Ian Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 About 7 years ago, we had the stove installed - a Franco-Belge Normandie, about 13KW, with a liner in the old chimney. Right from the start, it worked amazingly well - with the vents open, it would roar into life just from a couple of embers, and give out SO much heat. We buy wood (well-seasoned oak) from the deputy maire during the summer, and keep it under cover in an old tractor shed.However, when I lit it last October (?), it didn't draw well - it was very reluctant to burn, so I had the chimney swept. This helped a bit, but it got worse again - would only burn with the vents fully open. So, I had the chimney swept again this morning - a little improvement, not much.In case it was the wood, I tried some left over from several years ago, so well seasoned now. Again, a bit better, but not much.I can only think of two reasons (A) the stove is clogged (B) the liner is damaged or not properly swept. I'm going to let the stove go out again tonight, then do a little bit of dismantling and cleaning tomorrow That'll eliminate (A), but if it doesn't work, has anybody any other ideas?Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 know you stored it in a shed but it may well be damp. It's difficult to explain buy you can sort of feel it by weight. I bought a meter from Amazon a few years back, only ten quid. You need heat to make it draw as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 It's got to be A or B, the trouble with professional ramoneurs is they don't use a camera like us amateurs to actually check all 7.5m of the liner. [:D]Very worth while following Q branch advice and getting a moisture meter saves a lot of issues later for a £10.Sadly not over for 3 weeks or I would pop over you're not far away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 @Quillan - you could be right. The wood feels heavy(ier). But then, if it's the new wood, the old stuff should burn well, if it's the climate, why this year?@Theiere - I've spoken with a friend nearby, who has the same stove/wood merchant. He swept his own chimney from above recently, and said the last 1-2 metres were almost closed with a hard deposit. I suspect that's where the problem lies in mine. The chimney isn't straight - it has a "chicane" - so the ramoneur may not be able to clean the top portion as well as he might want to.If tomorrow's inspection of the stove doesn't solve anything, I'll get someone to go up on the roof and sweep from the top. I don't know if my sweeps could do it, they're all plumbers by profession. Maybe I should ask my roofer - after all, he installed the liner in the first place.Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kong Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I've had similar problems this winter. My wood is just not dry enough. It was particularly wet last year and I think the wood simply hasn't seasoned well. Moisture meter has confirmed my suspicions. Not much I can do except try and find some dryer wood. I get through about 5 tonnes - that's a lot of expensive moisture! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 [quote user="Ian"]@Theiere - I've spoken with a friend nearby, who has the same stove/wood merchant. He swept his own chimney from above recently, and said the last 1-2 metres were almost closed with a hard deposit. I suspect that's where the problem lies in mine. The chimney isn't straight - it has a "chicane" - so the ramoneur may not be able to clean the top portion as well as he might want to.[/quote]Solid deposits in the chimney normally means the wrong wood or the wood is not seasoned correctly. You should be keeping your wood on a minimum of three year cycle, the boffins say five years if you have the space. Store it south facing so you get the maximum amount of sun in the summer and don't pack the heap to tight else the air won't circulate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 There is no wrong wood, some are better than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Quillan, I suspect there may be other factors at play, here, apart from the wood. It's a long chimney (10m) so it's going to get cold at the top, the lining is only 125mm diameter so is easy to clog, and (perhaps worst of all) I let the stove smoulder overnight, rather than have to relight it every morning. In my friend's case though, you may be right. Apart from what he buys, he also uses the wood he cuts, when he clears areas of his land .Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 We buy kiln dried wood these days, but have some wood that friends gave us, but that was left for three years and is fine. We also have a moisture thingy, not expensive and we wouldn't have used the wood friends gave us if it hadn't been dry. We ended up with wet wood at least one winter in France, and it was dreadful, not warm and clogged up the chimney.Our current chimney is at least 10m high and has a kink in it too. It gets a light sweep every six weeks, just to make sure the liner stays clear. So far so good, and thanks for the reminder, it was done just before xmas, so is ready for doing again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 In Sweden and Norway they don't import wood they have better wood burners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 [quote user="Théière"]In Sweden and Norway they don't import wood they have better wood burners.[/quote]In Norway, a place I lived for two years, their wood is seasoned for seven or more years to get the right calorific rating and to reduce the tar. Of course they have so many trees that wood which is seven years odd is very easy to find. When you see a Norwegian outside hi log cabin up in the mountins cutting wood it's not what he is about to burn it is to replace what he is burning. In France were there are also both you should season for around the same time or shorter depending on how south you live. You should not burn either of these woods if they are less than 5 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickP Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 We had a similar problem last year with our wood burner not drawing properly. The sweep said the problem is that the flue was blocked at the top, so they went onto the roof and attacked the tar build up with long spikes, then swept the chimney as usual. The sweep said this problem was occurring all over our region as last winter wasn't very cold, what happens is that because it's not really cold; people don't have the fire on full blast. He suggested that even if it's mild run the fire at full blast for at least 20-30 minutes every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 [quote user="Théière"]In Sweden and Norway they don't import wood they have better wood burners.