I have a newly installed North Star. Seems like I am getting a hot fire, but glass does not want to stay clean. I hope this is not indicative of the overall system and I am gettting buildup throughout the unit. I have no experience with this unit and hoping that another North Star owner can help. Thanks.
Heat n Glo North Star
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jotulguy
Feeling the Heat
Do you have a thermometer on the unit? Hot is 500-600 degrees. There is no way to know if you are getting that temp with out it. Also (and this is normally a sore subject) tell us about your wood. Most people think they have dry wood but the new EPA units need 20% or less to run well and keep the glass clean.
I am a novice....where do I put the thermometer and what kind, type? I think I do have a moisture problem with my wood. I have it stacked and covered with a tarp but know that it is damp.
Thanks.
Thanks.
jotulguy
Feeling the Heat
Depending on what kind of wood you have it could take up to 2 years of dry time. That time doesnt start until it is cut split and stacked with the top covered and the sides open for air to blow through. As far as recommending a spot for the thermometer I will let that up to some one on here with more experience with that unit. You can get a cheap moisture meter online or see if your dealer has one that he will use to test a few pieces of your wood.
The only build up on the glass I get on my Northstar is at the top middle of each door. There is a larger rivit holding the face of the fireplace on right in the middle of the airwash. So that little area doesnt get the necessary air to keep the build up off. Other than that, with seasoned wood, you should get no build up and LOTS of heat.
I think I've been dealing with wet wood. I have a nice brown glaze on my glass. Do you get any smoke coming out of the front of your unit when you load in new logs or move around the burning ones?
No smoke at all. Definitely sounds like wet wood. I get a little smoke at startup, but after that, I dont really see any noticeable smoke during the whole burning process. You might want to buy a pack or two of those wood bundles they sell at stores for camping and such, and try using that. That wood is very seasoned. I would guess you will see the expected results using it. If you continue to use your wet wood, I would also suggest keeping an eye on your flue, and sweeping once a month or every 6 weeks to be safe. Probably lots of creosote building up. I swept my Northstar from the bottom for the first time this year, and it was a pretty easy process. I got maybe 2 cups of soot/creosote from 4-5 months of burning out of it.
Northstar is a very good unit, dirty glass is a clear sign that the stove is not being run right. No real good place to mount a t-meter on that stv. Use the glass as a way to measure how you are burning. Get some dry wood. Also give yourself some time to do the learning curve thing, you'll have have it down by new years.
Hey, at least the glass is easy to clean..ha ha! I have a tall chimney...about 35 ft. Hope I don't have a draft problem. I think it is more of a wood issue.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
Random thoughts . . .
"Seems like a hot fire" . . . the only real way to tell if you truly have a "hot" or "cool" fire is with thermometers -- on the stove and the flue if possible . . . otherwise just feeling some heat and seeing some flames doesn't really tell you the true story.
How are you running this stove? The reason I ask is that some folks new to wood burning equate lots of flames with the air control all the wide open as good and figure it should be producing lots of heat when in fact you want to do this to get the stove up to temp and then start to close the air . . . slowly . . . incrementally . . . so that you achieve a secondary burn . . . which is when you will often see lazy or few flames on the wood, but a spectactular light show at the top of the firebox . . . and this is where the heat really starts to pour out.
Wood . . . typically unseasoned wood or shutting down the air too soon or too much are the leading culprits for blackened glass. When was the wood bucked and split? And when you say the wood is tarped is just the top covered or have you covered the sides as well . . . top covering is OK, covering the entire stack is not good.
It's common to see some smoke in the chimney for a few minutes on a reload . . . if you're running things right though you should soon see little to no smoke coming from the chimney once the fire is established and the secondary burn is going strong.
"Seems like a hot fire" . . . the only real way to tell if you truly have a "hot" or "cool" fire is with thermometers -- on the stove and the flue if possible . . . otherwise just feeling some heat and seeing some flames doesn't really tell you the true story.
How are you running this stove? The reason I ask is that some folks new to wood burning equate lots of flames with the air control all the wide open as good and figure it should be producing lots of heat when in fact you want to do this to get the stove up to temp and then start to close the air . . . slowly . . . incrementally . . . so that you achieve a secondary burn . . . which is when you will often see lazy or few flames on the wood, but a spectactular light show at the top of the firebox . . . and this is where the heat really starts to pour out.
Wood . . . typically unseasoned wood or shutting down the air too soon or too much are the leading culprits for blackened glass. When was the wood bucked and split? And when you say the wood is tarped is just the top covered or have you covered the sides as well . . . top covering is OK, covering the entire stack is not good.
It's common to see some smoke in the chimney for a few minutes on a reload . . . if you're running things right though you should soon see little to no smoke coming from the chimney once the fire is established and the secondary burn is going strong.
I have a North Star. I took off the metal front which is 4 allen bolts and placed a magnetic temp gauge on the stove pipe right above top of stove.
Thanks for all of the great advice. One last thing....How do I keep the little puff of smoke from coming our into the room when loading it with more wood? Close down on the air? Open up the air? Seems like when I open the door it starts blazing? There must be a trick to doing this.
Lighting Up
Feeling the Heat
Creo said:
One way is open your air up before you open your door then open slowly...another way is wait to add wood when your at the coal stage,,,
md
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
Creo said:
If your draft is marginal you can open up the air for a few seconds before opening the door to reload . . . this should help. I generally do this anyways -- even with a good draft -- since on a reload on to coals I want the fresh load of wood to get back up to temp as quickly as possible.
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