Fireveiw break in Fires!!!

[RandyG]

I just wanted to chime in and let everyone know that I finally have my stove in and some cool weather to break it in after many yrs of waiting to get it and months to get it installed. Today I'm having my second fire and I couldn't be more amazed at the performance of this stove. I have read the whole manual several times as suggested on this forum, and everything has went perfect. No smoke at all in the house when loading, good draft, stovetop right now running 350 and slowly climbing after 2.5 hours of burning, lots of windows open, and a beautiful slow flame. Going to keep it going all day since we will mostly be outside, for a good breakin. This stove held heat all night on my first fire with just a few pieces of wood, now I know its not up north and really cold but I am still very impressed, it is been everything I had hoped for and much more.I just have a few questions, I am having a little trouble keeping flames after engaging the combustor and shutting the damper down to the recommended setting of 1 or below. I am burning well seasoned Oak,about 8 yrs seasoned. Also, I haven't loaded the stove up yet because of breakin but I can't seem to get the stove top above 350, It was climbing earlier this morning but now it is started to fall, any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Todd]

Nice setup Randy. Your draft may be a little sluggish with your Florida temps and humidity. Try engaging the cat at 1.5 and leave it there for 30 minutes or more before turning it down and you should see more flame and heat. You will also see much more heat with a full load but you may want to wait til next Winter for that.

 

[RandyG]

Thanks Todd, I hadn't thought of that but I called Woodstock about it and Mike said my wood might be too dry, its 8yr old oak, all I have right now, and I shouldn't have it too hot anyway for a break in As a matter of fact, shouldn't engage cat till after break in anyway, am I bad. He said to disengage the cat and let it die down for now and have another small fire tonight and its ok not to see flames all the time, doesn't mean stove is not burning efficiently. But I am going to try your suggestion also and see what happens,by the way, just curious, why did you switch from a fireview to a keystone? I was on the fence but went for the fireview.

 

[fire_man]

I wish Woodstock would give a better procedure for breaking the stove in. It never mentions that you should not be engaging early in the break in process. I guess it makes sense. They need to clarify how hot the stovetop should get during each fire and give better detail on how much wood to load for each of the break in fires. I called when I first bought the stove and was told break in really was not that important and just not to build a huge fire with a full firebox the first time.

 

[RandyG]

I agree Tony, its not very clear in the manual, I've read it several times, thought I was doing everything correctly.But Mike assured me that all is well. I just don't want to say anything negative about them because they are always so helpful and informative no matter how stupid my question seems. I guess its best just to call them if you have any doubts about anything.

 

[Todd]

Thanks Todd, I hadn't thought of that but I called Woodstock about it and Mike said my wood might be too dry, its 8yr old oak, all I have right now, and I shouldn't have it too hot anyway for a break in As a matter of fact, shouldn't engage cat till after break in anyway, am I bad. He said to disengage the cat and let it die down for now and have another small fire tonight and its ok not to see flames all the time, doesn't mean stove is not burning efficiently. But I am going to try your suggestion also and see what happens,by the way, just curious, why did you switch from a fireview to a keystone? I was on the fence but went for the fireview.

It was kind of spur of the moment. A friend was interested in the Fireview and Woodstock had a few refurbished Keystone's for cheap so I jumped on it. I like the Keystones ash pan, big glass and overall looks better. Also think 2 Keystones will have no problem with a well insulated 2000 sq ft house. So far the basement Keystone is having no problem taking the whole heating load this week with either 2 or 3 loads per day.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks Todd, I hadn't thought of that but I called Woodstock about it and Mike said my wood might be too dry, its 8yr old oak, all I have right now, and I shouldn't have it too hot anyway for a break in As a matter of fact, shouldn't engage cat till after break in anyway, am I bad. He said to disengage the cat and let it die down for now and have another small fire tonight and its ok not to see flames all the time, doesn't mean stove is not burning efficiently. But I am going to try your suggestion also and see what happens,by the way, just curious, why did you switch from a fireview to a keystone? I was on the fence but went for the fireview.

