Dog house?

[mr.short]

My question is: can the dog house on a Mansfield be cleaned or is it not necessary,I'm concerned it may fill with ash. this is our first season with this stove so we are still learning, I'm not even sure if "dog house" is even the correct term for the box in the front with the two holes in the rear for air but this is what installer called it and they have been less than helpful. We love the stove and has done a good job so far,however i would like to see longer burn times 6hrs. is about it then its about out. Thanks for any tips













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[DAKSY]

Damn. You should be getting almost TWICE that in burn times.
What are you burning & at what temperatures?
What's your chimney configuration?

 

[blades]

Dog = primary air into fire box, never tried to clean mine( Englander NC30) I suppose you could stick the vacume wand on it after everything else has been cleaned out. Burn time is related to type of wood, size of unit, settings, and a lot of other variables, awful lot of opinions on that. I am not that familiar with your unit. By my own standard - I fill mine up around 6am get it going on secondary's and set for a low rate. it keeps my 2000 sq.ft. ranch above the 60 deg. setting on the NG unit 98% of the time until I get back home to refill anywhere in the 8-12 hr range. I can usually find enough coals to restart, although it might not be adding heat to the dwelling at that point.

 

[shawneyboy]

When you open the air fully,, say when reloading, any ash gets blown out of there. Perhaps in off season vac it out as long as you have a drywall filter or a hepa filter.

6 hours ? That is an issue. What kind of wood, what is your setup, what temps are you seeing, are you closing down the draft control?

Oh and WELCOME TO THE FORUM !

Shawn

 

[mr.short]

We burn all dry red oak, stove top temp. has never been above 525 on center stone,with a stright pipe probably 14 ft. top 8 ft. triple wall new stainless double wall 6inch pipe inside,i load it with air control fully open until stove top reaches about 350 400 then back it down fully and 6 hrs later enough coals to start over but if i wait 8 hrs would have to start from scratch, i believe everything is installed right just think claims of 10-12 hrs. may be unrealistic could have went with equinox easily but the place we purchased from said it was way bigger than we needed, wish i would have followed my own thoughts but this stove will do the job just have to learn it

 

[mr.short]

When the "high command" gets home ill have her show me how to use her fancy camera and take some pics i sure we are set up properly however i could get into a mind numbing discusion about the operation of a soap stone stove but that would take too long and too contravercial and its time to head for the woods and take out frustations on mother natures fuzzy little creatures,thanks guys

 

[fishingpol]

I'm taking interest in this thread. My neighbor has a Tribute, and it is just not drafting well either. I tried to run it this past weekend, and opening and closing the damper was not making much of a difference. I ended up looking at the manual online and saw it mentioned on pg 18 under the "normal operation" section. I really think his needs a doghouse cleanout too. His glass is pretty dark, and reloads are very smoky. I will put a mopisture meter to his splits maybe this weekend.

 

[flyingpig]

Hmm...if you don't have coal left after 8 hours, it means that you have enough primary air to burn them down. So I guess your dog house is not stuffed. But I've heard other talked about preventing air entering the dog house completely to extend burn time. I'm not sure how it'll help in your case. You may want to search on an old thread.

Cheers.....Som

 

[Milton Findley]

Put more wood in it if you want longer burns and shut the air all the way down. All the way down still lets a fair amount in through the primary and the secondary tubes are always wide open. There is a lot of hot soapstone after 8 hours of burning, cooling off while heating your home.

The doghouse is sort of self cleaning, as there is quite a breeze through it. I even inspected mine with my inspection camera, and it is almost pristine after a year of burning.

 

[pen]

Maybe the Mansfield is different, but on the 30 the dog house air is not really controlled by adjusting the primary air lever. The air control lever adjusts how much air comes down over the air wash. If anything, when closing the primary air down the dog house air come out harder. I've seen it literally slice a piece of wood in 1/2 w/ a flame looking like a torch coming out of it. I'd say vac it out on cleanings but you should notice a difference in the fire if it were not allowing air through. I agree that w/ the air that runs through them, I'd be surprised if it really ever had much build up in it unless you raked ash right in there.

pen

 

[mr.short]

Back from the woods, Milt i filler to the gills thats not the problem,splits are 3inch-to maybe 8inch dry seasoned red oak wood is not the issue could it be that it burns up half the wood getting temp to400 before shuting it down,it does take long time to get the middle stone up to 400,guess maybe a Mansfield owner could chime in we have a big old clayton forced air wood burning furnace in the basement for really cold weather and if i fill it up it would last till spring

 

[pen]

Does the fire go out if you try closing the air down some before it gets to 400?

If the flames just get a bit lazy, but are still there, you may be waiting too long to close that air down and sending a lot of heat up the flue.

