heating 1800 sq. ft
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Ashful
Minister of Fire
All perspective, but I do think that if you're fitting the six or ten rooms that make up your house into 1800 sq.ft., there is some likelihood of overheating the room in which the stove exists. I have one of my stoves in a room that's maybe under 300 sq.ft., and despite having fans to move air thru that room, it gets quite warm. It's much easier heating the side of the house where the stove is mostly open to much larger rooms. My thinking was that 1800 sq.ft. house may mean 300 sq.ft. rooms.
When you run them with the air partially open, think maybe 500F stovetop temp, then yes you will have flame show. However, you can also turn them down to a smoulder, running 300F stovetop with no flame show. You have the flexibility to burn both ways.
It all depends on how open the floorplan is. Lots of closed off rooms means a higher chance the stove room will overheat. But with an open floorplan the heat can be quite even and pleasantly comfortable. His living room is ~625 sq ft. If it has large openings to the kitchen and other rooms then the heat may convect nicely. We need to see a sketch of the floorplan to go further.
Exactly. I usually burn low and slow to keep my 1700 sf warm all the time with max burn times but yesterday, June 2!, I burned a hot fire intended to go out after 6 hours and used a small fuel load and high/medium heat setting. Flames all the way until the end.
I've found that if I run too much air, the cat won't burn as clean and I can see smoke from the stack. Floater flames are OK but not a lively fire. Cats are really made to smolder. I'm OK with that since I don't watch the stove too much; Mostly I am loafing on the internet.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I've never had that problem, Woody. If anything, I find the cat eventually runs hotter with flame in the box, after an initial cooling, due to the increased rate of wood consumption. Maybe that problem is unique to your stove?
I've never thought of cats being made just to shoulder. They're just made to burn clean, at any rate.
I've never thought of cats being made just to shoulder. They're just made to burn clean, at any rate.
Could be a Woodstock thing, but I thought I read a thread or two where the same thing was happening with the A30. I noticed it with the Keystone, and to a lesser degree with the Fireview. Not a lot of smoke, but I don't like any. It's not cool.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Maybe you're just looking closer than me, too. I can't say that a little whisp of smoke out the chimney would really bother me. Usually all I see is heat waves, when I check, though.
I get some smoke from the first hour or even two of a fresh load but after that I "think" I'm burning without smoke at any setting. I say "think" because I'm reasonably certain that's the way it goes but must admit I'm not outside very much in the winter after hunting season.
I have had folks ask why I have all that fire wood stacked and don't even burn it so....
I have had folks ask why I have all that fire wood stacked and don't even burn it so....
Yeah, I'm talking about early in the burn. It's possible that after a couple of hours, gassing has subsided a bit and then I could run more flame and still be clean, I'll have to check that. At the beginning of the burn, if the coal bed was pretty far down, I guess I could shove the coals to the back, throw some ashes on top of them, then load a top-down quick, before the wood in the back could catch. I can burn pretty damned clean top-down, even with the bypass open. Plenty of flame then. Sounds like a bit of a hassle though. As I said I'm not generally one to sit and watch the fire, and don't usually need the extra heat that big flame provides.
I doubt there's a stove made yet that can take 100% care of all the off gassing that goes on in the first hour or so no matter what we do. Plus we're dealing with a relatively cool stove for the first half hour give or take. The tube stove I had would take care of all the smoke once it got up to temp (after 30 minutes) but at the price of very little control over the burn rate.
As Ashful said, I'm not to concerned about my little bit of smoke when most of my neighbors are running smoke dragons with fresh cut wood.
As Ashful said, I'm not to concerned about my little bit of smoke when most of my neighbors are running smoke dragons with fresh cut wood.
Woody is on fire today, lot's of good points. I too have found, especially with the ceramic cat, that when at high burn rate settings I can get smoke that will go away when I lower the setting. The new cat is almost 100% no smoke at any setting.
My theory is that lower burn rates slow the smoke down so it has more time exposed to the cat element to be eaten plus the lower burn rate means less smoke being produced. Both of which contribute to less smoke at lower settings. Higher efficiency too.
I own both a non-cat and a cat stove. Both are what I would consider modern and near the head of the class. The non-cat can be smoke free within 10 minutes of ignition, it really is a pretty spectacular accomplishment that they can burn so clean so fast. Yes, that is at the expense of efficiency an less control but they deserve credit for this smoke free quality. I'm down to about 30 minutes before I can be smoke free on the cat stove, it used to be much longer if ever but the new steelcat is really great.
I am concerned with smoke when I'm trying to burn in stealth mode. Plus it just seems like a worthy goal to be all clean.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Ashford burning on high setting, just a few minutes ago. Enough flame show?
Yes, I'm burning in Philly... in June!
... And on low:
Yes, I'm burning in Philly... in June!
... And on low:
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the high is sweet and I can't see anything on low. hows the look on medium? Whats the price of the ashford
Ashful
Minister of Fire
There is flame show at medium... pretty much right down to the lowest range of settings. It's analog, you can run at any rate, not detented for specific hi-med-low settings.
I paid under $3k each, but I was buying multiples, so they were willing to play on price. I think list is closer to $3500.
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