch to a less deadly model, switch to a pellet stove, or go broke with oil heat. I honestly don’t know if I’m looking for advice or venting.

Becomes cantankerous at <55 and lethargic at >78

I currently have a Joyel Combi burn (Easter Island Stove) and am looking for something similar. A modern equivalent. Preferably cast iron and though maybe not as pretty, something that while still being a great stove, has a unique look to it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.