I installed my first ever wood stove late April so except for break-in burns and few cool evening small fires, I didn’t really get a chance to use it until about 6 weeks ago. So far, it’s going great and I’m so deliriously happy with it! It's a great stove and I love how it warms me down to my bone marrow! The furnace hasn’t been on at all and the propane tank is still full from the August filling.
I have been burning mostly pine and poplar because that’s all I have seasoned this year. 1.5 years ago I took down 2 trees that had some damage so it has been readily available and dry. I have some oak branches/limbs from standing dead and lightning struck trees that I’ve been tossing in because, according to my moisture meter, they’re in the teens for percent moisture, but for the most part, pine is what I've burned. I have other species cut, stacked and split, but I won't get to the burn them until next winter. For this thread, best to assume pine or mostly pine.
I bought 2 thermometers. One I keep on the stove top center under the T6 swing out trivets. I have a thermometer for my double wall chimney and I’ve been squeamish about drilling a hole in for the flue to insert it so that one is not in service and I’m just using the stove top one for now. I suppose I’ll get over my fear of drilling in to the chimney for the flue thermometer, but, alas, so far, I’ve not done it so I cannot comment on flue temps.
During most of the days when I’m nearby and can interact with the stove, I keep the fire smallish and throw in one or two logs at a time. The fire burns great, heats the house and the temp stays more or less in the “good” range on the thermometer 400-600 degrees depending on exactly what I throw in there.
At night, I stuff the thing full. Regardless of what wood is in there (pine, poplar, oak branches or a mix) it gets ROARING pretty quickly and goes over 650 degrees in what my thermometer tells me is too hot. It usually tops out about 700 or just north of that. Mostly, we load n/s at night, but I’ve tried e/w too and it doesn’t seem to matter.
I am beginning to think this is the temperature my stove likes because I’ve done several experiments and it always goes to the same temperature and tops out there. I read somewhere on this forum that 700 isn’t a total panic but I thought I’d post for input since my thermometer says it’s too hot and so I can just load and go to sleep and not worry about it. I can tell by the smell when it gets to 700. It doesn’t smell bad but I can just tell. I think it’s settled dust on the stove top that burns and causes the smell. Or maybe, my stove is just still so new that I’m off gassing paint? It doesn’t smell exactly like it but it reminds me of that smell you get when you first turn on your heater after it’s been dormant all summer. It’s not unpleasant, but I notice it at high temps.
For a while, I thought my temperature issue was because it was getting too much air. We put a piece of sheet metal over the aperture on the primary air because moving the air control seemed to have little impact and I saw a post on this forum about how it’s pretty open still even at fully closed. I didn’t want to modify it per the posts without testing it so we wedged a piece of metal in that stays in place when we slide over it. We can make a more permanent adjustment later, but we wanted to try something without voiding the warranty first. It has more of an impact now --especially on cooler burns with less fuel, but when I pack it for an overnight burn, it seems to make no difference how I slide the lever so I leave it full closed once the fire is going.
After we put the sheet metal in to close the primary air aperture, I notice that ashes don’t really collect in the square ash dump recess. It seems to suck air in through one of the corners so the stove is getting what air it wants when I close off the primary. It doesn’t appear as though the ash dump is meant to seal – it’s metal on metal and designed to open and close so there is the tiniest crack through which air can be drawn in so that’s what’s happening. It doesn’t blow ash around, but when I go to clean out the firebox, there is always a corner of that recess that is clean of ash.
As I sat down to write this, I put a bunch of wood in the firebox and now I’m actually really HOT. I took off my socks and flannel shirt! I had hoped to take a picture of the thermometer and fire to post. But, naturally, because I’m trying to ask for help, it didn’t get up to 700! It’s hanging out quite literally on the line between “good” and “too hot.” It’s mocking me.
What is different about tonight’s fire is that I had some really big splits, which is a bit of a rarity for what we usually have. They were about 19” and probably 6” wide. At one point, I only had 2 splits in the firebox. Normally, my splits are about 16” long and maybe 3" wide and I can put 6 or 7 splits in. The oak limbs when I use them are variable but average about 1-2” diameter and I can put many in along with several pine splits.
So, I suppose I can do a few more experiments with large splits and see if that keeps me under 700 or not. Would this alone cause the temperature to stay in the “good” zone? Any other thoughts about my issue? Do I really need to worry about a 700-725 stove top temperature? Is it possible I just need to move my thermometer? See picture for current location. I can’t find in the manual where there is a recommended location for the T6 but I did see where some others were measuring in the wrong spot.
While typing, my large split fire burned down and I stuffed full again with smaller splits and it got up to 700.
And, one last fact – I have a very tall chimney. I have a large vaulted ceiling with an upstairs loft so the chimney runs 2 stories inside and (I think) another 13’ outside per code to the clear the roof, but don’t quote me on the outside height. It was installed by the local stove dealer and inspected so I know it meets NC code. I read that tall chimneys may create too much draft so I include this fact here for you experts to consider. I also have an OAK, but we've blocked the intake with a blast gate right at the wall entering the house to test the air control. We can easily open it again but it's presently closed.