Randy, Mike and I have argued this point several times. Now he is to the point where he won't even argue about it! :lol: He knows how I feel about dry wood and he also knows how well our Fireview does with this good dry wood. However, if you see fit and need to get rid of some of that oak, feel free to ship it to my address and I will properly dispose of it for you.

Todd is right on with engaging at 1.5. With the warmer air down there I highly doubt you will get away with the .75 or less like we do. In fact, the last week since we are in the mid or high 30's and even a couple days of 40 we have had to leave the draft open a bit further.

On the flames, indeed you do not have to have flames because once it gets hot enough and you have engaged the cat, the cat will burn nicely even though you don't see flames. But seeing flames is not all bad either; it just looks good if nothing else. We do usually have flame but certainly not all the time.

Good luck. Send more warm air up here, please.

 

[Woody Stover]

I haven't loaded the stove up yet because of breakin but I can't seem to get the stove top above 350

Even burning full loads with a pretty good amount of medium flame in the box, I haven't had my new Keystone much above 450. Once the combustor is engaged, it drops back to 350 on the top corner and a bit higher on the stone directly above the combustor. It's not cold here so I don't see any reason to push it any harder than that...

I wish Woodstock would give a better procedure for breaking the stove in. It never mentions that you should not be engaging early in the break in process. I guess it makes sense. They need to clarify how hot the stovetop should get during each fire and give better detail on how much wood to load for each of the break in fires. I called when I first bought the stove and was told break in really was not that important and just not to build a huge fire with a full firebox the first time.

Yeah, I figured that I didn't want combustor glowing in the top of the stove during the break-in (Randy, as you may already know, you can see the combustor behind the baffle screen if you look up through the glass.) Also, the stove top temp lags so far behind the internal temp that I didn't think it would be useful.
I'm glad that Woodstock doesn't seem overly concerned with the exact break-in procedure. I happened to look at the Hearthstone manual and they were much more specific, saying 'Put in ten or twelve 1/2" pieces of wood' and that the stones should only be warm, not hot. By the time I saw that, the sides of my stove were closer to hot than to warm and I freaked just a little. I didn't have a big load in there but after burning a while, the stove was heating up a bit. If I had it to do over, I'd shut it down quicker than I did...

 

[RandyG]

It was kind of frustrating because I am so particular about my stove and thought I was doing the break in correctly, and then Mike said what he said and my heart sank :grrr: But, he said its ok, break in is mainly for the cast iron not the stone, gets it used to expanding and retracting with the temps. I have had three fires in my stove so far, all of which stovetop temp peaked about 325, and then cooled off. My question now is, do I have a seasoned stove yet? Can I crank it on up the next time without worrying?

 

[RandyG]

Thanks Todd, I hadn't thought of that but I called Woodstock about it and Mike said my wood might be too dry, its 8yr old oak, all I have right now, and I shouldn't have it too hot anyway for a break in As a matter of fact, shouldn't engage cat till after break in anyway, am I bad. He said to disengage the cat and let it die down for now and have another small fire tonight and its OK not to see flames all the time, doesn't mean stove is not burning efficiently. But I am going to try your suggestion also and see what happens,by the way, just curious, why did you switch from a fireview to a keystone? I was on the fence but went for the fireview.

Randy, Mike and I have argued this point several times. Now he is to the point where he won't even argue about it! :lol: He knows how I feel about dry wood and he also knows how well our Fireview does with this good dry wood. However, if you see fit and need to get rid of some of that oak, feel free to ship it to my address and I will properly dispose of it for you.

Todd is right on with engaging at 1.5. With the warmer air down there I highly doubt you will get away with the .75 or less like we do. In fact, the last week since we are in the mid or high 30's and even a couple days of 40 we have had to leave the draft open a bit further.

