Hearthstone Equinox

FireWalker · Dec 18, 2011

WBH,

I re-read above, really, you are burning 7 full cords, damn, that's a lot of wood. I had about 5 set up for this year and it's more than I'm going to use, my December row in the shed is still going strong and will go well into January. You should let that puppy go full out one afternoon and really carefully inspect everything. Something is just not right if your wood is dry, look carefully at all the doors for ash buildup and proper sealing. I understand leaks would tend to make for too hot out of control fires but, you never know. Anyway, just a thought!

woodmiser · Dec 18, 2011

FireWalker said:
What setting are you using for burns both when you are hanging with the stove and then for overnight burns.

I ask because lately I have been really burning hard after work......getting the stove hot while burning a whole load between 5:30 and 9:30 with the pipe damper closed and primary air set to around 1/4 open. This gets a jump on overnight heating, the rocks are hot, I load up for the night and set the air to near full off......works great!

That's what I do. I've found that getting that sucker hot and maintaining it hot gets the house hot!

wellbuilt home · Dec 19, 2011

FireWalker said:
WBH,

I re-read above, really, you are burning 7 full cords, damn, that's a lot of wood. I had about 5 set up for this year and it's more than I'm going to use, my December row in the shed is still going strong and will go well into January. You should let that puppy go full out one afternoon and really carefully inspect everything. Something is just not right if your wood is dry, look carefully at all the doors for ash buildup and proper sealing. I understand leaks would tend to make for too hot out of control fires but, you never know. Anyway, just a thought!

You guys are killing me with all this hot rock/stove talk .
I had the flue pipe off for a cleaning Friday and it was not bad 2/3 coffee cans of stuff for 28 feet of flue .
The inside had some ash 1/2" buy the flue pipe .
The door gaskets seem ok they wont suck smoke to the door .
If i close the air off the stove smolders and will go out .
Every thing seems ok inside except my professional chimney sweep popped a hole thru my baffle in the center of the flue collar .( Guys a bone head )
My wood pile is 5x 10' x 20' and the sides taper out to 14' so there mite be 8 or 9 cord but there was 1 1/2 cord left over maybe .
I tried the north /south burn last year and it was easier to load and seemed like i can get the stove very full but i dont see more then 3 or4 hrs of temps over 300o .
Ive been sitting buy the stove all day throwing wood in it and there is 4" of Cole's , stove top is 325 o
house is 68 inside outside temp is 21o .
if not for the fan blowing on the side of the stove i would be cold 8' away . John

Todd · Dec 19, 2011

wellbuilt home said:
FireWalker said:

WBH,

I re-read above, really, you are burning 7 full cords, damn, that's a lot of wood. I had about 5 set up for this year and it's more than I'm going to use, my December row in the shed is still going strong and will go well into January. You should let that puppy go full out one afternoon and really carefully inspect everything. Something is just not right if your wood is dry, look carefully at all the doors for ash buildup and proper sealing. I understand leaks would tend to make for too hot out of control fires but, you never know. Anyway, just a thought!

Click to expand...

You guys are killing me with all this hot rock/stove talk .
I had the flue pipe off for a cleaning Friday and it was not bad 2/3 coffee cans of stuff for 28 feet of flue .
The inside had some ash 1/2" buy the flue pipe .
The door gaskets seem ok they wont suck smoke to the door .
If i close the air off the stove smolders and will go out .
Every thing seems ok inside except my professional chimney sweep popped a hole thru my baffle in the center of the flue collar .( Guys a bone head )
My wood pile is 5x 10' x 20' and the sides taper out to 14' so there mite be 8 or 9 cord but there was 1 1/2 cord left over maybe .
I tried the north /south burn last year and it was easier to load and seemed like i can get the stove very full but i dont see more then 3 or4 hrs of temps over 300o .
Ive been sitting buy the stove all day throwing wood in it and there is 4" of Cole's , stove top is 325 o
house is 68 inside outside temp is 21o .
if not for the fan blowing on the side of the stove i would be cold 8' away . John

What size are the splits your burning? Have you tried a full load of smaller 2-4" diameter splits?

woodmiser · Dec 19, 2011

wellbuilt home said:
FireWalker said:

WBH,

I re-read above, really, you are burning 7 full cords, damn, that's a lot of wood. I had about 5 set up for this year and it's more than I'm going to use, my December row in the shed is still going strong and will go well into January. You should let that puppy go full out one afternoon and really carefully inspect everything. Something is just not right if your wood is dry, look carefully at all the doors for ash buildup and proper sealing. I understand leaks would tend to make for too hot out of control fires but, you never know. Anyway, just a thought!

