First thought is I wish to thank all of the hearth.com members for their participation on this web site. Your experience has greatly reduced the number of technical calls we receive. And before you ask, no I am not willing to pay for your services. (You know who you are!)
Second, there was a thread lately that addressed the combustor warranty and I want to make certain that is clarified. Under CURRENT federal law, any solid fuel heater with a catalytic combustor must provide a 3-year, 100% warranty for thermal degradation. Most manufacturers that have confidence in the combustion design offer additional warranty coverage, in our case it is an additional 3 prorated years.
In March of this year, 2012, we began a promotion whereby any stove purchased after March 1, 2012, a full 10-Year Extended Warranty with 100% coverage against thermal degradation is provided. We reserve the right to end that promotion although it's unlikely. By the by, the leading cause of thermal degradation is without question thermal shock, most often brought about by room air leaking around a poorly maintained door seal. A large amount of ice or wet wood can also result in thermal shock, but that would require such trespasses as an ongoing practice.
Updating our new product introductions mentioned this past summer, the new Sirocco 30 will begin production in either late December or first week of Janaury. All approvals are in place from EPA etc. Just fitting it into the current schedule has been impossible.
As for the Ashford 30, our first steel/cast iron wood stove, we are still sourcing suppliers for the castings. Our supplier for past gas product castings has nuked the bridge they had with us and we are on the prowl for a new supplier. Again, all EPA and other approvals are done, we just need production time.
As for the thread about burn times (and you ask which one because there have been many) while it may be true that not every wood burner needs long burn times, it is also true the length of the burn can be easily influenced by both the burn rate setting and also by the amount of fuel placed into the firebox. Regardless of desired burn time, the Blaze King model KEJ1107 is the most efficient wood stove sold in North America. The Princess ties with my friends at Woodstock for #2. Blaze King's hold 5 of the top 8 most efficient wood stoves, so regardless of desired burn time, less wood is always better in most opinions.
Next topic, temperatures, both surface and flue. Many of the pipe thermometers are designed to work with the single wall pipe and often we get calls from folks excited about 150 degree temps that indicate massive creosote problems in the particular range. The same thermometers used on single wall will often indicate even warmer temps, but not as high as should be based upon what the thermometer says. This is because they were made and or designed around the lesser efficient and greater heat loss of non catalytic technology.
One other thought. When fan air moves across the top of our stoves, the air can actually cause the bi metallic spring on the catalytic thermometer to relax and indicate a lower combustor temperature. When we do this and at the same time have a thermocouple inside the stove monitoring the actual combustor temperatures at much higher levels, we know we need to improve the cat. therm. design. So if someone suspects the combustor is not as active as it should be, simply turn off any fan or air movement, wait 10 minutes and take a new reading. You will see a marked increase in actual cat temperatures.
Have a great evening and for all of you that took in your neighbors in the past couple of weeks, God Bless you for your caring for others during the recent hurricane!
Second, there was a thread lately that addressed the combustor warranty and I want to make certain that is clarified. Under CURRENT federal law, any solid fuel heater with a catalytic combustor must provide a 3-year, 100% warranty for thermal degradation. Most manufacturers that have confidence in the combustion design offer additional warranty coverage, in our case it is an additional 3 prorated years.
In March of this year, 2012, we began a promotion whereby any stove purchased after March 1, 2012, a full 10-Year Extended Warranty with 100% coverage against thermal degradation is provided. We reserve the right to end that promotion although it's unlikely. By the by, the leading cause of thermal degradation is without question thermal shock, most often brought about by room air leaking around a poorly maintained door seal. A large amount of ice or wet wood can also result in thermal shock, but that would require such trespasses as an ongoing practice.
Updating our new product introductions mentioned this past summer, the new Sirocco 30 will begin production in either late December or first week of Janaury. All approvals are in place from EPA etc. Just fitting it into the current schedule has been impossible.
As for the Ashford 30, our first steel/cast iron wood stove, we are still sourcing suppliers for the castings. Our supplier for past gas product castings has nuked the bridge they had with us and we are on the prowl for a new supplier. Again, all EPA and other approvals are done, we just need production time.
As for the thread about burn times (and you ask which one because there have been many) while it may be true that not every wood burner needs long burn times, it is also true the length of the burn can be easily influenced by both the burn rate setting and also by the amount of fuel placed into the firebox. Regardless of desired burn time, the Blaze King model KEJ1107 is the most efficient wood stove sold in North America. The Princess ties with my friends at Woodstock for #2. Blaze King's hold 5 of the top 8 most efficient wood stoves, so regardless of desired burn time, less wood is always better in most opinions.
Next topic, temperatures, both surface and flue. Many of the pipe thermometers are designed to work with the single wall pipe and often we get calls from folks excited about 150 degree temps that indicate massive creosote problems in the particular range. The same thermometers used on single wall will often indicate even warmer temps, but not as high as should be based upon what the thermometer says. This is because they were made and or designed around the lesser efficient and greater heat loss of non catalytic technology.
One other thought. When fan air moves across the top of our stoves, the air can actually cause the bi metallic spring on the catalytic thermometer to relax and indicate a lower combustor temperature. When we do this and at the same time have a thermocouple inside the stove monitoring the actual combustor temperatures at much higher levels, we know we need to improve the cat. therm. design. So if someone suspects the combustor is not as active as it should be, simply turn off any fan or air movement, wait 10 minutes and take a new reading. You will see a marked increase in actual cat temperatures.
Have a great evening and for all of you that took in your neighbors in the past couple of weeks, God Bless you for your caring for others during the recent hurricane!