Door cracked on start-up timelines

[joefrompa]

Hi all,

I have a lopi republic 1750 insert attached to a pretty much straight up ~13-15' S.S. liner with a nice open cap and an insulated run. My draft is "ok" once burning, but usually starts out a little on the weak side. I manage.

Nonetheless, since I've begun burning I've used a wide variety of wood. Ash, pine (in all states), elm, maple.

I've become very good at starting up my firebox. I use loads of kindling, a few splits, and a whole lot of newspaper and it consistently comes to a great start.

What I've begun to notice though is not only do I ALWAYS have to leave the door cracked, I pretty much always have to leave it cracked for ~8-10 minutes. Even at the 5 minute mark, shutting the door leads inevitably to a fire that almost dies. At the 8-10 minute mark, my firebox with the door cracked usually reads ~200 stove top temp.

Now this seems like a long time to me and I'm sure it's slowing the heating of the firebox. But I cannot seem to find anyway around it - period. The fire dies if I shut that door - even if it was pretty much roaring a moment before.

I leave the bypass damper OPEN and the air control open.

Does anyone else experience this? I'd blame it on wood, but it happens with all different types and seasonings of wood. I'd blame it on draft, but the stove seems to have nice suction and airflow after only 60-90 seconds since lightoff.

Joe

 

[BrowningBAR]

Hi all,

I have a lopi republic 1750 insert attached to a pretty much straight up ~13-15' S.S. liner with a nice open cap and an insulated run. My draft is "ok" once burning, but usually starts out a little on the weak side. I manage.

Nonetheless, since I've begun burning I've used a wide variety of wood. Ash, pine (in all states), elm, maple.

I've become very good at starting up my firebox. I use loads of kindling, a few splits, and a whole lot of newspaper and it consistently comes to a great start.

What I've begun to notice though is not only do I ALWAYS have to leave the door cracked, I pretty much always have to leave it cracked for ~8-10 minutes. Even at the 5 minute mark, shutting the door leads inevitably to a fire that almost dies. At the 8-10 minute mark, my firebox with the door cracked usually reads ~200 stove top temp.

Now this seems like a long time to me and I'm sure it's slowing the heating of the firebox. But I cannot seem to find anyway around it - period. The fire dies if I shut that door - even if it was pretty much roaring a moment before.

I leave the bypass damper OPEN and the air control open.

Does anyone else experience this? I'd blame it on wood, but it happens with all different types and seasonings of wood. I'd blame it on draft, but the stove seems to have nice suction and airflow after only 60-90 seconds since lightoff.

Joe

For everyone it's different. It depends upon the stove, the draft, the temperature and the wood's moisture content. The door cracked 8-10 minutes from a cold start doesn't seem awful, but there are several here that have it cracked for a far shorter amount of time.

You might want to try less newspaper and more kindling, The paper burns out quite quickly while good kindling will catch quickly and burn longer.

Also, since we are in the same location, how much surface moisture do you have on your wood right now due to all the rain? It was a pain when I did my first fire a few days ago. I neglected to bring in any wood the previous day and every thing was damp. Took 30 minutes to get the damn stove going.

 

[jimbom]

Parasitic draft is never discussed. My presumption, it is well known to the membership. However, it seems to me that a crack or opening in an induced draft assembly would have a marked effect on performance. If you have an opening in the flue, draft would be degraded. Leaky joints, open seam, loose cap etc.

 

[DexterDay]

Hald a Super Cedar and a few pieces of newspaper on top and I can close the door after 1-2 minutes. Newspaper gets the draft going and after the kindling gets started (1-2 min) I can close the door. I know this is a much different stove/set-up but thought I would share.

 

[Nonprophet]

We always had to leave the door cracked on our Oslo at least 15-20 minutes to get the fire going, and I never liked doing that because A) I don't think you should have to do that with a high quality stove and a proper chimney, and B) I was worried about forgetting about the fire and letting it get out of control.

We just replaced the Oslo with a Quadrafire Isle Royale which I just fired up for the first time last night. No need to crack the door at all--and it the draft conditions were marginal at best. Given that we're using the same chimney, same wood, and same operator--obviously it was the stove that was the problem, and I'm so glad that we got rid of it


NP

 

[bpm44]

I've had pretty good luck with super cedars (or their equivalent).

