I just had a Napoleon 1402 insert installed a few weeks ago. Im burning almost all white ash and the wood is NOT seasoned. I bought this wood off CL. The seller said the wood was cut and split in the spring, but I cant be sure. I can see water coming out the end of the pieces when I start a fresh fire. I've found, however, if I can keep the fire going long enough, when I add new wood it ignites right away. I usually have to keep the door cracked about 30 mins when i start a fresh fire before I can close it and the fire will sustain itself. Any sooner than that, the fire will die out and smolder.
My questions lie with closing the damper when the stove top gets up to temp. The manual says the stove top should get to between 500 and 600 degrees. At this point, you should begin to close the damper. Using an IR temp gun, I've had no problem getting the top of the stove to 550. At this point I gradually start to close the damper. What will usually occur is the temps will increase but at a much slower rate, level off, or begin to decrease very slowly. I like to keep the stove temps in the 450 to 500 range if possible. Of course, each time the damper is closed a little more, it makes it harder for the stove to maintain its current temp which eventually leads to lower stove temps. Once the temp of the starts to decrease say to around 300 or lower, what do you do? Do you begin to open the damper more so more air can get into the firebox to help increase temps again or do you just keep the damper nearly closed and continue to let the stove cool? Do you add more wood? What Ive read on this site is you want to keep the stove temps higher to avoid smoking and the release of creosote, but then I read posts from many users about them closing the damper completely and letting it run overnight.
Also, do any of you open the door during the burn cycle and use a poker to stir things up?
My questions lie with closing the damper when the stove top gets up to temp. The manual says the stove top should get to between 500 and 600 degrees. At this point, you should begin to close the damper. Using an IR temp gun, I've had no problem getting the top of the stove to 550. At this point I gradually start to close the damper. What will usually occur is the temps will increase but at a much slower rate, level off, or begin to decrease very slowly. I like to keep the stove temps in the 450 to 500 range if possible. Of course, each time the damper is closed a little more, it makes it harder for the stove to maintain its current temp which eventually leads to lower stove temps. Once the temp of the starts to decrease say to around 300 or lower, what do you do? Do you begin to open the damper more so more air can get into the firebox to help increase temps again or do you just keep the damper nearly closed and continue to let the stove cool? Do you add more wood? What Ive read on this site is you want to keep the stove temps higher to avoid smoking and the release of creosote, but then I read posts from many users about them closing the damper completely and letting it run overnight.
Also, do any of you open the door during the burn cycle and use a poker to stir things up?