Am I insane?

[woodjack]

After packing my stove I, too often, come back to find my needle pinned to the max (900). Usually it's just been there for a minute or three, and I quickly damper down all the way. I've never seen my stove turn red. . . and my stove seems to operate well like this.
Am I playing with fire?

 

[snowtime]

I would damper down sooner. Your going to forget and leave the air wide open. I think you need to change your practices.
Sounds as if you have a great draft. Try closing the air as soon as everything is charred or the stove is over 400. Every stove is different and you need to experiment more with shutting down earlier.
If I am going out of the stove room and it has a full load I will never leave the air even 1/2 open.

 

[woodjack]

I got a good draft and good wood. I know my stove like a wife. I just leave the room and forget, then oops.
I'm curious, what is the weak link? I'm most scared about the roof catching fire around the flue.

 

[RnG17]

When I reload, depending on time of day. My flue temp (inside flue temp, not surface temp) might be 200 F, I add wood and let my flue temp get up to around 650-750F before I shut things down. Seems for my chimney and stove it works best if I get it that hot and then close things down, rather than closing things down at 400-600F. I think each chimney and stove are different in what temps work best. I have an external chimney that drafts well, but cools down quickly too.

This is my first year burning 24/7 at my house, so I feel better when temps are around 600F flue temp, anything below 400F I think creosote is building up quickly. I know its not but I still have that fear of a chimney fire. I know over night and when I leave for work there are hrs that its below 400F, but I try and not think about it, haha.


As far as ceiling catching fire, I once was worried about that too, I had asked the ? how hot are other ppl's walls ceilings and I was told I was fine. There are times where my ceilings and walls are 130F when stove is peaked out. Normally they stay around 100F or so.

 

[woodjack]

When I reload, depending on time of day. My flue temp (inside flue temp, not surface temp) might be 200 F, I add wood and let my flue temp get up to around 650-750F before I shut things down. Seems for my chimney and stove it works best if I get it that hot and then close things down, rather than closing things down at 400-600F. I think each chimney and stove are different in what temps work best. I have an external chimney that drafts well, but cools down quickly too.

This is my first year burning 24/7 at my house, so I feel better when temps are around 600F flue temp, anything below 400F I think creosote is building up quickly. I know its not but I still have that fear of a chimney fire. I know over night and when I leave for work there are hrs that its below 400F, but I try and not think about it, haha.


As far as ceiling catching fire, I once was worried about that too, I had asked the ? how hot are other ppl's walls ceilings and I was told I was fine. There are times where my ceilings and walls are 130F when stove is peaked out. Normally they stay around 100F or so.

I keep my thermometer on my stove top.

 

[wendell]

Yes ;-)

 

[rdust]

When I have a new load burning in the stove I usually don't walk too far away until it's hit 400 and I turn it down for the first time. Hard for me to forget about a new load when me not paying attention could mean my house burning down.

And Yes!

 

[woodjack]

When I have a new load burning in the stove I usually don't walk too far away until it's hit 400 and I turn it down for the first time. Hard for me to forget about a new load when me not paying attention could mean my house burning down.

And Yes!

400? Sometimes I add wood at 400.

 

[rdust]

400? Sometimes I add wood at 400.

Push the air in half way at 400, this allows it to warm up faster instead of wasting all the heat up the chimney. I'll let it burn there for a few minutes and knock it down a little more one or two more times. The stove usually settles in 600-700 on a full load.

I try to only load the stove in cycles so I usually won't load unless it's 250-300. A time or two I've added a split or two but not often.

 

[woodjack]

400? Sometimes I add wood at 400.

Push the air in half way at 400, this allows it to warm up faster instead of wasting all the heat up the chimney. I'll let it burn there for a few minutes and knock it down a little more one or two more times. The stove usually settles in 600-700 on a full load.

I try to only load the stove in cycles so I usually won't load unless it's 250-300. A time or two I've added a split or two but not often.

That's the way I often do it, but lately I've been loading more full loads of wood and letting the temp get nice and hot (700+) before I turn it down. I think it cycles better like that in my stove. I have a very big firebox.

I've been trying various methods this year. One method that I never heard mentioned here works pretty well. I load my stove about half way and get a nice hot fire going (400-600). Then, add some more splits on top . . . as I damper down in stages. Works great.

