Michael Schuiling

DO NOT USE A Voglezang stove in a 14X14 combustible material area! I mean no disrespect to anyone! Voglezang makes a very inexpensive stove. However, they require large clearance areas because of their design. They will heat like the sun, because they are inefficient. But, they have a tendency to "run away" from an overfire. If they run away, it is nearly impossible to choke them down and keep the heat in a safe range.

I know this post may upset some. But, I have spent a great deal of my life working on these stoves. I have a NFPA certification and I am not making this up.

Don't skimp here. Get good quality stoves to heat small areas. Carbon monoxide is a serious issue in small areas.

Hope this helps.

Frostymedic

Jotul is an outstanding scandinavian stove company that has been around a LOOOONNGGG time. Their stoves are exceptionally fine. A couple of observations that strike me:

1. This is a large stove. Designed to heat a large area (1,600 sq. ft.). This stove has a huge firebox!

2. The chimney is huge!

3. You mention 'opening' the damper/air inlet/ draw control prior to opening the door.


These 3 issues are a major cause (and most common) of smoking. If the chimney is an exterior chimney (it appears to be) this is compounded by the cooling effect of the outdoors.

With stoves this large, it is easy to want to load them up and choke them down to get long burn times out of them. Smoke is a product of incomplete combustion… If the stove is oversized for the area that it is heating, people have a tendency to choke the air off to cool the room. This forces the stove to run inefficiently and cooler. The flue should run about 400 degrees constant to keep the smoke moving up the chimney. If it isn't that temp. the exhaust cools and sticks to the inside. When you open the door, the pressure in the firebox is high. But, the cooler / heavier air in the chimney is push the hotter air out of the feed door… Thus, the smoke in the room.


Suggestions:


1. Get a smaller stove. It is better to get a smaller stove and run it efficiently (and get the proper btu's out of it) then to get a big stove and keep it reigned in all the time.

2. With the Jotul; burn smaller, but, hotter fires. This may keep the room temps in a comfortable zone and keep the flue temps higher allowing the exhaust to make it to the top of the chimney and keep the pressure up in the chimney.

3. If you are forced to choke the air down; before opening the feed door, open the air inlet all the way, and get the wood to a free burning stage before opening the door. This will increase the heat in the chimney and increase draw.

4. Think about the chimney as the 'damper'. the chimney is what controls draw… If it isn't drawing air out of the stove, you have no efficiency… and that is bad… and dangerous.


Hope this helps.

Frostymedic

You can. You will lose some of the efficiency of the stove, but, it can be done. It is WAYY more efficient than a fireplace, too! The key to doing this safely is to attach a chimney liner from the stove to the top of the chimney.
Stoves work on draw and not draft. If you merely vent the stove up the chimney, the exhaust rapidly expands and cools inside the chimney. This will cause a buildup of soot in the chimney and set you up for a fire. A fireplace works on draft. Draft keeps the speed of the exhaust gases higher (with much more heat escaping up the flue) and this keeps the soot lower.

You can get more heat out of it if you use a blower.

This situation is called a "runaway stove" and can be quite dangerous. From the pictures you have posted, it appears that this has been an issue for some time now.
First things first: The Vermont Casting Encore is a fabulous stove that can be quite efficient and heats very well! However, due to the nature of the construction, it does require a bit of maintenance. It is a cast stove and must be 're-built' from time to time. This is dependent on how often it is used; if it is overtired; burning unseasoned wood; etc.
When these cast stoves are overtired, the joints may be compromised and will permit high volumes of air to enter the fire box. This lends itself to free-burning. The hotter the fire becomes…. The more air it draws. THe more air it draws, the hotter is gets and so-on and so-on. This is dangerous. Because it is getting air from the spaces in the joints of the stove, adjust and even closing the air feed control, will do little to stop it. Additionally, you may want to be certain to replace the feed door seals at least every other season, if not every season. I would recommend a complete rebuild. It is not a difficult process to DIY. Or, you may want to call a local shop to have them do it. Again…It is not too difficult.

From the pictures that you have posted, it appears that the fire back is cracked / broken. This, in and of itself will not permit a re-burn and will cause the stove to be severely inefficient. This need to be replaced.

Let me reiterate… This is a 'high-end' stove. Not a cheaply made stove and should last a lifetime. The Vermont Casting Stove Company has made this stove for many many years and many homes have been heated with them. Great stove. But, they do need rebuilt every so often.

Hope this helps.
Frostymedic