Fireview: Trouble getting over 450*

[84td]

I know many folks here have this stove, I have had it less than a week so maybe I am not burning right. I am consistently burning at only 400* to 450* for a few hours and sometimes if I am lucky I get get to 500* for a little while. I know there is a bit of a learning curve but we are cold so help me out

I am burning a hardwood mix seasoned about 2 years, its mostly red oak, maple, pecan, common trees around here. I am letting the fire go until the temp is 250 on the guage and then engaging the cat and turning the air down to 1.5, it will climb slowly to 400 and just sit there for hours, I have played with the air a little up and down but it always stays around 400. I need to get to at least 550-600 to keep the house warm. At 400 my stove room is only low 70's and the rest of the house is too cold.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[ikessky]

Was the wood split and stacked for 2 years, in rounds, in a pile, etc. I don't have the same stove as you, but just trying to take some of the variables out of your problem.

 

[Todd]

Welcome aboard,
You should be able to see temps easily over 500 with good dry wood. Need more info, what is your chimney setup, how tall and what diameter? How many splits are you burning at once? What does your fire look like at 1.5, lots of flames or slow lazy looking flame?

I like to burn full loads of Oak and I will start by raking the coals forward towards the glass, load a big split in back and fill in with 4-5 smaller ones. Open the air full to get it started for a few minutes then turn it down to 1-2 for about 5-15 more minutes depending on how it's burning. Then I like to engage the cat at #1 which will still give me flames and good red coals. After it's burning at 1 for 15-30 minutes the temp should rise and I'll either back her off to about .75 for a low slow burn or leave it at 1 or a smidge higher for a hotter burn.

Every setup is different and it will take some trial and error, keep playing with it and let us know how it's going, lots of good info and helpers here.

You happen to be in the Navy? My daughter is stationed there on the USS Truman.

 

[Todd]

I am burning a hardwood mix seasoned about 2 years, its mostly red oak, maple, pecan, common trees around here. I am letting the fire go until the temp is 250 on the guage and then engaging the cat and turning the air down to 1.5, it will climb slowly to 400 and just sit there for hours, I have played with the air a little up and down but it always stays around 400. I need to get to at least 550-600 to keep the house warm. At 400 my stove room is only low 70's and the rest of the house is too cold.

Any advice is appreciated.

Is this from a cold start? How long did it take til you engaged the cat? Could be the load lost much of it's BTU's up the chimney while in the bypass mode and the stove warmed up. When I do cold starts I like to use nothing but 1-2" kindling and let that burn hot at about #2 for 15-30 minutes, this should get the stove and chimney warmed up. Then rake coals forward, load her up with splits and it should only take another 10-15 minutes after that to engage.

 

[84td]

The wood specifically is 2 years old and split about 8 months ago, been in a pile under a tarp since, about 2 cords worth. Its very light compared to the 6 mo old oak I have also.

My stove is a hearth install with a 6in flex liner, 20FT, interior chimney.

I load as much as I can with out touching the top, usually 5 or 6 splits, but I try to leave a sliver of air space in the very front and that seems to help start the load faster.

The cat is new to me, will the stove run hotter with less air? I am at 2 to try and get more heat but the manual says if the smoke passes the cat too quickly it wont burn hot enough. however when I turn it down to 1 it runs the same temps.

I did notice if I burn in bypass on 5 until the top is 300 the stove will burn closer to 500 but the problem with that is it burns up half the wood.

I got the email notifications on so I will try to answer any questions quickly, really need more heat.

 

[oldspark]

Pile under a tarp, not good, see if you can find some known dry wood and try that.

 

[84td]

Todd, maybe thats my problem, burning too much at the beginning.

Maybe I need to load it more often.

If I do a quick reload and its not all flaming after 15min is it ok to still engage the cat?

Is it ok to just add 1 or 2 splits to keep it burning good or is it better to wait as long as possible between loads?

