what is the perfect burn for a non-cat stove?

[stowy65]

I just brought online my first stove - a Buck Model 21. I have been playing with the damper settings and can get fire to come out the baffles. Is that where I want my burns to be most of the time? The damper has to be way closed to do this. Also, is this the best setting to make the wash work correctly on the glass? I get some black around the corners, then it will burn off. Seems to be affected by the position of the logs. Is this expected and true?

Thank you.

- Stowy

 

[shawneyboy]

First off welcome to the forum

I just brought online my first stove - a Buck Model 21. I have been playing with the damper settings and can get fire to come out the baffles. Is that where I want my burns to be most of the time? It sounds like you are talking of the flames from the secondary, yes after adjusting down damper in stages that is what you want to see. Most of the time? that is not so. Over an 8 hour burn I will have secondaries for about 3-3.5 hours with a full stove. This is a looooong time compared to others.

The damper has to be way closed to do this. If the damper is closed down but the secondaries are burning well, you are maximizing heat while limiting the amount of air going up the flue. This is the most efficent. You will find the heat is max while this is happening, it (the heat) will trail off some when the flames go out and you are down to coals. This is normal.

Also, is this the best setting to make the wash work correctly on the glass? I get some black around the corners, then it will burn off. Seems to be affected by the position of the logs. Is this expected and true? Black on corners is not unusual, it will as you saw burn off. As far as what setting gives you the most airwash, that I can not answer.

Thank you.

- Stowy

Keep reading and asking questions, the group here will be more than willing to help.

Shawn

 

[gyrfalcon]

I just brought online my first stove - a Buck Model 21. I have been playing with the damper settings and can get fire to come out the baffles. Is that where I want my burns to be most of the time? The damper has to be way closed to do this. Also, is this the best setting to make the wash work correctly on the glass? I get some black around the corners, then it will burn off. Seems to be affected by the position of the logs. Is this expected and true?

Thank you.

- Stowy

Hey there, and welcome.

Assuming your wood is dry (ie, completely seasoned) and your burning technique is good, which it sounds like it is, you're only going to get black on the glass when there's a piece or two that's a little too close. At least that's the case with my stove. Some are better than others at keeping the glass clean with the airwash.

BUT you might want to do the "dollar bill" test on your door and be sure the gaskets are OK. They should be with a new stove, but you never know. My door's just a tiny bit leaky and I find that with the primary air (I assume that's what you mean by "damper," the lever at the bottom of the front of the stove?) closed down all the way during a good burn with a full stove, the glass will get some black stuff along the edges because the gasses are sort of attracted to the tiny air leaks. So worth checking whether your door is sealing properly.

A piece of less well seasoned wood can also shoot gasses out the end of the split, and if the end is pointed at the glass, it can brown it up a bit.

Whatever you do, don't get suckered into buying door glass cleaner for woodstoves. It's completely unnecessary and actually doesn't work as well as a plain old wet paper towel.

 

[stowy65]

Thank you for your replies.

So once I get the heat up, I typically have the damper lever set 75% closed or less. Is that recommended or should I be firing it up more? I am afraid of over-firing.

Thanks,
- Stowy

 

[gyrfalcon]

Thank you for your replies.

So once I get the heat up, I typically have the damper lever set 75% closed or less. Is that recommended or should I be firing it up more? I am afraid of over-firing.

Thanks,
- Stowy

There's really no shortcut to playing with your stove and seeing what works. Every set-up-- not just the stove, but the chimney and your surroundings (trees, hills, other nearby buildings, etc.) is different. Every load of wood is different, too. Some woods require more air to get going and produce more heat when they do but won't run away with you. Some stuff lights up immediately but doesn't make as much heat. How seasoned it is, the size of the splits, etc., also makes a significant difference.

There really are no straight-line rules because the variables are literally infinite. You're doing the basics right. You'll have to learn the fine-tuning for your set-up from careful experimentation and observation.

And do get in the habit here of referring to that lever on the front of the stove as the "primary air," not the "damper" in this forum just so we're all clear we're talking about the same thing. A damper is an additional air control set into your chimney that some people need because they get too much chimney draft. Manipulating a damper adds a whole 'nother level of complexity. Some of us have one, most of us don't. But we all have a primary air lever at the bottom of the stove.

If you're getting good heat with what you're doing, stick with it. If not, play with it a bit. You're not going to get a serious overfire by waiting a bit longer to close down the primary air more. Devote some hours to just sitting there and watching what it does when you do different things.

 

[bboulier]

On the Jotul 550, I think that the "black" on the bottom of the window, which seems to be common for the 550, is due to the structure of the stove. At the bottom of the stove front (which is the coolest part of the box), the metal radiates heat away from the ceramic window, so that the window has an even lower temperature. Evidence for metal conductivity is that the areas behind the metal "decorations" on the front of the stoves need more cleaning than other areas of the window. The metal decorations are pretty, but a window without curlicues would provide more radiant heat and a better view of the fire.

 

[gyrfalcon]

On the Jotul 550, I think that the "black" on the bottom of the window, which seems to be common for the 550, is due to the structure of the stove. At the bottom of the stove front (which is the coolest part of the box), the metal radiates heat away from the ceramic window, so that the window has an even lower temperature. Evidence for metal conductivity is that the areas behind the metal "decorations" on the front of the stoves need more cleaning than other areas of the window. The metal decorations are pretty, but a window without curlicues would provide more radiant heat and a better view of the fire.

Ah, gotcha. Now that I think of it, I remember reading somewhere, probably here, that the Jotuls, wonderful as they are otherwise, don't do as good a job of keeping the glass clean.

Interesting that the Fireviews, which also have decorative crap on the glass, don't have this problem.

Still worth double checking the seal, though, seems to me.

But anyway, point taken.