why does the window on my wood burner go black?

Question

I will add some details so you can answer the question better. I have a Euroheat Harmony 23 and it was professionally installed by a certified HETAS installer. The flue in my house is lined with what looks like concrete blocks (what they are actual made of i don't know) but the builder of the house and the HETAS installer both said it would be fine for a fire to be fitted either an open fire or stove. From the stove the black Steele pipe goes up into the flue where the pipe then stops but a register plate seals it off so you can't look "up" ....The installer fitted a Cowl to the top of the chimney.

My house is brick made, the chimney is on the outside wall of the house and sticks out (i.e. it's not flush with the wall of the house, the whole chimney sticks out).

Now down to the problem, we light the fire in the proper way using shredded and crumpled newspaper and using kindling in a loose "wigwam" shape...with all the settings of the stove in the correct lighting position. WE ONLY USE SEASONED Hardwood like Oak and Ash and some softwood like beech (NEVER PINE), i have a moisture meter and unless the wood is less than 18% moisture then we don't burn it so don't say the problem maybe the wood were using (we leave our wood to dry in a wood shack once we have chopped it).

So down to the actual problem now I've described everything else. We light the stove only in the winter and usually around 3pm so the main lounge area is nice and warm come 7pm that night...we keep the fire in until 1am the following morning (overnight burning would be a waste for us as no one use the lounge until night time so we relight the fire come the afternoon), we have no problems lighting the fire and have a good draw from the flue!

So here are the problems 1) A general layer of dust and smoke seems to coat the glass within an hour or so of lighting the stove EVERYDAY THIS HAPPENS 2) When we wake in the morning all the wood has gone and burnt well (which is good).... BUT the screen is usually covered in a light brown colour and smoke patches...so the screen needs to be cleaned each and every day....my question is why as we use everything the way it is suppose to and the wood we use is dry.

I would appreciate your comments and any of your stories, have you had this problem?? Are you a Stove fitter or seller?? Please whatever you say don't say are you using dry wood or are you using the stove properly as we ONLY use dry hardwood and softwood and follow the manufactures guide to the letter.... please help

Answer 1

Shows you what c**p you are sending into the atmosphere.



Get a nice clean burning gas fire and save the planet.



Burning wood isn't the answer.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Hi. I'm in New Zealand and recommend that you have a look at our product, the FlueCube (www.fluecube.com). Worth a look on YouTube too. Generally this cube shaped cowl produces perfect flue conditions to send gases upward - even in slower burning conditions overnight as the fire burns out. It was designed to combat issues with atmospheric back pressure and has resulted in many benefits. We could see that laws dictating appliance change-outs were producing few benefits to the wood heating public. Appliances were being certified in artificial conditions and it was obvious.



Soot will blacken the glass due to poor combustion conditions inside the firebox overnight. As the fire loses heat, the flue above begins to cool from the top down. Enclosed log burning systems with the FlueCube installed not only keep clean but give the operator much better control with their air damper. Leaving it low overnight will still burn the wood efficiently to charcoal and leave embers to relight in the morning. Certification for 'clean' appliances generally ignores the fact that a cold flue impacts pollution significantly, that inversion layers and general winter atmospheric conditions impact the performance of combustion; that whatever you focus on inside the firebox to improve combustion is still subject to the weather conditions above it.

Answer 4

Wood heat has it's issues and this is one of them. Soot can be a result of an inefficient fire, insufficient chimney length, Improper chimney design, blocked intakes and poor stove design. Do you know if your black stove pipe extends completely up the chimney? If not, that's likely your problem.



First have your chimney and air intakes inspected and cleaned by a professional (preferably not the ones you used before). Secondly make sure your wood is well seasoned (very dry). Because wood is a natural fiber, it does release and draw moisture from the air. (which is why guitarists protect their guitars with humidifiers to keep them from cracking)





To clean the soot from your glass... don't bother with chemicals which can exacerbate the problem by leaving residues that attract the soot. Just dip a wet cloth (dedicate one to this) in the ashes and use that to clean the glass, then dry with news paper. It works surprisingly well.



Finally, remember that fire is fire and has ash, smoke and soot. If the soot thing is driving you crazy perhaps it isn't the best choice for you.

Answer 5

If you want to start a woodworking project, you need all the necessary information, including schematics, blueprints, materials lists, dimensions etc. That is where Teds Woodworking comes in. The plans are clearly drawn and there're step-by-step explainations of how the plan should be done and put together. Go here https://tr.im/N9D43



There are several other sites whose collection of plans have the dimensions totally wrong without any indication of parts lists, material lists or the tools needed. If you're one of those people who have bought plans like this in the past, Teds Woodworking will change your perception.

Answer 6

This is going to happen to some extent no matter what you do. Burning wood is a messy business. One thing that effects how much accumulation that you get on the glass is how hot the fire is. By letting your fire burn low and then eventually die out you will have more problems keeping the glass clean. I use a cleaner called Rutland Fireplace Glass Cleaner. It does a good job of cleaning and also helps a bit with keeping it clean.

Answer 7

Euroheat Harmony

Answer 8

1

Answer 9

This is a common problem. I have a multifuel burner and set it to feed the air from under the grate with coal and above the grate when burning wood. This means that the incoming air blows down the windows, helping to keep them free of stains. I'm not sure if you can do this with your model.

Answer 10

Its gonna turn black. Its soot and ash and smoke build up. My parents have had many different types of wood burners, they now have a wood pellet burner. Every single one of them has done this same thing. It is unavoidable.



Edit- we burn anything and everything. Ash, oak, pine, maple, etc. So i guess maby it is avoidable. Sorry i guess im not much help.

Answer 11

its damp in yr wood , or u havent the airwash vent open enuff , i have one and its trial and error , use a cloth dampened with some ash from the grate to clean it up