Over-Firing

They all say not to, but don't give a temp.
I'm assuming this is a wood stove or insert:
generally you want to run 450 - 550 on stove top
600 to 650 is nice for lots of heat, but you'll go through the load quickly
700 is where I suspect most people start to call it an over-fire, a mild one
800 your steel / cast will be glowing and is scary
900 you better have a fan on it trying to get rid of that heat fast.

Depending on the model, others may argue these numbers up or down 100deg or so.

If it's new - don't load it up heavy the first time, start small and learn what your set-up will achieve.
Go bigger each time.

First off - Scott, welcome to hearth.com

Over firing is the process of getting your stove hotter then the unit can properly handle. This temp is different for every unit. If you have just installed your stove be sure to follow the manufactures instructions for "break in fires" As I understand it this process "cures" the firebrick. With out following this break in process your firebricks will be more brittle and more prone to cracking.

Review your owners manual for max operating temp for your stove and try not to exceed it. The manual should also tell you the bast place to position a thermometer to track your stoves temp. Perhaps someone here will chime in that has the same stove as you with better information then I can provide.

We'll be watching for the pictures Scott.

On the temperature ranges, it depends upon where those temperatures are taken. Naturally the interior temperatures will be hotter and if the stove has a cat the hottest point will be by the cat.

Most folks go by exterior temperatures. For example, on our stove we have a temperature gauge on the top center of the stove and another on the flue. For us, over firing the stove means anything over 700 degrees stove top. Our flue is single wall and we try to not let that temperature get over 500 degrees. On reloads the flue temperature goes up but as soon as we engage the cat and cut the draft down the flue temperature then goes back to around 300 degrees.

Scott

Your fireplace looks similar to the Quad 7100. They are owned if not made by the same company. My instructions were a little vague too. So far I have taken it slow and been fine. A couple nights ago, before supper, I put two or three logs in mine and left the"start up air" open for an hour. Oops. it was definitely hot when I discovered that, but nowhere near over-firing. I don't have a thermometer yet. I closed the air intake and turned the fan on high and all was fine. In my LIMITED experience the over-fire is very possible if you are careless, but if you take it slow at first and use common sense and caution you will be fine. Could be more a scare tactic for the naysayers out there. Good luck. So far the advice on this site and everyone here is awesome.

Welcome, you're certainly in the right place for plenty of advice.

Like the others say, best to have a few small fires first anyway to season your stove.

As to overfiring, the easiest way to do it is to put on some wood that is slightly damp, find the fire does not heat up, put more wood on, then open up the air, and then get distracted.

A couple of hours later, you are somewhere else, and the wood has dried out, and then burns hotter and hotter.

That's my idea of overfiring, I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to overheat a woodburner

Scott

I have a Northstar as well, on my second season using it. I was told by my dealer that overfiring would be noticeable if the secondary burn tubes are starting to glow. I can load mine up with 4 or 5 splits (my splits are kinda large) at night (around 11pm) and usually when I wake up around 6am, there are still some coals burning. I just throw a couple more splits in, and it takes off again fairly quick. The key to getting a good overnight burn is to load the stove up about 20 min or so before you go to bed, and slowly ease the air control down as far as you can while maintaining flames. And of course, having good seasoned wood is important.

offroadaudio said:

They all say not to, but don't give a temp.
I'm assuming this is a wood stove or insert:
generally you want to run 450 - 550 on stove top
600 to 650 is nice for lots of heat, but you'll go through the load quickly
700 is where I suspect most people start to call it an over-fire, a mild one
800 your steel / cast will be glowing and is scary
900 you better have a fan on it trying to get rid of that heat fast.

Depending on the model, others may argue these numbers up or down 100deg or so.

If it's new - don't load it up heavy the first time, start small and learn what your set-up will achieve.
Go bigger each time.

Click to expand...

Good post, I agree.

WooDpSycho said:

Thanks for all the info, Here is what my dealer had to say.........

Over-fire will happen when you only burn kiln dryed wood such as building materials ( 2x4's 2x6's 4x4's exct. )
He said these are fine for starting the fire but if this is all you burn then overfiring can occur.
He said the firebox can be stuffed with good seasoned wood and will be fine, that is what it was desinged for.

