Non-Cat EPA. How Long?

[CodyWayne718]

Hope this is in the right place. I know most of everyone on here burns "seasoned wood", so I am wondering, how long does it take once you reload for your non-cat EPA stoves to get back up to lets say 550 degrees? Seems like if I let my temp drop to about 250 or 300 before reload it takes it forever to not only get up to temp but even to take off with flames. Jus wondering what others experiances have been.

 

[North of 60]

EPA cat or non-cat you are burning wet wood by the sounds of your results.
Flame on should take 10 secs or less. 20 min or less to get the 550 again.

 

[rdust]

If I reload with a good coal bed at 250 I'll be back up in less then 30 minutes, realistically more like 15. I'll try to remember to time it once I reload in the morning. I can see flames on the new wood while I'm still reloading or shortly after closing the door.

This is with a steel stove, stone or cast may be different.

 

[CodyWayne718]

Everything I am burning is 20% or less, the hedge I have is between 10 an 15 percent and it still takes it forever to take off from a 300 degree reload.

 

[CodyWayne718]

If I reload with a good coal bed at 250 I'll be back up in less then 30 minutes, realistically more like 15. I'll try to remember to time it once I reload in the morning. I can see flames on the new wood while I'm still reloading or shortly after closing the door.

This is with a steel stove, stone or cast may be different.

My stove is steel. I almost wanna reload at 400 degrees and not let the coals burn down any.

 

[midwestcoast]

Everything I am burning is 20% or less, the hedge I have is between 10 an 15 percent and it still takes it forever to take off from a 300 degree reload.

Well you can't have everything. Hedge is about the most dense wood, so it'll take longer to catch & flame-up. Try with any other wood & see if it's different. On the bright side I hear that Hedge will burn for a week once it gets going!

 

[CodyWayne718]

Everything I am burning is 20% or less, the hedge I have is between 10 an 15 percent and it still takes it forever to take off from a 300 degree reload.

Well you can't have everything. Hedge is about the most dense wood, so it'll take longer to catch & flame-up. Try with any other wood & see if it's different. On the bright side I hear that Hedge will burn for a week once it gets going!

It doesnt burn that long I have some that takes off faster than the hedge but it doesnt read as dry as it. Last time I burned wet wood I couldnt break 250 degrees. But yeah, hedge does take awhile to take off, sycamore is almost my best friend right now!

 

[madrone]

Looks like your stove is an insert? Where's your thermometer located? Also, looks like a shallow firebox, E/W loading only?

 

[CodyWayne718]

Looks like your stove is an insert? Where's your thermometer located? Also, looks like a shallow firebox, E/W loading only?

Yes it's an insert, E/W loading only and very shallow firebox, very small firebox in my opinion. Thermometer is located on the top right front corner.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

I guess Im just lucky. I load N/S in a 2.3 cu. ft. insert, and a re-load on hot coals takes off in 30-45 secs, gets up to temp in 15 -20 min, and will heat my house very well for 8-9 hours. Like I said, perhaps just lucky.......dry wood, and a good draft dont hurt ,either! ;-P

 

[Renovation]

Hey CW,

Pleased to meetcha.

Maybe it's a draft problem? What's your chimney like--height, pipe or tile, diameter, connection to insert?

 

[SolarAndWood]

A few small splits of pine under the hedge will speed things up.

 

[oldspark]

My crappy elm gets the stove up to temp a lot quicker that my oak or white ash on a reload.

 

[rdust]

I'll try to remember to time it once I reload in the morning.

Slept in till 9 so I didn't have great coals, last nights fire was soft maple. Reloaded at 9 this morning with a stove top of 156(IR Gun) and hit 555 23 minutes later.

As others have said Hedge is a dense wood that will slow things down.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

If I reload with a good coal bed at 250 I'll be back up in less then 30 minutes, realistically more like 15. I'll try to remember to time it once I reload in the morning. I can see flames on the new wood while I'm still reloading or shortly after closing the door.

This is with a steel stove, stone or cast may be different.

My stove is steel. I almost wanna reload at 400 degrees and not let the coals burn down any.

