Well, I think I might've overfired my Hampton during my 1st week of burning

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pulldownclaw

pulldownclaw

Feeling the Heat
Mar 2, 2007
399
Richmond, Va
Things have been going well with the new stove, but last night I put in 4 medium sized splits on top of a good hot coal bed, and the fire took off. I closed down the air a little to slow it down, and had the fan going on high. The secondary tubes were glowing a little, but I wasn't too worried about that, from what I've read here that's pretty normal with a hot fire. I turned off all the lights and could see a slight glow on the top of the stove back inside of where the fan air comes out, where I could see the actual steel body underneath the enamel surface. I also peeked behind the surround and could see a slight glow on the body of the stove that's back in the fireplace. That's part of the problem with inserts I guess, you can't see the whole body of the stove, and with the Hampton I have all of this enameled cladding on it, so it's hard to see the actual body of the stove.

One other thing that seemed strange is that the manual said that you should not operate the fan with the draft control closed down more than halfway. That seems counterintuitive in a situation like this where the stove gets too hot. Don't you want to close the air down to slow down the fire, but also run the fan on high to cool off the stove as much as possible?

This is the first problem I've had, otherwise the stove has been fantastic.
 
You really should have a thermometer on the stove itself to monitor the temps. You can try to adjust air to keep from overfiring.
 
In some ways it is unavoidable that a stove will hit certain temps on occasion.....after all, the whole idea of secondary burns is that you get these very high temps which burn the wood gases. So, to make an omelet (a clean stove), you have to break some eggs (get high internal temps). High internal temps = high external temps.

One thing for sure - whatever temp you got to, the lab made it vastly hotter. Also, most modern stoves have relatively small air inlets, so bad over firing is more often a result of leaving an ash door open, etc. - In any case, this type of high temp should not hurt your stove if it happens once it a while. I'm certain a lot of our customer (at the old shop) over fired their stoves (by accident, and sometimes on purpose), and we never saw any melt down (exception might be a coal stove with ash door left open for hours - and a strong chimney to boot).

BTW, many metals in heater use glow on a constant level.....example would be the stainless in many LP space heaters, kerosene heater, etc. - I would guess that some aluminized steels in furnace fireboxes as well as some cast burners in same also glow. The key here is "controlled", as these appliances are always burned at a known rate.
 
Noob here too, first GREAT site been really really helpful as I just moved into a house with 2 wood stoves and have never burned before.

In regards to overfire, what tempature range are we talking about for overfire to occur? Or does it just depend on your stove?

Thanks again.
 
PullDown-

Your insert is running pretty much normal. Sounds like you're doing things correctly. Mine does the same thing, a very slight dark red glow when the lights are off and I look through the air holes under the top shelf. The Hampton's like to run in the secondary burn mode. The firebrick box really helps keep those temps high and burning hot.

As for the fan, I'm digging for my Manual as I type this.
I'm pretty sure I remeber they said not to run the fan when the stove is cool AND under part throttle. Probably becuase they want the firebox temps high to promote secondary combustion. I leave mine in the automatic mode on high speed and have never had any issues. Well, except for the gas company replacing my meter and asking if we have had any "Billing" issues.

There is rarely a time when my Hampton isn't in secondary burn. When the wood is properly seasoned, it only takes a good 10 minutes after re-loading to gain seconday burn.

HOWEVER, if Hampton is reading this......

THE HI300 NEEDS A FREAKIN' ASH PAN....Geesh, even if a removeable one!!!!

Otherwise, a magnificent looking and operating stove.
Did I mention the Hearthstone II using coal???
 
Thanks, shopdog, I was hoping some Hampton owners would chime in! I wasn't too worried, because it wasn't glowing alot, but nonetheless wanted to make sure I didn't do any damage. I can't imagine what it would do fully stuffed with oak! Seems like the thing to do is add a few nice splits at a time, let them burn down to nice coals, then reload. I've got to get a thermometer....
 
Always depends on stove, but single wall stoves (the fire simply behind one wall of steel or cast) should not be regularly operated at temps (outside wall temps with mag thermometer) above 850. In burning certain stoves like my acclaim and avalon, I found it relatively normal to peg the thermometer once in a while (900+), but that was usually because I put some wood in that was too good (standing dead oak, for example) or else the entire firebox was full and it all turned to coals at one time....a hot fire!

Since it is rare (VERY rare) for the hot part (griddle, top steel) to warp or burn out, over firing does not usually hurt these parts - it is just that it becomes an indication of the much higher temps inside the stove.

A properly installed and fueled stove should not in general be subject to easy overheating. If it is, the user may want to adjust the chimney strength, the wood (mix in some less seasoned), etc.
 
Burnit like you own it. Mine is going with the rod down all the way. When it is colder than the teens you will see a little bit of WHITE smoke coming out. I just load er up and let it cook for a few minutes before choking it down. I clean my chimney once a season and thats it. The tubes will glow when you get it really cooking. Over a year of this and no issues. When its warmer than 25 defrees out then I need to open the rod about a quarter of the way to aid it. Must be the better draft when its colder. I have a 20 ft chimney in the middle of the house. The stove is great...the manufacturer sucks as far as service. Enjoy!!!
 
Whereabouts would you put a thermometer on this unit? I ask because I am having my Hampton installed next week. I am trying to cram as much info as possible.

TIA
 
I set it on top of the unit about 4 inchs behind the door. Right next to a half kettle for steam. You actually get a temp of the air its blowing out. Mine runs between 175 to 275 if I really cook it. Normally 200 with the blower on high. It will run higher with the blower on low. Remember this is the temp of the air not the unit. I have tried and there is no temp sensor that you can mount on the door...the enamel is too thick and it just falls off. Heck, your an iron worker, let me know if you can rig a prob thermometer thru the door and a way to hold it on??? I just have not taken it upon myself to modify a 5k stove set up ;~)
 
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