Avalon Ranier Insert Temps

[Beer Belly]

When we bought our home back in 2007, the Wife said the first thing we are doing is getting a wood burning insert......I fought her on it because I like fires in the fireplace....naturally I lost (Thank god....she does know best). We bought an Avalon Ranier Insert.....the darn thing works great, and I can see the fire, so it's somewhat of a compromise....anyhow, we have one of those magnetic spring type temp gauges and place it on top of the stove to track temps....we usually run it about 350-400* (according to the gauge)....does this sound right ???....in order to get it hotter, I gotta get that puppy burning like crazy.....am I measuring in the right spot (top of stove) ???....I also have a problem getting long burns, they say it will burn up to 8 hours....most I get is 4-5 hours....it's like falling off a cliff...I pull out the damper, get to certain point, and wham...it pretty much kills the fire....I do give it about 10 minutes between adjustments....any suggestions or opinions ???are my temps good ???...is the gauge in the right spot ???....any tips on extended burn times ???....I looked at the owners manual, and it's no help on Temps. Great site guys....too much to read in the short period of time I have. Thanks
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/RicksPhotos/30 Benedict Rd/?action=view&current=DSCN1426.mp4

 

[tickbitty]

Sounds a little low to me, I have a Travis product too, and it runs nicely with stovetop above 500.

I'm not usually the one to beat this drum, but you might want to check your wood. Is it truly dry, like if you checked it with a moisture meter? Wood that isn't quite dry is difficult to burn and get up to temp without giving it tons of air, which means you won't get much secondary burn, will have more creosote, and shorter burn times. (hey, look at me, I learned something on hearth.com too! )

 

[Beer Belly]

Thanks for the reply....I have a feeling it is wood that is not totally seasoned. Most of the wood is Ash, some Oak and Maple....been sitting in the sun for 1 year, probably really not long enough, but it's what I've got split. The other thing about the Oak, and Maple, is that they were on the ground for about 3 months before I got'em.

 

[glenlloyd]

Newly installed Avalon Olympic, been burning junk wood (no idea what it is), a dead tree that a friend and I cut down maybe late July. I piled it on the ground here at home and that's what I've been pulling from.

I've been burning for a couple nights now and burning up to 650 and then closing the damper. Temp rises to around / slightly over 700F and it'll sit there for about an hour and then start to come down a bit and that's where it stays for quite a while. Actually this morning it was up to just over 750F for a while. Avalon says that overfiring is typically a sustained burn above 800F so I'm comfortable between 700-750.

I would think you need to run that stove up a little hotter, what's coming out your chimney?

Burn times are exaggerated or achieved under a very precise set of circumstances, probably very dissimilar to those of a residence, but I shouldn't really say since I don't know. I am hoping that the advertised 8-12 hour burn for the Olympic is within reason. I'd be happy for 8 hours personally, haven't needed to test the burn time yet, it'll be a while before I'll need to try it.

steve

 

[tickbitty]

Thanks for the reply....I have a feeling it is wood that is not totally seasoned. Most of the wood is Ash, some Oak and Maple....been sitting in the sun for 1 year, probably really not long enough, but it's what I've got split. The other thing about the Oak, and Maple, is that they were on the ground for about 3 months before I got'em.

Well most folks here don't think a year is enough for oak - but I would sure think Maple would be good to go after a year! (I sometimes burn mixed hardwoods like that, I do check with a moisture meter occasionally, and sometimes if the oak's not quite there I try to get a good mix with the other stuff.
So I don't know, maybe it's not your wood after all? Do you have good draft from your chimney? And is there a bypass damper on that stove, or is it just the one control for the air?
Because yeah it does sound like you're not getting it up hot enough - OR, that thermometer's no good, something ain't right!

 

[Beer Belly]

Now I'm starting to wonder if the thermometer is reading right....or maybe it's not in the right place to get an accurate reading.....I have it on top of the stove, and with the blower going, it's around 350-400*....I will tell ya though....those are the temps I'm running at the moment...it's 35 damp degrees outside, and 80* in the living room (Stove there), and 73* in our bedroom upstairs (only 6 steps up) at the other end of the house, so we are keeping warm, I just think maybe I'm not doing it right, and wasting wood and making more work for myself.

