Burning kiln dried red/white oak in NC30

[pberardi]

Last night got the fire started with some scrap red oak pieces and oak splits. Once i was ready for a reload i put in a few chunks of 2" thick kiln dried white oak around 18" long. I backed the air all the way down and went up to bed. for some reason i decided to check on the fire one more time and much to my surprise the stove was pegged and almost 800 degrees. I have a decent supply of red oak and white oak drops from a manufacture so i would like to use the material. Should i just throw them in and immediately back down the air supply? Maybe mix them with some splits that have a little higher moisture content?

 

[Chas0218]

I would mix. My stove (Englander SSW02) is close to the same thing as the NC30 just bigger window and runs right around 600 degrees sometimes has hit a little over 700 with a real cold night with 20% MC wood. I would guess that the kiln dried stuff is burning a little hotter also if there is a lot of smaller splits meaning more surface area it will definitely burn hotter. I have cut up old pallets and burned them with some construction scraps and she will really get cranking just doesn't have a long burn time.

 

[pberardi]

I am still trying to figure it out since i used to burn pellets. it was concerning to me that the stove continued to climb in temp when the damper was all the way closed. i would imagine its pretty tight since its only 2 years old. I don't want to get into a situation where my fiance is getting the stove going before i get home from work and even though she thought she did everything right the stove walked its way up to 800. Is it common for the temps to continue to climb even though the damper is all the way closed?

 

[edyit]

Is it common for the temps to continue to climb even though the damper is all the way closed?

yes, closing the damper closes the primary air, the secondary air is still open and gets secondary combustion going this is what really puts off the heat in a woodstove

 

[begreen]

2" kiln dry splits are going to burn like kindling, hot and fast. You'll need to pack them in tightly and turn down the air asap once they start burning.

 

[Chas0218]

I am still trying to figure it out since i used to burn pellets. it was concerning to me that the stove continued to climb in temp when the damper was all the way closed. i would imagine its pretty tight since its only 2 years old. I don't want to get into a situation where my fiance is getting the stove going before i get home from work and even though she thought she did everything right the stove walked its way up to 800. Is it common for the temps to continue to climb even though the damper is all the way closed?

Yes the 2nd combustion is much hotter you aren't just burning the wood but also the flammable gas given off by the wood. These newer stoves basically burn twice making them extremely efficient compared to the older stoves with no secondary burn.

For example my stove is considered a "Smart Stove" by Englander having the feature of automatic primary air shut off. Basically a spring that heats up and shuts the primary air vent. I showed my wife how to do fires using this feature so I wouldn't have to worry about her over firing the stove. When I was burning small fires a few weeks ago and had her do a couple she used the auto shut off. The stove never kicked down because it didn't get hot enough so it burned wide open and the stove only got up to about 400* at the hottest point and never really warmed the house. All those BTU's went straight up the chimney. No fault of hers she didn't know any better, she was new to burning last year and I showed her what to do this year and no issues. You might try to shut it down a little earlier. I'm a little out of practice and shut it down a little too early and end up having to open her back up to get it going again.

 

[pberardi]

Update - Tried the techniques listed above last night. seemed to help and had it cruising around 550. while i worked in the basement. Loaded it up for the night pretty much didn't even let the wood catch pushed the damper in and shut the door. Came down and checked it a few minutes later and it was around 400-500. seemed more under control than yesterday. Had every intention of checking it again but i didnt wake up to my alarm.

Went down this morning to a hot bed of coals and the stove around 300 (surface temp). Loaded it up before i showered for work, checked it before i left 550 with purple lazy flame...good right? No, called the fiance about 30 minutes after to get her to check and the stove was around 750 with the entire fire box rippin. Got her to open the door a few times to calm it down going to get another update here at 7AM. Few questions -

1. Seems like the gasket is squished more around the door latch and not so much on the top and bottom. I did notice a small air gap at the top yesterday which was fixed by shutting the door tighter. I will probably replace the rope gasket tonight for good measure on the door and glass. Do i really need to wait 12 hours for that to seal or can i pull the old, put in the new and burn off of the coals i hope to have when i get home.
2. This stove has an ash drawer that i will probably never use. Is the stove possibly getting oxygen from that drawer? there is no seal on it just sheet metal against sheet metal. in the stove there is a heavy cast piece to block off the ash clean out hole but again no seal.
3. I did not install a damper in the flu as the instructions did not call for one...should i consider?

