Quickest way to get soapstone stove above 350*

[bcnu]

I can to get to 350* in a decent amount of time, but it seems like that next 50+ degrees come sooo slowly. I have tried various settings on the primary air lever; rearranging the wood so I get more flames; damping down etc. What am I missing? Like right now I have a good fire going and lots of secondary combustion also, but the thermometer seems stuck on 340-350* I'd think it should take less time to go from 350 to 400* than, say, from 200-350*.

 

[Todd]

Maybe your thermometer is bad or stuck? Try sticking it in a 500 degree range oven and see what you get.

 

[rdrcr56]

Our stove likes to cruise in the 350-400 range also, to get it up to 500-550 I re-load with 4 splits, let those char, then close the air down to about 40% open. It seems like the outside temperature has allot to do with it, if it's cold it's easier to get those higher temps.

 

[bcnu]

I'll try the oven test. It is 47* outside - hadn't considered that aspect. What's the effect of adding two or three new splits? Seems like it should help stoke the fire but also seems to do just the opposite because it takes quite awhile to get the new splits really hot - and the temps just hover rather than climb. I have had the stove to and above 400* -but rarely as quickly as I would like.

 

[rdrcr56]

With the stove at 350 deg. add the wood, char it for 10-15 minutes then close the air down, it will get to 500. But I will qualify that with, I have never tried to get that kind of heat out of the stove at such a warm temperature.

 

[swestall]

50% air should slow the burn, give you secondary combustion and raise the temp. But, you don't want it fast, you want the stones to heat up at a moderate pace. Place the splits in a triangle so one or two are at the top by the burn tubes. Have fun....

 

[Harley]

From a cold start - the soapstone stoves are not going to get up to a high temp too quickly at all. Again - I'd say - check to make sure the thermometer is working properly.

I'd get a smaller fire started with a few splits - get a good bed of coals in there (with the primary air open). Then add some more while the stove warms up - once the stovetop temp gets to about 325 or so, and you have some good charred splits in there... then start drawing down the primary air. Keep an eye on the temp - they are not going to react either way (heating up or cooling down) very quickly at all, no matter what you do.

 

[bcnu]

I agree on the stove temp not changing too quickly up or down. Am taking in all the ideas on getting above 350. For example, it's 9:30 PM and I just came home to a stove top at 220* 71*inside and 39* out - so all in all quite comfortable. I want to get up to the 400 range to begin drawing heat for overnight. Lots of good coals so I reloaded a with a small amount of very dry wood. Firebox is filled with flames as I type this. I'll let it get some good hot coaling then add a couple more splits to raise the temps and then fill it with oak for the night. Hopefully I can get from 220* to close to 400* by 11PM as I'm in no hurry.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I can't speak for your stove but the Woodstock stoves come up to temperature quite quickly. But we turn the cat. on at 250 degrees and then the temperature soars fast. Below 250 it takes a little time. One thing we do is close the draft part way as soon as we have good flame; otherwise if the draft is opened too far, most of the heat goes right up the chimney. Also, if we want to get heat quickly we put split soft maple in which burns hot.

 

[Highbeam]

My latest method to heat up the heritage in the morning from 150 to 450 is to rake the remaining coals to the front and then as closely to a log cabin style as possible fill the firebox with 2-3 inch splits. Right to the bloody top, touch the tubes. Then wide open throttle until ignition, and then I back it off to 60% and go take a shower. I consider 60% closed as just past the little radius in the ash tray. In less than an hour I will be at 400. As long as it is burning well the temp is climbing and I have seen it run from 300-400 with a pretty small pile of burning splits and coals. Once past 400 or 450 I will load it up with a real firewood load for the long burn.

Medium air settings, full firebox of smallish wood, and just let it rip will get you there the fastest. The increase does seem to slow down once at 300 or so.

Once at 400-450 then the stove behaves differently. It seems to like running with a closed off primary air control.

