Fireview overfire?

[Todd]

I just had an amazing burn by following advice to engage at 1.0 and leave it alone - the stove top hit 600 and I had stovetop temps above 500 for about 3 hrs with remaining flames towards the end of the 3 hrs- this was really exciting! It was a really amazing burn! And The room temp soared to 74F! But now I am worried I may damage the combustor scoop!?!?

The question: Is the scoop damage occurring during bypass mode or when the cat is engaged and flames are roaring into the scoop? It seems during bypass mode the flames are directed out the rear and away from the scoop, so the damage must happen during the first hour after engaging at 1.0 or higher?

Yea Sounds just like my burns at #1. I think you will be much warmer burning this way during colder weather and saving those lower burns for the shoulder seasons.

As far as the scoop goes I think most of the damage happens in the cat mode but if you are burning wide open in the bypass mode and suddenly flip the lever your going to suck a lot of heat and flame up forward to the scoop and cat, almost like a thermo shock. Probably better to back off some before engaging. Woodstock says the scoop usually don't last forever. They take a lot of heat from the flames below and the cat above, kind of a double wammy. Mine has a slight sag in the middle after 4 years and I will prolly replace it with a new stainless scoop next year. Woodstock is also looking into changes for the andirons, bypass and glass retainer.

Thanks for the great tips. I've been fighting running it at 1.0 for fear of hurting the stove (Dennis talks about 0.25 settings).
For the life of me I cannot figure out why I got higher initial temps and for a longer time, and yet the total burn time did not suffer much if at all. That makes no sense, after all, all of the energy available from the wood gets transferred either up the flue or into the room, so if my room is warmer on a higher setting, and the burn time is the same as a lower setting, more heat must be wasted up the flue on a lower setting. I don't know, but life sure seems good at 1.0 when its cold out!

Interesting that Woodstock is looking into changing the andirons, bypass and glass retainer. I wonder why?? I understand it makes sense to replace the cast iron scoop with stainless, it takes a beating.

I think maybe the burn times stayed the same because you were tweaking up the air towards the end of the burn instead of leaving it where it was? You also had a lower BTU output at the beginning of the burn which wasn't enough for your house to maintain temps. Probably has a lot to do with your house insulation, layout and circulation? Sounds like your house liked that little extra boost.

Don't know what Woodstock is thinking with the andirons and glass but I have heard of a couple people with warped bypass plates.