Woke up to this

[Sprinter]

Absolutly Corey it could and does happen to us, after the fear I felt that night I just dont want to put anyone else through that. That night I kept great composure because the only thing the wife said was " you got it under control in there"? lol

Unfortunately, fear is how we learn best...

 

[Woody Stover]

I just dont understand why sometimes the things just run off.

I think in my case, it's mainly due to the type of fuel and how much of the load is burning when I start cutting the air back for the cruise. I was talking to my SIL for a while tonight after I had closed the bypass on the Buck; I let it go a little longer than usual before cutting the air. Then I finally cut the air but left it open a bit, and went out to talk to my MIL. I went back in for a final check before I left and there was pretty good flame in the box and the combustor was at cookin' at 1640. I cut the air a bit more and I hope that was enough to level it off. After I left I thought "Should have jacked up the fan speed, too." I'm waiting for a call from my MIL...told her to get me a combustor temp reading before she goes to bed. That's the second time the cat temp has gone higher than I would like, and I think both times were due to me having too much of the load gassing early in the burn...

 

[Woody Stover]

Just got the call. 1800 on the combustor probe. I told her to cut the air all the way and turn the fan on "high." I don't believe there's any danger that the stove is going to over fire but I don't like the cat getting that hot. But I'll never know what happened. I need to get some kind of combustor probe that records high temps until it is reset...

 

[corey21]

I think in my case, it's mainly due to the type of fuel and how much of the load is burning when I start cutting the air back for the cruise. I was talking to my SIL for a while tonight after I had closed the bypass on the Buck; I let it go a little longer than usual before cutting the air. Then I finally cut the air but left it open a bit, and went out to talk to my MIL. I went back in for a final check before I left and there was pretty good flame in the box and the combustor was at cookin' at 1640. I cut the air a bit more and I hope that was enough to level it off. After I left I thought "Should have jacked up the fan speed, too." I'm waiting for a call from my MIL...told her to get me a combustor temp reading before she goes to bed. That's the second time the cat temp has gone higher than I would like, and I think both times were due to me having too much of the load gassing early in the burn...

That more then likely created my problem the whole load off gassed at once.

 

[corey21]

Just got the call. 1800 on the combustor probe. I told her to cut the air all the way and turn the fan on "high." I don't believe there's any danger that the stove is going to over fire but I don't like the cat getting that hot. But I'll never know what happened. I need to get some kind of combustor probe that records high temps until it is reset...

That sounds hot!

 

[Woody Stover]

That sounds hot!

Yeah, they recommend in the manual to run it about 1400-1600 but say it will sometimes go to 1800. They say that prolonged stretches over 1800 will shorten the life of the cat. Not what I want, especially since the cat for the Buck is almost $300. It's already got four years on it from the previous owner...

 

[Woody Stover]

Last time it got hot, it went to 1760. I closed the air and it came back down so I'm hoping the same thing happened when she cut the air tonight...

 

[corey21]

I wonder how hot a cars catalytic converter gets.

Yeah, they recommend in the manual to run it about 1400-1600 but say it will sometimes go to 1800. They say that prolonged stretches over 1800 will shorten the life of the cat. Not what I want, especially since the cat for the Buck is almost $300. It's already got four years on it from the previous owner...

That ant very cheap.

 

[Bub381]

Just as another safety measure i keep a stove top windup timer right here in the livingroom.10 to 15 mins and off it goes to remind me to shut that stove down.Like i said it's just 1 more precaution.We all forget people.

 

[ddddddden]

. . .only 4 small splits of sycamore and half of a black gum split. After talking to them it seems odd that it took off like this asked was the coal bed big no then i ask about the time frame and it was in a short period.

After another discussion tonight i found out they put some dry pine kindling in also that explains things.

I don't know as much about wood as a lot of guys on here do, and I haven't burned any sycamore, but it looks like it's down around some species of pine in BTU content. To me, this indicates a less dense wood that is going to burn quickly, so fuel characteristics may have been as much a part of the problem as operator error was. . .I can just imagine how well the wood species discussion is going to go with the family.

