A few things I've learned about my stove

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fireview2788

fireview2788

Minister of Fire
Apr 20, 2011
972
SW Ohio
I'm sharing this because it might help others, maybe not.

1) A warm chimney makes starting fires easier

2) I cannot load my stove to the gills as I have seen in pics others have posted. I have to have an air space between the splits to allow them to breath. If I don't do this then the stove will not get to a good heat level (only to 400F or so).

3) The species of the wood determines the amount of air flow needed. I have found that osage/hedge needs a little more air than the other stuff I burn.

4) I really enjoy running the stove on a snowy day, it's what these things are all about!


fv
 
Glad to hear you enjoy running the stove on snowy days....(I do too). Going to get cold here by me...single digits. We'll see. #2. the stove will burn and get hot...eventually. It just takes a little longer for all those splits to start burning. If you have them pancaked tight, sure, it will take a while to catch. But when it does...it will probably get too hot.
#3..species of wood. I think...not so much the species but more so the moisture content/how long its been CSS.
 
c/s/s for over three years


fv
 
fireview2788 said:
I'm sharing this because it might help others, maybe not.

1) A warm chimney makes starting fires easier

2) I cannot load my stove to the gills as I have seen in pics others have posted. I have to have an air space between the splits to allow them to breath. If I don't do this then the stove will not get to a good heat level (only to 400F or so).

3) The species of the wood determines the amount of air flow needed. I have found that osage/hedge needs a little more air than the other stuff I burn.

4) I really enjoy running the stove on a snowy day, it's what these things are all about!


fv
Click to expand...

4) Yep, nothing better than being snug as a bug with a nice fire going when it's cold and snowy outside.

1-3) I'm wondering if you are dealing with a short flue? With a 90 turn up the chimney and a short flue, draft can be marginal, especially if the chimney is cold. This can be worse with exterior wall fireplaces. If so, have you considered extending the flue a couple feet for better performance?
 
Draft seems fine. When I open the door to reload you can hear the roar of the draft going up the chimney. When I clean the ashes out I can watch the dust go from outside the stove and up the flue. It doesn't take much to warm the chimney, it's an inside chimney and isn't outside the house until the last 6'. I get solid overnight burns without much effort.

Right now I have two splits of osage and a couple of others and she's cruising along at 560F.


fv
 
I have to give locust a little extra air too, but can pack it tight with doug fir or soft maple, so maybe it is just that exceptionally hard osage orange?
 
My thoughts too.


fv
 
How big are your splits? If you only have room for 4 probably too big.
 
fireview2788 said:
I'm sharing this because it might help others, maybe not.

1) A warm chimney makes starting fires easier
2) I cannot load my stove to the gills as I have seen in pics others have posted. I have to have an air space between the splits to allow them to breath. If I don't do this then the stove will not get to a good heat level (only to 400F or so).
3) The species of the wood determines the amount of air flow needed. I have found that osage/hedge needs a little more air than the other stuff I burn.
4) I really enjoy running the stove on a snowy day, it's what these things are all about!
fv
Click to expand...

Interesting. Yes, the warm chimney is necessary for a good fire. However, I know not why you cannot load your stove. Many Fireview owners out here and they can. What is different? Species of wood definitely will make some difference but you should still be able to pack that stove. And yes, a warm stove when it is cold and snowy is extremely nice!

I wonder like Todd what the size of your splits are. They can be too big as well as too small. Too small gets you super hot fires where too big the fires will be slower. It is nice to have a mix.

We've filled our stove only a couple times so far this year. Each time we immediately notice that it takes a bit longer before we engage the cat. Once we engage the cat the stove top will get to 600 in a short time. Even with partial loads we can get the stove top to 600 pretty easily. But back to filling, when I fill the stove I want it as tight as I can get it. This is one reason I like to make a lot of splits in rectangular or square shape as I can pack them tighter which makes for a longer burn. The triangular shaped splits is more difficult to pack in so those burn times will not be as long.

Going back to the 400 stove top with a full load. My suspicion is that perhaps you are engaging the cat a bit too soon. If so, then the cat probably is not firing off else that stove top would surely go higher. I do hope you find out the reason. Maybe the cat has gone bad too. Have you removed it to check it or clean it? This is perhaps where I'd start looking.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
fireview2788 said:
I'm sharing this because it might help others, maybe not.

