7.5 hour burn on the Castine !!!

[Soadrocks]

It has only been a month or so with new the F400, but boy has it been fun! I love every minute of it. Last night, we had our longest overnight burn so far. At 11PM last night, the temperature was a mere 500 degrees, I loaded the baby up with a few big logs, and closed it for the night. I did my late night rituals in the bathroom (contacts, brush, etc.), went back downstairs, turned the lever all the way to the left and hoped for the best. Our St. Bernard woke me up at 6:30 in the morning and I went downtairs to see if we had anything. There it was, the sight of hot coals still going at it. The glass was almost completely black, but heck, we had FIRE ! I tossed in a few small splits, caught on fire instantaneously, turned the lever to the right as well, let the dog back in, went to bed, woke up a couple hours later and tossed in a few big logs and we're back in business on Sunday! The glass is also almost completely clean due to the high temps! Life is good!

I tried to upload an iMovie, but it's like 11MB big, I don't know how to make it a smaller size file. Any mac people out there that can help?

I'll post a picture of the beaut again!

 

[adrpga498]

Good work and schedule on your loading practices. I have rarely had any problem going 7 to 8 hours with my stove. A few weeks ago the Castines were taking some negative hits on the forum by some folks who claimed the stove couldn't go overnight. I decided not to bother chiming in on negitive banter. After this crazy warm front goes through, I plan on doing my last top down start up until a mild January day when I'll do a quick chimney sweep. It will be 24/7 from now on.

Keep up the good work.

 

[bluefrier]

The glass was almost completely black

It sound as if your secondaries stalled and the stove smoldered during a critical part of the burn cycle. A little haze on the glass is okay but completely black is never a good sign.

 

[Soadrocks]

Completely black....slight exaggeration.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It has only been a month or so with new the F400, but boy has it been fun! I love every minute of it. Last night, we had our longest overnight burn so far. At 11PM last night, the temperature was a mere 500 degrees, I loaded the baby up with a few big logs, and closed it for the night.I did my late night rituals in the bathroom (contacts, brush, etc.), went back downstairs, turned the lever all the way to the left and hoped for the best. Our St. Bernard woke me up at 6:30 in the morning and I went downtairs to see if we had anything. There it was, the sight of hot coals still going at it. The glass was almost completely black, but heck, we had FIRE ! I tossed in a few small splits, caught on fire instantaneously, turned the lever to the right as well, let the dog back in, went to bed, woke up a couple hours later and tossed in a few big logs and we're back in business on Sunday! The glass is also almost completely clean due to the high temps! Life is good!

Welcome to the forum Soadrocks and congratulations on the stove.

I would like to caution you on your beginning practices with the stove before you get into some real bad trouble. First, you loaded the stove when it was already at 500 degrees. Better to wait to load up on top of a coal bed and not when wood is still burning, but this is not a huge problem. The problem is that you loaded a stove that was already at 500 degrees and then went upstairs and left that stove! After a while you came back down and set the draft low and went to bed.

Secondly, the next morning you tossed in a few small splits and turned the lever to the right (I'm thinking this meant full open). Then you went back to bed A couple hours later you tossed in a few big logs and all was good. The glass almost cleaned itself due to the high temperatures. I'd hope so!


Please do yourself a big favor and show respect for that stove and what it can and cannot do. It cannot control itself. If you put wood in and leave the draft full open, you should not leave that stove After the wood is charred good then you can dial the draft down....and you must learn how much to turn it down. It is not a clean cut push it all the way open and then all the way closed. It was too low when you went to bed at night and that is why you had dirty glass. It was too high in the morning; that cleaned the glass, but thankfully did not set your house on fire.

Please take time to learn that stove and all about wood burning. It is great, but if you are to be a wood burner, you cannot treat that stove like you would your furnace. It must be attended to.

I'm done preaching now. Carry on.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I'm curious if that is ash under the stove or is that discolored from so much heat?

 

[Soadrocks]

Ha....we've been redoing the entire basement, that's actually dust. That's a really old picture relatively speaking. We're rookies, we're still learning the ins and outs of wood burning. Not something you learn overnight. We're doing the ol' trial and error method. I appreciate the feedback and we'll definitely take your advice. We're still working on how to control the air level to a science. Give us a year and we'll make leaps and bounds!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Good luck and just be careful. Hopefully you will learn by trial and success!

 

[firefighterjake]

Ho boy . . . first off, welcome to the forum . . . hopefully you'll stick around . . . you've got a great looking stove.

A few pointers though . . . mostly just reiterating.

Reloading a stove at 500 degrees (I assume stove top temp) is a good way to over-fire a stove. You really only want to reload a stove (especially loading it to the gills) when it is on the "downhill" swring of burning . . . when it is in the coal stages or if if's getting late, when it's close to coaling up with little active flames. For the Oslo, the Castine's bigger brother, 500 degrees stove top is the normal cruising temp . . . if I were to add a huge load of new wood at those temps what would happen would be a huge increase in temps for the stove and especially for the flue . . . especially if I went off and left the air control all the way open.

