New Oslo. Is my burn ok?

Hi,

I am new to burning non-cat EPA stoves. I have an Oslo and, after reading many threads, I am starting to wonder if I am burning the stove correctly. The main concern are my secondaries. They show up when the temp is brought up to about 550 - 650 (sometimes 700), and then when I throttle the primary all the way down, in increments, to the closed position. If I don't let the stove get to 600, the secondaries don't appear and the wood just burns (it's clean though). Should I be worried about the primaries? Am I burning correctly? The concern is the way the secondaries are burning. They shoot out at very high velocities, and blow down the glass. I have never seen lazy secondaries ever. It's either very strong secondaries or just coals. Can't seem to burn slowly. I have a 20' stack, SS insulated lined external stone chimney and wonder if the draft is it too strong. I am posting a video of the secondaries in action. Are they ok? This is with the primary completely shut down and outside temps in the mid 40's and I am also at sea level. Thanks.

begreen said:

By the description it sounds like the draft is ok, but the wood may be borderline. What species wood are you burning? When was it split and stacked?

Just a check, how is the stove vented? Can you describe the flue system?

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Hi. The wood is kiln dried bought by the cord since I don't have the room to build up three years of wood. It's mainly oak with a bit of ash. I measured the MC at around 10%. The stove is vented from the rear to a tee and then straight up 20'. The stove sits just outside of a pre-existing chimney. Thanks!

begreen said:

How did you measure moisture content?Did you resplit it? The MC should be measured on a freshly split face of the wood.

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The wood was delivered fresh from the kiln. I didn't resplit since I don't have the tools. When the wood burns there isn't any sizzling, just crackling so I assume it's less than 20% overall. The wood starts up like kindling even with the door closed. It actually starts raging within minutes, with temps rising to 650 in 10 mins. That's when I shut down the primary for fear of over firing. Thanks again!

Thanks for the advise Begreen. It makes sense to try and keep the stove cruising at a lower temp if possible. From the beginning, the stove wants to cruise at 550-600 for a couple of hours, then it starts to drop and the secondaries stop. The stove is still clean though. On the next reload, I'll try to keep it at 400-450 and see if I can get a clean burn with moderate temperatures. I just checked the T and the cap is definitely snug. Again thanks! I'll let you know how it goes.