Exploding wood stove

Yankeesouth · February 16, 2012, 12:54:42 PM

I recently saw a blurb somewhere about an Amish family that was killed by an exploding wood stove. What would cause this to happen? Can the average wood stove owner explode their stove?

itpdk9 · February 16, 2012, 01:15:14 PM

If its the same one that I am thinking of I think it was kerosene that caused the explosion.

February 16, 2012, 01:17:09 PM

Yes it can occur. But to the extent to cause death to a family I am not sure about that. Maybe some underlying combustionables closeby. Serious injury maybe. If the stove is loaded on an already hot ember bed and the gases are not allowed to combust and build up within the stove a sudden ignition can occur. This is usually caused by the damper being closed and not allowing the stove to draft and ignite. Funny you should mention this post. Last week I was talking to a relative who has a Joutel free standing stove which this actually occured to. When his stove ignited under these conditions it actually blew the flue pipe completely off the stove. He was not a novice at woodburning stoves either. He had just failed to open the damper and allow the freshly stoked stove to draw and ignite.

I even find myself experiencing this on a much smaller scale. Adding firewood to my stove for which there was not quite sufficent hot embers to immediately ignite and they more or less "smolter" both from the lack of sufficent heat or air supply. Then suddenly they will ignite when the door is opened to check on.

MountainDon · February 16, 2012, 01:23:50 PM

Water to steam explosion? As in some people have built their own water heating device using a some system of pipes to circulate water through the stove. If the water flows slows or xeases and explosion can result. Steam explosions can pack a real power.

Yankeesouth · February 16, 2012, 01:42:26 PM

So far you hit on the things I was thinking of that could cause a stove to explode. I was thinking some type of gas build up but couldn't figure out how that could happen unless the stovepipe were completely clogged or closed and even then I would figure it would smother itself out. The other theory I had was kind of like dons but dealing more with wet logs and steam.

February 16, 2012, 02:15:41 PM

Hostettler Sr. and his 5-year-old son Andy, both suffered third-degree burns to 50 percent of their bodies when a wood-burning stove exploded while Hostettler was trying to restart it with kerosene. Another boy, 4-year-old Ervin Jr., died of burns the day after the fire.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8543032

MountainDon · February 16, 2012, 02:17:45 PM

Etremely doubtful that inserting wet wood could cause an explosion. Steam explosions happen with the sudden rupture of a vessel/pipe that contains superheated steam, steam under pressure.

kerosene on the other hand.....

Redoverfarm · February 16, 2012, 02:32:46 PM

Quote from: MountainDon on February 16, 2012, 02:17:45 PM
Etremely doubtful that inserting wet wood could cause an explosion. Steam explosions happen with the sudden rupture of a vessel/pipe that contains superheated steam, steam under pressure.

kerosene on the other hand.....

Don there are some "ole timers" who still soak corn cobs in kerosene. Once they are saturated for some time they are set to dry and they use them to start fires. Sort of like the wax starting sticks I guess.

MountainDon · February 16, 2012, 03:12:47 PM

That is a little different from using liquid kerosene, which is what I assumed was used...

February 16, 2012, 03:15:17 PM

Quote from: MountainDon on February 16, 2012, 03:12:47 PM
That is a little different from using liquid kerosene, which is what I assumed was used...

Yes I guess the residue is left on the cob's from soaking so there is not great chance of explosion.

Don_P · February 16, 2012, 08:10:14 PM

A cookstove with a water jacket exploded nearby years ago killing the father of a family. Unknown to him it had frozen overnight and when he lit it, it made steam before it could vent itself.

I blew the door off one of those little round tin stoves one night. We arrived at our little shed, it was raining and the woodpile was wet. I had saved a bunch of fatwood, lighter knot, inside and put a bunch in to get a fast fire going. Succeeding that, my fast fire then had the stove dancing on the floor. A couple of good snorts of smoke and flame out the intake, and it proceeded to blow the little sheet metal door across the room. That was pretty much a stove full of turpentine