Second, congrats on the long burn time . . . but I think you would find your glass would have even less black if you reloaded the firebox at the coaling stage, brought the stove temps up to cruising "altitude" and then began stepping down the air control a quarter "turn" at a time . . . this lets the stove adjust to the reduced air control. Once you're at the quarter open "mark" you may wish to try shutting down the air all the way (technically the stove is still getting air of course) . . . if the fire continues to burn with good secondary flames for 10 minutes or so you should be good to go . . . if the secondary stalls and things begin smoking up you will want to open the air to the quarter mark and then either leave it there for the night or try to shut it down in another 10 minutes or so.

If things are good, and the wood is seasoned enough, you should be able to shut down the air control all the way "closed" and still maintain your secondary burn for longer than 10 minutes . . . and in the morning when you wake up there will be little to no black on the glass. The only time I wake up to find black on the glass is when either a) some wood has rested against the glass or b) I shut down the air too much or too soon and the fire ended up not burning as hot as it should . . . fortunately a rarity these days.

Also, as noted . . . leaving the air control all the way to the right is a big no-no . . . yes, I have no doubt the glass was clean, but in the process you risk possible over-firing of the stove and more likely you are experiencing some very hot temps in your chimney. In my own case, the normal position of the air control when I'm not right in the same room with the stove (or only stepping away for 5 minutes or so) is a quarter open . . . all the way to the right, even halfway open = me staying in the same room or only leaving the area for a maximum of 5 minutes.

One final word . . . yeah, we've beat up on you a bit . . . but the truth is . . . most of us are speaking from experience . . . from our own screw-ups . . . such as leaving the air control open half-way and leaving the stove for too long while we have showered . . . and then coming back to find the flue temp at 1,000+ and the stove top temp climbing to 700 . . . not that I've ever done that. Live and learn from our mistakes . . . or make your own and pay the consequences. Me, I continue to hang around here since I want to keep learning.

 

[Soadrocks]

You know what...I don't mind the criticism at all. I'm still learning. Please send me all the helpful advice. Right now, our basement is not completely finished which makes it harder for monitor reasons. Once the basement is all done (end of the month), we'll spend all our time down there and will be able to monitor the stove better.

Let me understand this right......

Once you get the fire cruising at 400 degrees, start to turn the lever to the left, when you start to see the wood charred up pretty good, move it a little more to the left and let it sail, but monitor closely. Anytime I have the lever to the left before I go to bed, I always wake up to some residue on the glass. I'm still trying to figure out when to add wood, when to move the lever. It's a science I'm still trying to learn. Any advice, keep it coming, I'm like a sponge!

 

[begreen]

The ideal air control setting will vary from user to user and the time of year. It depends on the size of the fire, amount of wood, flue, outdoor temps etc.. With a new stove it's best to experiment during the daytime so that you can track stove top temps and see how the wood burns down over the cycle. A little darkening on the left and right side of the glass after a long burn is not uncommon. But it should be light enough so that it burns off easily with the next hot fire.

Generally, you have the right plan. The wood doesn't have to be fully charred, before reducing the air supply. Once the stove is warmed up and the wood is fully burning, you can incrementally reduce the air, watching the secondary burn as you do this. The sweet spot is when the secondary starts to slow down to the point where it gets purple-blue and almost ghostlike. After the lightshow is over, it's ok to reduce the air further.

 

[firefighterjake]

You know what...I don't mind the criticism at all. I'm still learning. Please send me all the helpful advice. Right now, our basement is not completely finished which makes it harder for monitor reasons. Once the basement is all done (end of the month), we'll spend all our time down there and will be able to monitor the stove better.

Let me understand this right......

Once you get the fire cruising at 400 degrees, start to turn the lever to the left, when you start to see the wood charred up pretty good, move it a little more to the left and let it sail, but monitor closely. Anytime I have the lever to the left before I go to bed, I always wake up to some residue on the glass. I'm still trying to figure out when to add wood, when to move the lever. It's a science I'm still trying to learn. Any advice, keep it coming, I'm like a sponge!

With an attitude like this I think you're on your way to being a safe wood burner . . . and a valued member of the hearth.com family.

And yes . . . you've got the general idea on how to operate the stove. I often try to run the stove top temp a bit higher than 400 even . . . 450-500 before turning down and I usually do it in steps . . . if the fire starts flaming out then I increase the air . . . eventually you'll reach a point where you can be most of the way closed and you'll have few flames in the base and a rolling fire in the top third of the firebox . . . often you'll get the ghost flames, northern light effect or propane burner look . . . when you see secondaries in action you'll know it.

 

[Wet1]

These guy are spot on, but one other thing you might want to check is the MC of the wood. Do you know how dry it is? If not, you might want to spend $20 on a moisture meter. Split a couple of pieces open and check the MC in the freshly split center... you might find your wood is not as dry as it should be. If it's not, you probably will have to keep the lever a little further to the right than you normally would have to. Don't under-estimate the MC of your wood and the impact it can have on your stove, it can make a HUGE difference in how an EPA stove burns!

