Quad Yosemite Seems to burn a little harder then I'd like.

[embers aplenty]

Hi all. I've been burning at night for about 2 weeks or a bit longer here in East TN. I've installed a Magnaflex Insulflex 6" liner in my old masonary chimney this past August which seems to do really well with good draft.

I have a year old Quadrafire Yosemite which is a great little stove for my small 900 square ft. house. I know it's the shoulder season and it's easy to cook yourself out but seems like my stove wants to burn a little to fierce for my taste. I do have dryer wood this year per this forum. I've been burning a mix of willow, maple and oak.

What I usually do is build a small fire of an evening and burn with the screen on and the door swung open so I don't get so hot. When I remove the screen, load the stove for the night and shut both air controls all the way down. The stove top temp gets up to about 625F* and holds there with secondary burn coming on and staying on for a long time. I guess I'm just use to my old Fisher which I probably turned down to low but this seems a bit more fierce of a burn then I'd expect with the air shut all the way down. I do have enough coals after 7 hours or so to get going again but just seems a bit more free burning then I'd like. I have to open a few windows in the living room and shut the bedroom door when going to bed to be able to take it. Only had a few nights down the high 30's so far.

I have did the dollar bill test all around the doors and it seems pretty tight. I even swaped the washers around on the handles to tighten it up some more. The ash pan door is good and tightly shut. I adjusted the catch even tighter. I don't plan to use it anyway.

What do ya think? Could I block some of the air control off with a magnet? Do I need to do a smoke test or is this just pretty much normal? Like I say, I've been use to a Fisher for years which I could choke nearly off when I wanted too. By the way. Great forum. I don't post much but do a good bit of reading. Thanks A Bunch!!

 

[firefighterjake]

Random thoughts . . .

Sounds like things are running well . . . very well . . . which should be fantastic for you when Winter hits. From your desccription it sounds like the wood is good . . . and you're running the stove the right way . . . shutting down the air = more heat in the stove.

During this time of year I might suggest not loading the stove up as full with your wood . . . use your willow . . . any chunks or uglies you might have on hand . . . and just burn as normal . . . allowing the stove to come up to temp with the secondaries . . . but don't bother reloading the stove for the overnight . . . just warm up the house and allow the stove which is now plenty warm to radiate the heat off it during the rest of the night . . . and then start a fire in the morning or next evening as needed. Almost every time that I've overheated the house is my fault . . . I either loaded the stove to the gills or did a reload when I should of just lit it and then left it alone to do its thing.

 

[Jags]

Sounds to me like the darn thing is working perfectly. Too much heat = too much fuel. Back off on the stove load.

I know its tempting, but don't try to compare this to your old stove. Other than a metal box that burns wood - that is all they have in common. New tech ain't gonna let you slam it shut and smolder. EPA says "no-no".

 

[embers aplenty]

Well now I guess I'm just starting to understand the learning curve for these epa stoves. After burning a smoke dragon for so many years I guess it's a little hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

Thanks guys. It's starting to make better since to me now. "No more dirty smoldery burning" I think I get it. It's good to know there's nothing wrong with my stove too. A different approach it will be.

 

[firefighterjake]

A learning curve . . . it's definitely a different way to burn from the old stoves . . . but once you "get it" you may well find that having a decent long burn . . . and burning clean is quite nice . . . of course the light show isn't half bad either . . . I cannot tell you how many times I still just turn off the TV at night and watch my woodstove for several minutes before finally pulling myself away from it to go to bed.

 

[begreen]

Try some larger pieces of wood to slow things down a bit.

 

[Blue2ndaries]

A learning curve . . . it's definitely a different way to burn from the old stoves . . . but once you "get it" you may well find that having a decent long burn . . . and burning clean is quite nice . . . of course the light show isn't half bad either . . . I cannot tell you how many times I still just turn off the TV at night and watch my woodstove for several minutes before finally pulling myself away from it to go to bed.

+1 So agree...Went from an old Fisher smoke dragon to our Quad EPA unit, huge difference---use less wood, don't carry out a 5gal bucket of creosote after cleanings, better burn times. And as FFJake mentioned, the light show is very nice as well. My little boys love to turn out all the lights and sit on the couch in front of the fire before bedtime. Dad and mom like to do the same.

 

[bpm44]

Usually just when you get shoulder season burn loads down to a science shoulder season is over... Glad to hear your stove is running great. You'll be even happier when it's cold this year with your better wood. Congrats!

 

[embers aplenty]

Yea, a small load of wood is defintely the way to go in the shoulder season. I didn't load it up before going to bed last night. I just put in a split and a small round and later on when I got up to, well you know what I mean... I had plenty of coals left so I added one stick which was plenty to get me through the cool morning.

The insulated liner made a big difference on the way the stove acts, with better draft, doesn't black the glass so bad like before. I use to always get that ole creosote smell in the house especially when it rained. Now with the new block off plate and liner, you never get a whiff of creosote. For a small sized hearth stove I would recommend the Quadrafire Yosemite especially if the price is right.

No what you mean about the light show. It is priceless. I think it's cool when you got a good secondary burn with a good sized round in the window, it almost looks like it's burning from the inside out.

 

[HotCoals]

If that willow is really dry it will really burn!
Try your over night burn without any willow.

 

[dsenatore]

I'm with Embers here. I have a 1 yr old Quadra Fire Cumberland Gap that I'd like to have more control over the burn and air intake. With the air intakes fully closed and good seals all around the stove is still allowing more air in than I want. Air appears to be coming through the main intake based on the way it's burning. I'm guessing that's the design to keep things burning clean. I'd like to have full control of air intake right down to zero if I desire. I'm burning very dry red oak that I split into good size pieces for longer burns. It's got a big firebox and fully loaded for a 7-8hr overnight burn leaves me only some small coals in the back of the box left for the next day's fire. The fires are beautiful but as I said, I'd like more control over the intake like I've been used to w/other stoves in the past. Any suggestions? Would a chimney damper help? I'm using an insulated flex liner run up @ 30' inside existing masonry chimney in center of house - I've got killer draft.
Thanks,
David

 

[embers aplenty]

Hi dsenatore, I'd say you do have a killer draft with a 30' chimney. A few things that helped me is to forget about the ash pan. Just let it fill up solid all the way up through the grate. Try letting your stove fill up with ashes a bit more. That way the coals have a better place to hide to hold over for longer burns.

You might try some other wood to mix in with your oak, maybe some maple or some that is not so dense. Check to make sure your ash pan door is sealing up good. I tightened mine up good and just leaving it shut for the season. A pipe damper would probably help you being as your draft is really strong. If you don't have any air leaks and your air controls are closing off good, thats about all you can do.

Took me some getting use to, coming from a smoke dragon to a Quad. When it's not real cold, just don't build your fires up so big. Maybe don't load it up to big until about bedtime to kind of keep stove top temps down before starting your overnight burn. I for sure don't know all there is to know. Just have to do some trial and error to see what works. Keep your chimney cap clean. My bird screen tryed to stop up a few weeks ago. I cleaned my chimney which had almost nothing in it but the cap was starting to stop up. Good Luck!! :coolsmile: