Hi everyone,
This is my first post but I've been reading these forums very regularly for some time now, much to my wife's amusement...
I have a Russo #2 wood only from 1982 (can't remember the other letters in the name, FC/R, maybe? Too hot to check now) with a catalyst. I guess my first question will be: Does anyone have a manual available for this stove? I've tried contacting Russo a couple of times but haven't heard back. I'm wondering if the manual has any insight as to where I might install a probe thermometer. The catalyst sits at the top of the firebox, above a flame shield. There's a small double gasketed viewing glass on the top of the stove (to watch the cat glow and maybe clean the top of the cat, I guess) but there's very little space behind the cat on the exhaust side that I can see to insert the thermo.
I really appreciate the time, effort and wealth of knowledge that everyone puts forth on this site; it's definitely a huge help to me.
Also, the photo below shows my fire tonight with the cat engaged and both side vents shut down as far as they can go, yet the fire is raging to the point I'm a little concerned. It has an air wash around the front glass (pardon the dirty glass). I'm burning two year seasoned oak and maple in this particular load. Usually I can keep a nice low rolling flame, but for some reason right now it's acting like I've got a bellows pumping into it! Any ideas? I can't shut the air down any more than this. I did just install a stainless liner into my 10x10 ID clay lined chimney and it's definitely improved the draw, almost the point where it barely seems to make a difference if I open the flue damper when I open the door to load. The flue damper isn't circular, it's more like a square stood on one it's corners and definitely has at least 1/2" clearance at some points. Not sure if there's a more effective design than this or not, it sits inside the flue collar and I'm assuming it's original to the stove.
Update- I figured out why I was having air control issues last night, the right side dial vent had kind of jumped the stop and so was effectively wide open, even though it didn't look like it.![[Hearth.com] 1982 russo 2 wood stove with catalyst](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/144/144373-46412bb049d9bff85e6e90c85ad18421.jpg?hash=7hBlR9fuvP "[Hearth.com] 1982 russo 2 wood stove with catalyst")
![[Hearth.com] 1982 russo 2 wood stove with catalyst](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/144/144374-bc978ba3974227be243535c3142c0ab8.jpg?hash=czZABMi6en "[Hearth.com] 1982 russo 2 wood stove with catalyst")
![[Hearth.com] 1982 russo 2 wood stove with catalyst](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/144/144357-e3eb632a37d1452ae3bb1533493640dc.jpg?hash=FO_7ISAPza "[Hearth.com] 1982 russo 2 wood stove with catalyst")
This is my first post but I've been reading these forums very regularly for some time now, much to my wife's amusement...
I have a Russo #2 wood only from 1982 (can't remember the other letters in the name, FC/R, maybe? Too hot to check now) with a catalyst. I guess my first question will be: Does anyone have a manual available for this stove? I've tried contacting Russo a couple of times but haven't heard back. I'm wondering if the manual has any insight as to where I might install a probe thermometer. The catalyst sits at the top of the firebox, above a flame shield. There's a small double gasketed viewing glass on the top of the stove (to watch the cat glow and maybe clean the top of the cat, I guess) but there's very little space behind the cat on the exhaust side that I can see to insert the thermo.
I really appreciate the time, effort and wealth of knowledge that everyone puts forth on this site; it's definitely a huge help to me.
Also, the photo below shows my fire tonight with the cat engaged and both side vents shut down as far as they can go, yet the fire is raging to the point I'm a little concerned. It has an air wash around the front glass (pardon the dirty glass). I'm burning two year seasoned oak and maple in this particular load. Usually I can keep a nice low rolling flame, but for some reason right now it's acting like I've got a bellows pumping into it! Any ideas? I can't shut the air down any more than this. I did just install a stainless liner into my 10x10 ID clay lined chimney and it's definitely improved the draw, almost the point where it barely seems to make a difference if I open the flue damper when I open the door to load. The flue damper isn't circular, it's more like a square stood on one it's corners and definitely has at least 1/2" clearance at some points. Not sure if there's a more effective design than this or not, it sits inside the flue collar and I'm assuming it's original to the stove.
Update- I figured out why I was having air control issues last night, the right side dial vent had kind of jumped the stop and so was effectively wide open, even though it didn't look like it.
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