How long does it usually take to get to 400 w/ the air wide open?

pen

 

[Todd]

i load it with air control fully open until stove top reaches about 350 400 then back it down fully and 6 hrs later enough coals to start over but if i wait 8 hrs would have to start from scratch

How long does it take to reach these temps? I think you need to back it down sooner to extend your burn times. 15-20 minutes should be all you need on high til you start backing down. It might also be helpful to install a thermometer for your pipe to judge a better time to turn it down.

 

[shawneyboy]

Back from the woods, Milt i filler to the gills thats not the problem,splits are 3inch-to maybe 8inch dry seasoned red oak wood is not the issue could it be that it burns up half the wood getting temp to400 before shuting it down,it does take long time to get the middle stone up to 400,guess maybe a Mansfield owner could chime in we have a big old clayton forced air wood burning furnace in the basement for really cold weather and if i fill it up it would last till spring

You are basing it on the stove top. That is a problem. You should get a flue probe for the stove. Rocks heat up a bit slower than a metal stove. I use the flue gas temp not the stove tem to tell me when to shut her down. I bet you are sending a ton of heat up the flue that you shouldn't be. How long is it untill you start shuting her down ??? Depending on wood, outside temp, size of load, I am shuting her down completely in I guess 30 mins or so.

BTW here is the airflow of the Manny....

 

[mr.short]

When we close it all the way there is lazy nice looking secondaries coming off wood,as far as time goes with a new fire and stove cold,loaded,wide open,id say it takes a good 45-60 min to get up there and as i stated ive never seen 575 on therm this unit does heat our home but do not see it burning all night if it gets 10 below out and i open up air control for more over night heat if i age a little faster prostate may inlarge and problem solved :coolhmm:

 

[Todd]

Sounds too long to me, try cutting back a little sooner, your losing a lot of your BTU's and potential burn times up the flue.

 

[pen]

I think I'd try playing around w/ closing the air down faster. Those stones hold a lot of heat, but only absorb heat so fast. If your fire is rocking and rolling faster than they can suck up the heat, it's just going to go up the chimney.

pen

 

[shawneyboy]

As a side note... from personal experience on the Mansfield, closing the primary most definately does shut down dog house air. Just so you know.

Wiithout a flue probe thermo, wait until your wood is charred good, say 15 mins or so, which may take a bit longer at this time of year, then shut down the air in stages, go from full open to almost completely closed over say a 15 min time frame, so, fully open open-1/3 closed-2/3 closed , almost completely closed(shoulder season) or fully closed (very cold outdoor temps).

See how that does for you, I bet that will increase your burn times.

Opening up the air flow does not create more heat in the house, it actually will send the heat up the flue as well as use up that fuel much faster.

Man if I fully loaded up my Manny at this time of year with Red Oak I would have to open up some windows or lose a few pounds from sweating, heating 2k square feet.

 

[pen]

As a side note... from personal experience on the Mansfield, closing the primary most definately does shut down dog house air. Just so you know.

I saw that in the pic you left. Always interesting to see how different manufacturers make different use of what may appear to be a similar device.

pen

 

[mr.short]

i agree,its a new stove so by next season i should be a pro and im also wondering if our thermometer is even close it came from the place we bought stove from sent 3 of them similar to a rutland but a bit smaller also without spending a ton is there any dial type that would work on a double pipe,our glass is never dirty unless i shut it down too soon or reload with it shut down and if itglass is dirty it will clean it self,im suddenly leaning towards a bad therm.

 

[shawneyboy]

Double pipe you need a probe.

Another side note... In the depth of winter my stove top cruises at 575 or so quite easily, in the shoulder season I run smaller loads and stove top hits 400- 450.

Shawn

 

[mr.short]

If i knew how i would post pics,is that a simple thing to do?

 

[shawneyboy]

yep easy as long as they are not to large... use post reply, then attach.. for more than one pic hit preview, then attach, then preview, then attach.. lather, rinse, ......

 

[pen]

If i knew how i would post pics,is that a simple thing to do?

This thread may help. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewannounce/27_2/

pen

 

[shawneyboy]

Just did a 3/4 load with some observations for the OP

Loaded stove, center stone reading about 175 degrees. Load was mix of Oak, Silver Maple and One split of Pine. Air wide open.

After 20 Mins start shut down, wood charing nicely, center stone only 250 degrees but flue gasses at 600.

5 or so mins later, close draft to 2/3 open, flue gas at 700

5 or so mins later close draft to 1/3 open, flue gas at 775

5 or so mins later close draft to almost fully closed flue gas at 900

The important thing to note here center stone temp at 350-375, and I am done for the night... Stove will heat up very fast now and probably top out in the neighborhood of 525.

I will reload stove sometime around 7 to 7:30 in the morning which will give me 8 hours burn on 3/4 load of a not all Oak load. With Oak I would get even longer burn time and more coaling.

Shawn