How to tame the Beast (30-NC)????

With stove temp's approaching 800*F, aren't you afraid of the magnets falling off at the most critical time? 800*F is above the Curie temperature of iron, and while I'm sure you're sticking them on a part of the stove a little cooler than the stove top... by how much?

I'd like to know too. Will a flue damper help the 30 NC ??? or will it just interfere with the way the stove was designed????

Herdbull, So have you tamed the beast? I had the exact same problem with my new 30. This is also my first time with an EPA stove. Same outside temp as you and I thought it was a good day to burn the new stove in case I needed to open some windows. Loved the stove until I loaded it half full for the night. It was the exact same scenario as you. The air was shut down then the secondaries took off. A lot of flame from secondaries and stove top temp 750. Moved Rutland burn indicator to pipe and it averaged 350 and the hottest the single wall pipe got was 450. Half load of mixed hardwood n/s. From reading all the posts one thing I may have done wrong was I put the wood on a bed of coals instead of raking forward. I am curious if this is how you did it when you had the high temps? also if you could add anything you have learned since April. Any others with tips would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping Herdbull is still on here since we had the exact same problem and I am sure he tamed his beast. I will be installing a damper because what had me worried was I had no control or a way to shut this puppy down. It was already shut down as far as the controls are conserned. During the melee I did find a magnet to shut half the air off to the rectangle hole for the secondaries. I will be picking a supply of magnets up. I cant seem to find the dog house intake holes. Can anybody be more specific on where to find them. I have the pedestal installed. Maybe a Pic might help in finding them . New member and it looks like 30 is a popular model on here. Thanks everyone ahead of time for your help.
PS. I haven't named her yet but I am sure I cant post what I was calling her last night!!

The 2 holes are right up front on each side and easy to get at with the Legs.

With the pedestal installed, you will need to reach from the back of stove, all the way up to the front of the stove, and there are 2 small square holes. One on each side. It requires a flashlight and sticking your arm all the way up from the back.

So a cold stove helps, if not, use long gloves.

I think I have tamed or at least subdued the beast. I ended up blocking one of the dog house holes "permanently" with a magnet and use the other magnet to control the remaining hole. I've learned to taper the primary air back sooner as well. By the time stove top temps hit 450ish the primary air is at about 25% open and I will close it down to the sweet spot very soon thereafter.

I haven't seen 800 degrees in a long time. I can if I want to but no need to. Raking the coals forward is a good idea, I think it will help you. No damper for me and I've found that I hit 750 daily but really nothing higher than that. This thing puts out great heat with a little putzin.

The hole are underneath right in front. I'd say about 3" back from the front and 3" in from the side. 1" dia magnets work pretty good.

Do you have a fan on the stove, I cant imagine my summit hitting 750 degrees with the fan running.

Yes, fan or not I can hit 800 pretty much at will.

Do think a fan helps ? In other words do you think you would go above 800 hundred with out it ? Which fan do you have herdbull or others? I believe there are two types for this stove. Have you called customer support to see if its ok to peak at 800. Manual says not to overfire which the manual states is cherry red. I would be interested on their reps opinion. I have seen him on here in another post. Not sure what his guide lines are for forum though. Also Herdbull or others do you have side shields ? I do not. I am new to using a thermometer. I started using one on the pipe on my last stove (Non EPA) and tried to keep it in the burn zone but never used one on the stove top. I am sure in my older stoves that I probably would have freaked at the actual temperature. So what are your opinions on when its time to panic with the stove top temperature and at what temp one should worry about the temp of a single wall pipe?

My country hearth goes into the 800 range every once in awhile and i keep the built n stove fan on high and sometimes a box fan blowing across the front of the stove to cool it down. Im more comfortable with it in the 600-650 range. PLus my rutland guage reads 50 degrees low.

Thanks Dexter and Herdbull. Found the front holes. It seems like the front holes would be for the air wash and that the 3 inch round hole in the back that is controlled by the damper is connected to the box inlet in the front ( I am guessing what is referred to as dogbox ) And the small rectangle hole in the back is for the secondaries. Is this correct?

I would definitely built my fire as Brother Bart describes. I would add that I would avoid the step of establishing a coal bed when starting from a cold firebox. Just lay your fire E/W with a big split in back and a big split in front, and what ever other wood you want to load to get the length of burn and amount of heat you need on a particular day. Then put some kindling in and light it...with or without a supercedar. You can alternatively put a supercedar on the bottom between the two large splits, with kindling up close to it, then light it, then lay the rest of the wood.

Close the door and as soon as the fire is burning a bit, reduce the air to 3/4 open. Watch it, and let a good fire get established, but not a roaring inferno. As a good fire develops, keep closing the air down gradually, and waiting for the fire to get back to a good fire, then closing down some more, and waiting some more for the fire to reestablish. Over the course of 15-30 minutes you should get a good fire established, at a setting that will let the load burn for a long time without going ballistic.