worried about Mansfield stove temps

[ddddddden]

Yesterday I placed a magnet over the OAK inlet. MUCH better secondary action and got a much more acceptable burn time. I'm containing more heat. I still have good primary flexibility at startup. . .

Sweet!

I'm at 4900 feet. Our humidity is terribly low compared what you have out east. 50 percent is a wet one for us, typically 20-30. Over 70 per cent and it's a pretty good chance of precip. We don't get a lot of precip. 15" annual average. I'm thinkin' dry air has better combustion. . .

Superdry air + superdry wood + lower pressure = ?
Water boils at a lower temp at elevation. . .the first part of the burn cycle involves boiling the water out of the wood. . .I dunno. I just know that I had a tough time adjusting to the difference when I was trying to cook rice @10,000ft in the Andes. Maybe the cooks have some hints for the wood burners.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_altitude_cooking#section_2

. . .if the Manchester was in the lineup at the time I would have seriously considered it. Better rear clearance, side loader. But it just doesn't look as cool. Equinox's little brother lives in my living room.

The new iron Manchester? Yeah, that looks like a nice stove, but it doesn't have the same kind of appeal that a big rock does.

 

[ditchrider]

Sweet!


Superdry air + superdry wood + lower pressure = ?
Water boils at a lower temp at elevation. . .the first part of the burn cycle involves boiling the water out of the wood. . .I dunno. I just know that I had a tough time adjusting to the difference when I was trying to cook rice @10,000ft in the Andes. Maybe the cooks have some hints for the wood burners.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_altitude_cooking#section_2



The new iron Manchester? Yeah, that looks like a nice stove, but it doesn't have the same kind of appeal that a big rock does.

-Great thought. It's help like I get here that continues to put me into perspective.
-If they would have replaced the Mansfield with a Manchester made with soapstone, the bad news is I would have a new stove - again. I've tested the foundations of my marriage enough. I don't need any help .

 

[Nyminitrucker]

I'm a newbie here and this is my first post. I too have the Mansfield ( my first stove) and I have had the stove in the 700 range briefly. One thing I would like to mention, I don't know I'f there is any truth tho this, but when I purchased the stove I also purchased a thermometer for the top. The salesman at the store instructed me not to get a Rutland thermometer because it would in accurately measure the temperature of a soapstone stove, and instead to get a "stone guard" brand. This makes sense because a soapstone stove you can kinda touch real quick when its at operating temperatures while a cast iron might be kinda painful if you did the same thing. So the temperature you saw on the Rutland may have been way off. Also I found that folding tinfoil up to make it thicker and kinda making "L" shape with it works well for blocking the primary air off when you have a runaway stove. Hope this helps

 

[ditchrider]

Resolutions...
First off, soapstone is different heat. We all know that. How is it different? To prove my point I just sat on a 400 degree rock for about 20 seconds. It was just right to warm up my pants. mmmmmmmmmm . Don't do it on a steel stove, I'm warnin' ya.

Second, get a thermometer like "Nyminitrucker" recommended above, or an IR. It turns out when I'm reading 450 on the Rutland, the IR reads 400-410. At 500-the IR is 430.
Placement is also very important. At cruisin, on the top center stone right within an inch of the flue exit, 450 - but six inches more towards the front on the same stone about 410.
*note*-all the owner's manual states is place the therm on the top center stone. My question is - by the flu or towards the front? Exhaust gasses heat up as they exit. I think it should be more toward the front about 4 inches from the flu. The readings will change between the "fire-up" stage and "cruisin". Feel free to contradict me.

Stove location. I didn't have these problems where I installed the stove first. The new location turned the stove nuclear. Same chimney height in both locations, but I gambled on the second location with the same chimney height due to where the chimney exited the roof, it's further from the roof peak and needs more height. In both locations, however, I think the unit wasted fuel. Chimney height and draft patterns in the home can make or break a stove. Combine that with altitude and barometric conditions (in my case it wasn't the wood)... I cannot tell you how many opposing opinions I have read about stoves. Same brand and model. One consumer states it the best unit since sliced bacon and someone else went back to their previous stove.

The IR and a damper on the OAK were great tools to get a leash on my problem. How many folks don't know about Hearth.com? So do you think some of this info should be recommended in the owner's manual/installation instructions? This is where I think companies like "Woodstock" have the advantage.. just a phone call away if it isn't in the documentation.

Just some thoughts. Thank you to all for your input. I'm looking forward to the next nuclear episode to check some things out. Based on some of Bbar's thoughts, I don't think this was as bad as it appeared. And I hope someone else with the same problem can find some solutions from this thread.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I'm glad it worked out and I'm happy to hear that you feel more reassured operating the stove. I bet when the thermometer was hitting 700 you were probably in the 575-60 range, which is just fine.

I placed my thermometer on the center stone closer to the flue, but with an inch or two to spare. This seemed to be the hottest spot on the Heritage. If this is the hottest spot on the Mansfield, place it there, as well.

Should some of this info be in the manual? That's hard to say as everyone's setup is very different. You will end up with a lot of owners smoldering the wood creating a mess.

 

[Dairyman]

Good to hear you've gotten it under control. My Mansfield seems to behave itself well probably due to the short chimney.

Are you only getting 6-7 hrs on a full load of ash?

 

[ditchrider]

I'm glad it worked out and I'm happy to hear that you feel more reassured operating the stove. I bet when the thermometer was hitting 700 you were probably in the 575-60 range, which is just fine.

I placed my thermometer on the center stone closer to the flue, but with an inch or two to spare. This seemed to be the hottest spot on the Heritage. If this is the hottest spot on the Mansfield, place it there, as well.

Should some of this info be in the manual? That's hard to say as everyone's setup is very different. You will end up with a lot of owners smoldering the wood creating a mess.

-I'll narrow down the hot spot.
-The fear of putting a crack in a $4000 rock is pretty intimidating. Some folks out there may think 700 degrees provides lovely ambiance and a warm room..

 

[ditchrider]

Good to hear you've gotten it under control. My Mansfield seems to behave itself well probably due to the short chimney.

Are you only getting 6-7 hrs on a full load of ash?

Not sure yet. Stoked her up with a full load of elm the other night and got 9 hours or so. Now that i have the fusion reaction control in perspective, I'll dig out some ash (premium) and see what happens.