Wood-burning stove not burning properly - SOLVED

[Kong]

[quote user="ericd"][quote user="Quillan"]Mug of diesel and a match works for Mrs Q.[/quote] .......Lovely smell ....[/quote]

Yes, but what do you put on the fire?

[Théière]

[quote user="Kong"][quote user="ericd"][quote user="Quillan"]Mug of diesel and a match works for Mrs Q.[/quote] .......Lovely smell ....[/quote]

Yes, but what do you put on the fire?[/quote]

That would almost work if you could quote [:)]

[Kong]

I agree. Hit the button marked 'quote' and the gibberish appears. Perhaps I should get a browser that works instead of the stuff Mr Ga...s supplied me. Or is it the forum?

[andyh4]

It's the forum and there seems to be no desire from the owners to do anything about it - sadly.

[Théière]

Just change browser,

[Ian]

Well, I was wrong (again).

It wasn't the flue. It wasn't the wood. It was actually the stove - despite looking clean when I looked in the back, it was in fact full of dust.

When the ramoneur/plombier arrived, and we pulled the stove from the wall, I tried to show that the flue was clogged by lighting a smoke match at the inlet. You can imagine how I felt when the smoke just flew up the chimney.....

Whatever, it's now roaring away in the other room, and I'm warm and happy.

(Thinking back, the ramoneur we used to use cleaned the inside out as well - I remember him removing the metal pates in the fire box. I reckon I'll go back to him)

Thanks for everybody's advice.

Cheers

[ericd]

Perfect outcome. Hourra ! .... time to try your newly found way to start a fire "top-down" !

[idun]

Good. Glad it was not the wood, believe me if a load of wood is not up to the job, then it is not good.

Was going to try ericd's method to light the fire today, as ours had been left to go out to be swept today, but hadn't got the right size bits of wood to do it, so just used my normal method........ successfully.

[Ian]

@ericd - I've always used the traditional method (firelighters and kindling, from the bottom up) and it's always worked. But, the idea that a top down start helps to pre-heat the chimney has a certain logic.

Maybe I'll try the top down approach next time (which should be about October 2015)

@idun - I still suspect the wood may not be perfectly seasoned, but I can cope with that. I can split it a bit more, mix it with older, dry wood - as long as the stove draws, tout est possible.

Cheers

[woolybanana]

Just out of interest, if there had been a load of tar in the chimney, would the burning of one of those chemical logs have turned it into soot and therefore much easier to remove?

[Théière]

In the few times I have used those Wooly you could hear cracking and the residues fell down the flue pipe but as to it's ability to get all the way to the top of a chimney and still work I would be dubious.  I brush mine now and look up the chimney with my camera. That's how I discovered the very bad/dangerous roof into chimney stack [:-))]  That will be cured when I re do the roof and chimney building a smaller one more fitting of a wood burner for the 21st century.

More concerned that a Franco beige like other fires has places where soot can build up to spoil combustion. Bad design as usual but a potential for putting carbon monoxide into the room under that sort of situation. CO detector advised.