Just thought I would share what was explained to me.

Thanks,
Scott.

Click to expand...

lol, your dealer doesn't know what good seasoned wood is like, then. he's right that kiln dried wood can increase your chances of overfiring, but he's wrong when he says that the only way to overfire.

Danno77 said:

WooDpSycho said:

Thanks for all the info, Here is what my dealer had to say.........

Over-fire will happen when you only burn kiln dryed wood such as building materials ( 2x4's 2x6's 4x4's exct. )
He said these are fine for starting the fire but if this is all you burn then overfiring can occur.
He said the firebox can be stuffed with good seasoned wood and will be fine, that is what it was desinged for.

Just thought I would share what was explained to me.

Thanks,
Scott.

Click to expand...

lol, your dealer doesn't know what good seasoned wood is like, then. he's right that kiln dried wood can increase your chances of overfiring, but he's wrong when he says that the only way to overfire.

Click to expand...

I agree..load it up with good seasoned wood, and leave the air open full...you'll get an overfire.

WooDpSycho said:

Thanks for all the info, Here is what my dealer had to say.........

Over-fire will happen when you only burn kiln dryed wood such as building materials ( 2x4's 2x6's 4x4's exct. )
He said these are fine for starting the fire but if this is all you burn then overfiring can occur.
He said the firebox can be stuffed with good seasoned wood and will be fine, that is what it was desinged for.

Just thought I would share what was explained to me.

Thanks,
Scott.

Click to expand...

Ummm . . . he is right about the dimensional lumber, but not quite on the money with the comment about seasoned wood . . . well kind of, sort of . . . I mean if you stuff your woodstove full of well seasoned wood and leave the air control open then this could be a problem . . . of if you stuff the woodstove full of small, well seasoned splits, leave the air open for too long and shut down the air too late this too could be a problem.

However, if you put some reasonably sized splits on to the hot coals, leave the air open until the stove is hot enough and then start cutting back the air then the dealer would be absolutely correct . . . you can load up the stove and not have an issue.

Danno77 said:

WooDpSycho said:

Thanks for all the info, Here is what my dealer had to say.........

Over-fire will happen when you only burn kiln dryed wood such as building materials ( 2x4's 2x6's 4x4's exct. )
He said these are fine for starting the fire but if this is all you burn then overfiring can occur.
He said the firebox can be stuffed with good seasoned wood and will be fine, that is what it was desinged for.

Just thought I would share what was explained to me.

Thanks,
Scott.

Click to expand...

lol, your dealer doesn't know what good seasoned wood is like, then. he's right that kiln dried wood can increase your chances of overfiring, but he's wrong when he says that the only way to overfire.

Click to expand...

The dealer probably thought it goes without saying... "Properly operated, the stove will not overfire with a firebox stuffed with good, seasoned wood."

Kenster said:

Danno77 said:

WooDpSycho said:

Thanks for all the info, Here is what my dealer had to say.........

Over-fire will happen when you only burn kiln dryed wood such as building materials ( 2x4's 2x6's 4x4's exct. )
He said these are fine for starting the fire but if this is all you burn then overfiring can occur.
He said the firebox can be stuffed with good seasoned wood and will be fine, that is what it was desinged for.

Just thought I would share what was explained to me.

Thanks,
Scott.

Click to expand...

lol, your dealer doesn't know what good seasoned wood is like, then. he's right that kiln dried wood can increase your chances of overfiring, but he's wrong when he says that the only way to overfire.

Click to expand...

The dealer probably thought it goes without saying... "Properly operated, the stove will not overfire with a firebox stuffed with good, seasoned wood."

Click to expand...

They are always making a better idiot, NOTHING goes without saying these days.

It's funny, but the perfect overfiring example for the Northstar is the picture on the Northstar Brochure.
The rule of thumb I use with my Northstar, is that if the flames go from a natural look to looking
like a furnace, then the air needs to be reduced. I find that usually having the air open about halfway
on an established fire is a good balance keeping a clean burn and getting a long burn time per log.
Putting a small chaulk mark at the that spot can assist family members and let you rest knowing it's
not being overfired.
Once I have a good bed of coals from burning small logs, I switch to feeding it one larger log at a time,
adding smaller pieces if I need to build up the bed