New owner of an older quad 4300 ST

[Nate Finch]

So, I bought a house in June and it came with this sweet Quadra Fire woodstove. Sticker on the back says it's a 4300 from 1994. It has two levers that slide in and out, no ash catcher or auto venting system. I looked on quadra fire's website for a manual, but they seem to only have the manual for the new stove which has a bunch of features mine doesn't (like ACC). Anyone have a link to or a copy of the manual for the older version of these stoves?

Also, any tips or tricks I should know about? This will be my first woodstove since I was 6, so I don't really know what I'm doing. The plan is to use it to heat our 2200 sq ft house in the winter with as little supplementary oil from the furnace as possible. We have tons of oak that has been cut from trees on our property and just needs to be split (which we're doing now).

I'm very excited to find this website, it looks like a fantastic resource.

-Nate

 

[branchburner]

Welcome! You will find tons if info on this site. If answers to your posts don't pop up, use the search function.

I can't give you any tips on the Quad, but about that oak: it will offer fuller utility 1-3 years after being split and stacked. Oak is awesome firewood, but takes longer to season than most hardwoods. Unless the oak you are splitting now has been down for many years (or was standing dead), it would be best to save as much as you can for 2011-12 or even 2012-13. If you need to burn it this year, try to find some well-seasoned wood to mix in. If you don't want to buy cord wood, there is a good supply of free hardwood pallets on craigslist. Enjoy the stove!

 

[Nate Finch]

Thanks for the tip on the oak. Its been sitting cut but unsplit in piles (not stacked, just a jumble) for at least a year, not sure exactly how long. The pieces on the ground definitely seem totally wet, but some of the ones on top are significantly drier (from what I can tell when they go through the log splitter). I didn't realize it took so long for oak to dry, that's a bummer. We were hoping the 10 cord or so thats lying in piles around the property would be ok for winter if we split it now Sounds like we'll be buying wood after all. Boo.

 

[PapaDave]

Would love to see some pics of the stove, and your setup.
The oak likes to take a while to dry. Get it split up asap, and give it a test. Maybe you'll get lucky this year.

 

[branchburner]

Thanks for the tip on the oak. Its been sitting cut but unsplit in piles (not stacked, just a jumble) for at least a year, not sure exactly how long.

If it's already cut to stove length for a year+ then you're in much better shape. Split the driest stuff up asap and stack it criss-cross very loosely to get air flow. Try to stack it in a place with full sun and if we have a nice Sept/Oct it will really help. What I do in a situation where I need wood to dry quickly is leave it uncovered (exposed to sun and wind) in summer and early fall. Any time there is a period of real rain (like now) I cover it, then uncover it for the sunny stretches. In Nov/Dec I'll then get it under cover for winter.

 

[Nate Finch]

Would love to see some pics of the stove, and your setup.
The oak likes to take a while to dry. Get it split up asap, and give it a test. Maybe you'll get lucky this year.

I'll definitely takes some pics tonight. The stove looks great, and the previous owners said they used it to heat the house throughout the winter. One thing that I hope is minor is that one of the stones in the rear wall of the stove is broken through and through. Probably someone throwing a log in a little too vigorously. Is that anything I need to worry about?

Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend Right now I have a half a cord (ish) sitting outside with just a clear tarp resting on top of it (not down the sides at all). Is that ideal, or should it be up off the pile? I'd really love not to have to buy wood with something like 10-20 cord of unsplit stove length oak sitting on my property.

Any suggestions on moisture meters, or will any old one work? I was looking at this one: http://www.amazon.com/General-Tools...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1282745507&sr=8-1

Thanks again!

 

[branchburner]

a clear tarp resting on top of it (not down the sides at all). Is that ideal, or should it be up off the pile?

Right on top is fine, no need to cover sides.

 

[rustynut]

hey nate,
Going from memory here. Your 2 levers control the air feed to your stove. If they are the same as the 5700 the rh lever is your start up air with in being max air.
Stove start up will have both levers in all the way for max air. Burn for 10 or 15 min then close your rh startup air (pull lever).
As fire gets going good reduce your main air intake (by pulling lever) to slow burn rate for extended burn times.
enjoy
rn

 

[Nate Finch]

Awesome, RN, thanks