 

[Frostbit]

A 7.5 hour burn? Whoa!

Where did you put the hole in the stove-top to allow you to pump her plumb full of hickory chips?




5 hours is about the absolute max I have ever gotten out of mine. Stuffed to the gills. Mind you, its Spruce (since no other tree likes 9 months of winter here), but its the best I can do.

Good for ya....just be mindful of the stove temps/reloads/air control/secondaries. The inmates have all steered you in the right direction. It was (is) a learning curve for me and my Castine. The help here is the best.

Flame on!

 

[Skier76]

That's some serious burn time! I find that I reload the stove after four hours. We shut the propane heater off at night and we like to heat the place just with the stove. I usually get up 3 or 4 hours after going to bed to toss a few splits on...to keep the temps at a constant level.

 

[Fsappo]

Nice job on the burn times. I'll load my own stove up regardless of the temps. I only will add wood to a hot fire if I am going to be home to monitor it. The idea of adding wood and opening the air while leaving unattended, you already heard, wasnt a good one. It's one of those things you can do 100 times and never have a problem, but it only takes one..you get the idea. You have yourself a nice little stove there. Enjoy it and learn how to use it as it performs in your own home. Each house, each chimney can react differently to the same stove, so a Castine will work different depending on location and user.

 

[pmac]

That's a great burn time you get. I usually max out around 6 hours on my Castine. I'd suggest NOT putting the lever all the way to the left before going to bed; I usually leave it just a bit open; push it all the way left, then open up a fraction... that should help prevent getting the glass all black... give it a bit of air for overnight.

 

[argus66]

i get 7.5 hr bur with my f3 cb. no problem.

 

[Soadrocks]

Thanks again for all the feedback. I do have a moisture meter that was suggested on here from Ebay. All our wood so far has been 16-18% which makes us extremely happy. Since this was our first year, we ordered our wood from Pittsford Woods Company. http://pittsfordwoods.com/ We have been very pleased with the wood. 7.5 hours was very atypical for us. I really filled it up to the gills, and keep in mind I had hot coals (not flames) which is all I could ever want.

Our basement is coming together nicely. We will post pictures once it is complete.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[myzamboni]

i get 7.5 hr bur with my f3 cb. no problem.

ditto. and I do it with pine.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

It has only been a month or so with new the F400, but boy has it been fun! I love every minute of it. Last night, we had our longest overnight burn so far. At 11PM last night, the temperature was a mere 500 degrees, I loaded the baby up with a few big logs, and closed it for the night. I did my late night rituals in the bathroom (contacts, brush, etc.), went back downstairs, turned the lever all the way to the left and hoped for the best. Our St. Bernard woke me up at 6:30 in the morning and I went downtairs to see if we had anything. There it was, the sight of hot coals still going at it. The glass was almost completely black, but heck, we had FIRE ! I tossed in a few small splits, caught on fire instantaneously, turned the lever to the right as well, let the dog back in, went to bed, woke up a couple hours later and tossed in a few big logs and we're back in business on Sunday! The glass is also almost completely clean due to the high temps! Life is good!

I tried to upload an iMovie, but it's like 11MB big, I don't know how to make it a smaller size file. Any mac people out there that can help?

I'll post a picture of the beaut again!

Well done.

How do you own disorder?

 

[argus66]

wow with pine now thats impressive.... good job.

 

[gpcollen1]

I think you hit about max with that stove and have some black on the glass because of it. I only sleep 6-7 hours so overnight is no problem for me - it is the 8 hours or so until the wife gets home in the afternoon that hurts me sometimes, like when she forgets to add some kindling/small splits right away.

I would not sweat a little black glass as sometimes I just want to go to bed and close it a bit early - or the wood has a touch too much moisture. I am not falling prey to the too much moisture bug these days as I am finally a year ahead on wood and looking to add another year to that. As for the walking away from the stove for any extended period of time, I would stay away from that until you have a good amount of experience with your stove. I do that with my Olympic these days because I have 5-6 years under my belt burning that one and have the timing down pretty well. Even with that timing, I still set the timer on the microwave to make sure I do not forget. I mainly do this in the AM when I add a few splits on to the coals and leave the bypass open. There is never enough wood on to over fire this stove - just enough to get her above 400 and ready for a full load.

Enjoy your Jotul...

 

[Soadrocks]

I now notice some people when starting a fire, they load the stove up with small splits, then newspaper on top and let it go compared to what I do which is the newspaper on the base of the stove, with small kindling and some small splits. Is there any difference to the two....what are the pros and cons of each? Just a curious newbie.

 

[gpcollen1]

I now notice some people when starting a fire, they load the stove up with small splits, then newspaper on top and let it go compared to what I do which is the newspaper on the base of the stove, with small kindling and some small splits. Is there any difference to the two....what are the pros and cons of each? Just a curious newbie.

You can do a search for top down fire. I prefer doing it that way but not all do. Seriously, search once and you will get some hits here...