On the flames, indeed you do not have to have flames because once it gets hot enough and you have engaged the cat, the cat will burn nicely even though you don't see flames. But seeing flames is not all bad either; it just looks good if nothing else. We do usually have flame but certainly not all the time.

Good luck. Send more warm air up here, please.

Dennis, thanks for the info on the dry oak, the last thing I want to do is screw up my stove, I want to do everything by the book, but coming from a seasoned burner like you, especially having the same stove, I feel pretty confident that I can go ahead a finish up my oak, I don't have much left anyway. Mikes point was that it will get too hot to fast and can't get long burn times with it. But if you haven't had any problems then I should be good to go, and by the way, I will send you some warm air if you send me some cold, deal? ;-)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Fear not Randy. Crank it up! If you want you could do one more trying to reach 400 and then for sure nothing to be concerned with. Enjoy the heat.

 

[fire_man]

Randy: I feel your pain. I had similar heart attacks after my break in fires after realizing I should have made smaller initial fires. Sounds like i broke mine in about the same way you did and all has been fine after 3 seasons. We did kill our cat after the first year but Woodstock replaced it for free. It cracked and crumbled. The cast iron parts seem just fine - no signs of warpage or sagging. My opinion: Don't worry - and even if you overstressed the combustor scoop, the replacement is stainless steel and I heard not that expensive - actually yours is a 2010 model so it probably is already stainless steel and that is one tuff piece of metal

Do you have a stainless cat? What stovetop temp do you engage at?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Looks like we posted at the same time. Mike is indeed concerned about overfiring but he needed worry. However, I will add that we had a bit of a problem a few times last winter and we never figured out why, but it just stopped. We were using the same wood but just for a time that happened. What we did was to turn off the cat for a couple of minutes and all was well. We had one time this winter with it and then I noticed that my wife was closing down the draft a lot more so I simply opened the draft to 1 and it cooled right down. What it is when this happens is that the stove top gets hot but the rest of the stove is not nearly at that temperature. I proved that with an ir thermometer. btw, although the stove top did go over 700, it was barely over 700. We also know one man was burning his regularly at 800 or more! No damage was done either. So this tells us for sure there is some built-in tolerances.

 

[RandyG]

Dennis, that is very scary heat level, I can't imagine the amount of heat coming off your stove at that time, shoot, I've been impressed with mine at 325. I guess I haven't seen nothing yet. Wow!! :bug:Thanks..

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Randy, we very often run our stove well over 600. It is funny thinking back to when we bought this stove. The first big fire we had I almost went berserk! The flame was really beautiful. It simply lifted up off the wood to the top of the stove and then appeared to be rolling. Really beautiful, but then it started getting to hot in the house and I looked at the temperature. It was somewhere around 650 if memory is right and it kept climbing. When it got to 680 I was really getting concerned. Again, if memory is right, it topped out at 680 or 690 but what's 10 degrees?! It certainly did concentrate my attention! However, I do not advise you to ever get your stove that hot lest you have to strip naked and run to the ocean to cool off. That is a lot of heat! Hey, even this morning when it was barely below the freezing point we had it to 550 for a while. Felt great.

 

[fire_man]

Dennis, that is very scary heat level, I can't imagine the amount of heat coming off your stove at that time, shoot, I've been impressed with mine at 325. I guess I haven't seen nothing yet. Wow!! :bug:Thanks..

