Hot Coal Placement - Harman Oakwood Stove
- Thread starter dyner
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
- Status
My flue in that area is a telescoping single wall. If you really have a concern about flue temps with double wall you can install a probe type thermometer.
If your glass is clean after a burn and your wood supply is dry, with good draft you are probably doing OK.
Do some searches on downdraft stoves, etc
There is a world of information.
If your glass is clean after a burn and your wood supply is dry, with good draft you are probably doing OK.
Do some searches on downdraft stoves, etc
There is a world of information.
Dyner, with the Oakwood you have a way of knowing if the secondary combustion is working that those with other Harmans do not have: you can place a magnetic thermometer (or take IR readings) right on the unshielded rear compartment of the stove that houses the CP. A good spot would be a few inches below the bypass handle.
What I find is that on startups or reloads with air fully open, my flue temp will shoot up fairly quickly to well over 1000f internal (500-700 external), at which point I close the bypass. A few minutes after I hear the "whoosh" of rear combustion, I check the temps. If the AB is engaged, temps on the rear of the stove will soon exceed the stovetop, pushing above 500f to as much as 800f, while the flue temps drop back to the 300f external range.
When the AB stalls, or does not engage fully or at all, the rear temps do not get as hot as the stovetop, hanging back in the 300f range. I also see flue temps fail to drop as quickly, going back to 350-400f instead of 250-300f. I strongly recommend monitoring the rear temps, as the are a much better indicator of proper AB function than are stovetop or flue temps.
As for reloading, I find that if the coal bed is TOO deep in front of the throat (or if it is blocked by a log), the air flow is impeded to the rear and the AB may not kick in. I always try to keep sufficient coals to the rear, but arrange them and reload such that there is at least a naroow air passage right in front of the throat.
- Status
Similar threads
