Morso Squirrel 1410 Mod

I installed a Morso Squirell 1410 and have been mostly happy with it. But trying to get the secondary burn to last more than a few minutes was a challenge. We would leave the stove door open a crack to create a bellows effect and when we closed it the fire would usually die out. We could get a good fire with the door closed about 40% of the time and only after building a nice bed of coals.

A friend of mine from Wales has the same stove and we were discussing technique when he described adjusting both the top and bottom air dials to get the perfect fire. I stopped him right there.

You see, the model that they sell in the States only allows you to adjust the top dial and the manual clearly states that the bottom dial is “for ornamental purposes and cannot be adjusted”.

I took a close look at the inside of the bottom dial and noticed that it had similar hardware as the top dial yet had a weld spot keeping it permanently fixed. Using a Dremel rotary tool with a cut off wheel, I grinded the weld spot and “liberated” the bottom dial.

There is a bolt threaded into the dial to the stove and what I discovered is unlike the top dial, the hole through the stove door is not machined. So that means you can’t adjust by screwing in and out like the top dial. I thought this was going to be a problem but it turns out not to matter.

Just having the dial open ½”, which is near the end of the bolt, makes all the difference in the world.
We just leave it open and our fires burn very efficiently because we can now fine tune the secondary combustion with the top dial.

I am curious as to why the stove was limited in this manner and can only assume that it had something to do with the EPA rating. The Morso literature claims that the Nordic EcoLabel Swan rating is much stricter.
Thought I would share this so that others may liberate their Squirell!

+1

It looks like you have some creosote on the inside of the stove also. I don't think your fire is getting hot enough.

Matt

Welcome to the forum though!

Matt

Thanks for the helpful responses. This forum has been a Godsend for a newbie like myself.

The 1410 is a multi-fuel stove and is made to burn either wood or coal so I am not worried about overheating the bottom grate.

When I first purchased this model the knuckleheads at the store mistakenly sold me a coal burning stove which I subsequently returned after much hassle. (After a mad 200 mile RT dash I got the right stove before the chimney installers showed up the next morning.)
I only found out because they forgot to include the flue collar and put me in touch with Morso USA. They explained that the difference between the multi-fuel and the coal burner is the steel baffles for the secondary burn. They assured me that it was okay to burn either wood or coal.There is even a shake handle for the grate.

BTW the air coming from the bottom dial is gentle and does not crank up the coals like a forge. Just enough to give me control with the top dial.


As for the wood, I have been lucky to find kiln dried oak and hickory so I'm pretty sure its not wet or green. The pic is of a new fire. I will try and post a pic of a beautiful gaseous secondary later.

Cheers

How tall is your chimney and what diameter is it? You still shouldn't have creosote inside the stove.

Matt