New stove, holy smokes

[Wood Doctor]

Once again, five years in a row, I could have easily sold all the "shorties" that I split for potbelly stoves and customers who wanted them to boost up fires with typical longer logs already burning. That included this year. The shorties also help the fire get things going when starting it. Every year short logs always get a bad rap. Most of the time I think it's because they don't stack up easily. Longer logs stack nicely, but nowadays many 18" logs cannot be loaded into woodstoves that claim to have an 18" log capacity. Just MHO.

 

[Nutball]

I like 14". I split them huge (8-9" on the narrowest dimension) and stick them in sideways for a better, longer burn. I like my kindling from the splitter too, but nobody has time for that junk.

 

[FTG-05]

There should be something about curing the paint in the manual or on a piece of paper specific to the paint. Maybe it was a cheap stove. You are supposed to ideally do the paint curing outside, but that's rarely practical as you might not get a good enough draft without a chimney mounted on it.

[snip]

That's what I did with my Englander 30-NC back in 2014 when I bought it. I got some cheap 4' of 6" single pipe from the local hardware store and fired it up. Could barely get to light or stay fired without the door slightly open. Called Englander and talked to a very nice Tech. He siad the stove wouldn't burn worth a crap with only a 4' section of pipe on it. He said, keep the door slightly open and see if I can burn all the crap off. Which is what I did. Worked to, because the wife didn't smell a thing with our first firing inside the house:

 

[Hoser]

I worked for awhile installing gas freestanding stoves and fireplaces and they always smoked horribly on first fire up. No way to work around it either on gas fired equipment atleast not that I found.

 

[Jusgunn3]

I just repainted my stove this year and we got instructions from the paint cans. Small kindling fire to start, let cool completely. Second fire a little bigger and burn for an hour or so, then 3rd fire can be normal. It didn’t smell on the first little fire, I assume the next bigger fire will smell a bit also but no smoke!

 

[Wood Doctor]

I just repainted my stove this year and we got instructions from the paint cans. Small kindling fire to start, let cool completely. Second fire a little bigger and burn for an hour or so, then 3rd fire can be normal. It didn’t smell on the first little fire, I assume the next bigger fire will smell a bit also but no smoke!

You have read good instructions. I seldom repaint my stove but each year I habitually do that with the first fall fire. I call it the break-in fire. Cheers!

 

[Al Smith]

I suppose I should run the brush through the stainless lined chimeny because I have forgotten if I did it the end of last season .Only takes about 15 minutes once a year .It's usually about the second week of November before I light the fire .If it doesn't get to and keep under 30 degrees it can cause old people to sit around in their underwear .Not a pretty sight .

 

[Nutball]

I burned a lot of white pine low and slow last year. Efficient heat output, but 1" thick soot buildup in the 8" liner. I ran some hot hardwood fires with Anti Creo Soot, but that only baked it dry, it didn't fall out on it's own.

 

[Al Smith]

Now pine is pretty good stuff.Makes for a nice fire in the fire ring and keeps the mosquitoes away .After two three hours with a group off friends solving the worlds problem everybody smells like a smoked ham . Beer optional