Click to expand...

You guys are killing me with all this hot rock/stove talk .
I had the flue pipe off for a cleaning Friday and it was not bad 2/3 coffee cans of stuff for 28 feet of flue .
The inside had some ash 1/2" buy the flue pipe .
The door gaskets seem ok they wont suck smoke to the door .
If i close the air off the stove smolders and will go out .
Every thing seems ok inside except my professional chimney sweep popped a hole thru my baffle in the center of the flue collar .( Guys a bone head )
My wood pile is 5x 10' x 20' and the sides taper out to 14' so there mite be 8 or 9 cord but there was 1 1/2 cord left over maybe .
I tried the north /south burn last year and it was easier to load and seemed like i can get the stove very full but i dont see more then 3 or4 hrs of temps over 300o .
Ive been sitting buy the stove all day throwing wood in it and there is 4" of Cole's , stove top is 325 o
house is 68 inside outside temp is 21o .
if not for the fan blowing on the side of the stove i would be cold 8' away . John

Did you watch my video and see if you were doing anything different? You either have lousy wood or a bad draft or both. Certainly not something wrong with the stove unless the air is somehow blocked or the damper control isn't working properly.

blacktop37 · Dec 19, 2011

Hello everyone third year on my EQ. love the stove. Heating 2500 sq ft to 78 another 350 stays about 65. I am in the osage orange capitol of the world, Kansas. My home is very well insulated, 20 ft cathedral on 25% of floor. I heat from about Dec 1 off and on till Jan 1, then 24,7 till March 1 then done middle of March. 2 cords MAX, sometimes less. 28 ft insulated 8in flu inside a masonary tile. OAK a must, home all electric and very tight.
Start stove with light dry wood. Within 1 hr 300. 2hr, 400, shortly after 450 cruise. My stove stays so consistent it is unreal. After hot fire going, 3 large rounds or splits every three hours. 10 pm try to load 4, all nite till 730 am stovetop still 300-325. (when working thru week 7:30-5:00 nun added), get home lot of coal, 300 stove top.
WHEN TEMP GETS DOWN TO 5F OR BELOW with any wind at all, formulas are gone, throwing it in hand over fist. When in cruise primary air is 80%CLOSED.
One last thing, if I get the fire hot and open up the primary air all the way, it will turn the stove into a blast furnace.
I have had no regrets with this stove, coming from 21 years with a Blazeking smoke dragon

wellbuilt home · Dec 19, 2011

woodmiser said:
wellbuilt home said:

FireWalker said:

WBH,

I re-read above, really, you are burning 7 full cords, damn, that's a lot of wood. I had about 5 set up for this year and it's more than I'm going to use, my December row in the shed is still going strong and will go well into January. You should let that puppy go full out one afternoon and really carefully inspect everything. Something is just not right if your wood is dry, look carefully at all the doors for ash buildup and proper sealing. I understand leaks would tend to make for too hot out of control fires but, you never know. Anyway, just a thought!

Click to expand...

You guys are killing me with all this hot rock/stove talk .
I had the flue pipe off for a cleaning Friday and it was not bad 2/3 coffee cans of stuff for 28 feet of flue .
The inside had some ash 1/2" buy the flue pipe .
The door gaskets seem ok they wont suck smoke to the door .
If i close the air off the stove smolders and will go out .
Every thing seems ok inside except my professional chimney sweep popped a hole thru my baffle in the center of the flue collar .( Guys a bone head )
My wood pile is 5x 10' x 20' and the sides taper out to 14' so there mite be 8 or 9 cord but there was 1 1/2 cord left over maybe .
I tried the north /south burn last year and it was easier to load and seemed like i can get the stove very full but i dont see more then 3 or4 hrs of temps over 300o .
Ive been sitting buy the stove all day throwing wood in it and there is 4" of Cole's , stove top is 325 o
house is 68 inside outside temp is 21o .
if not for the fan blowing on the side of the stove i would be cold 8' away . John

Click to expand...