 

[CALJREICH]

Jackie Gleason would say "you are a mental case". haha

 

[ControlFreak]

After packing my stove I, too often, come back to find my needle pinned to the max (900). Usually it's just been there for a minute or three, and I quickly damper down all the way. I've never seen my stove turn red. . . and my stove seems to operate well like this.
Am I playing with fire?

Yes you are playing with fire. That's what's in the stove. If you turn out the lights, you may seem a dim glow.

Seriously, you're wasting heat and fuel by letting it get that hot, and running the risk of warping something in the stove. General rule of thumb in my book is to begin closing off the draft control as early as possible but being careful not to hinder the secondary combustion.

 

[billb3]

waste



get back to it sooner

 

[raiderfan]

I wait for 400* then shut the air 1/2 way. 500* 3/4 of the way. 550* shut it full.

 

[Stump_Branch]

Its onyl going to take one time, youll go longer then a few minutes. if you say your forgetting now, only going to get worse. Need to develop a ritualistic routine for loading and when to dampen back down. id be to nerve wracked otherwise.

 

[firefighterjake]

No
Yes
42

------

No . . . you are probably not insane . . . at least we cannot determine if this is the case without blue papering you and doing an evaluation.

Yes . . . you are playing with fire . . . this is a pretty high temp . . . I would not want to continually subject my stove and stove pipe to high temps over and over without expecting no issues . . . not to mention that waiting this long is inefficient as others have mentioned.

42 . . . well you didn't ask this question . . . but I thought you should know the answer to the meaning of life.

 

[woodjack]

No
Yes
42

------

No . . . you are probably not insane . . . at least we cannot determine if this is the case without blue papering you and doing an evaluation.

Yes . . . you are playing with fire . . . this is a pretty high temp . . . I would not want to continually subject my stove and stove pipe to high temps over and over without expecting no issues . . . not to mention that waiting this long is inefficient as others have mentioned.

42 . . . well you didn't ask this question . . . but I thought you should know the answer to the meaning of life.

My house is very hard to heat and I thought I was getting more heat from my stove using this accidental high firing method. Using too much wood is not an issue for me. I live in the forest and have enough dead wood around for a hundred lifetimes.

Again, I never intentionally fired my stove to 900. More than anything I was wondering where the danger is, where's the the weak link by firing an extra couple of hundred degrees? Where can a fire start? It seems to me that the only thing that can catch fire is the roof where the flue exits. My stove won't catch fire and I have double wall pipe.

At Regency, I could not get a max temp out of them. They only told me to not let the stove get red.

Re: the answer to life.
42 translates to LOVE. Just love.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I got a good draft and good wood. I know my stove like a wife. I just leave the room and forget, then oops.
I'm curious, what is the weak link? I'm most scared about the roof catching fire around the flue.

...I’ve been loading more full loads of wood and letting the temp get nice and hot (700+) before I turn it down.

No offense meant woodjack but if you have good draft, good wood and know that stove like you do a wife....something is very wrong. You indeed are playing with fire.

I have no idea why anyone would let a stove get to 700+ before turning down the draft! That is really asking for problems....big time. Besides the danger involved, letting the draft stay full open that long means you are wasting a huge amount of fuel because so much heat is going straight up the chimney.

You may not realize it but turning the draft down sooner will heat the stove up faster! I definitely would not have the draft full open at more than 400 degrees.

 

[CALJREICH]

my stove manual says operating your Defiant continously at griddle temperatures of 750 degrees F or higher may damage the cast iron or enamel finish.

 

[woodjack]

Thanks for your reply.

I don't understand what's wrong with letting my stove get to 700, then fully damping down. Then, I have to open the damper just a bit and my stove cruises at 650 and slowly cools off. This is the method I use in bitter cold weather.

I don't think I'm burning my wood inefficiently. The woods goes into a raging flame which just chars the wood. Then i have secondary burn for the remainder of the cycle. My approach could be wrong, but like I said, I know my stove well and burn 24/7. Maybe our different experiences have something to do my stove very big fire box. I'm not trying to be cavalier. This is my experience.

