Max operating temp for Quadrafire 4300?

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Burnin up VT

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Apr 20, 2007
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I've got a Quadrafire 4300 (ACT) that I'm now using for my first full heating season (moved into the house last Feb). I've got double-walled stovepipe so I've got my temp gauge on the stovetop itself, right in front of the stovepipe. When the stove gets really rolling I'll usually see a temperature of over 600 F, and the stove itself seems like it is operating quite nicely (it heats a 2000 sq ft house with lots of glass quite well). At that point I try to regulate it so it stays close to or a little over 600 - it just 'feels' right - if it gets up to about 650 it just feels like the fire itself is almost out of control.

Or is max temp not really the issue here, but rather how fast you heat/cool the stove? I usually just fire it up and try to get it to a good temp as fast as possible, the theory being that a steel stove is much more forgiving about quick heating/cooling than a cast iron or soapstone one.

Any thoughts? Am I using this properly, or am I doing damage?

Thanks!
 
sounds like your doing good, if your butt feels warm be happy. Thats a great stv and super durable, have fun
 
I have an older 4300 and experience the same deal, although most times higher temps. This is only my 2nd year but I still have the, 'all or nothing' issue. I rake all the hot coals front, load it up with 7 to 10 splits/rounds and open both air controls all the way. Within about 15 minutes it is roaring and stove top temp is around 700-850F! I close the start up air and over the course of the next hour close the secondary air. I go to bed with both air valves closed and it burns around 700 for a few hours.
 
I CAN NOT wait until next year to experience this amount of heat from my stove. I split a lot of wood this summer that was down for a few years, but I think I've still got "the new burner blues" of not having 100% seasoned wood, although I can get to 450'ish and maintain that, I don't know that it's going to be enough when it gets REALLY cold here in PA this winter.

I'm really hoping another month or so I'll get better results as the wood ages more.... I've read here that real cold temps can help aging/seasoning. (That's why I'm splitting and stacking now for next winter)

Good for you! I don't know the real truth but I don't think you can hurt that stove until you start really pushing 900+ on a regular basis. My brother spoke directly with the factory engineers about his 5700 and told me that they basically laughed at him when he though his 'might' be running a bit hot, telling him "you can't do to that stove what we do here in the factory to cause them to fail".
 
My 5700 "cruises" at 600* on the front face(about 800*cooktop) w/ several splits of cherry. I have yet to pack it up with oak and hickory and let it rip. My air controls are almost aways 80% closed after 10-15 minutes of reloading. I usually peg out the thermometer if I leave it on the stove top, so I keep it on the front face.
 
What a relief to hear that your 5700 cruises at 800 on the top. I thought my 600-800 temps were a sign of trouble or too much draft. I will have to try putting the thermo on the face. Has anyone ever noticed the secondary tubes glowing? I have on a few occasions, always makes me a little nervous, especially when I have that air closed all the way and there is nothing you can do but wait it out.
 
Yep, the tubes are red at the moment...
 
We have an older 4300st with the manual controls that I like to keep around 550 but most of the time it's 600+. From what I been able to determine here your stove is over firing if it turns parts of the stove red. It's seems a lot of stove manuals are vague at giving a set temp value for over firing. On occasion we had the temp up in the 800+ zone and still no visual evidence of over firing.

Most of the time we're just throwing a log or two on at a time after raking the hotter coals forward. Anyway Burnin up VT sounds like you're running OK to me my only suggestion is to move the thermometer so it's centered stove top over the door. Mostly cause that's what the great thinkers here told me to do.
 
I've checked the stove top with an IR and found that the top "step" on a 4300 step top near the flue runs significantly cooler than the actual top of the stove (lower step). The top step is really just a jacket. I usually read the temp at the back of the lower step at the center. Ours likes to run at about 600 or so. I've had it much hotter, but never tested it at the extremes.

Chris
 
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