Hampton HI400 vs Honey Locust

[msjones2452]

Hey all, quick question about loading my HI400 insert. I was able to scrounge about 1 1/2 cord of Honey Locust this summer along with about a cord or so of White Ash, American Elm and Silver Maple. I was talking to a friend the other day that has a free standing wood stove and he told me to be careful about loading too much of the HL. He said that a full load of it would burn way too hot for my CAT to handle. Said he had heard of people completely destroying their stoves trying to load a full firebox of HL. It's not ready to burn this season but I was wondering if anyone else has heard of this happening? I've checked the BTU charts and the Ash, Elm and HL are all fairly close.

 

[Retreadsme]

I don't have an HI400, but my instinct says what your friend told you is accurate IF the air is open all the way and left open for the entire burn. That would tend to mess up most inserts/stoves with or without cat. Honey Locust should burn fine with a full load, much like red oak. I would not hesitate to burn a full load, properly.

 

[LocustBurner]

Locust burns extremely hot so I usually mix it or go a little smaller for an overnighter w/ all locust.

 

[chance04]

Wouldn't a cat stove be better at this since it smolders rather than burns?

 

[LocustBurner]

Lopi was great on an overnighter w/ locust.
Did melt one front air tube after 7 or 8 years (over zealous house sitter ran stove wide open for 2 days).
Waiting for some really cold temps to toss some locust in the new stove but have engaged the cat some with a few medium sized fires.
With the large Ecofan we are seeing significantly higher temps in master BR.
Very warm in the great room.
Moved from Lopi as insert to freestanding Woodstock.

 

[begreen]

I have run many full loads of black locust in the T6 when it gets winter cold outside. It is my favorite hardwood available out here. The stove top temps are about 50F-100F higher than my softwood cruising temps, say 700-750F. Definitely not meltdown territory, but hot. We have a nice balance draft not too much, not too little, which helps. On loads that pass 700F I would turn on the blower to bring the stove top down 100F. As far as burning it in the HI400 I would say it's a judgement call. If you have a one story chimney then it may not be an issue. Start with a smaller load of say 4-5 splits and see how it goes. If you have stronger draft from a taller chimney consider mixing it in with other woods keep the blower going on high to help cool the stove down a bit.

 

[msjones2452]

Thanks for the info/suggestions guys. I would probably only run a full load of HL on those super cold overnighters. I threw a couple smaller splits of HL in tonight mixed w/Silver Maple and Elm - I definitely noticed a difference from the last few nights of all Maple. This will be my first full season w/the 400 so it's all still a learning curve. The good news is that I checked a couple fresh splits of the stuff I C/S/S early spring and was averaging 20% - they were all originally split on the smaller side to start with. I do worry a little about over fire with the harder woods because even with the air fully closed it seems like it still takes in a lot of air. I'm getting 12-13hrs average of useable heat with a full load so Regency didn't feel I needed the illustrious restrictor plate.

 

[begreen]

Do you have an IR thermometer or a thermometer on the upper face of the insert?

 

[msjones2452]

Do you have an IR thermometer or a thermometer on the upper face of the insert?

I do have an IR thermometer and a CAT temp. probe.

 

[begreen]

You should be ok then. Take it in steps on days when you'll be home to watch the fire for the first few hours.

 

[msjones2452]

You should be ok then. Take it in steps on days when you'll be home to watch the fire for the first few hours.

Thanks begreen. Not sure how much of my HL is actually ready to burn yet, I've only tested a few of the smaller splits, but I appreciate your advice. The upper piece of surround trim is fairly easy to remove, when I get ready to try a decent size load of HL I may pull that trim just so I can get a little better reading of the insert top w/the IR.

 

[begreen]

Sounds like a good plan.