When it's not bitter cold I do like you recommended, damping down sooner. Maybe your stove is different, but my stove will not heat up quicker by damping down sooner. I have very high ceilings and lots of glass so my house really needs a very hot stove to stay warm.

 

[woodjack]

my stove manual says operating your Defiant continously at griddle temperatures of 750 degrees F or higher may damage the cast iron or enamel finish.

My manual does not say that. Regency refused to tell my a maximum temperature, only to not let my stove turn red. Thank god that has never happened. That would scare me.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks for your reply.

I don't understand what's wrong with letting my stove get to 700, then fully damping down. Then, I have to open the damper just a bit and my stove cruises at 650 and slowly cools off. This is the method I use in bitter cold weather.

I don't think I'm burning my wood inefficiently. The woods goes into a raging flame which just chars the wood. Then i have secondary burn for the remainder of the cycle. My approach could be wrong, but like I said, I know my stove well and burn 24/7. Maybe our different experiences have something to do my stove very big fire box. I'm not trying to be cavalier. This is my experience.

When it's not bitter cold I do like you recommended, damping down sooner. Maybe your stove is different, but my stove will not heat up quicker by damping down sooner. I have very high ceilings and lots of glass so my house really needs a very hot stove to stay warm.

Sorry, I was just going by what you wrote: "After packing my stove I, too often, come back to find my needle pinned to the max (900)."

900 degrees seems a bit much for any stove. Also, it is not just a particular stove, but there is a point where you are sending more heat up the chimney rather than keeping it in the stove. You don't have to close the draft but try closing it half way. The stove should heat up quicker and you should not have to be concerned with a 900 degree stove.

Please understand I am not trying to bash you in any way but only trying to help and I fear for anyone who has to contend with that hot of a stove. Good luck to you.l

 

[CTYank]

my stove manual says operating your Defiant continously at griddle temperatures of 750 degrees F or higher may damage the cast iron or enamel finish.

My manual does not say that. Regency refused to tell my a maximum temperature, only to not let my stove turn red. Thank god that has never happened. That would scare me.

I've seen similar, including for the internal parts. One thing I've noticed with my stove is that, when it's really firing high, the stovetop can be at ~825 F and the smokepipe just above the stove at 400 F. Couple of feet further away, and the smokepipe is below 300 F.(Tortuous "smoke" path in modern stove, along with controlled flow rate.) Likely you won't set your roof on fire.

Higher temps CAN result in more complete burn, cleaner pipe, higher heat output rate.
Lower temps (without smoldering of course) -> higher efficiency. (In tests in the '70s, Jay Shelton, Physics prof. @UVM found that the best efficiency was gotten with a slow smolder, with the stoves of the day. Our knowledge-base does grow- visible smoke bad.)

 

[woodjack]

Thanks for your reply.

I don't understand what's wrong with letting my stove get to 700, then fully damping down. Then, I have to open the damper just a bit and my stove cruises at 650 and slowly cools off. This is the method I use in bitter cold weather.

I don't think I'm burning my wood inefficiently. The woods goes into a raging flame which just chars the wood. Then i have secondary burn for the remainder of the cycle. My approach could be wrong, but like I said, I know my stove well and burn 24/7. Maybe our different experiences have something to do my stove very big fire box. I'm not trying to be cavalier. This is my experience.

When it's not bitter cold I do like you recommended, damping down sooner. Maybe your stove is different, but my stove will not heat up quicker by damping down sooner. I have very high ceilings and lots of glass so my house really needs a very hot stove to stay warm.

Sorry, I was just going by what you wrote: "After packing my stove I, too often, come back to find my needle pinned to the max (900)."

900 degrees seems a bit much for any stove. Also, it is not just a particular stove, but there is a point where you are sending more heat up the chimney rather than keeping it in the stove. You don't have to close the draft but try closing it half way. The stove should heat up quicker and you should not have to be concerned with a 900 degree stove.

Please understand I am not trying to bash you in any way but only trying to help and I fear for anyone who has to contend with that hot of a stove. Good luck to you.l

You're right. I should not let my stove get to 900. It just seems dangerous and it's never my intention. Damping down sooner will definitely prevent that from happening. Thanks.

 

[Rockey]

Have you verified the thermometer with a second one?