First, I love this site. It's been quite interesting reading all the valuable info on here. Without this site, I would NOT be headed in the right direction with regards to proper safety, operation, efficiency, etc. of my stove.
Secondly, I'm new to anything relating to wood burning. My house did not have a fireplace, so we put one in about a month ago. It's a Lennox Montecito EPA 2.0 cu. ft. built in stove. I have two different blower systems and I love it so far.
Questions:
1.) I have no temperature gauges on this thing. How hot can I get it? The manual says that the max temperature setting (with the primary air controls on max) results in 1-2 hour burn times, but they don't say anything in there about overfiring. I'm a little concerned about getting this thing too hot. I'd like to be able to just run it at the highest temp setting if it's cold outside. Should I get a thermal from Lowe's? Will that tell me how the stove is performing?
2.) My first face cord wood delivery was red oak, and I couldn't get a good fire going. I went to Jewel and bought kiln-dried hardwood bundles, and that stuff burned well. So the wood guy came back and replaced the red oak with white oak from his personal stash, and now that stuff is burning very well. He said that the red oak is not wet, and he left a few sticks for me. But whenever I put it in there (after an hour and with coals on the bottom), it doesn't gas up, but it sure seems to last a long time, and I don't see much smoke or creosote from it. I'm still not sure the wood is truly dry enough though.
3.) Attached is a picture of the new firebox, and here is a link to the manual (in case anyone's interested in the design of it):
http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com...nox_Hearth_Montecito_Installation_850037M.pdf
Secondly, I'm new to anything relating to wood burning. My house did not have a fireplace, so we put one in about a month ago. It's a Lennox Montecito EPA 2.0 cu. ft. built in stove. I have two different blower systems and I love it so far.
Questions:
1.) I have no temperature gauges on this thing. How hot can I get it? The manual says that the max temperature setting (with the primary air controls on max) results in 1-2 hour burn times, but they don't say anything in there about overfiring. I'm a little concerned about getting this thing too hot. I'd like to be able to just run it at the highest temp setting if it's cold outside. Should I get a thermal from Lowe's? Will that tell me how the stove is performing?
2.) My first face cord wood delivery was red oak, and I couldn't get a good fire going. I went to Jewel and bought kiln-dried hardwood bundles, and that stuff burned well. So the wood guy came back and replaced the red oak with white oak from his personal stash, and now that stuff is burning very well. He said that the red oak is not wet, and he left a few sticks for me. But whenever I put it in there (after an hour and with coals on the bottom), it doesn't gas up, but it sure seems to last a long time, and I don't see much smoke or creosote from it. I'm still not sure the wood is truly dry enough though.
3.) Attached is a picture of the new firebox, and here is a link to the manual (in case anyone's interested in the design of it):
http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com...nox_Hearth_Montecito_Installation_850037M.pdf