- Nov 27, 2012
- 0
Question:
I refurbed and installed a 100 series earth stove only to find it has a thermostat. This is my first experience with one on a woodstove. This has a small flapper over the air inlet controlled by a knob you can set on low, med., or high. But the bimetallic spring keeps shutting the flapper when the stove gets to burning along about where i'd like to try and keep it going for awhile. My question-can these things get out of adjustment, or just shot? This one tightens the strip as it gets hot closing the draft, so I think it's working(to well!) I can kind of see where they might be a pretty good idea if they would back off the flapper sooner so the stove could keep a hot fire going. Do you know how to adjust these? I know I can just unhook the bimetallic part but would like to try it first to see how these things (earthstoves) operated originally. Any thing you can share would be great.
Answer:
It is designed to do exactly what you say..close the draft door relatively when the fire gets hot. If it is doing this, it is probably working. One potential problem is that the stove can get shut down too low, therefore forming excess creosote. You can avoid this by putting a small paper clip or other obstacle on the draft damper so it cannot shut all the way. There is sometimes an adjustment on the chain or wire linkage, but none in the thermostat itself. However, by changing the angle of the thermostat arm, you may be able to govern how far the damper door travels during a certain heat range.
I refurbed and installed a 100 series earth stove only to find it has a thermostat. This is my first experience with one on a woodstove. This has a small flapper over the air inlet controlled by a knob you can set on low, med., or high. But the bimetallic spring keeps shutting the flapper when the stove gets to burning along about where i'd like to try and keep it going for awhile. My question-can these things get out of adjustment, or just shot? This one tightens the strip as it gets hot closing the draft, so I think it's working(to well!) I can kind of see where they might be a pretty good idea if they would back off the flapper sooner so the stove could keep a hot fire going. Do you know how to adjust these? I know I can just unhook the bimetallic part but would like to try it first to see how these things (earthstoves) operated originally. Any thing you can share would be great.
Answer:
It is designed to do exactly what you say..close the draft door relatively when the fire gets hot. If it is doing this, it is probably working. One potential problem is that the stove can get shut down too low, therefore forming excess creosote. You can avoid this by putting a small paper clip or other obstacle on the draft damper so it cannot shut all the way. There is sometimes an adjustment on the chain or wire linkage, but none in the thermostat itself. However, by changing the angle of the thermostat arm, you may be able to govern how far the damper door travels during a certain heat range.
