Jotul F55 Carrabassett

I have the Jotul Oslo, so the secondary burn should be similar. Are you shutting the air down in stages, or in one big increment?

dclukey said:

Generally from full open to 1/2 then slightly below 1/3.

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How long are you waiting in between drops? I run mine up to around 450-500 before I drop it at all. Once at those temps I'll drop it to a little over half, wait 7 minutes and drop it again to about 1/4 open. Sometimes it won't work in 2 stages, so I have to do it in 3, which can be a pain in my arse especially when I'm trying to leave for work.

I'm wondering if you're waiting too long to shut the air down, which is sending all of the "outgassing" up the chimney. Do you see any secondaries firing when the air is 1/2 shut?

First off let me say I've only been burning wood 2 seasons now. I have the smaller F45, but a few things I've noticed: the stove burns a few splits very quickly but gets amazingly long burns when it's a full firebox. I start shutting down the stove when the top hits around 350-400F in 20-30% increments depending on how quickly the stove is heating up. By the time the stove top gets to about 600F +/-50F I've got the stove closed almost all the way, maybe 5-10% open unless it's a really good burn. I will also say the key to this stove is never starting it from cold. I burn 24/7 from November to March and reload on top of coals.

I struggle to get good secondary burns when starting the stove from cold in the early fall or late spring, but once I'm burning full time im able to use the momentum of the stove to get quick reloads up to temp in no time with good secondaries. Make sure you leave a good amount of ash in the stove too, it makes a world of difference. I have usable coals 12+ hours after a full load burn, I just reloaded on coals at 9pm this evening from a reload at 5:30am this morning and the stove was still too warm to keep a bare hand on it very long. Took me a few months to master the stove myself but it's a great stove so keep at it with trial and error til you figure out what's best for you.

dclukey said:

Yes, both prior and shutting the air down to a 1/2 but upon shutting down further is dies out.

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Ok, then it sounds like you're shutting the air down too quickly past 1/2. Try to let it burn a little longer at the 1/2 way point and then drop it down. Going from full air to 1/2 air is a big leap, which could also be your problem. You could try going to a little above half, and then to a 1/4. If neither of those approaches work, try doing it in 3 stages with each being 7-10 minutes. You'll figure it out eventually. Everyone's situation is a bit different because of the variables - draft, wood.

As said, it's not the stove I have either, but here some things. Make sure the secondary air supply is open, not plugged with packing material. Someone here had that be the case. So I need a good hot stove. Maybe 2-4 reloads a bed of coals and full box of splits fully ripping. The stove box at 5 or 600 degrees. Then close down the main air slowly to a point you see what looks like the northern light above the splits.

But if your easily smoldering the wood, it sounds wet. Dry wood in a hot stove with a bed of coals wants to burn.

Random thoughts . . .

Hello neighbor . . . well you're kinda my neighbor . . . I work down river from you here in Bangor.

As mentioned . . . try shutting down in stages, waiting a few minutes each time you decrease the air, let the fire re-establish itself and then lower again. Depending on your draft and wood you may or may not be able to completely close the air control.

I realize you said the wood was 100% seasoned . . . but it would help to know what your definition of "seasoned" is . . . has the wood been tested with a moisture meter or has it been split and stacked for over a year? EPA stoves are fantastic in terms of producing a fair amount of heat, clean burns and long burns, but almost without exception the trade off is they need really, really dry wood.

MikeInMaine said:

I struggle to get good secondary burns when starting the stove from cold in the early fall or late spring, but once I'm burning full time im able to use the momentum of the stove to get quick reloads up to temp in no time with good secondaries.

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This has been my experience as well with my new F55. When I start cold I am not expecting a long burn with secondaries, I am basically creating a coal bed upon which I can build a nice fire in three hours or so. I was thinking I might be doing something wrong, but sounds like maybe others have the same experience.

I am jealous of all those that get to burn those nice hard woods out in the eastern parts. I am burning a mix of fir and larch and I am loading full loads three times a day. I load full, open air all the way, wait at least half hour for things to get going, turn down to just above half and wait for temp to hit at least 500, then back off to 1/4 to a 1/3. This gives me useful heat for about 8 hours. The secondaries do get going once the stove gets up to a reaosnable temp, probably somewhere around 350 or 400. I have had a couple failed burns with the air turned down to 1/4 (probably my fault for choking the air too quick).

iluvjazznjava said:

I am jealous of all those that get to burn those nice hard woods out in the eastern parts. I am burning a mix of fir and larch and I am loading full loads three times a day. I load full, open air all the way, wait at least half hour for things to get going, turn down to just above half and wait for temp to hit at least 500, then back off to 1/4 to a 1/3. This gives me useful heat for about 8 hours. The secondaries do get going once the stove gets up to a reaosnable temp, probably somewhere around 350 or 400. I have had a couple failed burns with the air turned down to 1/4 (probably my fault for choking the air too quick).

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I think you are waiting way too long to close down the air when burning dry softwoods. I would also recommend to have a small, hot start-up fire first before filling it up. I burn a lot of pine at the moment and have the air closed within 10 minutes when I load a warm stove with coals in it. First, I do a small start-up fire with just some medium to small splits and kindling. Once that has burned down I rake the coals forward, fill the firebox with larger splits, let the wood catch with the door open and then close the door. I wait one or two minutes for the fire to establish itself, then I close the air already a bit. I check visually for the appearance of secondaries from the baffle since the stove temp will lag the internal temp by a pretty wide margin. If the fire continues to burn well, I stepwise close the air over the next 5 to 10 minutes. If you turned down the air too much, just open it up again and let the fire establish itself. Be patient and with practice you will know how your stove operates best.

Grisu said:

I think you are waiting way too long to close down the air when burning dry softwoods. I would also recommend to have a small, hot start-up fire first before filling it up. I burn a lot of pine at the moment and have the air closed within 10 minutes when I load a warm stove with coals in it. First, I do a small start-up fire with just some medium to small splits and kindling. Once that has burned down I rake the coals forward, fill the firebox with larger splits, let the wood catch with the door open and then close the door. I wait one or two minutes for the fire to establish itself, then I close the air already a bit. I check visually for the appearance of secondaries from the baffle since the stove temp will lag the internal temp by a pretty wide margin. If the fire continues to burn well, I stepwise close the air over the next 5 to 10 minutes. If you turned down the air too much, just open it up again and let the fire establish itself. Be patient and with practice you will know how your stove operates best.

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That's a good idea - I haven't been doing any small fires before filling up. I have been raking the coals forward from the previous burn, but then I just load it up with larger splits in the 6-8" diameter range. They do catch and get going, but it takes longer. I did try throwing a couple piecies of kindling under the large splits, and that did help get things going quicker. I am jamming the firebox as full as I can get it generally, so I know that will mean that it will take a bit longer to get a good burn going.