 

[oldspark]

Todd is going to come back and tell you your wood is not dry enough. :lol:

 

[Todd]

#2 is too high in the cat mode. Like you said the smoke travels through the cat too fast. There is a fine line there you need to find where the flames start to slow down and lift off the logs. Try engaging at #1 and just leave it there and tell us what the fire looks like and what kind of temps you get.

Your firewood could very well be suspect, maybe a cheap moisture meter could verify this.

 

[Todd]

Todd, maybe thats my problem, burning too much at the beginning.

Maybe I need to load it more often.

If I do a quick reload and its not all flaming after 15min is it ok to still engage the cat?

Is it ok to just add 1 or 2 splits to keep it burning good or is it better to wait as long as possible between loads?

Whenever you reload you should burn in the bypass til the load gets going and charred before engaging. If the load isn't flaming after 15 minutes I'd say wet wood. It should only take a few minutes to catch.

The stove is more efficient if you burn full loads or at least 3 or more splits but during startups you may want to add 1 or 2 while your getting the stove going.

 

[Wood Duck]

I wonder if your wood is not dry enough. Wood split only 8 months ago and piled under a tarp probably isn't fully seasoned. It won't help this year, but for next year I'd try stacking the wood on something dry (stones, blocks, timbers) in a place where wind and sun can get to it. I think the tarp is doing more harm than good most of the time. Sure, it might keep rain off the wood, but it also traps moisture from the ground and stops air flow. Oak is notoriously slow to season.

To figure out what is wrong try burning some kiln-dried firewood or dimensional lumber pieces (2x4's etc.) to see if you can get the stove hot. If you can. then you will know it is the wood, not the stove and flue. If it is the wood, splitting the pieces smaller will help, and mixing with some dry wood will also help. You can't buy seasoned firewood (at least most people can't seem to find any for sale), but you might find used pallets, biobricks, or scrap lumber to mix.

 

[84td]

Makes sense, I am going to stack it this weekend with a cover just on the top. The wood is wet on the outside (its been raining and snowing for weeks a little but it is fairly seasoned, I am basing that on this wood is roughly half the weight of the wood I bucked and split in September, this is holding 2 splits of similar size of red oak.

I really hate stacking wood, I am going to build a 8x8x8 roofed box with lattice walls this spring to throw all my wood in.

 

[pinewoodburner]

I know many folks here have this stove, I have had it less than a week so maybe I am not burning right. I am consistently burning at only 400* to 450* for a few hours and sometimes if I am lucky I get get to 500* for a little while. I know there is a bit of a learning curve but we are cold so help me out

I am burning a hardwood mix seasoned about 2 years, its mostly red oak, maple, pecan, common trees around here. I am letting the fire go until the temp is 250 on the guage and then engaging the cat and turning the air down to 1.5, it will climb slowly to 400 and just sit there for hours, I have played with the air a little up and down but it always stays around 400. I need to get to at least 550-600 to keep the house warm. At 400 my stove room is only low 70's and the rest of the house is too cold.

Any advice is appreciated.

You are having the same issues I am having. I still have not found out exactly what is up. I am starting to think it is the wood. Va was been very humid over the last 9 months and I think it is affecting the wood. My oak was split over 3 years ago and was stacked in the sun in a single row to allow air movement. Top was covered in the fall. I have seen some hot temps but the usuall burn tops at 450. Stove is at 350 3 hrs after loading. I am going to try some different things this weekend and will let you know if I find the problem.

 

[Todd]

If you find it's a wet wood problem about the only thing you can do this year is try and find someone willing to trade you stick for stick for dryer wood, split into smaller pieces or burn with the bypass open for a little longer. Many have struggled their first year with less than dry wood so your not alone. Try and get a couple years ahead and you will be amazed at how well this stove heats.

