Air Wash Space for Glass

[jadm]

My insert has about a 3" space right inside the door that manual states should be left clear for the air wash to operate in. This space cuts 3" off of depth of fire box.

I can see not loading wood right up to the door but I am wondering about coals since they are lower.

When I reload and rake coals forward if I have 3" of coals and 3" of space not to be loaded I essentially have decreased my loading space by 6". Thinking I can scoop some of my coals onto that 3" ledge and air wash will function just fine and I will have more loading space.

Anybody else have restrictions on air wash space?

If so, how do you deal with it?

 

[LLigetfa]

The manual says to keep logs behind the andirons. Is that 3 inches back from the glass? Would the coals not be below the bottom of the door? There doesn't appear to be any space in front of the andirons, only above them. As long as coals are not touching the door, they should be fine and get the benefit of the air from the wash to help burn them down.

 

[begreen]

OK, now I'm perplexed too . I thought one just had to keep the logs behind the andirons. What page of the manual has the info on the air wash gap?

 

[LLigetfa]

The manual I downloaded only mentions leaving a one inch space. Is there a difference between a 550 and a C 550?

 

[begreen]

Nope, the C550 is the newest Jotul insert.

 

[jadm]

OK, now I'm perplexed too . I thought one just had to keep the logs behind the andirons. What page of the manual has the info on the air wash gap?

It does say to keep the logs behind the andirons and I was assuming that meant keeping the space totally clear.(Pg. 15) It measures approx. 3".

Up to this point I have just been keeping everything in back of it and making my fires according to the instructions on the same page which state ' spread hot embers equally around the firebox.' This, I have found, creates a really hot fire that burns through wood at an alarming rate due to all the wood having access to the hot coals.


Recently I have learned how to load with coals raked up front (Never could get it before....some of us are slower than others....) so my attention has been drawn to that space and it does take up a lot of space when coals are all raked forward.

Today I decided to allow coals to sit on the shelf as much as they could without falling out of the insert and that helped with firebox space and air wash does not seem affected in any way.

Just wanted to make sure I am not doing anything that could hurt the glass. An ounce of prevention so to speak. Would hate to find out in a month that I was indeed doing something wrong.

 

[jadm]

There doesn't appear to be any space in front of the andirons, only above them. As long as coals are not touching the door, they should be fine and get the benefit of the air from the wash to help burn them down.

There is approx. 3" of 'shelf' in front of andirons. The shelf will hold coals as it sits a bit below the door - about 1" so I really can't stack too many there without them falling out. :ahhh:

 

[begreen]

OK, now I'm perplexed too . I thought one just had to keep the logs behind the andirons. What page of the manual has the info on the air wash gap?

It does say to keep the logs behind the andirons and I was assuming that meant keeping the space totally clear.(Pg. 15) It measures approx. 3".

Up to this point I have just been keeping everything in back of it and making my fires according to the instructions on the same page which state ' spread hot embers equally around the firebox.' This, I have found, creates a really hot fire that burns through wood at an alarming rate due to all the wood having access to the hot coals.


Recently I have learned how to load with coals raked up front (Never could get it before....some of us are slower than others....) so my attention has been drawn to that space and it does take up a lot of space when coals are all raked forward.

Today I decided to allow coals to sit on the shelf as much as they could without falling out of the insert and that helped with firebox space and air wash does not seem affected in any way.

Just wanted to make sure I am not doing anything that could hurt the glass. An ounce of prevention so to speak. Would hate to find out in a month that I was indeed doing something wrong.

Ah OK, so no mention about an air wash gap. That was what had me perplexed. Have you tried burning down the coals a bit more by opening the air control fully for about 15-30 minutes? Also, how large are the splits being placed on the hot coal bed? I am putting big splits (9-10") on the bed and filling in the gaps with smaller (4-6") splits. That seems to work well for us, but in a different stove.

 

[LLigetfa]

Then I'm a bit confused as the pictures in the manual I looked at shows the bulk of the shelf being behind the andirons and the manual makes two references of where to keep the wood; behind the andirons and one inch away from the glass.

As long as there is no risk of coals falling out when the door is opened, go ahead and stack them up in front of and on top of the andirons. The air from the wash will help to burn them down.

 

[jadm]

OK, now I'm perplexed too . I thought one just had to keep the logs behind the andirons. What page of the manual has the info on the air wash gap?

It does say to keep the logs behind the andirons and I was assuming that meant keeping the space totally clear.(Pg. 15) It measures approx. 3".

Up to this point I have just been keeping everything in back of it and making my fires according to the instructions on the same page which state ' spread hot embers equally around the firebox.' This, I have found, creates a really hot fire that burns through wood at an alarming rate due to all the wood having access to the hot coals.


Recently I have learned how to load with coals raked up front (Never could get it before....some of us are slower than others....) so my attention has been drawn to that space and it does take up a lot of space when coals are all raked forward.

Today I decided to allow coals to sit on the shelf as much as they could without falling out of the insert and that helped with firebox space and air wash does not seem affected in any way.

Just wanted to make sure I am not doing anything that could hurt the glass. An ounce of prevention so to speak. Would hate to find out in a month that I was indeed doing something wrong.

. Have you tried burning down the coals a bit more by opening the air control fully for about 15-30 minutes? Also, how large are the splits being placed on the hot coal bed? I am putting big splits (9-10") on the bed and filling in the gaps with smaller (4-6") splits. That seems to work well for us, but in a different stove.

I burn coals down as much as possible while still maintaining stove top temp. above 300*. If it gets below that the reload is more difficult to get going.

I load with biggest splits on the bottom - so I'm guessing around 8" and then load smaller on top as you do.

With this insert I have to leave the door open a crack for awhile and it takes the temp. time to rise before I can begin to cut back on the air without getting smoke out of the chimney. Depending on the density of the wood ( I have mixed hardwoods delivered so several types in the mix.) charring times vary and more pieces 'catch'
at once when coals are spread throughout the firebox. Great for a hot fire for taking the chill off first thing in the morning but heck on burn times.

With the 'raking the coals forward method' the load burns much more evenly starting in the front and progressing in stages to the back and bottom of the box. I get a much longer burn time and consistently even temps. in the 600* for a long time. Room temp. stays stable too. I love it It has only taken me a year to figure this out. ;-P

 

[Roxburyeric]

If you look inside the firebox you'll see that the air washes down the glass and there is a slot on the front part (near the door but below the door level) of that 3 inch shelf area that funnels the air into the middle of the shelf area and sends it through the slightly raised air-wash hole into the main area behind the andirons. Having coals on the shelf tends to fill the air wash channel with ash and then fills the air-wash hole so I try to keep the area clear of coals and ash. I don't think having coals on the shelf will hurt anything - I would just watch the air wash channel.

 

[jadm]

Roxburyeric- Thanks...now I know what that tiny space is in front and it explains that 'bump' on the shelf. I'll have to keep an eye on it now that I know what it does.

 

[LLigetfa]

The term "air wash" is generally reserved for the curtain of air that comes down along the glass, keeping it clean. The primary air injector under the door is often called "the doghouse" because of its shape on some stoves. Its purpose is to give air to the base of the coals. The fire is fed by three separate air flows and these flows are controlled differently on different stoves. The third source of air is the secondaries most often as tubes with holes in them. The secondaries and the air wash are pre-heated air, often fed from the same source and controlled as one. The primary air (doghouse) is often controlled separately. It takes a certain amount of experimentation to find the right settings for a clean hot burn, a long burn, and at the same time, limiting the amount of coaling.