Hearthstone Clydesdale Operation Help

Don't focus on time; instead, focus on temperature. I keep my primary air wide open until the fire is going strong and the stove (as measured on the top front center) is about 300 degrees. Then I turn it down to about 2/3 open until the temp is over 400. Then I turn it down to about 1/3 open for the remainder of the burn cycle. I only turn it down all the way if I've let the stove get hotter than I normally do (500-550) or if I'm going to bed or leaving the house and want to hold coals for a longer period of time. Depending upon the wood, and whether the stove is cold or warm to begin with, the times to reach each of these levels can vary significantly. For example, if I'm starting with a cold stove and burning white pine, much of the wood may be consumed before I get up around 400 degrees. So, that first cycle will be shorter overall, and the primary air will be left wide open for perhaps 30 minutes or more. When I reload, with the stove temp around 200 degrees with hot coals, I may only need to leave the control wide open for 5 minutes or so, then another 10-15 minutes at 2/3 open, and then 1/3 open for the next several hours. Hope this helps.

*Edit: Your glass will tell you a lot too. If it's darkening, you're not letting the firebox get hot enough before turning down the air. If you have to leave for work early, and you're starting with a cold stove, it may be easier to build a small fire, add wood right before you leave, and then have your wife turn down the air before she goes (having left it wide open until that point).

Hi,

I agree with Broad Cove on the glass comment. That is a good compass to know how you're buring... black glass tells you not enough air and not hot enough fires, but clean glass, at least most of the glass, tells you you're doing it right. Now the question is adjusting your air. I also do not turn my air down all the way unless my stove is over 400 degrees. I never run my clydesdale over 450... on purpose... Maybe it's my stove top thermometer, but between 350 and 450 it seems like the optimum temp for me.

Another good way to gauge the air adjustment is just watch the fire. If you've been burning for an hour or so and you have a good established fire going turn the air down to 1/2 way... let it settle for 10 or 15 minutes, then turn it down a bit more, let it settle, continue this process until you find the fire is starting to suffer, then turn it back up a bit. When adjusting down past 1/2 way I'd do it in increments of just a tap on the air control. I've found the air control to be very sensitive. I just tap it down or up once I'm past 1/2 way.

Also consider the outside temperature. When its less than 30 degrees I find the draft is better due to the temperature variant. When the temp is in the 30's to 40's I find I have to leave the air open just a bit more... maybe a 1/4 more than usual to get the same results with the fire.

spacecowboyIV said:

Now that things are getting cool here in Virginia, I've started burning some Honey locust instead of the cedar that I used up until a few weeks ago. I'm having trouble getting smoke to stop from the chimney and getting long burn times with this wood. This morning I loaded up at 7:15 and let it burn on high for about 15 minutes then turned the air down halfway and left my wife to adjust the air further when she left. She left around 8:30 and completly closed it. When I came home at lunch around 1:00 the logs still looked almost whole, although they were still coals and the house was warmer than usual. Does it make sense to get longer burn times by leaving the air on high longer (1 hour and 15 minutes)?

Anyone who can help explain this to me would be greatly appreciated. I obviously have very little experience in this arena. I did re-split and check a piece of the locust and the moisture was 16%.

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In bold: that is the reason for a poor burn. Don't close it completely. You may have to play with the setting a bit and may have to do this on the weekend when you are home. Each install is a bit different as to how the setting should be. Some may leave it just slightly open, some 1/4 and some even more. Also, your fuel will be the biggest factor in how much draft you need. So beware, once you find the sweet spot, that can and will change from time to time depending on what you are burning. For example, oak might take more draft than maple, etc.

On how long to leave the draft full open, I certainly would not want it open full for 1 hours and 15 minutes! Leave it open until the fire gets established and by then the wood will be charred good. Then dial down the draft in stages. If you leave the draft open full any longer than necessary, you will be wasting heat because it will will go straight up the chimney. Also, your chimney will be at risk because it can get mighty hot in there!

I seem to be having trouble conquering two things at the same time, extending my burn time AND keeping the house warm. Now, we have a really big house (about 4000sf). It's a house built within the last 10 years, and fairly well-insulated, albeit with a lot of windows.

I find if I try to curtail the air, the temp drops on the stove to under 300 pretty quickly, and the temperature upstairs drops. If I leave it wide open, I burn through 3 or 4 logs in an hour or so, but upstairs is warm and toasty.

Since the builder was stupid enough to install electric heat upstairs, I'm trying to keep that unit from coming on. Still not sure where I'm going wrong.