Did you watch my video and see if you were doing anything different? You either have lousy wood or a bad draft or both. Certainly not something wrong with the stove unless the air is somehow blocked or the damper control isn't working properly.

great video , Well im definitely not standing around the stove with the door open , but i have run loads of wood with the air open and no damper and only once did i hit 600+ and it happened when i was napping in the lazy boy .
(The stove all most cooked my ear off )
I have never seen 600 again ,
now im at 450 but ive been stuffing wood in the stove for 10 hours and have burnt up 11/2 days worth of wood .
The chimny is strait up 28' and clean .
This is the 5th stove on this flue in 23 years and the damper is nothing special .
As far as the wood gos its mixed hard wood.
Ive burnt 14 cord in the stove in 2 years .
Alot of the wood im burning now is from 09 I have wood im splitting now for 13 thru 16 oak, maple ,locust the wood is very random, we cut and remove trees from homes and clear land so the wood is cut into rounds and split at the yard later .
It gets moved with a loader so you never get 1 type of wood .
The piles get moved around 3 or 4 times a year and stacked buy the house in the spring with the top covered .
The air control seems fine and the dealer has come out and looked at the set up , he tells me the stove gets hot ?
I did notice that when you close your air all the way down your secondaries really lite up , my stove will smolder and go out ?
I get my hottest burn 400+ at half air and closed damper .
my longest burn ( 10hrs ) is at 1/8 open air closed damper stove runs at 300o+ and tapers down to 200 o
My secondaries only burn for 2 hr tops . John

ddddddden · Dec 19, 2011

If others are running the same stove well with the air control fully closed, but yours kills the fire, it sounds like your draft is weak. Have you checked the flue for leaks? It doesn't sound like you can rely on your sweep for a good inspection.

woodmiser · Dec 19, 2011

I have found so far in my limited time with this stove, get it hot. Once it's hot you can really regulate it. Less wood and you get a nice moderate heat. Pack it and get it going and you'll get the stove up to 500+

But it likes the better woods. Not that anything won't burn in it but for the big heat it likes the better dry fuels. I am having no problems getting my stove up to temp and cruising nicely. I am burning seasoned oak now. I threw some hardly seasoned ash in the Clydesdale. It burned pretty darn good to my surprise but barely left any coals this morning.

FireWalker · Dec 19, 2011

wellbuilt home said:
FireWalker said:

WBH,

I re-read above, really, you are burning 7 full cords, damn, that's a lot of wood. I had about 5 set up for this year and it's more than I'm going to use, my December row in the shed is still going strong and will go well into January. You should let that puppy go full out one afternoon and really carefully inspect everything. Something is just not right if your wood is dry, look carefully at all the doors for ash buildup and proper sealing. I understand leaks would tend to make for too hot out of control fires but, you never know. Anyway, just a thought!

Click to expand...

Every thing seems ok inside except my professional chimney sweep popped a hole thru my baffle in the center of the flue collar .( Guys a bone head )[/quote]

Well here is something!

Have you had a look at the top of the baffle while looking into the flue collar.........mine gets packed with fine ash and fallen black chunks of creasote? Gotta clean that thing twice a year. If there is a hole in the baffle........well there you go, the flames are not being directed across the tubes and thus, you are just heating the pipe! Come on man, this is like heating with the window open, get yourself a new baffle and stop killing all the trees!

woodmiser · Dec 19, 2011

As we speak my EQ is full and idling with hardly any flame. Stove top temp is just about 475Â°. Just a little smoke coming out the chimney... which might just be condensation.
Stove pipe damper is 90% closed and the air control is about 1/4 open.
This works because the stone is hot.

Todd · Dec 19, 2011

wellbuilt home said:
we cut and remove trees from homes and clear land so the wood is cut into rounds and split at the yard later .

How long has the wood been split til it sees the stove? How large are the splits diameter wise?

FireWalker · Dec 19, 2011

O.K John, I just re-read again your post and now I'm confused..........did you just have a chimney sweep out and he broke your baffle or did this happen a while ago?

wellbuilt home · Dec 20, 2011

Den said:
If others are running the same stove well with the air control fully closed, but yours kills the fire, it sounds like your draft is weak. Have you checked the flue for leaks? It doesn't sound like you can rely on your sweep for a good inspection.

I dont think i have a draft problem my flue is 28 feet strait up , and only 3' sticks out of the roof .

wellbuilt home · Dec 20, 2011

Todd said:
wellbuilt home said:

we cut and remove trees from homes and clear land so the wood is cut into rounds and split at the yard later .

Click to expand...

How long has the wood been split til it sees the stove? How large are the splits diameter wise?