[/quote]We have a swedish, Handol(now Contura) wood burner and it was made quite clear that we should use well dried logs. This is what it says in their lighting instructions and I would imagine that it is exactly the same for all fires to run efficiently.http://www.contura.eu/Documents/contura/gb/bav/bav_Contura_20_gb.pdfIt mentions 15-20% moisture, but frankly the drier the better as far as I am concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomoss Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 A couple of years ago we had a large bees' nest in the top part of our chimney liner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 [quote user="idun"][quote user="Théière"]In Sweden and Norway they don't import wood they have better wood burners.[/quote]We have a swedish, Handol(now Contura) wood burner and it was made quite clear that we should use well dried logs. This is what it says in their lighting instructions and I would imagine that it is exactly the same for all fires to run efficiently.http://www.contura.eu/Documents/contura/gb/bav/bav_Contura_20_gb.pdfIt mentions 15-20% moisture, but frankly the drier the better as far as I am concerned.[/quote]Absolutely, don't think I recommended trying to burn damp/wet wood no matter where in the world you are. Better combustion however with more efficient stoves will gasify the resins in the wood giving a higher heat output for the wood used and not clogging up the chimney. It seems that the comment of different types of wood has morphed [quote user="Théière"]There is no wrong wood, some are better than others.[/quote] It's just the comment about burning pine etc, not as good as hardwoods but still perfectly usable.http://www.wainwright.army.mil/env/PDFs/Forestry/Wood_Burning_Basics.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericd Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 There is obviously something different between a Franco Belge running well one year and poorly the second year. Hopefully you will get that sorted soon.Just wanted to add that starting your fires using the "top-down" method will improve the start-up (google it, plenty info on the web). I use the top-down method in both open chimney in the UK and wooden stove (Godin Grand Regence) in France with great success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 [quote user="ericd"]Just wanted to add that starting your fires using the "top-down" method will improve the start-up (google it, plenty info on the web). I use the top-down method in both open chimney in the UK and wooden stove (Godin Grand Regence) in France with great success.[/quote]Seconded, much cleaner, quicker way to light and less frequent door opening make less smoke into the room.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG_urpcjp7M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Well, I let the stove go out last night. This morning, rather than dismantle it, I pulled it away from the wall and poked my hand into the outlet. There was negligible soot ot dust, so I reckon the stove's not clogged.So, I called the ramoneur/plombier and explained the problem. He's coming tomorrow afternoon - on verra.Thanks for all the advice - I'll let you know how I get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 The trouble with damp wood is that sometimes one is sold it as 'dry' and that is all that is available and as we were, snookered and stuck with it and literally we were. Struggling financially, ie young with a big mortgage and the money for the heating already gone on the damp wood.The other problem is that some people, not suggesting that this is the OP in any shape or form, rather, those I know, won't accept that what they burn is not dry,that is doesn't and cannot burn 'hot' and to top it all, mucking up their chimney. ericd, I have just looked at the top down method and it makes sense. I have never had problems lighting our fire, but will bear it in mind.When we were looking for our wood burners, out of a huge show area, the vendor recommended Franco Belge, he had one himself and in his opinion were the rolls royce of wood burners. Bear in mind that these were in no way the dearest wood burners on sale. We didn't buy one, as I wanted something with soap stone, and there was little choice 'then', there is now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericd Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 ericd, I have just looked at the top down method and it makes sense. I have never had problems lighting our fire, but will bear it in mind.Idun, the advantage of the "Top Down" method is multi folds:- Get a flame going rapidly- The heat of this small fire goes straight up the chimney thus starting the cycle of hot air rising that draws cold air from below (instead of losing its efficiency working its way through heavy ,logs on top)- No risk of heavy logs falling onto the kindling starving the fire of Oxygen.- 100% success rate as you are making a fire on a bed of wood which only asks to burn.In order to make it even more efficient, I keep all my old household rags, tear them into strips and deep them into melted left over candle wax that I keep into an old pan. The waxed rags do provide a strong flame giving the fire plenty time to get going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I have used many methods to light a fire, all have worked so far. At the moment, with us having a soap stone fire, the whole thing is still warm in the morning and there is lots and lots of braze, so a couple of sheets of newspaper rolled up and about three bits of kindling and it is lit, well lights itself usually. Within a minute or so, I can put on one or sometimes two very small logs, and away we go again.If I was starting again, I would have a Willach KG (http://www.soap-stone.com/) fire. We looked into Tulikivi and Nuuna Unni,I had seen the tulikivi in action in France and was well impressed. But couldn't get either in the UK, in spite of being led to believe that the nuuna unni may be available. Hence we ended up with the only soapstones we could find and we chose Handols, by the contura company. How things have changed since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Mug of diesel and a match works for Mrs Q. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericd Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 [quote user="Quillan"]Mug of diesel and a match works for Mrs Q.[/quote] .......Lovely smell .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 [quote user="idun"]by the contura company. [/quote]Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 [quote user="ericd"][quote user="Quillan"]Mug of diesel and a match works for Mrs Q.[/quote] .......Lovely smell ....[/quote]You should see her with the BBQ, I haven't let on it's gas yet. Gives an interesting flavour to the food, it's an aquired taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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