 

[Beer Belly]

As far as what is coming out of the chimney....no smoke, just the heat wave.....only the one air control.....top blocked off going into the fireplace....and lined all the way to the cap.

 

[Lighting Up]

I also have a problem getting long burns, they say it will burn up to 8 hours....most I get is 4-5 hours....it's like falling off a cliff...I pull out the damper, get to certain point, and wham...it pretty much kills the fire....

This does not sound right...I have a smaller Avalon Pendelton insert , I'm not sure the controls of your stove but with mine and it's a smaller box I get 8 hours burns easy... even overnight burns.

Season Wood could be the cause but maybe I not understanding what you mean by ..."it pretty much kills the fire"...are you leaving the air open to long enough and or not dampering it down to get the long burn and second burns...
md

 

[Beer Belly]

I also have a problem getting long burns, they say it will burn up to 8 hours....most I get is 4-5 hours....it's like falling off a cliff...I pull out the damper, get to certain point, and wham...it pretty much kills the fire....

This does not sound right...I have a smaller Avalon Pendelton insert , I'm not sure the controls of your stove but with mine and it's a smaller box I get 8 hours burns easy... even overnight burns.

Season Wood could be the cause but maybe I not understanding what you mean by ..."it pretty much kills the fire"...are you leaving the air open to long enough and or not dampering it down to get the long burn and second burns...
md

What happens is that I close off the air 3/4 of the way....still a little flame going.....if I close it even a smidge more, no more flame, I start loosing temperature, and end end with a chunk of blackened wood. The instructions say that you should pull the rod all the way out (air control....out is no air), and push back in 1/16 of an inch for a long burn....not in my case....then again, could be the wood....or a combination of things

 

[dafattkidd]

Beerbelly,

I may have missed this in the thread, and please excuse me if i did, but is your insert fully lined from the unit to the chimney?

EDIT: Ok my bad I saw it. Have you messed with the location of the thermometer? Maybe if you move the thermometer to a different location you'll get different readings? I had a Napoleon 1101 insert and you could not place the thermometer on the top for an accurate reading. Maybe that is nonsense for your set up but I thought I'd throw that out there.

Also have you tried another thermometer in the same spot? Maybe you thermometer is mis-calibrated? either way if your house is that warm and you're getting no smoke sounds like you're doing something right.

 

[glenlloyd]

At what temperature do you close the damper down?

steve

 

[Beer Belly]

At what temperature do you close the damper down?

steve

usually at 400*....that seems to be where it tops out at, according to our temp gauge....from time to time, 500*(if it can get there)...after about half hour of burn time....10 minutes between adjustments

 

[Lighting Up]

What happens is that I close off the air 3/4 of the way....still a little flame going.....if I close it even a smidge more, no more flame, I start loosing temperature, and end end with a chunk of blackened wood. The instructions say that you should pull the rod all the way out (air control....out is no air), and push back in 1/16 of an inch for a long burn....not in my case....then again, could be the wood....or a combination of things

[/quote]


My guess is you are closing it to much...like you said maybe because of your wood. Also, looks like you have been using this since 2008 have you cleaned the chimney and if you did how much creosote came out? Again that can tell you about your wood and how hot your burning.

Last year at the end of the season I ran low on wood and called my wood guy to drop some off. I could tell the difference from the seasoned year+ old wood I was using. This is what I did to burn it in my Avalon, I would forget about the gauge and burn the fire buy watching it. leave the air open longer, use small splits, get it hotter then close it down a little at a time till you find the right spot. Again not the best but I still got 7-8 hr burns and after I cleaned the chimney I did not notice anymore creosote then pass years...hope this helps.
md

 

[Beer Belly]

We have it cleaned yearly, there was a small pile of ash....looked on the dark side....not gray, but it was a fine powder. My problem has got to be the wood, and maybe the gauge isn't all that accurate. It is keepin' the house warm, although we haven't had any real cold nights yet, guess I'll just leave it gobblin' up more air to keep the temps higher, and reload every few hours.....I'm at that age where I gotta get up a couple times at night anyhow