1) A warm chimney makes starting fires easier
2) I cannot load my stove to the gills as I have seen in pics others have posted. I have to have an air space between the splits to allow them to breath. If I don't do this then the stove will not get to a good heat level (only to 400F or so).
3) The species of the wood determines the amount of air flow needed. I have found that osage/hedge needs a little more air than the other stuff I burn.
4) I really enjoy running the stove on a snowy day, it's what these things are all about!
fv
Click to expand...

Interesting. Yes, the warm chimney is necessary for a good fire. However, I know not why you cannot load your stove. Many Fireview owners out here and they can. What is different? Species of wood definitely will make some difference but you should still be able to pack that stove. And yes, a warm stove when it is cold and snowy is extremely nice!

I wonder like Todd what the size of your splits are. They can be too big as well as too small. Too small gets you super hot fires where too big the fires will be slower. It is nice to have a mix.

We've filled our stove only a couple times so far this year. Each time we immediately notice that it takes a bit longer before we engage the cat. Once we engage the cat the stove top will get to 600 in a short time. Even with partial loads we can get the stove top to 600 pretty easily. But back to filling, when I fill the stove I want it as tight as I can get it. This is one reason I like to make a lot of splits in rectangular or square shape as I can pack them tighter which makes for a longer burn. The triangular shaped splits is more difficult to pack in so those burn times will not be as long.

Going back to the 400 stove top with a full load. My suspicion is that perhaps you are engaging the cat a bit too soon. If so, then the cat probably is not firing off else that stove top would surely go higher. I do hope you find out the reason. Maybe the cat has gone bad too. Have you removed it to check it or clean it? This is perhaps where I'd start looking.
Click to expand...



Could be split size, as I did not split these and they are bigger. Now that I give it some thought I don't have the problem with the smaller splits. I'll take a couple of seconds with the ax and make them smaller to see if that changes my outcome. Just as FYI, the wood I have split I've made smaller because they are easier to fit in the stove.

I have clean the stove and cat about every two weeks and I have been VERY careful not to engage it until the stove top is high enough. I've even engaged it and watched to see how it acted, if I don't hear the pinging of expanded metal or it doesn't turn red then I disengage it and give it more time.

It's not that I'm not getting over 400F because I am usually well over 500F now that I've learned a few things about air control. Thanks to Dennis I know my sweet spot is right around 3/4. The only time I am getting the low temps is when I described the above stuff.

Thanks!

fv
 
fv, is there a reason you clean the cat every 2 weeks? I ask that question knowing that we clean our cat once during mid winter and again during the annual summer cleaning. Doing it more often just has not seemed necessary. For wood usage, we burn about 3 cord per year.
 
NEWBIE! I have been just because I'm trying to get a feel for the stove and how much fly ash, carbon, etc gets built up. No other reason than I'm new to this and want to learn. I don't intend on cleaning it for some time now because I think I've got that part figured out. Oh yeah, it's a new toy and I gotta play.

fv
 
Hey, at least it is enjoyable play time! :lol:
 
If your wood is large enough that you consider splitting it to get it in the stove more easily, then I suggest you should use smaller splits. I don't have a cat stove and maybe cat stoves burn differently, but with my non-cat stove I get much hotter and faster-lighting fires with 5 or 6 smaller splits than I do with 2 or 3 big ones. If I have a lot of hot cloas I can get a nice fire with large splits, but smaller ones are easier to use.
 
I'm beginning to believe there are two causes, large splits and damped down too low. Ah the joys of learning how to use a new toy. I've got some smaller splits and good flame right now which has caused the temp to climb pretty quick. BTW, it feels really nice after duck hunting this morning in single digit windchills.

fv
 
I think Todd and Dennis have hit the nail on the head. I put two small splits in after a large split was going and the thing quickly climbed over 500F. I wanted to make sure it wasn't a fluke so I let the stove come down and repeat and the result was the same. Guess I'll be splitting some splits.

Thanks Todd and Dennis. :cheese:

fv
 
You are welcome fv. Yesterday afternoon I put in 3 splits to get us through until the night filling. That stove went to 600 degrees so fast I could hardly believe it.
 
I've also noticed that hedge takes a little more air. That stuff is hard. I did split some down to smaller size and it helped. Seems kind of sluggish on large splits.
 
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