We bought a baby bear fisher woodstove last week and we are having problems getting it to burn right. We also have a the real big fisher I think papa bear and it burns great. The problem w/ the little one is the fire gets sucked to the back and goes out,we do have a damper in the pipe and have fooled w/ the front damper but cant figure it out. The wood stove is hooked to a chimney that the furnace use to be on I am wondering if there is to much draw? The stove is long and narrow and the logs barley fit should we cut them? If the chimney is drawing to much how do you fix it? it is a very old brick that we lined last year. thank you

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), January 01, 2001

Answers

My great aunt had a woodstove similar to what you describe and she had to route her stovepipe from the stove to the wall diferently than it was to reduce the draw to slow the burn. Sorry that I cant remember how they routed it, it was 30 years ago. Hoot may know more.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), January 01, 2001.

Renee! Don't know if I know anymore than Jay but when we encountered that problem we reduced the opening/outlet of the chimney itself. Nuther words--the poor boy way of fix'n it was to partially cover the chimney at the top. By usin the damper and draft door, you will reduce the "draw" on the stove. Don't cover too much as it will fail to draw enough to vent the smoke outside. hoot. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), January 01, 2001.

I had a Mama Bear Fisher for yearsand years. If I remember right, they are airtights and there not supposed to be any damper in the stove pipe. We had ours in a fireplace chimney for awhile, but when we put a stainless steel double pipe straight up from the stove and through the roof, we found that we got a better and more even and longer lasting burn. I would suspect that you need to take the damper out of the stove pipe. Your damper is on the door of the stove isn't it? If there is too much draw from the chimney, I would think that the stove would be taking off and burning like fury. Just my opinion. Judith

-- Judith (JHaral2197@aol.com), January 08, 2001.

Had a Mama Bear for many years, wish we still had it. No problem with the draw. Screw the side vents closed and back off a half a turn and it will hold fire all night. Open them up all the way and it will run you out of the house. Best product of the market.

-- Duncan (dwedd@edge.net), July 28, 2001.

I have had a papa bear fisher stove as backup for several years now and just love how it performs......Some have the opinion that one should not have a damper on the pipe...I realize there are dampers on the front but the old folks couldnt be all wrong, they had a damper on the chimney always....you need one (my opinion) to control the heat being siphoned up the chimney .....Also my neighbors were complaining of creosote flowing over the chimney, I have never had that problem even while burning some green wood, because I never close the front too tight at night or at other times...the condensation must be drawn out the chimney and not allowed to stay in the stove long...my neighbors were trying to save all the heat and were getting in trouble....also while it is said you cant burn coal in the fisher stove, I have been burning coal and wood in mine for years,just dont put coal too close to the sides and dont put too much in there and have some ashes in the bottom and you will be ok....I have done this for years with good results and saved lots of wood, Im sure.....Im not an expert on these stoves....just life experience....thought you all might like to know...Have a warm day by the fire......Garland

-- Garland L. Bond (Garland@swva.net), February 11, 2002.

If I remember correctly the fishers were airtight stoves. A damper in the flue should not be necessary in any airtight stove. The fire is regulated by the air that is let into the stove. Does the door have a gasket on it? Use a piece of paper , close the door on it, and see if you can pull the paper out. Go around the whole door and this will tell you if you have a good seal. Next, check the air inlets. do they close properly or have they become warped? Someone above mentioned creosote running down the stove or the pipe. If this happens, you have installed the stovepipe upside down. The male ends point down and the female ends point up. that way the creosote stays inside the pipe. If the pipe smokes at the joint when installed like this, you have other problems, like a dirty flue, not enough draw or ?? jz

-- jz (oz49us@yahoo.com), February 12, 2002.

the fisher model in question was definitely an airtight stove and, as such, did not require a damper in the flue. a flue damper might not necessarily interfere with combustion but is simply not needed. (my personal favorite fisher was the grandma bear, not as efficient as the papa or mama but was built wide rather than deep. it had double doors and, with the optional screen, made a reasonable facsimile of a fireplace).

-- cracker (cracker@nospam.com), February 13, 2002.