starting up a fireview

I am no expert but with my FV (which is the old model) I start the fire, then turn the air down to half or so, then watch the stovetop temps to get to 250 or so, THEN engage the cat. If I want more heat pumped into the room I can leave the air at 1/2; if I want a slower radiant heat I turn the air down a bit more when I engage the cat.

I don't know why but I've never put the cat in with the air full open.

Does that help?

The Fireview is a great stove....but only if you have good fuel. It is the same with any stove. But here is how we run our stove.

With a cold stove, like we had just a short time ago, I start a fire using 2 splits on the bottom and try to form a slight Vee with them. I then place 1/4 of a Super Cedar towards the center of those splits and light it immediately. This is then followed with a couple pieces of kindling and then another small split. At this point the bypass lever is pointed down and the draft is set at full open (4).

At this point we just keep watch of the stove top temperature and the flue temperature. You no doubt have the old cat which means your stove top temperature should be 250 or higher before setting the cat. The newer cats say 200 but we usually go to 250 anyway. We try to not let the flue temperature go over 500 (single wall horizontal pipe) but usually are closer to 400 on the flue.

One thing you will notice is that if your fire gets going nicely, you can turn that draft down long before you engage the catalyst. This, in effect keeps the hot air inside the stove rather than shooting it direct up the chimney. When our fire gets going nicely and the wood is charred we usually dial the draft down to 2 (50%). This, as stated, will allow the stove to warm up faster.

When the temperature is right and the fire looks right, flip that cat lever and dial the draft down to 1 or perhaps a bit above 1. Please remember that this can be different now than it will be later when the cold air really hits us. For example, when we engage the cat, at present we will set our draft to 1. When it gets cold outside, our main setting will be about .75 but others find that 1 and sometimes we even hear of others have their setting at 1.25 or 1.5.

Another thing you will find is when it get to the coldest part of winter you may want to set the draft just a tad higher (but not much) just to make sure you keep flame in the stove. This actually might make the stove top cooler but the sides and front will radiate more heat if you need it.


How does the cat look in that Fireview? Have you cleaned it? Is it cracked at all? Have you talked to anyone at Woodstock about the stove?



Good luck and I hope this helps. Please do not hesitate to ask more questions if you need help.

mfglickman said:

I am no expert but with my FV (which is the old model) I start the fire, then turn the air down to half or so, then watch the stovetop temps to get to 250 or so, THEN engage the cat. If I want more heat pumped into the room I can leave the air at 1/2; if I want a slower radiant heat I turn the air down a bit more when I engage the cat.

I don't know why but I've never put the cat in with the air full open.

Does that help?

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You are right Mary. When you engage the cat, you need to dial that draft down.

How old is the Fireview? Is it a 205 model? Get the manual online to get you up to speed on operating the stove. You really need a stove top thermometer to tell you when the stove is hot enough to close the bypass and light off the cat. Hopefully, your wood has been split and stacked for at least a year, and is good and dry (two years for Oak.) I warm the stove up with a medium (not roaring) fire, ramping the air down in steps until it's around the "1" mark and the stove top is close to 250...then I close the bypass. You should be able to tell if the cat is lit by looking through the glass up at the top inside of the fire box. Within about a half-minute you should see the cat glowing. Now, the cat can be working and not glowing, but if you look at your chimney there should be little or no smoke when the cat is burning. If the cat doesn't seem to be working, it is easy to check by raising the stove lid and lifting the cat/frame assembly out. The manual will tell you how to check and clean it.
I haven't installed a proper block-off plate yet but I cut a hole in a batt of Roxul fireproof insulation which seals the chimney off at the smoke shelf, where the opening is narrow.

So how is the Fireview working out for you? Keep us posted on things and a photo or 2 would be nice.
Take care,
Tim

jrendfrey said:

i think my problem is no insulation were the liner goes up the fireplace and also i had the air open all the way at 4 to try and get things cookin maybe all the heat was going up the chimney?

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Only time I ever Used #4 was for cold startups or getting a fresh reload going then I bring it down to #2 or below once the flames are established. Your right that you probably sent all your heat up the chimney, the cat needs a little time to burn the smoke so you need to slow down the draft. Most people find the sweet spot somewhere around #1 once things get going.

You may also noticed that once you engage the cat and turn the air down that the fire seems to die out, this is normal, just give it some time, the flames should come back and the stove top temps will start to go up as the cat does it's thing. I always engaged my Fireview a bit over #1, let it burn that way for 15-30 minutes then turned it down to about .75 for a long burn.

I ordered the Roxul at Lowe's but you have to buy a package that has five or six batts in it...
My FV has a stainless screen in front of the cat, so it can be difficult to see the cat glowing at times. Your stove probably has the expanded-metal screen and it'll be easy to see the cat glowing if you look up through the window.
Look at the manual here, if you didn't get it with the stove:
http://www.woodstove.com/support
The manual will detail cat maintenance. If you can see the UL tag on the back of the stove, it will tell you if you have a model 205...
Todd's description of running this stove is pretty much how I do it, too. The cat needs the three Ts to work...Time, Temp, Turbulence. As Todd mentioned, you slow the draft to give the cat time. Thermometer tells you if you have temp. The combustor screen gives turbulence.

jrendfrey said:

i am going to be starting up the stove post storm its been too warm out lately with highs in the 60s. i stopped by the store and got a stove top thermometer hopefully this helps alot. i need some info on where i can get some of that roxul fireproof insulation. cant seem to find it online im wondering about home depot? thanks for all this help i will post some results later in the week. btw my wife called woodstock and they said as long as the cat looks ok we are good to go. cat looks just fine. i think my problem is no insulation were the liner goes up the fireplace and also i had the air open all the way at 4 to try and get things cookin maybe all the heat was going up the chimney? well see on tuesday or wednesday how things go. need to block off the big hole were the liner passes through

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You have the problem nailed. As Todd stated, you don't want that on 4 very long else the stove won't heat much as the heat goes straight up. Look inside and see where the bypass is and see the relatively straight shot up the flue. That is where the heat goes when you have the draft at 4. Hope you can get that insulated.

