Secondaries tubes glowing red?

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H

holg

Member
Feb 4, 2011
58
northern WI
Here's the scoop.

Hearthstone Heritage, 2 good sized pieces of red oak and one of birch--all well cured. About an hour past reload of the stove. 15 to 20 mph winds; ambient temp 0 to 5 below. Stove top 430, rising with primary cut all the way down. Secondaries more active than I like, with the secondary tubes glowing. Then stove top 450 and looking like I was no longer in control. IR gun 500--600 on cast flue collar. (No probe yet for my double wall.)

Got a little nervous--covered the rear air intake to slow down the secondaries. Periodically opened the door for quick (3--5 seconds) blasts of air to flood it with cooler air and to exit any building gases.

Still got the rear air intake covered and after 20 minutes of fiddling with it down to 420.

So should the secondary tubes glow red?

Thanks in advance.
 
Mine glow for an hour or so after every reload(see avatar and you'll know why). Completely normal and also a result of burning seasoned wood==c Every non-cat stove should include in the instruction manual that glowing secondary air tubes are normal, maybe then people wouldn't panic the first time they see them glowing
 
Lumber-Jack said:
Yep
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OK. I guess I get that. It's just that every one of the ports on all of the tubes looked like a blow torch. And where the cotter pins hold the tubes up against the plate and baffle, those were unbelievable. Again, I didn't feel like I was in normal control and that it was just going to keep on going--plenty of wood left in the splits and the outside winds helping along what I presume is a set-up that isn't weak on draft.
I have lots of learning yet on this stove--when I think I am getting the hang of it, it teaches me a lesson.
 
holg said:
when I think I am getting the hang of it, it teaches me a lesson
Click to expand...
Don't feel bad i'm on year 4 with my stove and thought I had it all figured out but it still gives me those ol **** moments
 
I TRY to get mine to glow red. Then i know the stove is working as intended and burning clean. (and that my wood is dry)
 
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holg said:
OK. I guess I get that. It's just that every one of the ports on all of the tubes looked like a blow torch. And where the cotter pins hold the tubes up against the plate and baffle, those were unbelievable. Again, I didn't feel like I was in normal control and that it was just going to keep on going--plenty of wood left in the splits and the outside winds helping along what I presume is a set-up that isn't weak on draft.
I have lots of learning yet on this stove--when I think I am getting the hang of it, it teaches me a lesson.
Click to expand...
Hey no harm in asking. Keep in mind the tubes are probably the only metal part of the wood stove you want to see get red hot.
Those tubes, and the chambers that feed them, are designed to preheat the air going through them, so you get maximum efficiency in the secondary burn. So your stove actually burns better when they are nice and hot.
 
Lumber-Jack said:
Hey no harm in asking. Keep in mind the tubes are probably the only metal part of the wood stove you want to see get red hot.
Those tubes, and the chambers that feed them, are designed to preheat the air going through them, so you get maximum efficiency in the secondary burn. So your stove actually burns better when they are nice and hot.
Click to expand...
Thanks all.
Thinking about it this morning, I guess I was, and am, more concerned regarding the feeling of being out of control of the stove. I know 400s is not anywhere the suggested 600 max temp of the stove, measured at center top of the stove. But it seems like 450 is not far from 500 and 500 not far from 600 when it is climbing and you feel you are not controlling it.
And I certainly don't think this has anything to do with the stove, this is all about operator error, and that would be me. I don't think I should have loaded in some super good dry wood with the sustained wind we had last night--I haven't yet experimented around to see what greater outside winds would have done with a 1/2 filled stove instead of 3 pieces of wood that just make you feel good when you pick them up.
I think I understand that when the stove is packed and cruising, you will not "control it" and get it to back down in temperature for awhile, but I do not like the idea of not being able to keep it from continuing to rise further. For now, I need to practice on 2 things. 1, different size and type of loads under windy conditions, and 2. under calm conditions, more fully packed stove.
And any other thoughts on "controlling" would be appreciated. (And if anyone is wondering, I have a 13-14 foot rise from stove top to chimney cap, no bends, and double insulated telescoping pipe up to the 10 of class A chimney.)
 
Eventually you will realize this is normal and your comfort level will plateau but there is nothing wrong with being a little nervous when going through the learning curve with a new stove. Every stove - even the same stove - works a little different due to wood, flue, outside temp, weather(wind), etc.. so until you have a season or two of use there will be moments of trepidation when you did/do something a little different and the dial starts climbing! At some point you will know exactly what it takes to get that stove running at 5-550 and only need to peek every now and then to confirm what is going on.
 
I have found that I can get my clyde back under control by opening the door to flush out the hot air and push heat up the chimney. I will do this several times for 20-30 seconds at a time over 5-10 minute period. This has always calmed the beast. I only open about 1/4 way to reduce the chance of sparks and embers flying out.

If you are really concerned about overfiring, then make sure you are not hotloading the stove. Let the embers burn down a little more so you are not loading into a super hot stove before you load those nice dried out splits. :eek:
 
1) I also am in the "try to make them glow" camp.