The wood im using now is still the same wood that was heating the house 4 years ago in my old trusty CDW so i think 5 years .
This is looking like elm , not the best wood but it is dry in the center with some moisture on the out side.
The outside drys in the house in a few hours .
tomorrow i have my eye on some oak from 09 and some pine mixed in . John

wellbuilt home · Dec 20, 2011

FireWalker said:
O.K John, I just re-read again your post and now I'm confused..........did you just have a chimney sweep out and he broke your baffle or did this happen a while ago?

Sorry FW Im better at running equipment and splitting wood then writeing/ typeing on the net.
I install stoves and flue all the time im not licenced as a sweep .
My wife has a daycare in the house and i am required to get my wood burning equipment inspected for the state every few years .
The ( bone head ) cleaned the stove in march of last year .
The hole is smaller then a dime and has a furnace cement old baffle patch over it now .
I really don't under stand how the secondary tubes work with the baffle, im thinking there could be a problem with the way its installd in the stove .
Have you removed the tubes and baffle yet ? John

FireWalker · Dec 20, 2011

I have not yet removed the baffle on mine but I have cleaned (carefully vacumed) the top surface of it from the open top flue collar. The last time I cleaned it there was a layer of fine ash completely covering the top of the baffle and a big pile of black flakey creasote that had fallen from the connector partially restricting the collar opening. If I were you, I would get my head inside the firebox and have a very close look at the ceiling of your stove. Make sure everything is where it's supposed to be and there are no cracks or holes in the baffle. See to it that it is seated properly in it's perimeter frame. The concept is, the baffle forces ALL the gasses forward to the slot opening just insid and at the top of the front door opening. If gasses are escaping around either side or through a hole or, at the back of the baffle, your not going to get any secondary combustion because the gasses get out and up the stack before they can be burned. These gasses are what makes these stoves get up to 600! You ask why your stove is heating to only half of it's capacity..........it's either your wood is still not fully seasoned or there is something out of whack with your stove.

I just know that you are going to have an ah-ha moment with your stove and you will be much happier. Again, you and I shared the exact same previous stove.......a DutchWest XL cat, we have a vary similar chimney setup, and you liked the heating output of the DW and I thought it was O.K. at best especially when compared to what I can do with the Eq.. Plain and simple the Equinox is a way better overall heater than the DW stove both in heat output and in it's ease of operation. You also are trying to heat 1000 more sf than me but you have the luxury of a well built home. With my old DW stove, I never felt I had anything in reserve when the cold night come a calling.......with the equinox I can always make more heat.

Also, if your burning exclusively elm.............well there is a poem about some king freezing his ass off trying to keep warm burning elm (someone please chime in). Mix in the elm and try a load or two of ash, no worries about not dry enough.

wellbuilt home · Dec 22, 2011

FW , I think i must have a problem inside the stove .
There isn't a flue problem so I want to going to raise my ch 3/4' to clear my ridge line a bit more and get a new top .
My old ch top looks bent up ?
The roof is a 17 on 12 so its a pain getting up there .
I was in the stove tonight and it looks ok but im going to take it apart and re install the
baffle and tubes .
I did cut up a bunch of oak flooring 1x3 and filled the stove about 1/2 full and let it rip .
I did see 500 + stove top temps running with closed damper and 3/8 air setting open
but if i close the air down to 1/8 to closed the temp drops to 250 /300 and the fire just smolders .
I have a wood shed in the works for next year .
my wood is damp on the out side ( kept under a tarp ) but i think it drys in a few hours in the house .
I hope the wood shed doesn't need to hold 7 cord i don't have room for that next to the house .
John

doug60 · Dec 22, 2011

Could you give a quick run down on removing the baffle & tubes?
I stuck my head in there & could not see how it comes apart to change the baffle.
thanks ,doug

snowleopard · Dec 22, 2011

wellbuilt home said:
my wood is damp on the out side ( kept under a tarp ) but i think it drys in a few hours in the house .
I hope the wood shed doesn't need to hold 7 cord i don't have room for that next to the house .
John

Are you planning on using seven cords over the winter? If so, it would be nice if it was covered, but it doesn't all have to be in the shed. A sheet of corrugated metal roofing can keep a cord dry. Just nail it on, or put some wood on top to hold in on in a wind. Leave sides open.

I have room to store wood covered outside my back door. It's under a second-story deck. I throw a tarp over the deck so the rain/snow doesn't get through, and then I can stack about three cords there. That's not enough to get me through the winter, but it's enough to allow me to pick my time for restocking it, like some February weekend when the sun is starting to come back and it's a pleasure getting outside and working.

