Stove top temps

[Hardrockmaple]

I just installed a new Drolet Austral in my basement. This is my first EPA non-cat stove and, as the thread title implies, what is the "around ??" stove top temp before shutting your air down. I bought two magnetic temp gauges at the same time and have a IR gun for temp verification.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Huntindog1]

Stove top temp around appoximately 375F- 425F you can start easing the input primary air down in increments. Like a 1/4 ways at a time. Everyone does it a little different depending on the stove they have and their style of doing it.

You have to have good dry wood. Test it with a moisture meter to make sure its under 20% moisture.

Your first load from cold start will be to establish a good coal bed.

Think about start ups in terms of how can you get the heat built up in the stove.

By closing the air down in increments you are letting the stove balance out between adjustments. You will get a feel for it after a while.

Its like this by reducing the air in the stove in a small increment you reduce the air flow thru the stove and less heat is being flushed up the flue. The fire will still be able to burn but now you notice the stove top temps raise some , wait a few minutes then make another adjustment , you are slowly allowing the stove to keep burning smoothly but the reduced air flow is keeping more heat in the stove. As the heat builds up the stove can more easily burn with less input air. So thats what the balancing out is all about.

Everything is so much easier if you have good seasoned dry wood and if you have some kindling to get the heat built up quicker. As its all about the heat. Leaving a door cracked open flushes allot of heat up the flue. Kindling lets you startup with the door shut.

If you dont get the stove in the secondary smoke burning mode you will not get the heat out of these stoves.

You will get a feel for the kind of wood your loading in the stove as in the size of the wood , how dry it is , what kind of wood , plus get a feel for how you load the stove. If you load with lots of air spaces it can fire up quicker. Get a feel for how fast the stove is heating up on reloads. If you feel conditions are such that a quicker fire up will occur you will start shutting the air down sooner and you can increment it down faster. So the stove stays under control better.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I usually shoot for 600 initially on the harman but thats a downdraft stove.Once reburn starts it sustains above 400 but stalls below that. On the englander i think i get reburn at something less,initially probably 450-500+.

 

[begreen]

It's a judgement call that will depend on several factors. This will depend on the wood dryness, how it was loaded, thickness of the splits, intensity of draft, time of year, etc. The stove top temp is just one indicator. Your eyes on the fire are the best guide here. In midwinter, on a reload I can start easing down the air on a N/S loading at around 350F. But with less cooperative wood in fall I may have to wait until it gets to 450F. Use your judgement based on a number of indicators and the kind of fire you are trying to have.

As a very general guide, if the flame dies down severely, give the fire a bit more air. If secondary combustion is robust, consider giving it a bit less air until the flames start to get a bit lazy and waft.

 

[Hardrockmaple]

It's a judgement call that will depend on several factors. This will depend on the wood dryness, how it was loaded, thickness of the splits, intensity of draft, time of year, etc. The stove top temp is just one indicator. Your eyes on the fire are the best guide here. In midwinter, on a reload I can start easing down the air on a N/S loading at around 350F. But with less cooperative wood in fall I may have to wait until it gets to 450F. Use your judgement based on a number of indicators and the kind of fire you are trying to have.

As a very general guide, if the flame dies down severely, give the fire a bit more air. If secondary combustion is robust, consider giving it a bit less air until the flames start to get a bit lazy and waft.

Thanks, this was the info I was looking for. Tried the stickies at the top, could not find temp guidelines. It took me three years to get the cat stove down pat, trying to shorten that this time.

Thanks again.