Please let us know how it goes.

Can only agree with the above. You should be able to change the air control with the cat engaged and see the flame literally slow down. Looks less like an out door fire pit, and more...controlled. This is where i leave the air control for a fee minutes then depending on heat output either dial it down further or let it be. Dial further the box goes black and just the cat glows, low heat. Leaves singer flame in the box more heat.

Good luck.

Have you read the manual at Woodstock s website?

Get the stove going.a cold start it's going to take a bit to get the top to 250. If you can get a flue thermo.400 should be good. Yes around 1 it's the place. More heat just a bit more then one, keep flame in the box. Less heat back down just below one. Flame may disappear, cat should glow for a bit. Here stove top temps may be high but the sides will be cool. More flame whole stove will be warm.

Stump_Branch said:

Get the stove going.a cold start it's going to take a bit to get the top to 250. If you can get a flue thermo.400 should be good. Yes around 1 it's the place. More heat just a bit more then one, keep flame in the box. Less heat back down just below one. Flame may disappear, cat should glow for a bit. Here stove top temps may be high but the sides will be cool. More flame whole stove will be warm.

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This is pretty much how my stove runs. I take about 30-40 min. to get close to 250. I don't like to run the stove hard when heating it up, just a smooth ramp-up with moderate flame and cutting the air back often in small amounts. As Todd has said about this stove, the closer you get to 1 the more difference a very small adjustment will make. The amount of flame in the box will also drop a bit when you close the bypass.

jrendfrey said:

so i should be ok now i have a decent supply of 2 year wood maybe a cord or so im going to buy kiln dried from a guys about 5 miles from me. i have 7 cords of wood i split in april so ill wait till this spring to burn any of that. so once i get the stove top to 250 engage the cat and turn the air to 1. more heat turn air up or down? i am going to be starting the stove on thursday about noon so i can get the house warmed up its gonna get nippy this weekend. can anyone post some pictures of there flame with the air at one or of it at various stages so i know what to expect. i am used to a hearthstone two. really simple burning just light and go but i have heard so many good things about the fireview i bought one. im sure well get this thing crankin this weekend ill keep u updated thanks for coaching me through this stove as its different than anything ive seen before. update on thursday coming!!

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And one more point is that you may need to have it a bit above 1 in the spring and fall with the warmer temperatures. For example, we rarely go below 1 at this time of year but as soon as temperatures are perhaps 25 or lower, that is when we are burning at about .75. Watch the fire and use your good judgement and you'll do fine.

I maybe a little late to this thread but I will go ahead and toss my 0.02 in.
I start with 2 splits in a V shape on the bottom with 5 or 6 pieces of crumbled news paper in the V then I put kindling on top of the news paper and then a small split on top of that mess and light it. The by pass lever is down and the draft is set to 4.Once lit I let the stove warm up to 250 - 270 ish range and then close the bypass damper while leaving the draft full open until the overall stove gets to about 400 - 500 degrees then I dial it back in steps down to 1 or 1/2 where I leave it until the the stoves cools down to 280 ish where I will reload it and start all over.

jrendfrey said:

.. ive started the stove but am seeing to have a little trouble getting the stove top to 250 right now its about 160 degrees started out with kindling two very small splits let it burn down to almost coals then added 3 regular splits stove top is not warming

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Something is definitely wrong here. What does your fire look like? Perhaps your wood isn't that great? You can download the manual from Woodstock's website. I believe the thermometer should go center top, which might make a difference in your readings. You can also try putting it on your flue pipe to see what that is doing.

Place the thermometer in the center. Perhaps I am wrong but it sounds to me like you set the draft at 1.5 on the reload. If so, you need to know that you have to set the draft full open on reloads. Then after 10-15 minutes or however long it takes (sometimes more than 15 minutes) you engage the cat and turn the draft down. Also, I hope you bypassed the cat on the reload as that is what you need to do.

To answer the question you last posted, no I do not think it is the thermometer. I think it is because you did not have the draft set at full on the reload and the fire gave enough heat for the 250 stove top but was still a weak fire so it probably just is not enough.

Once again, on reloads, the first thing you do is to bypass the cat and open the draft full before you even open the firebox door. Push the coals forward a bit but if you forget this, don't worry about it as the fire will still get going. If the fire does not start right away, you can leave the firebox door slightly open for a short time but......do not leave the stove when you do this! Once the fire gets going, that is the time to start the timing for the 10-15 minute period. Still, before you engage the cat, look at the fire. Look at the wood. Is there good flame and is the wood charred? If yes, then engage the cat and turn the draft down. You may not want to turn it down to 1 right away. Especially in this relatively warm air you may want to turn it down to 2 for a time and then when it is going really good, then turn it down to 1. In the cold winter you probably will not have to do this but can go immediately to 1.

Another warning: Just because others say to set the draft to 1 does not mean that is the most ideal for your installation. My ideal may be .75 while anothers ideal may be 1.25 while still another might be 1 or 1.5. Yes, each one could be different with the same stove.

And of course, do not forget the role the fuel plays in all this. All wood does not burn the same and for sure if the wood is not dry enough, that can give you some headaches.