Anyone know about Smartstove technology

Maybe 15NC is going to be Englanders new model # for a smartstove equipped 13NC

mellow said:

Maybe 15NC is going to be Englanders new model # for a smartstove equipped 13NC

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OK cool I am wondering what the burn times will be with smartstove on the NC15.. Will smartstove extend burn times with this stove?

Ray

I'll wait for v2.0 that adds flue gas analyzing and split auto loading to optimize the burn

Seriously though, as I think it was slow1 above who mentioned this has to be complicated control systems problem to solve , given they only have control over one variable out of many affecting the burn.

I spoke with the owner of inven Inc, and was curious how the product worked. A thermocouple inserted in the flue pipe with a step damper to keep a steady even heat in the fluepipe. From what he was saying, it's not his product being used for Englander's stoves. I don't know who's product is being used, but it's very interesting. From what I've been told and heard, it levels out the peaks in the burn. It would be nice if someone installs this to make a video, to see how it performs. By having something like this, I would think it would eliminate the variables on chimney height. So if the draft was very strong, the air would close more and if it was weaker during mild temps the air would run open more.

Oh goody, it must be an app for my cellphone!! No?

raybonz said:

Thanks for the offer Dan but my 3 year old grand daughter is doing a sleep over here this weekend.. I see you called it a 15NC or this a 13NC typo? I do look forward to seeing how it operates.

Ray

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Ray,
Sorry, it is a 13NC. My mistake.

If you ever feel like driving to Holden, don't hesitate to get in touch. That applies to anybody on this board who's nearby.
Dan

begreen said:

Wow, that took some serious modifications to make it work. The exposed primary and secondary ports on the PE would be a much easier mod.

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Yes it did. That's why the original intent for this is for integration done once - and the product shipping with the stove product and everything tuned up perfectly. If you want to see that happen, bug your favorite stove company, or ask about it at your nearby retailer.

While this technology looks very interesting, the only value add I see is evening the burn cycle out. So you could set it to maintain a certain temp, that would keep the heat steady from the stove over the burn. However, I don't see how this would add to burn time. Maybe a little bit, keep it from getting 500 degrees on reload. However, I reload, and then get my 30 up to temp, then close her all the way down to get the longest burn possible. I don't see this helping to keep wood in the stove longer.

However, if you are heating a large area, I do see this helping maintain a steady, even heat from the stove. Its all what you need from a stove

So, I got the Englander 13NC with the Smart system control and have used it for a couple weeks. First the good news. It works really well, in terms of giving stove full air until around 300 degrees and then slowly shutting air down above that. It makes the fan blow more when stove is really hot, and progressively less when its not. It has lots of other options, which I have not explored yet. Bad news is I shouldn't really say anything more because Dan, who makes the controller, entered it into the Wood Stove Design Challenge, and judges selected it as a finalist. Which means that I shouldn't be out there talking about it since we are managing the the competition and don't want to appear biased one way or another. I'm sure Dan can find some other folks who have the system to post their experiences with it, which I'm sure are much more in-depth than mine, anyway.

I will say that I am very impressed with the Englander 13 NC. I bought that stove for $650 at Home Depot and it cranks out heat. Its 29 degrees out now, and house is 67. Furnace has been off all day. House is pretty well insulated and everything is well sealed and we only heat about 1,300 square feet because I keep 2 of the bedroom doors closed. I'm amazed by the value of this stove. The only complaint I would have had is that the fan that comes with it is very noisy on high settings. I switched that out with a better fan. So if a good quiet fan is important to you, this may not be the stove.