(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm)

 

[Woody Stover]

I can just imagine how well the wood species discussion is going to go with the family.

If you think their eyes are glazed over now...

 

[etiger2007]

Well when My stove took off the other day I had it dampered down early as I have been doing but she kept climbing. I made my final air adjustment at 450 degrees and she took off. I know its individual and things will be different time to time, just makes me wish EPA stoves had a lever to kill all air and smother the fire.

 

[ddddddden]

Well when My stove took off the other day I had it dampered down early as I have been doing but she kept climbing. I made my final air adjustment at 450 degrees and she took off. I know its individual and things will be different time to time. . .

Yeah, atmospheric conditions vary and affect draft. I believe high barometric pressure, typically present when it's "clear & cold," increases draft, as do cooler temps and wind.

. . .just makes me wish EPA stoves had a lever to kill all air and smother the fire.

If you can access the air intake port(s) on your insert, you could experiment with reducing the air intake with aluminum foil, sheet metal(non-galvanized), magnets, etc.

 

[ddddddden]

I wonder how hot a car's catalytic converter gets. . .

http://www.aa1car.com/library/converter.htm
Light Off = 400 - 600°F
Operating Temperature = 1200 - 1600°F


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalytic_converter#section_7
In 1999, BMW introduced an electrically heated catalyst, which they called "E-CAT", in their 750iL sedan. Heating coils inside the catalytic converter assemblies are electrified just after engine start, bringing the catalyst up to operating temperature very quickly to qualify the vehicle for low emission vehicle (LEV) designation.[24]

Very cool, but I'll bet that cat ain't cheap!

 

[etiger2007]

Yeah, atmospheric conditions vary and affect draft. I believe high barometric pressure, typically present when it's "clear & cold," increases draft, as do cooler temps and wind.


If you can access the air intake port(s) on your insert, you could experiment with reducing the air intake with aluminum foil, sheet metal(non-galvanized), magnets, etc.

Im not sure where mine are with the 2000, if there in the back on the bottom I'll never be able to reach it let alone over an overfiring stove.

 

[Ashful]

Just got the call. 1800 on the combustor probe. I told her to cut the air all the way and turn the fan on "high." I don't believe there's any danger that the stove is going to over fire but I don't like the cat getting that hot. But I'll never know what happened. I need to get some kind of combustor probe that records high temps until it is reset...

The interesting thing is that cutting back air on a load that's already outgassing like that will actually drive the combustor temps up! Sure you know this, but that's because less combustion happens in the firebox, leaving more fuel for the combustor. So, when your combustor is running too hot, you usually have two options:

1. Open up the air control, which will burn more of the gasses in the firebox. The big downside to this is that, if you have a big load of fuel in there, it will get going even more furiously. Then you get into a lock-out situation, where you're almost unable to re-engage the combustor without skyrocketing.

2. Bypass the combustor for a short time, keep air low, and give the wood some time to do its major outgassing before you re-engage the combustor.

Jotul publishes (for their ceramic cat) that occasional forays above 1800F will not kill the cat, but regularly running it that hot will shorten its life, as temperatures above 1800 can cause the catalyst metals to peel away from the ceramic. I've seen no literature on what happens to a SteelCat at these high temperatures.

 

[corey21]

Yeah, atmospheric conditions vary and affect draft. I believe high barometric pressure, typically present when it's "clear & cold," increases draft, as do cooler temps and wind.


If you can access the air intake port(s) on your insert, you could experiment with reducing the air intake with aluminum foil, sheet metal(non-galvanized), magnets, etc.

Yeah it was clear and cold when that happened I know were my stove vents are i will keep that in mind.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/converter.htm
Light Off = 400 - 600°F
Operating Temperature = 1200 - 1600°F


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalytic_converter#section_7
In 1999, BMW introduced an electrically heated catalyst, which they called "E-CAT", in their 750iL sedan. Heating coils inside the catalytic converter assemblies are electrified just after engine start, bringing the catalyst up to operating temperature very quickly to qualify the vehicle for low emission vehicle (LEV) designation.[24]

Very cool, but I'll bet that cat ain't cheap!

Thank you for the information.
.