Castine secondary burn

[Bub381]

If there are no levers but for draft. How does the secondary work? It just burns and doesn't reburn till up to temp?

 

[begreen]

It works quite well. With decent draft and good, dry wood the stove comes up to temperature pretty quickly. As you restrict primary air, the draw on secondary air gets stronger. This stove produces some spectacular light shows.

 

[Bub381]

So this is just secondary air it's not a reburn like as say a cat works?

 

[NH_Wood]

So this is just secondary air it's not a reburn like as say a cat works?

I suppose it is a 'reburn', since you are burning the smoke via secondary combustion prior to the smoke escaping the firebox and entering the flue. It is a different way of achieving the burning of gases from the cat stove. Cheers!

 

[Bub381]

Just read a big column about it on here, answered alot. Now they're saying the Castine is known for 800 temps and among those that have possibility of runaways. Just ordered 1.Damn i can't win.lol

 

[begreen]

Relax, remember that a lot of times folks post here because they are having a problem. Very rarely is this with the stove. Most often it is with the flue, fuel, or the way the stove is being run. I would not have a lot of angst about this. It's not typical to have a daily 800F burn in the F400, except from too strong draft or operator error. But if it did hit that temp, the stove would be fine. It's very well made stove and a great heater. Most folks run it in the 500-700F range. Remember though that this is not an electric stove. You don't set the thermostat and get that temperature. There will be an initial outgassing of wood that will raise the temp and then a gradual decline until it's time to refuel.

 

[Bub381]

Got ya on the heat decline.I have read alot about this stove and it's drafting probs and how the smoke is directed close to the loading door due to the shallow firebox. I also have been looking at the Alderlea T4 and T5 and was wondering if anybody would give me an answer on the better stove. I have looked at the spec's best i could on both stoves.

 

[begreen]

Do you already own the Castine or not?

 

[Bub381]

Have money down but prob would let me switch stoves if we decided. just like to cover all bases.Just been reading alot lately.

 

[begreen]

If you go back to your first post you'll see I was suggesting a long burning 2 cu ft stove. Still think that is the best solution. The T5 is perhaps the best in the PE line. It would be my first choice and the only model available in enamel if that is important.

 

[Bub381]

If i have hardwood that's only dry for 7 or 8 months will this stove still burn it even though at a lower heat and some creosote build up? If it's not hot enough for the secondaries to kick in will this stove still burn safely?

 

[begreen]

Depends on the wood, and that is not specific to the Castine. It will burn safely, but poorly if the wood is damp. We've had reports of folks not being able to get their stoves up to secondary burning temperature due to poor wood. Try to do all you can now to insure that not happening. There are some species of hardwood that dry out much more quickly than others. For example, if buying pre-split wood, avoid oak this season and try to get ash if possible. And give the wood the maximum advantage for drying by stacking it so that the prevailing winds blow through the stacks and cover it on the top.

 

[Bub381]

Been drying a couple weeks. Very open here, windy and no shade near piles.Maple and softwood so far. Need a couple more cord of hardwood to dry SOON.

 

[oldspark]

Been drying a couple weeks. Very open here, windy and no shade near piles.Maple and softwood so far. Need a couple more cord of hardwood to dry SOON.

Even Oak split small will dry out quicker than many say, single rows in the wind and sun plus as much time in the warmer months will get you useable wood, some of the people on here might give you the wrong ideas about how dry you can get your wood in one long summer.

 

[firefighterjake]

I suppose you can go by BeGreen and others' explanations of how secondary burns work or you can believe me . . . it works by pixie magic . . . invisible magical Norwegian pixies who can survive the high heat of the stove (their natural environment where they are caught is the Beerenberg Volcano) use their pixie magic when you are able to bring the stove up to a certain temp . . . once brought up to temp you cut back the oxygen flowing into the stove and the oxygen deprivation causes a sort of hallucinogenic high in the pixies and they end up passing fireballs out of their bums . . . since they are so small we cannot see these individual fireballs . . . to you and I they simply look like a secondary burn . . . sometimes the view is a lot like the Northern Lights as the flames at the top just look lazy . . . other times (especially if the pixies have had a lot of baked beans) it looks like a portal to Hell has opened up in the stove.

And there you have it . . . you can either believe all those other guys with their fancy schmancy explanations of how secondary burns work . . . or you can believe my explanation about magical pixies.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

I like the Pixie majic idea, I wonder if you've been smoking any of that dust Jake?

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

I suppose you can go by BeGreen and others' explanations of how secondary burns work or you can believe me . . . it works by pixie magic . . . invisible magical Norwegian pixies who can survive the high heat of the stove (their natural environment where they are caught is the Beerenberg Volcano) use their pixie magic when you are able to bring the stove up to a certain temp . . . once brought up to temp you cut back the oxygen flowing into the stove and the oxygen deprivation causes a sort of hallucinogenic high in the pixies and they end up passing fireballs out of their bums . . . since they are so small we cannot see these individual fireballs . . . to you and I they simply look like a secondary burn . . . sometimes the view is a lot like the Northern Lights as the flames at the top just look lazy . . . other times (especially if the pixies have had a lot of baked beans) it looks like a portal to Hell has opened up in the stove.

And there you have it . . . you can either believe all those other guys with their fancy schmancy explanations of how secondary burns work . . . or you can believe my explanation about magical pixies.

So how about say Lopi/Avalon stoves... do they use pixies caught in the Cascade volcanos since they're made in Washington?

 

[begreen]

You are a one trick pony my man. Lots of stoves are made in WA. They use pixies, goblins, grungers, and treehuggers in a fine mix to make them work.

 

[firefighterjake]

I suppose you can go by BeGreen and others' explanations of how secondary burns work or you can believe me . . . it works by pixie magic . . . invisible magical Norwegian pixies who can survive the high heat of the stove (their natural environment where they are caught is the Beerenberg Volcano) use their pixie magic when you are able to bring the stove up to a certain temp . . . once brought up to temp you cut back the oxygen flowing into the stove and the oxygen deprivation causes a sort of hallucinogenic high in the pixies and they end up passing fireballs out of their bums . . . since they are so small we cannot see these individual fireballs . . . to you and I they simply look like a secondary burn . . . sometimes the view is a lot like the Northern Lights as the flames at the top just look lazy . . . other times (especially if the pixies have had a lot of baked beans) it looks like a portal to Hell has opened up in the stove.

And there you have it . . . you can either believe all those other guys with their fancy schmancy explanations of how secondary burns work . . . or you can believe my explanation about magical pixies.

So how about say Lopi/Avalon stoves... do they use pixies caught in the Cascade volcanos since they're made in Washington?

I'm unsure . . . I've only done the research on the Jotul stoves . . . I think BeGreen knows more about what they use in the Lopi and Avalon stoves to make things work.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

My wife thinks I'm nuts, I'm in the office laughing at the Magical Pixies...

 

[firefighterjake]

I like the Pixie majic idea, I wonder if you've been smoking any of that dust Jake?

Nope . . . this is all from my research that I did before I bought my Jotul stove. Me . . . I don't inhale except for a very occasional cigar.