I had been following the manual word for word as well including loading left to right, not getting wood near the cat (which is very difficult to not do with the 20), keeping it on high for as long as the manual stated which is longer than necessary (and which would burn up the wood so I couldn't achieve longer burn times). When the dealer was here checking it out he stuffed wood in the easy way - front to back and packed as much as would fit. I do that now and I just let it burn until cat is engaged, then maybe 5-10 min on high before turning down the stat. Have also found that turning it down in smaller increments for ~10 minutes at a time works better. Wood changes the burns each time, but these stoves really seem to fall into the category of fussy and finicky. What is the longest burn time you have gotten?
Blaze King Sirocco 20 Help thread #2
- Thread starter laura bv
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Have to say that issue sounds like partially seasoned wood. By other reports here, with dry wood you would be able to dial it in much faster. Not that your technique is wrong. It just takes longer to boil off the moisture in the wood.
Agreed be green. I have found that if you don't get a good char on all the wood you can't load it and just run high for too little amount of time. I don't think that the embers created by the low setting are able to burn all the wood in that load leaving wood behind unburned. This is my happy cat
BTW with my dry wood I can turn the thermostat down on mine all the way till it stops. Like 1 full revolution past the low setting. It seems to burn just a tad lower then the low setting.
Not sure why they don't have a positive stop on the lowest setting.
Not sure why they don't have a positive stop on the lowest setting.
No, the point was I was responding to the post about following the manual by the letter It was the issue with the manual. We were followng the manual word for word. I burn on high now for half the time the manual recommends.
What does the manual recommend Laura? I don't remember what mine said. It's finicky as far as it needs dry wood but if you have dry wood most loads will run pretty much the same regardless of species.
"Let the fire burn on a higher setting (on the thermostat) for 20-30 minutes, or until the fire is well established, then turn the
thermostat to the desired setting. It is good burning practice to burn the stove on high for 20-30 mins after every refueling, this
will help in cleaning off any residual build-ups and lessen the chance of accumulation."
" Operate the stove on a higher temperature setting for the half hour after reloading."
" However, since each application can vary, you may find it necessary to operate the thermostat to suit your application."
"As the combustor temperature (as indicated by the thermometer on top of the stove) passes into the active zone, further
adjustment to achieve the desired room temperature should be made in small increments for the most effective cleaner burning
operation. Changes, generally speaking, should be made as few times each day as possible. When the thermostat knob is moved
from high to low, more gases is produced, so the combustor has more fuel; consequently the combustor thermometer may register
a higher heat for several hours after the thermostat is turned down."
I can't really fault the manual here. They are giving good advice for average conditions. Individual installations and the wood vary so much that the manual would have to be 2-3 times as long to cover them all. And right about page 3 most folks eyes would start glazing over.
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Yes, I was simply responding to Dhide's post - we don't have to necessarily follow the manual to the letter, we don't need to burn on high for as long as the manual recommends.
Heck, even my micro-mini Keystone
is doing pretty well without much sealing or insulation in our 1000 sq.ft . With more weatherization, a 12-hr. low burn in the 'stone will be sufficient in all but the coldest weather. I'd expect the 20 to burn at least as long.I guess they're worried about flame impingement on the cat, since there doesn't appear to be a heat shield for the cat?
Did you try putting in your zip code instead of a nearby city name? That might give you more accurate temps for your location.
[QUOTE
laura bv said: ↑
whoever checked on the mild temps here: NOAA typically reports at least 10 degrees higher over night temps than the weather.com site
][/QUOTE]
Some sites go to the nearest big city/town, try this site
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=southbridge, ma
laura bv said: ↑
whoever checked on the mild temps here: NOAA typically reports at least 10 degrees higher over night temps than the weather.com site
][/QUOTE]
Some sites go to the nearest big city/town, try this site
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=southbridge, ma
Just bought some Rutland brushes from Amazon and fitted them with PVC, but... (no plans to get back up on the roof - the manual i memorized says check every 2 months).
As long as the cat is burning, there shouldn't be much gunk in the exhaust that could be deposited in the chimney. But with a new stove or different wood, it's always a good idea to keep an eye on in until you know what to expect....
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