You work out the particulars as suits your situation, climate, resources for moving wood, etc.

Even though my wood is covered, some of it got a little damp before we moved it. I put it on a rack about 6' from the stove, and don't burn it for a day or two, and that damp feel goes away. Internal MC is low, but it still burns better for that extra day or two inside.

woodmiser · Dec 22, 2011

doug60 said:
Could you give a quick run down on removing the baffle & tubes?
I stuck my head in there & could not see how it comes apart to change the baffle.
thanks ,doug

The baffle comes out by removing the cotter pins that go through the secondary tubes. There are two cotter pins. On the top side, through the flue you can access the small steel plate that the cotter pins go through.
Once the pins are removed, the baffle will come out from between the tubes. If the baffle is being replaced dont worry about breaking it. The new baffle goes in and up between the tubes. New baffles come with new cotter pins and the plate.

If you see cement on the old baffle don't worry about it. That was put there for shipping purposes only. You do not need any cement with a new baffle.

FireWalker · Dec 22, 2011

wellbuilt home said:
FW , I think i must have a problem inside the stove .
There isn't a flue problem so I want to going to raise my ch 3/4' to clear my ridge line a bit more and get a new top .
My old ch top looks bent up ?
The roof is a 17 on 12 so its a pain getting up there .
I was in the stove tonight and it looks ok but im going to take it apart and re install the
baffle and tubes .
I did cut up a bunch of oak flooring 1x3 and filled the stove about 1/2 full and let it rip .
I did see 500 + stove top temps running with closed damper and 3/8 air setting open
but if i close the air down to 1/8 to closed the temp drops to 250 /300 and the fire just smolders .
I have a wood shed in the works for next year .
my wood is damp on the out side ( kept under a tarp ) but i think it drys in a few hours in the house .
I hope the wood shed doesn't need to hold 7 cord i don't have room for that next to the house .
John

O.K., the pipe is good. The building code tells us 2 feet above anything 10 feet away and you have a very steep roof. Do you meet the building code?

Something seems fishy with your air control, my stove with a half load of flooring would be a real good fire with pipe damper closed and air shut off. This pipe damper you have installed, does it allow any blow-by........are there holes cast in the butterfly to allow some smoke through? Did you make it or buy it? The damper I bought is cast iron and has two nickle size holes in it so when it's closed you still have some flow.

Next time, leave the damper open and run a load scrap flooring with the air supply full open until the fire is going good and then shut the air off, don't touch the pipe damper, leave it open. This experiment will tell us if your air supply mechanism is working correctly. If you burn floor scraps and snuf the fire with the air shut and your pipe damper is open, you have a draft problem.

TX-L · Dec 22, 2011

Also, if your burning exclusively elmâ€¦..........well there is a poem about some king freezing his ass off trying to keep warm burning elm (someone please chime in). Mix in the elm and try a load or two of ash, no worries about not dry enough.

Beech wood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year.

Chestnutâ€™s only good, they say
If for longits laid away.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright but do not last.

Elm wood burns like churchyard mold
Even the very flames are cold.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke.
Fills your eyes and makes you choke.

Apple wood will scent your room
With an incense like perfume.

Oak and maple, if dry and old
Keep away the winter cold.

But ash wood wet and ash wood dry
A king shall warm his slippers by....

FireWalker · Dec 22, 2011

You see, I told you they would chime in!

blacktop37 · Dec 22, 2011

woodmiser said:
doug60 said:

Could you give a quick run down on removing the baffle & tubes?
I stuck my head in there & could not see how it comes apart to change the baffle.
thanks ,doug

Click to expand...

The baffle comes out by removing the cotter pins that go through the secondary tubes. There are two cotter pins. On the top side, through the flue you can access the small steel plate that the cotter pins go through.
Once the pins are removed, the baffle will come out from between the tubes. If the baffle is being replaced dont worry about breaking it. The new baffle goes in and up between the tubes. New baffles come with new cotter pins and the plate.

If you see cement on the old baffle don't worry about it. That was put there for shipping purposes only. You do not need any cement with a new baffle.

Hi Wood m., My EQ vents straight out the back to a "T". Do you have to have access to the top of the burn plate to get it out? It will be a lot of work for me to remove the pipe as I would have to move stove forward. Could you reinstall plate without pins holding it in for future cleaning? Thanks!

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