 

[Vic99]

Honestly, my default position is to close the primary air all the way once the fire is going moderately. I close it in 2-3 steps of a couple minutes each . . . obviously the time frame depends. Once all the way down, if the wood is dry, the the temp drops off a bit then really climbs into the 400 or 500 range very easily. I do this for almost all my burns regardless of what time it is. Still try to get a wide open burn for 20 minutes as the manul suggests to get rid of liner buildup.


For an overnight burn:
Once the stovetop is around 300 and coals are present, it works well to first put the primary air to 1/2, then stuff the firebox, close the door, then choke the primary all the way down in 1 step. Ignition takes anywhere from immediately to 20 minutes.

Good luck.

 

[bcnu]

Damping down the primary may be something I need to work on. I may be closing it too quickly. My thoughts are to char the wood and then damp down to conserve wood and avoid losing extra hat up the chimney. I'm thinking that using smaller splits probably has been more effective for getting flames/heat faster at startup or when rebuiilding fire from a long overnight burn. Sounds like softer woods may also be a good idea.

 

[paulie]

I just rsently installed a homestead, and get 350 easily, stuff it again with bigger splits, let it char well, shut it down 1/2 way, and she climbs into the 400 range easy. don't worry so much about conserveing wood, once you get her hot 450-500, you won't burn much. it will stay there pretty easy and put out a lot of heat! trick is to keep her hot. drops to 375....load it back up, and shut her down. maybe I'm lucky,but this stove is very easy to burn, and burns great!

 

[bcnu]

Wood Wacker, thanks for the input. I probably let it cool down too far - usually catch it in the 220-250* range before reloading. You are right on about getting lots of heat above 350* What knd of wood are yu using? Going to have some trouble this weekend as outside temps will hit the low 60's. Oh well, it will give me a chance to do a good stove cleaning before cooler weather sets in again.

 

[speyguy]

Hey all,
I just discovered this forum a few weeks ago. I’ve been one of those creepy lurkers trying to pick up some pointers.

This is my second season with a Homestead and I think Wood Wacker is correct…..“keep it hot“. I live in Portland, OR and for much of our winters it can be fairly mild in the 40* to 50* range. Like spring/fall conditions. Not real cold, but cold enough to want heat. I have noticed that when I try to run the stove at lower temps so as not to run us out of the room, it’s more temperamental. But all last month while it was very cold outside, I got the stove up to a good temperature with lots of coals and just kept feeding it, charring the wood and then turning it down and it ran great. I found that if I want to run a fire for more mild temperatures, that much smaller splits seem to be the key so the fire breathes better. I think that in general, the Homestead likes smaller splits unless you have a substancial coal bed built up.

Within the last few weeks I have tried some pointers that I picked up on this site. One of which was to rake all the coals forward. It has helped tremendously in less coaling and more complete burns and less ash clean out. But I noticed more of a cycle of heating and cooling which results in less secondary burning. Again, not quite keeping the stove consistently hot.

Anyway, great site with lots of great insight.

 

[bcnu]

Hey Speyguy,
I live close-by - Newberg so we're both in for that good weather soon. I ditto your thoughts on last month's cold weather and the heating efficiency for the Homestead. So I'm leaning toward the warmer weather as the culprit. I've still been using my best dry, seasoned oak, so today I tried some dry, seasoned stuff that was smaller, and it's been much much easier to reach the 400+* mark. I have about a rick of my oak left and think I'll try to keep it for next year. I have plenty of other wood to get me through. Where did you get your stove? Got mine in in May from Bucks Stove Palace in Portland.

 

[speyguy]

Firestarter,
I bought from Bucks Stove Palace as well. If I were you I would try to get some softer wood as well as the oak. I've never burned oak but my neighbor does and says he has a hard time starting it and getting it going. I think that could be part of your problem. Fir of course is the most plentifull for us here in OR and it works great for getting the stove going and heated up fast. Once you have a well established coal bed then throw on the oak. I have been burning mostly maple this year with some doug fir. I got a bunch of cherry given to me that was very well seasoned. I really like it but only throw it on a well established fire or coal bed. Since good hardwood like the oak and such is harder to come by for us, I stack it seperate and try to save it for the night burn. Lasts longer.

Good luck!!

 

[bcnu]

quick update. I've been using smaller pieces of wood and leaving the primary open and the results are very good. Went from a cold start this morning and had it above 300* is short order. Added a couple of small pieces, closed primary completely and she's at 400*. Think my main problem was reducing primary air too quickly especially when adding larger splits. This will all come in handy as our weather is warming up for awhile - gonna hit 60 tomorrow and hover in the 50's for the week. I'll be better prepared to use the soapstone during these shoulder months. Thanks for all the ideas.

 

[abj1969]

with my tribute i burn with the air wide open with maybe 4 smaller splits till everything is really red.. then i cut the air back to i want to say maybe 30% and and i throw maybe 1 or 2 decent size splits in and thats when it will climb to 350 - 400* and really throw the heat out.

 

[Scott in IN]

I've only been burning for a short time but I'm having problems getting the high temps that others have been talking about. My stove runs around 350 degrees and I'm running the air full open, is that my problem? One would think that more air equates more heat, right? So do I need to damper it down or what?

 

[bcnu]

Scott in IN - same for me, so I just keep reading these posts and experimenting.

 

[abj1969]

My stove runs around 350 degrees and I’m running the air full open, is that my problem? One would think that more air equates more heat, right? So do I need to damper it down or what?

i've noticed with my stove that with the air wide open i wont get the higher temps.. maybe the heat is going right up the stack. when i cut back the air to 50% to 30% open depending on the wood i have in there is when i see the temps rise. mine will see 350* to 500* easy that way. have to have it burning really good with red coals before i cut it back though

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've only been burning for a short time but I'm having problems getting the high temps that others have been talking about. My stove runs around 350 degrees and I'm running the air full open, is that my problem? One would think that more air equates more heat, right? So do I need to damper it down or what?

Hi fellows. Yes, with the draft full open, most of the heat just goes up the chimney. Once you get the wood charred, cut the draft back at least to 50%. How far depends on many factors including type of wood, how well seasoned, what stove, chimney, etc. But just remember that full open you will not get the heat from the stove, but your chimney will.

Just imagine folks like me who run the pipe horizontally out the back of the stove and through the wall. Because heat wants to rise, if we left our draft open very long that pipe would get red hot quite fast. Once that pipe reaches 400 degrees we are looking to cut the draft quickly as the temperature will go to 600 degrees very fast at that point.

However, once we cut the draft, then the stove top temperature rises faster. We've tried a few times letting the pipe get to 600 degrees but the stove top temperature just does not rise much until we damper it down. Hope this helps.

 

[swestall]

Dennis, your CAT stove will act much differently than a burn tube stove. But, your advice is still correct. The stove is going to produce far better heat output when it is damped down. On the initial load you have to get the baffle hot enough to promote that burn. Cutting to 1/2 then to 1/4 and all the way is a good way to learn your stove. After the first load, you can get the secondary burn to take much faster. You just have to learn your stove to get the feel for when it will take. You'll stall it a few times in order to figure it out.
I just bought an old cast iron damper plate that I'm going to install when I clean this year. I noticed that when it starts to get in the teens, my burn is a bit harder and shorter because my draft is stronger. So, I'll install the damper and control the draft to extend my burn time and increase my heat output. Again, more heat is being sucked out even with the secondary engaged so the damper will slow that down. This will work at most times when the secondary burn is present but is especially useful when its really cold and the draft is pulling much harder reducing the effective burn cycle time.
The stoapstone needs to be above 400 and can easily get up to 550 for good heat.

 

[Scott in IN]

Does it need to be in "secondary burn" for it to produce the most heat?