 

[oldspark]

I know many folks here have this stove, I have had it less than a week so maybe I am not burning right. I am consistently burning at only 400* to 450* for a few hours and sometimes if I am lucky I get get to 500* for a little while. I know there is a bit of a learning curve but we are cold so help me out

I am burning a hardwood mix seasoned about 2 years, its mostly red oak, maple, pecan, common trees around here. I am letting the fire go until the temp is 250 on the guage and then engaging the cat and turning the air down to 1.5, it will climb slowly to 400 and just sit there for hours, I have played with the air a little up and down but it always stays around 400. I need to get to at least 550-600 to keep the house warm. At 400 my stove room is only low 70's and the rest of the house is too cold.

Any advice is appreciated.

You are having the same issues I am having. I still have not found out exactly what is up. I am starting to think it is the wood. Va was been very humid over the last 9 months and I think it is affecting the wood. My oak was split over 3 years ago and was stacked in the sun in a single row to allow air movement. Top was covered in the fall. I have seen some hot temps but the usuall burn tops at 450. Stove is at 350 3 hrs after loading. I am going to try some different things this weekend and will let you know if I find the problem.

Try some 2x4's (dont get carried away) to see if it is your wood.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hello 84td. Sorry to hear you are having the problems. I do not think you can blame the stove and probably not your installation. From everything you have posted it definitely sounds to me as if your fuel is not up to par. For sure if that wood was completely covered, that was not a good situation as there was no way for the moisture to evaporate. Also with oak, around here we won't even attempt to burn oak until it has been split and stacked out in the wind for 3 years.

You state you hate stacking wood and want to build a shed to just throw it in. Sorry, but that might very well be as bad as throwing a tarp over the whole thing! Mother Nature can be your best friend when it comes to burning wood. Wood needs both time and wind. It should be stacked outdoors for a time (varies by wood type), especially for a year.....after it has been split. Wood just won't dry much at all before it has been split. Oak especially!

I do highly suggest you try to find some good wood but that can certainly be a problem at this time of the year.


On our Fireview, we also will not engage at a temperature under 250 stovetop. On reloads, 10 minutes is usually the minimum but there are times when we engage sooner because our wood is nice and dry and it flames really nice right after putting it in the stove. When we engage the cat we usually turn the draft down to 1 or maybe 1.5 for a little bit and then we go down to .75 (Todd has his a bit higher but every stove installation can be different as can be the fuel). At the .75 setting we can easily get the stove top to 650 and that is when you really feel the heat from this rock.

I also agree with Todd that 2 is too high of a setting and if you need this setting then for sure your wood is not ready to burn.

 

[fire_man]

I know many folks here have this stove, I have had it less than a week so maybe I am not burning right. I am consistently burning at only 400* to 450* for a few hours and sometimes if I am lucky I get get to 500* for a little while. I know there is a bit of a learning curve but we are cold so help me out

I am burning a hardwood mix seasoned about 2 years, its mostly red oak, maple, pecan, common trees around here. I am letting the fire go until the temp is 250 on the guage and then engaging the cat and turning the air down to 1.5, it will climb slowly to 400 and just sit there for hours, I have played with the air a little up and down but it always stays around 400. I need to get to at least 550-600 to keep the house warm. At 400 my stove room is only low 70's and the rest of the house is too cold.

Any advice is appreciated.

You are having the same issues I am having. I still have not found out exactly what is up. I am starting to think it is the wood. Va was been very humid over the last 9 months and I think it is affecting the wood. My oak was split over 3 years ago and was stacked in the sun in a single row to allow air movement. Top was covered in the fall. I have seen some hot temps but the usuall burn tops at 450. Stove is at 350 3 hrs after loading. I am going to try some different things this weekend and will let you know if I find the problem.

I have recently posted a similar issue. My max temp with 2.5 year split seasoned Oak (split 2.5 yrs ago) is 500-550. I was getting to 700F last year with dry beech, so I know my setup is good. I re-split the oak and it measures 13% with a cheap HF Moister Meter. I am still scratching my head figuring out how to get higher temps with this wood - I guess it needs 3 full summers to dry. Your situation seems clearer, 8 months of drying is not enough after oak is split.