Pizzaman said:

I seem to be having trouble conquering two things at the same time, extending my burn time AND keeping the house warm. Now, we have a really big house (about 4000sf). It's a house built within the last 10 years, and fairly well-insulated, albeit with a lot of windows.

I find if I try to curtail the air, the temp drops on the stove to under 300 pretty quickly, and the temperature upstairs drops. If I leave it wide open, I burn through 3 or 4 logs in an hour or so, but upstairs is warm and toasty.

Since the builder was stupid enough to install electric heat upstairs, I'm trying to keep that unit from coming on. Still not sure where I'm going wrong.

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4000 sf is asking alot from a stove. What one do you have?

shawneyboy said:

4000 sf is asking alot from a stove. What one do you have?

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I have the Clydesdale. I suspected it was the size of the house. I'm perfectly fine knowing it won't keep 4000sf warm. Just trying to figure out the best way to run it.

Ok yes Clydesdale is "rated" at 2000 square so that is the first problem. When you close down the air are the secondaries going ? Also is your wood seasoned ? If you bought it, it probably isn't even though they said it is.

shawneyboy said:

Ok yes Clydesdale is "rated" at 2000 square so that is the first problem. When you close down the air are the secondaries going ? Also is your wood seasoned ? If you bought it, it probably isn't even though they said it is.

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I spent a great deal of time reading here before investing in my second stove. The first stove was in an old house, where I didn't have much choice on what I could put in.

So, when we moved last year, I started stockpiling wood that I could season. Last year was a bit painful buying wood from others that wasn't truly seasoned. But, the stacks I prepared last year have seasoned just fine 15 months later.

Wood's burning fine, much better than last year. I consistently reach high temperatures in the stove. It just feels like I burn through the wood too quickly, even when using hardwoods. I'm assuming that's mostly due to leaving the air wide open.

I can close the air down pretty much all the way when it reaches 400 and still get secondaries. But, the temp dives to 200 fairly quickly. I find if I want to keep it above 300 (it seems to heat upstairs quite nicely when it's consistently above that level), I have to reload too often. Notionally, call it less than 90 minutes.

I'm going to start charting how long on each refill. I'll start keeping it wide open, then try it closing down the air in varying degrees to see how long I get versus temp in the house. Hopefully, more data will either lead me to the answer, or aid someone here in giving me good advice.

It seems you need to choke it down more. With a full load I can get my Clydesdale up to say 350 and then choke the air all the way down and it will usually climb to around 400-425 and burn the secondaries for a long time...hours. I've had it up to 525 or so with the air choked down and it was cranking the heat. Typically from the time I get it to 300, which is usually close to reload on a bed of coals, I can maintain at least 300 stove top temps for 7 hours pretty easily. I run the blower around medium to medium high depending on where it is in the burn. During the day or when I'm around I will start to open the air in stages towards the end of the burn to keep the coals to a minimum. I have no doubt you will have trouble heating 4000 sq. ft. My house is 1500 and I have a few drafts to seal up and it will keep my house around 66-68 degrees without running it wide open. I would never see it heating much more than 2000 sq. ft, even with the best wood. I would close the air down more to maintain the heat and run the blower a little lower maybe.

fortydegnorth said:

It seems you need to choke it down more. With a full load I can get my Clydesdale up to say 350 and then choke the air all the way down and it will usually climb to around 400-425 and burn the secondaries for a long time...hours. I've had it up to 525 or so with the air choked down and it was cranking the heat. Typically from the time I get it to 300, which is usually close to reload on a bed of coals, I can maintain at least 300 stove top temps for 7 hours pretty easily. I run the blower around medium to medium high depending on where it is in the burn. During the day or when I'm around I will start to open the air in stages towards the end of the burn to keep the coals to a minimum. I have no doubt you will have trouble heating 4000 sq. ft. My house is 1500 and I have a few drafts to seal up and it will keep my house around 66-68 degrees without running it wide open. I would never see it heating much more than 2000 sq. ft, even with the best wood. I would close the air down more to maintain the heat and run the blower a little lower maybe.

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Thanks for the advice. I also think part of my problem might be my mix of wood. I don't think I'm burning enough hard wood.

I'm sure the stove isn't big enough to heat the entire house, just trying to figure out the way to get the most out of it with the least amount of fuel. I usually run the blower on medium, and I seem to be able to keep the house in the mid to high 60s.

Also, I'm wondering how much ash impacts things. I usually keep a pretty hefty amount of ash in the bottom of the stove. I find I have to clean it out every 3 days or so, which I assume is because of how often I'm running it wide open. Trying to figure out how much that impacts my burn time, as I can usually only get 2 or 3 bigger logs in when the ash is up to door level.