Burn rate and cold drafts

[JA600L]

Is it safe to say that running at a higher burn rate actually pulls more cold air into the house? I figure it has to because you are feeding more air to the combustion.

So part of burning efficiently is filling gaps, insulating walls, attic, replacing old windows and doors.

Burning dry seasoned wood gives you more control and dampening ability to slow down air infiltration while achieving maximum burn times.

It's like a big science experiment

 

[BrotherBart]

So part of burning efficiently is filling gaps, insulating walls, attic, replacing old windows and doors.

That or installing an outside air kit for combustion air.

 

[TradEddie]

Is it safe to say that running at a higher burn rate actually pulls more cold air into the house? I figure it has to because you are feeding more air to the combustion.

Yes, but even if you did have an OAK, running at a high burn rate is rarely, if ever the way to get the most heat out of your fire and into your house. There is a sweet spot on your air intake where you are using the minimum amount of air necessary to get the heat you want. Too much air burns a nice hot fire, and too much of that heat goes up the chimney. The problem is that the sweet spot depends on many factors, some specific to your installation and some that change from day to day: chimney height, cap design, wood type, load configuration, wood dryness, house tightness, outside air temperature, inside air temperature, probably interior and exterior humidity and atmospheric pressure and for all I can figure, moon phase too.

That's what makes it fun, and sometimes frustrating.

Second only to using unseasoned wood, I bet the next most common mistake of many woodburners is leaving that air control open too far, seeing a hot fire, and complaining that the stove just doesn't heat well.

It's May, I shouldn't be here still...

TE

 

[HotCoals]

It may be May but it's 45 here and my stove is going..lol.

Even a fairly well sealed house provides plenty of combustion air for a stove.

 

[Highbeam]

It may be May but it's 45 here and my stove is going..lol.

Even a fairly well sealed house provides plenty of combustion air for a stove.

52 and burning here too. Another month or so. The off season is the best time to research and make changes since you can shut down the stove if you need.

Efficiency on non cats is weird. They do best at higher burn rates but is thar combustion efficiency or actual delivrred heat efficiency. Using a proper outside air intake eliminates structure leakage as a factor.

 

[HotCoals]

52 and burning here too. Another month or so. The off season is the best time to research and make changes since you can shut down the stove if you need.

Efficiency on non cats is weird. They do best at higher burn rates but is thar combustion efficiency or actual delivrred heat efficiency. Using a proper outside air intake eliminates structure leakage as a factor.

All I know is the EPA only cares about what comes out the stack as far as efficiency is concerned.
It seems to me that tube burners put out more heat at idle (low burn) then a cat stove,at least for 4 or so hours. Therefor more air could be going into a tube burner at idle. Prolly why the glass stays cleaner also.

 

[Highbeam]

I know this isn't a cat/non-cat thread but as has been pointed out here on this forum by the manufacturers, the "throttle" on a non-cat doesn't actually regulate the amount of air entering the stove. It is just an adjustment on the ratio of air entering the primary vs. the secondary system (tubes). Since the secondary system on most non-cats is full throttle all the time, there is no reduction of air possible so the non-cat will always be sucking. Yes, clean burners for sure.

 

[begreen]

It's pretty easy to run a non-cat in this weather as long as you have good dry wood. It just means you don't keep the fire going and the throttle is the quantity of wood. With a stove like the T6 we just get it started burning nicely on 3 splits. That will bring the internal temp up to secondary burning in about 10 minutes with good dry wood like doug fir. Then add another couple splits, let them engage, then start turning the air down to 50%, let it catch up, then reduce again. A five split fire in the morning will keep the house around 72-75 all day long. A friend up north heats their place 24/7 with wood only in a Summit and it is smaller than our house. The burn is clean, no smoke from the flue after about 10 minutes and the mass of the stove seems to even out the heat fine.

 

[Highbeam]

It's pretty easy to run a non-cat in this weather as long as you have good dry wood. It just means you don't keep the fire going and the throttle is the quantity of wood. With a stove like the T6 we just get it started burning nicely on 3 splits. That will bring the internal temp up to secondary burning in about 10 minutes with good dry wood like doug fir. Then add another couple splits, let them engage, then start turning the air down to 50%, let it catch up, then reduce again. A five split fire in the morning will keep the house around 72-75 all day long. A friend up north heats their place 24/7 with wood only in a Summit and it is smaller than our house. The burn is clean, no smoke from the flue after about 10 minutes and the mass of the stove seems to even out the heat fine.

Gotta do domething similar in the cat stove too. Even on low burn, it's too much output so we practice "pulse and glide" woodburning this time of year.