2) Every load is a bit different, wood heat is way more interactive than a thermostat, on many levels.

3) while it seems 450 isn't far from 500 isn't far from 550.. etc.. My experience is that with a stone stove, it's farther than with a steel or cast stove. I do experience some stove top temp climb after airing down, but never hundreds of degrees.

4) Last year I pretty much stopped paying attention to the stove top temps, and go by my internal flue temps, which I think are a more accurate gauge of what's going on in the stove. (not that I don't play with the IR thermo everyday..comparing what the stove top says vs what the probe says vs what I see in the window.. lol)
 
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With a flue as short as yours it is going to be extremely hard to overfire this stove under most conditions. It sounds like you have good quality wood and that your stove was burning exactly as it was intended to. Let it burn.
 
Dakotas Dad said:
1)
4) Last year I pretty much stopped paying attention to the stove top temps, and go by my internal flue temps, which I think are a more accurate gauge of what's going on in the stove. (not that I don't play with the IR thermo everyday..comparing what the stove top says vs what the probe says vs what I see in the window.. lol)
Click to expand...

x2. I've learned not to care about what my stove top says. If my flue probe says anything less than 400-450 its not burning clean enough. I shoot for 550-600, especially when its colder out.

I keep the flue happy and the stove follows right along.
 
Dakotas Dad said:
3) while it seems 450 isn't far from 500 isn't far from 550.. etc.. My experience is that with a stone stove, it's farther than with a steel or cast stove. I do experience some stove top temp climb after airing down, but never hundreds of degrees.
Click to expand...


That's different from my experience. I'll normally have the air set to cruise with STT's of 275-300 and sit back and watch it go to 500-550.
 
BobUrban said:
At some point you will know exactly what it takes to get that stove running at 5-550 and only need to peek every now and then to confirm what is going on.
Click to expand...
Right now, my wife and I keep colliding in the living room because we can't stop looking at it.
 
shoot-straight said:
this
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Noticed you comment, "I love my wood." Me too. Never been, and never expect to me a rich man. But looking at a good supply of cut and stacked firewood makes me feel happy and in a way, a little wealthier than I might otherwise feel.
 
mstoelton said:
I have found that I can get my clyde back under control by opening the door to flush out the hot air and push heat up the chimney. I will do this several times for 20-30 seconds at a time over 5-10 minute period. This has always calmed the beast. I only open about 1/4 way to reduce the chance of sparks and embers flying out.

If you are really concerned about overfiring, then make sure you are not hotloading the stove. Let the embers burn down a little more so you are not loading into a super hot stove before you load those nice dried out splits. :eek:
Click to expand...
I have been trying to not hotload the stove. Last night my wife and I just sat and watched the glowing coals for about an hour before I decided to load up. But I was home yesterday and kept the wood going in as it was windy and below zero, so I probably did have more coals than I thought, even after letting the air at them for awhile before reload.
And with a less vigorous fire, I think I will practice with what you described as periodic opening of the door to cool it down. Last night I did that in conjunction with temporarily blocking the air entrance in the back of the stove, but I didn't like doing the blocking off part--felt wrong to do.
 
Dakotas Dad said:
1) I also am in the "try to make them glow" camp.


3) while it seems 450 isn't far from 500 isn't far from 550.. etc.. My experience is that with a stone stove, it's farther than with a steel or cast stove. I do experience some stove top temp climb after airing down, but never hundreds of degrees.
I guess I haven't yet been in the "make them glow" camp. With a pretty tight house, we can be comfy thruout the main floor with stove tops of 330 to 430. And I like the secondaries burning off the nasties and making heat, but so far, even with this year's cold Wisconsin winter, the secondaries have been civilized without the red glowing tubes and we've been warm.
Good to know that with a stone stove, that its a ways between 450 and 550.
Click to expand...
 
BCC_Burner said:
With a flue as short as yours it is going to be extremely hard to overfire this stove under most conditions. It sounds like you have good quality wood and that your stove was burning exactly as it was intended to. Let it burn.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's good wood. Makes me smile using it. I remember 40+ years ago making firewood at my in-laws. Went out to the woods, looked for some dead looking stuff, cut it up and split it, threw it in a manure spreader, hauled it back to the house, and it was in the stove the same day. And funny thing, there was often some cussing because sometimes it just wouldn't burn. And I remember one chimney fire.
 
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BurnIt13 said:
x2. I've learned not to care about what my stove top says. If my flue probe says anything less than 400-450 its not burning clean enough. I shoot for 550-600, especially when its colder out.

I keep the flue happy and the stove follows right along.
Click to expand...
Gotta get a flue probe. I would have loved to know what it was reading when the burner tubes were red.
 
Dairyman said:
That's different from my experience. I'll normally have the air set to cruise with STT's of 275-300 and sit back and watch it go to 500-550.
Click to expand...
I could use a little clarification. Are you sitting back and watching the flue temps or the stove temps go to 500-550? Thanks
 
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