Overfiring?

kamg said:

I have a number of questions about overfiring a woodstove. At what temperature is an overfire? Does it depend on the stove or the material that the stove is made out of? What happens to a stove when it is overfired? Are there any other signs of overfiring other than a temp guage? I occasionally see the piping inside my stove (which support the secondardy burn) glowing red, but the outside isn't glowing or anything. Is this a sign that I'm running it too hot? Doesn't the secondary burn happen at something like 1100 degrees? How can one maintain that without overfiring? Have I asked enough questions yet?

I'm gonna go out and get a temp gauge this week, but I still wonder about these things...

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sounds like you got some good wood you go boy!lol(just dont get the house to warm)

Each manufacturer has their own ideas on overfiring. Best to follow what they claim. It does not sound like you have over fired at all though. Enjoy.

I think secondary tubes glowing is a sign of doing it right.

At some point of the burn cycle, the middle tube in my Endeavor always glows a nice cherry red, especially on a cold night when I load her to the gills with red oak. The stove top thermometer reads 550-600F, and the manual says anything over 800F is over firing, so I figure it's a normal part of the burn cycle. Now, if you are burning a soapstone stove, you'll find they have lower over fire temps. I have had a "runaway" fire in which the thermometer was pegged at 850 on my stove, but I never saw any plates glowing red. I discovered after this particular fire that I had a 1/2" gap in two firebrick in the baffle. I'm thinking that this gap allowed more heat to reach the top plate where the thermometer is located, thus producing the excessive reading. Since closing the gap, I've had the stove "feel" to be putting out the same heat, and the temps never go above 600F.

well, I have done a lil reading on this topis myself, since I am a new stove owner and user, BUT how fast you learn..LOL Ihad read on article, cant remeber where but they say the flue temp is half of the temp inside the firebox, so if you are reading 600F outside on the flue pipe, then you are around 1200 inside the firebox, and I beleive for the UL listing standard the stoves are fired all the way up to 2200 degrees... I believe that overfiring also will damage a catalyst, mine is an Englander, with the cataylst. the best way to get a good temp is to get the probe thermometer for the catalyst, again like my stove, to get a good inside the box reading of temp... I definatley feel that running a stove too hot for long periods of time will damage the unit, the chimney and so on. You should really read over the owners manual for your stove, and if you dont have it, it is probally available from the maufacutrer for free online to download... hope this helps...

It's hard to agree on a specific number but if the stove gets red anywhere on the outside...that would be over firing. And what would happen...hard to say some stoves can tolerate a little. The over firing could change any close tolerances and if done too many times could perhaps affect any poorly welded seems.

My last 3 stoves got over fired quite often with no negative results I could detect...but hey were older smoke dragons and pretty much bullet proof. I don't have enough experience with the newer stoves so ... I dunno.

Their could be an element of CYA in the manufactures warning...otherwise with all the testing they've done they would have come up with a number... they know their stoves very well.

A cast iron part in my stove (the upper fireback) is warped badly from overfiring.

I get both the Castine and Olympic up to between 600 and 800 on a full load and cut the air down til she is humming along with a fireball and then watch the tubes glow away - a bit.