Wayne, why don't you open the draft full open a bit sooner and then reload sooner rather than letting it get down to 250 degrees? It might be worth a try.

 

[madrone]

Sounds like a combination problem, as others have identified. Dense wood loaded E/W in a cooler stove won't take off like softer wood on hot coals with more airflow. You can adjust air flow, reload temps, or how you load the wood, (i.e. hedge in back and softer wood in front).

 

[DBoon]

Try a few things:

On reload, rake the coals forward so that the primary air is blowing right on the coals and pushing hot air deep into the firebox. And make sure that you are re-adjusting for full primary air on reload (I am sure you are, but it doesn't hurt to check).

You probably have some bark pieces or small strips of wood from your wood splitting - if not, make some with an axe. Then, put them between the East-West splits as you load them to provide more air circulation around each split.

Cut a few splits shorter with a chop saw. Lay these in the bottom on reload going North-South, leaving a little room between them for the air to reach back deep into the stove. Better yet if these pieces are pine, sycamore, or something less dense than hedge.

Those are the tricks I use to get a fast start to a new fire on a reload.

 

[CTYank]

You all seem to know what "hedge" is, as a tree species. I don't.
What is it?

 

[oldspark]

You all seem to know what "hedge" is, as a tree species. I don't.
What is it?

Osage Orange I believe.

 

[joshlaugh]

Yes, hedge or hedge apple is another name for Osage Orange. Around me, we all call it Hedge apple. Extremely dense wood. I am always looking to find more of it.

I like the idea of mixing a softer wood like silver maple or pine with the hedge, that might help get the fire going better on your re-load.

 

[CodyWayne718]

I have tried a lot of these things, if I reload at 400 I have to break the coals up an spread them around but I do get flames a lot lot quicker. Reload at 400 she still wants to drop to about 350 or less an still takin 45 mins or longer to hit 500 or 600 again. Guess I need to try n/s load, jus dunno about cuttin that short. RG, chimney is about 28' tall, 6'' dura flex SS liner, no block off and insulated at the top plate. Seems to draft fine to me, but I am new to all this. Thanks for all the replys!!

 

[gyrfalcon]

I have tried a lot of these things, if I reload at 400 I have to break the coals up an spread them around but I do get flames a lot lot quicker. Reload at 400 she still wants to drop to about 350 or less an still takin 45 mins or longer to hit 500 or 600 again. Guess I need to try n/s load, jus dunno about cuttin that short. RG, chimney is about 28' tall, 6'' dura flex SS liner, no block off and insulated at the top plate. Seems to draft fine to me, but I am new to all this. Thanks for all the replys!!

My favorite mid-winter cold woods are Beech and Black Birch-- not quite as dense as your hedge, but just below it, and I have the same problem getting it to light off. I've learned to use a few small splits of maple, oak, whatever to start instead, which lights very fast, then put the Beech/BB on top of that.

 

[ddddddden]

. . .chimney is about 28' tall, 6'' dura flex SS liner, no block off and insulated at the top plate. Seems to draft fine to me, but I am new to all this. Thanks for all the replys!!

If your chimney is on the exterior of the house, your insert is probably losing a lot of heat to the masonry. This could have something to do with what you are experiencing. Fix = install block-off plate and insulation behind the insert.

 

[CodyWayne718]

. . .chimney is about 28' tall, 6'' dura flex SS liner, no block off and insulated at the top plate. Seems to draft fine to me, but I am new to all this. Thanks for all the replys!!

If your chimney is on the exterior of the house, your insert is probably losing a lot of heat to the masonry. This could have something to do with what you are experiencing. Fix = install block-off plate and insulation behind the insert.

Insulate behind the insert or insulate the whole chimney? Guy said he insulated the top of the chimney since there wasnt a block off plate so the liner would stay warm from the stove its self.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Hope this is in the right place. I know most of everyone on here burns "seasoned wood", so I am wondering, how long does it take once you reload for your non-cat EPA stoves to get back up to lets say 550 degrees? Seems like if I let my temp drop to about 250 or 300 before reload it takes it forever to not only get up to temp but even to take off with flames. Jus wondering what others experiances have been.

No idea. Never timed it. Hope this helps.