Wood stoves should never have air coming from underneath that is how coal stoves work. And why coal stoves burn wood so inneficiently.
The coals look pretty normal other than where there is clearly air leaking in around the ash plug.
Ash pan removal
- Thread starter Harry Mo
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The coals look pretty normal other than where there is clearly air leaking in around the ash plug.
Thanks for all the insight. If I don’t add wood yes for the most part it is all ash aside from a handful of small chunks. Is the air issue around the plug a cause for concern?
Yeah it can warp or crack the bottom of the stove. It can lead to uncontrollable over fires and probably other stuff I am not thinking of right now.
I can’t get it to seat completely so it must already be warped. Here are the flue reading on a fresh reload
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Those temps are pretty good for startup you should be shutting the air back now. Then let the stove go out and don't put any more wood in it untill you fix the serious safety issue.
Yes I did and I let it ride with the end of the primary flush with the lip. My only option is the black double wall and that will put at 8 or 9 inches from the closest combustibles
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Once you get the pipe safe and the ash plug sealed up, the hottest part of the stove is the center of the step on top. No big deal to hit 700-750 there. This stove loves to run.
Dont load splitsin opposite directions, load it straight in like a pack of cigarettes. Up to the top of the side bricks.
I almost always have some leftover black coal chunks after a burn. Small like golf balls.
Dont load splitsin opposite directions, load it straight in like a pack of cigarettes. Up to the top of the side bricks.
I almost always have some leftover black coal chunks after a burn. Small like golf balls.
Ok but I’m not sure how to remedy the ash plug seating perfectly. Here are the amount of coals left with this morning. I can get this to max out at 625 at the step on the stove top
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Here it is burning after getting it to 625 temp and closing off the primary all the way. Is this ok or should I give it more air? Picture with flash to get an idea of the way the splits look and without flash
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Highbeam
Minister of Fire
If you only want 625 and the exhaust is clean then everything is fine.
I am also on 19 feet of chimney and I can never run clean with the air control fully pushed in. For my installation the air control is just about always more than half way out, even when trying for a cold fire.
I am also on 19 feet of chimney and I can never run clean with the air control fully pushed in. For my installation the air control is just about always more than half way out, even when trying for a cold fire.
Ok thanks for that piece of advice I will start running it open farther but am sure I’ll eat through the wood faster. What type of wood are you feeding yours?
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
maple andDouglas fir at the moment. Low btu compared to hickory but much higher than cottonwood! It’s like45 degrees outside and 60 in the shop. I just started the fire and have a 100% secondary fire going now at about 1” from closed throttle.
This won’t work for me, too cool and my blower is stripping heat off too fast so I start getting smoke. Needed to bump it up.
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Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Ah, that’s better. Since I’m heating a well insulated but medium sized shop my choice of burn rate is usually high. This stove has a job to do, burn wood and make heat.
For an ambiance fire I throw on a few splits at a time with the same air setting and it doesn’t make as much heat. Tip of spring even with ash lip or a little more out.
For an ambiance fire I throw on a few splits at a time with the same air setting and it doesn’t make as much heat. Tip of spring even with ash lip or a little more out.
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I believe my stove is burning fine then based on the way you fire your stove and the pictures you have posted. It’s hard to understand exactly how the wood stove is supposed to burn and at the best efficiency without knowing how others are burning there’s so thanks for the time. When I got nine going really good and then backed it off like yours in the first picture with it almost all the way pushed in and the secondary flames it dropped back to about 500 after a little while, I left it be and went back down an hour or so later and it was flaming more than it was and was up to 650 or so with the primary still almost closed so I’m not sure what caused it to burn hitter and spike up
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
After a few weeks you will know what to expect. Really, as long as the chimney is not smoking and no external parts are glowing you have a pretty forgiving range of safe settings. The nc30 has proven to be very durable by many users.
Be careful not to hit the baffle board with wood! That thing is fragile.
Be careful not to hit the baffle board with wood! That thing is fragile.
The only thing I dislike is how it loses heat and leaves a huge mound of coals for hours. That won’t be fun in the cold winter months and would be nice if the stove would stay hotter up until all the coals are almost to ash
It should be noted that Highbeam is not heating a house with this stove and not from a basement. He is running the stove more like a furnace with a steady target temp of 700º with good draft.
If the wood is dry to the core then your installation may be suffering a bit from negative pressure in the basement. Is there a window in the basement you can open an inch to see if that perks up the fire? Did you add another length of chimney pipe?
What are your outside temps? The flames in you post #40 look pretty good, so I wonder if things will improve nicely with nighttime temps in the 30s. I agree with Highbeam that you are close and it's just going to take a bit of practice and maybe lower outside temps for you to get the best out of the stove.
Coals look fine and the firebrick + glass are nice and clean which is a good sign.
All the wood I have been feeding it is at 19% and below, I have not put another section of pipe up yet and tonight it is going to be low 30’s so we will see if that makes a difference and I will try and leave a window crack next time if the lower temp doesn’t make a difference,1 change at a time. I was so hoping I could have holesawed a circle next to the pipe where it goes out through and install an Oak. I have a lot of coals in the firebox right now from my earlier fill up this morning at 10 30
Also the farther the coals go father into the coal stage my glass does get somewhat dirty and don’t know what that is an indication of
I wouldn’t be burning it if it wasn’t safe. Nothing is getting over 105 degrees the stove pipe is but floor hoist and everything around it is warm to the touch
I want to resolve this while I can gauge the temps of the single wall pipe before I change to the double wall and can’t get an accurate pipe surface temp
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