Believe it or not, the stove actually throws more heat once the stovetop temp settles down (after a flame starts in the firebox) and the rest of the stove heats up above 500F. Like Dennis said, the stovetop can hit over 700 but the rest of the stove can be very cool. This happens when the cat is sniffing lots of smoke and there is no flame in the firebox. To cool the cat off, you can either bypass it or open up the draft some more to get a flame going. It's counter intuitive, but if you think about it, it makes sense. I imagine wood in Florida can season pretty fast and become pretty dry, even in humid conditions, so my guess is you will find out what a very red cat looks like!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Good Tony. But Randy, do not fear that red cat as that is quite normal. It is only when the stove top temp gets high that you would have to worry. I highly doubt you will ever experience that.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Randy, I should add that if you do want to experience it, just get a nice bed of coals and then stuff that firebox and watch the gauge dance! lol

 

[RandyG]

Dennis, you are too funny, thanks for the laugh :lol: That would be a sight, but I would probably be arrested before I get to the gulf, I live about 13 miles away. Will probably just jump in the pool, at that time of year I'm sure it will definitely cool me off, you could probably hear me scream at your house,LOL. No, really I knew before I even got this stove that I probably would never have a chance to really max it out,at least not here in Fla, have to wait till I retire and move further north to do that, but I'm sure I will get plenty of enjoyment out of her anyway, heck, I already have. I'll just really have to watch what I'm doing with the temps. I would bet at even 600 we would be running out of the house. Oh well, we'll just have to play it by ear. I just hope next winter I don't have a panic moment! And until then, I just enjoy lookin at her :wow:

 

[Backwoods Savage]

What?!! Retire and move north! Almost everyone else wants to retire and move south. In fact, we came very close to moving to the SW desert but decided to stay put.

You will indeed enjoy that stove, probably for the rest of your life.

 

[RandyG]

Actually, its dream I've had since I was young and Its only amplified since Ive gotten a older. I have always longed for the different seasons, fall colors, crisp cold air, snow, especially at Christmas time, spring flowers, all the different smells of everything in bloom.....gives you something to look forward to.We have none of that here, always pretty much the same, green in summer, brown in winter and the summers here are extreme and long. And to top it off, I don't even like the beach! I have lived here all my life and I am ready for a change, but it won't be anytime soon, I have about 7 more yrs to work :long:. I have friends in western NC, that area has always been my destination, I love it there but I really don't know where I'll end up, but I can tell you one thing, it wont be here. Oh, the mosquitoes are nasty too! :vampire:

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Randy, NC can have some winter in the mountains but it will be nothing like the northern winters. You are correct with the differences in seasons as there are big changes. I would highly recommend an area that has some maples and I much prefer the soft maples for fall colors. Sassafras also gives good colors but lots of areas have great color seasons. In our area the best viewing time is usually from about October 5-20. From then on about all that is left are oak and beech leaf as most of the others have fallen.

Do you want a snow area? How much snow? There are lots of wide variances in snowfall and don't just go by someone saying that some area gets lots of snow. For example, many times I'll be talking to folks from different states and when they hear we are from Michigan they immediately think snow; lots of snow. Well, it could be or it might not be lots of snow. For example, one year Herman received over 320 inches of snow while Detroit received less than 2 feet. Most of that 2 feet of snow melted very soon after it fell and most of the 320" packed down to about 5' on the level. When we lived at Gaylord our least amount of snow was a little over 200 inches. The nice part of it is that we got snow usually at least 3 or 4 times per week and that kept the snow nice and white even in the town. Otherwise those snow banks in town will look really dirty but fresh snow covers it. In the spring, it goes fast but without flooding.

Do you want cold? How cold? Again in MI, there is a huge difference between the north and south part of MI. While Detroit has lots of 30+ degree weather in winter, most of the UP will be really cold with little thawing.

Spring in MI is beautiful anywhere. Especially along the Lake MI coast where lots of fruit is grown; peaches, apples and cherries mainly.

Summer is like winter. You'll get cooked with high humidity in the southern parts while you had best always keep a sweater handy in the north. I recall many times wearing a coat to watch fireworks in July 4 but I also remember a couple times when the temperature was 100. The humidity gets to you more in the south than in the north.

Then there is population densities. Up north is sparse. Down south is more metro areas. So one area is great for wild country while the other has better shopping and medical facilities. Prices are generally a bit higher in the north....but to me it is worth it.

