Secondary Burn Question (Hearthstone Clydesdale)

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spacecowboyIV

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Jun 22, 2010
129
Central VA
With the air control closed all way on my clydesdale and a full load of hardwood (honey locust) I get a good "pits of hell" fire going for about 10 minutes and then incrementally close the air down until it is completely closed before going to bed. With the air closed the secondary burn will only stay at the top of the firebox and not wash down the glass like it does with softwoods (cedar). I assume this is normal? the middle two of four burn tubes has a nice soft red glow to it and its giving off good heat, but I wanted to check with the experts. Also no smoke from the chimney.

I look forward to answers in the morning.
 
I haven't burnt any softwoods in my Clydesdale but I do agree that with my mix of hardwood I see similar results to what you are describing. Typically the secondary burning is around the top of the insert with the air shut all the way down. I have had a batch or two of really dry oak and cherry that made the stove roll with crazy secondary flames, but that has only happened twice. I also choke it down all the way for the night and always have a lot of coals in the morning. I haven't added a block off plate yet but since I just got the new boiler finished up I will have a day or two to pull the Clydesdale and fix it up right. I heat 1500 sq. ft and so far its doing pretty well but lows this week are said to be around 13 so we'll see if it keeps up. Fans are crazy loud but its nice to watch the fire through the large door. So far I'm happy. Mine is an '06 so it's not the newest model. Only complaint so far was lugging 550 pounds of cast iron into the house without killing all my friends backs.
 
Sounds right to me, Depending on stage of burn secondaries can be from "pits of hell" to rolling appearing and diapearing flames. Then eventually they are gone all together. The key factor is smoke. No smoke = good, clean burn.

All depends on type of wood, seasoning of wood, and size of load for what type and how long the secondary burn lasts.
 
spacecowboyIV said:
With the air control closed all way on my clydesdale and a full load of hardwood (honey locust) I get a good "pits of hell" fire going for about 10 minutes and then incrementally close the air down until it is completely closed before going to bed. With the air closed the secondary burn will only stay at the top of the firebox and not wash down the glass like it does with softwoods (cedar). I assume this is normal? the middle two of four burn tubes has a nice soft red glow to it and its giving off good heat, but I wanted to check with the experts. Also no smoke from the chimney.

I look forward to answers in the morning.
Click to expand...

If I'm reading this correctly . . . you have a fire going, you cut back the air and you get the Bowels of Hell (it's technically the Bowels of Hell -- the Pits of Hell is what I go through when attempting to watch American Idol) . . . and when the air is completely shut you get the secondary burn at the top of the firebox, the burn tubes are glowing, you're getting heat and there is no smoke from the chimney . . . add in a clean glass front and you've got a bunch of signs that say you're burning correctly.
 
keep up the good work.
:coolsmile:
 
fortydegnorth said:
I haven't burnt any softwoods in my Clydesdale but I do agree that with my mix of hardwood I see similar results to what you are describing. Typically the secondary burning is around the top of the insert with the air shut all the way down. I have had a batch or two of really dry oak and cherry that made the stove roll with crazy secondary flames, but that has only happened twice. I also choke it down all the way for the night and always have a lot of coals in the morning. I haven't added a block off plate yet but since I just got the new boiler finished up I will have a day or two to pull the Clydesdale and fix it up right. I heat 1500 sq. ft and so far its doing pretty well but lows this week are said to be around 13 so we'll see if it keeps up. Fans are crazy loud but its nice to watch the fire through the large door. So far I'm happy. Mine is an '06 so it's not the newest model. Only complaint so far was lugging 550 pounds of cast iron into the house without killing all my friends backs.
Click to expand...

fortydegnorth do you have a rheostat like this one? http://img02.static-nextag.com/image/Northline-Dial-A-Temp/1/000/007/325/275/732527580.jpg
These are good to turn the fan down. I never run my fan at full speed. It is loud, plus the air it pushed out is not as hot if you run the fan at slow / medium. also for overnight burns sometime keep the fan on as low as it goes... the coals will last much longer. If you really want coals in the morning turn the blower off. Adds a couple hours to the life of the coals vs having the blower on.
 
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