 

[pberardi]

*** i should note last night i used a mixture of 10% moisture content splits with 1-2 pieces of kiln dried red oak slabs. This morning i used 100% splits - both times i did not load over the brick level per the Englander manual

 

[edyit]

the stove was around 750

what do you use to measure this temp with? a lot of magnetic thermometers can be off, was anything glowing? @Highbeam will tell you that he runs his stove for all its worth and shoots for this temp

This stove has an ash drawer that i will probably never use. Is the stove possibly getting oxygen from that drawer? there is no seal on it just sheet metal against sheet metal. in the stove there is a heavy cast piece to block off the ash clean out hole but again no seal.

keep the cleanout plug covered in ash and you wont have to worry about it leaking

 

[begreen]

If the gaskets are sealing well, try burning larger splits and turning down the air much sooner. Don't wait 30 minutes or for a high stove top temp before turning down the air. Turn it down as soon as the wood is burning well and turn it down until the flames start getting lazy. Then wait for 5-10 minutes for the flames to regain strength and secondary combustion begins. Then turn it down again until the flames get lazy. By turning down the air aggressively the wood will outgas slower. This helps reduce the peak spike in temperature and extends the burn time.

 

[Highbeam]

This stove really shines above 600. On my install it tends to stop rising at about 750. That’s where it lives, 600-750, until it runs out of fuel after a couple of hours and then I need to reload fresh fuel to keep her hot and rocking!

Oh, a funny thing, as this stove heats up the door gets so loose that it lets air in. Be sure to check that the handle is tight after it heats up.
Then in the morning when it’s ice cold the latch will be really tight.

I have no experience trying to slow the nc30 down to a crawl for low temps and long burn times. For that purpose I bought a cat stove that automatically adjusts itself to maintain any of a wide range of chosen temperatures. You want a 300 degree stove for 24 hours? Just set the dial.

Spend time burning your nc30 with your fuel. You’ll get to know it’s rhythm and what to expect. Nobody likes surprises but even if you expect each load to peak out at 700 and then cool for 5 hours then you can work with that and make the best of it.

 

[pberardi]

well, put a new gasket on the door and resealed the window. I also took out the ash drop cast piece and put a piece of 5/16" steel in that bolts through to the ash pan with another piece down there to sandwich it together. put some stove cement in-between the layers to make a seal. got the stove to stay under 700 so thats a plus.

went for a reload today when it was at 400 and loaded it up with some pretty big splits. had the damper open for about 5 minutes till they just about caught then shut it down all the way. 30 min later stove was and is still up to 650 with the damper all the way closed. I guess it is what it is?

I was hoping to be able to load the stove up with wood and have it burn at 400 for 6-8 hours instead it seems like it will burn at 600 2 hours then coast down to around 300-400 for 4 hours.

 

[pberardi]

what do you use to measure this temp with? a lot of magnetic thermometers can be off, was anything glowing? @Highbeam will tell you that he runs his stove for all its worth and shoots for this temp



keep the cleanout plug covered in ash and you wont have to worry about it leaking

i was using a IR thermometer, since the unit is in the basement i think i am going to try and find something digital with an alarm so dont need to go up and down the stairs 300 times.

 

[Highbeam]

well, put a new gasket on the door and resealed the window. I also took out the ash drop cast piece and put a piece of 5/16" steel in that bolts through to the ash pan with another piece down there to sandwich it together. put some stove cement in-between the layers to make a seal. got the stove to stay under 700 so thats a plus.

went for a reload today when it was at 400 and loaded it up with some pretty big splits. had the damper open for about 5 minutes till they just about caught then shut it down all the way. 30 min later stove was and is still up to 650 with the damper all the way closed. I guess it is what it is?

I was hoping to be able to load the stove up with wood and have it burn at 400 for 6-8 hours instead it seems like it will burn at 600 2 hours then coast down to around 300-400 for 4 hours.

That last sentence is key. That last sentence describes a modern epa noncat perfectly. It rises in temperature in response to the wood gasses being produced with an intentional system that prevents the user from stopping it. See, if those gasses aren’t burnt up for heat then they are released as pollution. Once the initial bloom of gasses has passed, the temperatures fall down to a more reasonable level but still hot enough to burn the remaining fuel cleanly.

 

[pberardi]

I wish i would have read a little more before i bought this one. I am happy with it but i think since i am at work for 12 hours a day a stove with more efficiency would have been the ticket...maybe next year.

 

[nola mike]

I wish i would have read a little more before i bought this one. I am happy with it but i think since i am at work for 12 hours a day a stove with more efficiency would have been the ticket...maybe next year.

Not sure what the problem is? Are your house temps fluctuating too much? Are you coming home to a cold house? Otherwise sounds like you have a properly running stove...The peaking temps are partly secondary burn = efficiency, ie (nearly) complete combustion.

 

[Highbeam]

You can manage and learn to enjoy those temperature swings. This isn’t central heat, some variation in home temperatures is to be expected not only based on which part of the house you’re in but also when you last reloaded.

I didn’t catch your home size but the nc30 is one of the largest stoves you can buy and at high temperatures it can really overheat a small place.