Thanks in advance for any tips and insight!
I have been burning mostly pine and poplar because that’s all I have seasoned this year. 1.5 years ago I took down 2 trees that had some damage so it has been readily available and dry. I have some oak branches/limbs from standing dead and lightning struck trees that I’ve been tossing in because, according to my moisture meter, they’re in the teens for percent moisture, but for the most part, pine is what I've burned. I have other species cut, stacked and split, but I won't get to the burn them until next winter. For this thread, best to assume pine or mostly pine.
I bought 2 thermometers. One I keep on the stove top center under the T6 swing out trivets. I have a thermometer for my double wall chimney and I’ve been squeamish about drilling a hole in for the flue to insert it so that one is not in service and I’m just using the stove top one for now. I suppose I’ll get over my fear of drilling in to the chimney for the flue thermometer, but, alas, so far, I’ve not done it so I cannot comment on flue temps.
During most of the days when I’m nearby and can interact with the stove, I keep the fire smallish and throw in one or two logs at a time. The fire burns great, heats the house and the temp stays more or less in the “good” range on the thermometer 400-600 degrees depending on exactly what I throw in there.
At night, I stuff the thing full. Regardless of what wood is in there (pine, poplar, oak branches or a mix) it gets ROARING pretty quickly and goes over 650 degrees in what my thermometer tells me is too hot. It usually tops out about 700 or just north of that. Mostly, we load n/s at night, but I’ve tried e/w too and it doesn’t seem to matter.
I am beginning to think this is the temperature my stove likes because I’ve done several experiments and it always goes to the same temperature and tops out there. I read somewhere on this forum that 700 isn’t a total panic but I thought I’d post for input since my thermometer says it’s too hot and so I can just load and go to sleep and not worry about it. I can tell by the smell when it gets to 700. It doesn’t smell bad but I can just tell. I think it’s settled dust on the stove top that burns and causes the smell. Or maybe, my stove is just still so new that I’m off gassing paint? It doesn’t smell exactly like it but it reminds me of that smell you get when you first turn on your heater after it’s been dormant all summer. It’s not unpleasant, but I notice it at high temps.
For a while, I thought my temperature issue was because it was getting too much air. We put a piece of sheet metal over the aperture on the primary air because moving the air control seemed to have little impact and I saw a post on this forum about how it’s pretty open still even at fully closed. I didn’t want to modify it per the posts without testing it so we wedged a piece of metal in that stays in place when we slide over it. We can make a more permanent adjustment later, but we wanted to try something without voiding the warranty first. It has more of an impact now --especially on cooler burns with less fuel, but when I pack it for an overnight burn, it seems to make no difference how I slide the lever so I leave it full closed once the fire is going.
After we put the sheet metal in to close the primary air aperture, I notice that ashes don’t really collect in the square ash dump recess. It seems to suck air in through one of the corners so the stove is getting what air it wants when I close off the primary. It doesn’t appear as though the ash dump is meant to seal – it’s metal on metal and designed to open and close so there is the tiniest crack through which air can be drawn in so that’s what’s happening. It doesn’t blow ash around, but when I go to clean out the firebox, there is always a corner of that recess that is clean of ash.
As I sat down to write this, I put a bunch of wood in the firebox and now I’m actually really HOT. I took off my socks and flannel shirt! I had hoped to take a picture of the thermometer and fire to post. But, naturally, because I’m trying to ask for help, it didn’t get up to 700! It’s hanging out quite literally on the line between “good” and “too hot.” It’s mocking me.
What is different about tonight’s fire is that I had some really big splits, which is a bit of a rarity for what we usually have. They were about 19” and probably 6” wide. At one point, I only had 2 splits in the firebox. Normally, my splits are about 16” long and maybe 3" wide and I can put 6 or 7 splits in. The oak limbs when I use them are variable but average about 1-2” diameter and I can put many in along with several pine splits.
So, I suppose I can do a few more experiments with large splits and see if that keeps me under 700 or not. Would this alone cause the temperature to stay in the “good” zone? Any other thoughts about my issue? Do I really need to worry about a 700-725 stove top temperature? Is it possible I just need to move my thermometer? See picture for current location. I can’t find in the manual where there is a recommended location for the T6 but I did see where some others were measuring in the wrong spot.
While typing, my large split fire burned down and I stuffed full again with smaller splits and it got up to 700.
And, one last fact – I have a very tall chimney. I have a large vaulted ceiling with an upstairs loft so the chimney runs 2 stories inside and (I think) another 13’ outside per code to the clear the roof, but don’t quote me on the outside height. It was installed by the local stove dealer and inspected so I know it meets NC code. I read that tall chimneys may create too much draft so I include this fact here for you experts to consider. I also have an OAK, but we've blocked the intake with a blast gate right at the wall entering the house to test the air control. We can easily open it again but it's presently closed.
Thanks in advance for any tips and insight!
No matter what I try, it doesn't seem to get any hotter than about 725. There is a dot at 750 and it's never been that hot, but it does frequently cross the 700 mark when I pack it for bedtime. Where do you put your thermometer?