The Great Lakes are beautiful and much different from the Ocean. If you want to swim though, most times you are best to wait until late July or August and if you want to swim in Lake Superior, don't. That water does not get warm.

If you would like more info, just PM me.

 

[RandyG]

Dennis, that is very scary heat level, I can't imagine the amount of heat coming off your stove at that time, shoot, I've been impressed with mine at 325. I guess I haven't seen nothing yet. Wow!! :bug:Thanks..

Believe it or not, the stove actually throws more heat once the stovetop temp settles down (after a flame starts in the firebox) and the rest of the stove heats up above 500F. Like Dennis said, the stovetop can hit over 700 but the rest of the stove can be very cool. This happens when the cat is sniffing lots of smoke and there is no flame in the firebox. To cool the cat off, you can either bypass it or open up the draft some more to get a flame going. It's counter intuitive, but if you think about it, it makes sense. I imagine wood in Florida can season pretty fast and become pretty dry, even in humid conditions, so my guess is you will find out what a very red cat looks like!

Tony, I have already seen the red cat during one of my break in's, that was before I knew not to engage :-S , and it was amazing to me and my wife, we just sat in front of the stove and were mesmerized by the slow flames and the cat. Its one thing to hear people talk about it and to see it in videos but its just something you need to see in person to really appreciate it. I have to say they they have got this wood burning thing down to a science.And yes about the feeding the flame more air to cool it off, that is a backwards way of thinking. I would not have known this without this forum.thanks again, and I'm sure I will have alot more questions after I really start using this stove more.

 

[RandyG]

Randy, NC can have some winter in the mountains but it will be nothing like the northern winters. You are correct with the differences in seasons as there are big changes. I would highly recommend an area that has some maples and I much prefer the soft maples for fall colors. Sassafras also gives good colors but lots of areas have great color seasons. In our area the best viewing time is usually from about October 5-20. From then on about all that is left are oak and beech leaf as most of the others have fallen.

Do you want a snow area? How much snow? There are lots of wide variances in snowfall and don't just go by someone saying that some area gets lots of snow. For example, many times I'll be talking to folks from different states and when they hear we are from Michigan they immediately think snow; lots of snow. Well, it could be or it might not be lots of snow. For example, one year Herman received over 320 inches of snow while Detroit received less than 2 feet. Most of that 2 feet of snow melted very soon after it fell and most of the 320" packed down to about 5' on the level. When we lived at Gaylord our least amount of snow was a little over 200 inches. The nice part of it is that we got snow usually at least 3 or 4 times per week and that kept the snow nice and white even in the town. Otherwise those snow banks in town will look really dirty but fresh snow covers it. In the spring, it goes fast but without flooding.

Do you want cold? How cold? Again in MI, there is a huge difference between the north and south part of MI. While Detroit has lots of 30+ degree weather in winter, most of the UP will be really cold with little thawing.

Spring in MI is beautiful anywhere. Especially along the Lake MI coast where lots of fruit is grown; peaches, apples and cherries mainly.

Summer is like winter. You'll get cooked with high humidity in the southern parts while you had best always keep a sweater handy in the north. I recall many times wearing a coat to watch fireworks in July 4 but I also remember a couple times when the temperature was 100. The humidity gets to you more in the south than in the north.

Then there is population densities. Up north is sparse. Down south is more metro areas. So one area is great for wild country while the other has better shopping and medical facilities. Prices are generally a bit higher in the north....but to me it is worth it.

The Great Lakes are beautiful and much different from the Ocean. If you want to swim though, most times you are best to wait until late July or August and if you want to swim in Lake Superior, don't. That water does not get warm.

If you would like more info, just PM me.

Dennis, you are a very knowledgeable guy and you are making my 7 yrs seem like a very long time, I can't wait, I could talk about snow and mountains, and weather all day. I'm also a weather buff, I'll pm ya sometime and we'll discuss this further. As long as we don't mention Fl. :coolsmirk: