I have an englander 30 ,... 18-20% M.C. oak,... 15 ft of stick,......,,, thing burns and runs great,.... cruises at 550-600 and a 1/2-3/4 of a load,.......perfect secondaries,..............UNLESSS,....I put just 2 medium sized splits in on a bed of coals,.... reloads happen around 300 degrees,...... then what happens is i cant get my secondaries to start popping up,..... the flames comming off the wood are nice and blue,..and reddish yellow,..... my question is,......"Is it ok to burn small fires without secondary burns,... and an I packing up my chimney with "THE SOTE MONSTER"?"..........thanks for all the replies,.... Im on this site every day,... and have learned a ton!
secondaries????
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Six seasons with the 30 and I think "secondaries" are highly over rated. My 30 is sitting there cruising right now at 600 with a 2/3 load of that evil pine dried for two years and just a nice fire with no volcanic drama. And I have never had anything but a smidgen of soot in the pipe in all of those years. as long as the secondary air tubes are picking off the stray gasses I am a happy wood burner. You will see that when there are just little flicks of fire every once in a while up at the burn tubes.
Because of this site the first year with it I did that blast off and watch the light show thing. That is a crock. Build a nice fire and enjoy the heat and the nice view in that big glass. Of the wood burning where it should burn. On the wood.
Because of this site the first year with it I did that blast off and watch the light show thing. That is a crock. Build a nice fire and enjoy the heat and the nice view in that big glass. Of the wood burning where it should burn. On the wood.
Only time I load less than 3 at a time is when I have a HUGE bed of coals. Last night I 2/3 loaded the stove around 5ish, and around 8 still had a lot of coals as well as some solid wood left in the stove. Most pieces still looked like wood until I bumped them w/ the rake. Then, I made room in the center by moving coals left and right and inserted a HUGE ugly split into the center just propped up on the dog house air so that its air would hit the underbelly of the beast log. I then pushed the coals back around the log.
Otherwise, if I want a small burn, 2 pieces are positioned so that air from that dog house can go between them, then one goes above the 2, so that air goes underneath it. Basically it makes an upside down V.
When you do this, that dog house air shoots in between the pieces to the back of the stove, then has to run all the way back to the front across the secondaries to get burnt. W/ just 2 pieces next to each other, I never have much luck.
Otherwise, if I want a small burn, 2 pieces are positioned so that air from that dog house can go between them, then one goes above the 2, so that air goes underneath it. Basically it makes an upside down V.
When you do this, that dog house air shoots in between the pieces to the back of the stove, then has to run all the way back to the front across the secondaries to get burnt. W/ just 2 pieces next to each other, I never have much luck.
shawneyboy
Minister of Fire
As long as you are not puffing smoke out the chimney, no worries. You can get a clean burn without secondaries, IMHO.
Shawn
Shawn
wood butcher
Member
I agree with BotherBart. The light show is nice when it happens but if the chimney and stove top temps are good and the stove is doing what it said on the box then I'm happy, and so is my wife.
Burn on!
Burn on!
tfdchief
Minister of Fire
Wow, BB. Now that I am burning both the old and the new, I kind of think the same thing, but I would have been afraid to say it. :smirk:BrotherBart said:
If I have roaring 2ndaries by shutting the air down all the way I'll have a great show for a few hours but wake up to large coals in the stove, darkened glass, and at some point a bit of smoke from the chimney.
If I leave the air open just a touch (1/8 to 1/4 inch) I'll have a nice combo of both, clean glass, a stove that will relight after 12-14 hours w/out excessive coals and a clean chimney.
But, that's just my experience in this stove with this chimney with my wood, every stove setup is a bit different.
pen
If I leave the air open just a touch (1/8 to 1/4 inch) I'll have a nice combo of both, clean glass, a stove that will relight after 12-14 hours w/out excessive coals and a clean chimney.
But, that's just my experience in this stove with this chimney with my wood, every stove setup is a bit different.
pen
thanks guys! These are the answers i was hoping for,... and this is a reason i went with this stove,....You all know so much about them and have been burning for awhile,..... im loving it so far,... and im really happy i took your advice to put the stove upstairs,....my wood burning friends are starting to get sick of me saying,.."go to hearth . com, theyll fix you good!" LOL
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