Modified fisher project... Just thought I'd share.

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to stop in with another update...

We have not modified the stove from the original modification as depicted here, though we may do so at some point. We have been getting better and better at "using" it correctly. Finding a balance between keeping exhaust temps up and not over-firing the box. It is tricky and requires some thoughtful attention after a wood load.

Mainly, as mentioned before, leaving the door cracked open while the dirtiest part of the burn takes place (the initial), but closing it before it gets "too hot" really helps keep smoke to a minimum, and heats up the baffles quickly to give both quick useful heat and better drafting strength. Also, we are sweeping the stove pipe, thimble, and chimney about once every 4-6 weeks. As we get better with our burn technique, the amount of build-up coming out on a sweep is becoming less and less. Our issues with the screen on the chimney cap plugging are basically non-existent now. On our first 2 sweeps, there was a fair amount of build-up in the baffles that we extracted as best we could reach with a shop vac. Subsequent sweepings and inspections have revealed very little buildup in the baffles, I believe we are "getting them hot enough" to prevent serious build-up. Though I believe there is likely a thin layer on most of the baffle that is likely actually working to our advantage at the point by decreasing the heat sinking properties. I'm reluctant to remove this thin layer as it may just makes things worse. The hope would be that it never catches fire however, I believe it be nearly impossible for this stove to supply enough air to support a hot chimney fire with the doors shut. There's simply too much restriction in it's natural form IMO.

Another advantage to this excess restriction is that, It's basically impossible to over-fire the stove pipe. No "flame" ever touches the pipe, unlike in many stoves where the flames literally "shoot" right into the pipe and require carefully sized fire building and dampening to prevent over-firing and warping/destruction of the thin walled stove pipe. In our case, I actually WANT to see flames shooting up the back of the stove. When I see that, I know we have an area of high turbulence and heat that is more apt to make good use of wood gas. In our case, shooting flames "out of the stove" (into the baffle) is actually a good thing.

Regards,
Eric