Another question for clydesdale owners

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

archer292

New Member
Jan 3, 2008
72
LI NY
I recently moved my clydesdale further into the room to take up the space between the blower outlets and the surround. I moved the surround bracket as far back as it would go and moved the unit until the surround would fit flush. Now the back edge of the front cover or fasade is visible with the bracket just behind it. I looked through the manual to see if there was a minimum distance that the bracket needed to be positioned forward of where it stops if pushed all the way back, but didn't find anything. I'm asking if this possition is OK because now I get my highest temp readings from a spot on the bracket itself instead of the stove top? I use a IR thermo with a laser to pinpoint the spot I take the readings from.
 
Hey Archer,

I think you will notice better output with the extra exposure both from the blower vents and from more heat radiation. Just make sure you have the required clearance in this configuration.. Better safe than sorry..

My insert is installed all the way out, that is.. the bracket is mounted inward as far as it will go exposing the entire facade out in front of the surround. The surround is flush with the front of the fireplace and the back edge of the facade lines up with the back edge of the surround.

Taking temps on the Clydesdale is a different animal compared to many other inserts. The front facade on the Clydesdale being a removable cover does not reach the high temps encountered by other inserts where the reading is actually off the firebox itself. If you are hitting between 300 and 400 degrees on top middle position of the facade your temp on the actual top of the firebox within is more like 600 to 700 or the high temp's that many other insert owners report on there inserts. I confirmed this by taking temp readings on the top middle facade and stove top by the flue collar after several hours of burn time and secondaries firing nicely and sure enough the facade's 300-450 degree reading coincided with a 500-800 degree range at the flue collar area. A 450 degrees Facade reading is as high as I have ever gotten my Clydesdale, At that temp the hot air coming from the vents was reading about 325 degrees on a thermometer I had placed in the vent.. Heated the room to 83 degrees in no time with the blower going full blast.

I get real nice heat output from the blower in the entire 200-400 degree range (Temp taken at center top facade) which is the reading I get through my usual burn cycle of 7 or 8 hours time.

If you were ever able to get the facade to read 500 or above I think your approaching overfire for this insert.. Perhaps some more seasoned Clydesdale owners could chime in on this?? I'm a relative newbie with just under 2 months of ownership.

Happy New Year to all!!
 
I had another fire tonight that just ran away. Shut down the primary air and temps just kept climbing. I turned he blower all the way up and was able to get the stove top back under 500. The flames were evident at the splits even with the air all the way down. My fires seem to be very hot and very short. I just did the door seal again so I'm pretty sure it's not that but I will check it again when it cools down.
 
archer292 said:
I had another fire tonight that just ran away. Shut down the primary air and temps just kept climbing.
It's pretty normal to get a temperature spike after closing the primary.
archer292 said:
I turned he blower all the way up and was able to get the stove top back under 500.
What do you mean "the stove top", it's an insert? The collar on my insert often gets to 800F but I certainly wouldn't say it is over firing.
archer292 said:
The flames were evident at the splits even with the air all the way down. My fires seem to be very hot and very short.
What is short? 2-3 hours of flame is normal for my insert (1.75 c.f with seasoned hardwood). If you haven't got an air leak, having lots of flame at the wood is normal with smaller pieces, very dry wood and especially some softwoods.
 
I hadn't seen this kind of temp spike before the last few days, especially how high the temps are going. Not to say it never happened but I have been watching it closely since I moved the insert as far as I could into the room. I am refering to the top of the cover on the clydesdale as the stove top. The 6 or so inches it sticks into the room. I have been getting even higher temp readings from just above the fasade at the surround bracket. I figure because the flu collar is right behind it. 2-3 hours of flame from 4 good size splits is about right. The splits are 4-6 inches wide and 16-20 inches in lenghth. The door seal is a definite problem. I wasted two seals before I could get the third one to seal. It seems the door hinges cut it up each time I put one in. Cutting it to lenghth is no easy feat either. It seems to start to unravel as soon as I cut it. I tried repositioning the door and thought I had it this time. I haven't checked it yet today and probably won't get a chance as the temps are in the teens. Could the fact that we were having some heavy wind affect the temps in he box, and burn time? Thanks for the replys.
 
In the manual it states that they use an average f 20 lbs of seasoned hard wood per 1 foot of capacity to come up with their burn time claims. Is this a good measuring stick to see if I am getting the burn times the unit is capable of? If not, can someone give me a weight to go by that is more realistic?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.