Chimney is exactly 15', 1/2 of a super cedar four logs (mixed hardwoods) -two on the bottom n-s, two on top e-w, and 3 sheets of the local news paper. No kindling. Bypass closed, air control full open and Door cracked for about 5 mins or so, sip some coffee or another appropriate beverage and it's good to close the door.

So far this year it's been averaging about 20 mins till the blower kicks on.

 

[daryl]

I've had pretty good luck with super cedars (or their equivalent).

Chimney is exactly 15', 1/2 of a super cedar four logs (mixed hardwoods) -two on the bottom n-s, two on top e-w, and 3 sheets of the local news paper. No kindling. Bypass closed, air control full open and Door cracked for about 5 mins or so, sip some coffee or another appropriate beverage and it's good to close the door.

So far this year it's been averaging about 20 mins till the blower kicks on.

I bet if you leave the bypass open you would not have to leave the door open at all.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

and it the draft conditions were marginal at best. Given that we're using the same chimney, same wood, and same operator--obviously it was the stove that was the problem, and I'm so glad that we got rid of it


NP[/quote]

I'd be curious how well your new stove does at startup with a marginal at best draft. I have owned and operated my Oslo for 4 years now and along with my 35' flue and super draft I have never run into any startup issues with my Jotul. Maybe its the draft not the stove.

 

[begreen]

Different stoves breath differently. The IR is one that appears to breathe quite easily. Because of this I have been recommending it more to folks with short 1st floor flues.

 

[blacktail]

I have the 1250 model of your insert. It's also slow to start and needs the door cracked until it really gets going. After only having it a short time, I'm happy. It throws heat pretty quickly and I've got coals in the morning if I feed it right.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Different stoves breath differently. The IR is one that appears to breathe quite easily. Because of this I have been recommending it more to folks with short 1st floor flues.

I'd gladly trade in a dozen VC CraigsList ads for one Quad IR ad. Used ones are like hen's teeth over here.

 

[Nonprophet]

and it the draft conditions were marginal at best. Given that we're using the same chimney, same wood, and same operator--obviously it was the stove that was the problem, and I'm so glad that we got rid of it

I'd be curious how well your new stove does at startup with a marginal at best draft. I have owned and operated my Oslo for 4 years now and along with my 35' flue and super draft I have never run into any startup issues with my Jotul. Maybe its the draft not the stove.

What I meant by "marginal draft conditions" was what it was like last night when we fired up our new IR--it was 51 outside and rainy, so hardly ideal conditions for a good draft. Despite that, the IR fired up wonderfully well, whereas even in the dead of winter when draft conditions were optimal (i.e. 10-20 degrees on a clear night), our Oslo was always very sluggish and you had to work really hard to get the stove top over 600 degrees.

I'm not the only one that has had this issue with the Oslo. I really think it's a stove best suited for 25' of chimney or more and for a single story house that's just not very practical.


NP

 

[EJL923]

Some peoples setups just necessitate having to leave the door open. Fortunately with good wood i never have to do that. There are a few times when i might have grabbed some wet wood and have to leave the door open.

All i have to say is to never leave the area. Yeah, i used to roll my eyes at that too. But i have been caught up in other things, only to remember about the stove and come back to find it blazing. Essentially taking the stove from 0-800 in a matter of minutes, not good for the health of your stove.

 

[SteveKG]

One of our stoves works far, far better if I leave the door cracked for twenty minutes. Always. It is a year old now and I've decided it is just the way to do it. Works great, and is no big deal. Our other stoves do not need this, we just load them up, light, and close off the door.

I would not worry over it. Every stove and every stove installation has its own personality, if I may. Nothing wrong with the stove if it works as it should once that initial start-up is done. If the problems persist, then, yes, probably an issue such as draft or height of chimney or......

 

[begreen]

We had to leave the Castine's door cracked open for about 5 minutes. Often we don't need to keep the T6's door open at all. Both are good stoves, but respond differently because of different design. The Castine's firebox is shallow and wide. That makes the incoming air hit the wood broadside. Once I understood this I would start the fire with a couple 12" sticks laid about 3" apart N/S before putting a couple small splits on top E/W. That allowed air to get underneath them for a much quicker start. The Alderlea's firebox is closer to square. It also has a boost manifold dead center. This allows us to take a couple medium splits loaded N/S with a supercedar or some newspaper balls centered in between. Add some kindling on top to make the patented "tunnel of love" starting. Light, wait a minute or so to be sure of full ignition, then close the door.

Of course all of this becomes a moot point in a month or so when 24/7 burning begins for us.