Atlantic stove company hunstman double door questions

[JZIV]

Hi everyone,

My wife and i bought a house 2 yeara ago that has what i can tell to be an Atlantic stove company huntsman woodstove I believe its the model 400?
It had 2 doors and each door has 3 draft knob controls on the front.

We have a double flue chimney. The woodstove on one side, the oil furnace on the other.

This is the first woodstove I have ever owned oror used.
We had the chimney cleaned and inspected before we started using it and the previous homeowner had left about half to 3/4 of a cord of of seasoned wood behind.

I usually load the firewood east to west methid so its sideways in the woodstove rather than front to back.

I can not seem to get a consistan burn temperature no matter what i do for very long.
And a full load of wood in the stove is gone in about 2.5-3 hours.

Is this normal for a wood stove that big or are there any advice in what to do.
Its hard to get a stable burn with 6 air intake knobs.

The stove is in good shape and definitely helps in the winter i just wish i could find a way to get it to burn longer per load.

 

[bholler]

Hi everyone,

My wife and i bought a house 2 yeara ago that has what i can tell to be an Atlantic stove company huntsman woodstove I believe its the model 400?
It had 2 doors and each door has 3 draft knob controls on the front.

We have a double flue chimney. The woodstove on one side, the oil furnace on the other.

This is the first woodstove I have ever owned oror used.
We had the chimney cleaned and inspected before we started using it and the previous homeowner had left about half to 3/4 of a cord of of seasoned wood behind.

I usually load the firewood east to west methid so its sideways in the woodstove rather than front to back.

I can not seem to get a consistan burn temperature no matter what i do for very long.
And a full load of wood in the stove is gone in about 2.5-3 hours.

Is this normal for a wood stove that big or are there any advice in what to do.
Its hard to get a stable burn with 6 air intake knobs.

The stove is in good shape and definitely helps in the winter i just wish i could find a way to get it to burn longer per load.

What temp are you running the stove and pipe at? Do you have a pipe damper.

 

[JZIV]

What temp are you running the stove and pipe at? Do you have a pipe damper.

Hi bholler,
Yes we have a pipe damper, i have never messed with it, when we got the chimney cleaned the folks that did it said to leave it alone?
Also the stove temp at the flue tends to fluctuate between 400 to 650. I try to keep it between 450-550.
I also wonder if running it at 600 is too hot?
Thank you.

 

[bholler]

Hi bholler,
Yes we have a pipe damper, i have never messed with it, when we got the chimney cleaned the folks that did it said to leave it alone?
Also the stove temp at the flue tends to fluctuate between 400 to 650. I try to keep it between 450-550.
I also wonder if running it at 600 is too hot?
Thank you.

600 on the stove top is not to hot. 600 pipe temp is way to hot. 450 should be the hottest your pipe gets.

 

[coaly]

Any stove takes practice and even after you think you have it mastered, you will find ways to make it more efficient, burn hotter, or longer.....

I'll give you the operation, then explain why and what happens inside the firebox. When you know WHY the controls make it react as it does, you can modify operation as needed for weather conditions and needed heat output.

The 3 draft regulators are used together for different uses. Open the bottom two quite a few turns for quick starting. 10 turns gives you about 3/4 inch from regulator control and door. Only have the upper intakes open slightly or closed when lighting.

As the logs ignite, close the bottom air dampers slowly until about 1/8 inch opening between damper and door, and crack the upper intake dampers. Do not open them as far as the bottom dampers until p to temp. (thermometer on stove pipe and or stove top is required to know what you're doing) For overnight burns, close bottom dampers and use top as intake. About 1/8 inch should provide normal temps, more if a hotter fire is desired, or crack the bottom intakes for more heat output. This will use much more fuel and should only be needed when extremely cold. That should get you 12 hour plus burns with 1/2 to 3/4 firebox full.

Now the WHY's; Once you know the basics of what makes any stove work, you will understand what needs to be done.
As lighter exhaust gasses than cold dense outside air rises in the chimney, this creates a low pressure area in chimney flue, stove connector pipe, and stove. This rising is measured as draft. It is the temperature differential between inside and outside of chimney flue which makes the stove work. Atmospheric air pressure PUSHES air with oxygen into the stove to fill the void created by the chimney. Consider the chimney the engine that drives the stove. The more efficient and properly sized the chimney flue to stove, the better the stove will work. Opening the upper inlets allows cooler indoor air to rush up the chimney, cooling it inside and reduces draft. The inner flue temp MUST remain above 250* f. to the top when smoke is present to prevent water vapor from combustion from condensing on flue walls. This allows smoke particles to stick, forming creosote. So opening upper inlets too soon is detrimental to starting, since it allows air to rush in without feeding the fire oxygen from the bottom. If air rushes in the top, you're balancing the pressure and the needed oxygen won't be going through the fire. Cooling the chimney decreases the air coming into stove, slowing it down. When up to temp, very little oxygen is needed to keep the fire hot enough, and more is needed above the fire to ignite smoke particles. This is secondary combustion which this stove attempts, but not near as efficient as a newer stove built with secondary inlet tubes above the fire. (But both have advantages and disadvantages)

Do you have a manual for your stove model? Most operating tips can be used from this single door manual;
https://www.hearth.com/images/uploads/ASW_Huntsman241.pdf

Once you figure out the basics, you can adjust for weather (low and high pressure areas moving over - open more with lower air pressure since you don't have as much push going in), cold or warmer weather that has less temperature differential in and outside the chimney flue, and other factors that you will learn as you go. You can see how the larger the flue requires more heat to be left up to maintain the needed 250* to prevent creosote as well as create the needed draft.

A flue damper is a chimney control to slow the draft of an overdrafting chimney. It is a variable resistance to flow. It slows draft, which affects the stove by slowing incoming air. Be careful how much you close it, since creosote formation can form quickly if overused. These are all common mistakes made until you learn each stove and chimney configuration. Chimney, altitude, pipe configuration and firebox design are all different, so no one can tell you exactly how to set your controls.

 

[coaly]

The temps bholler is giving you are surface temps, which are about 1/2 the actual flue gas temps. So you can figure the temp drop from pipe internal temps to the top staying above that critical temp. More than 250 exiting the top is waste, but you need that to keep it clean. Better to err on the side of too much loss until you know how much creosote you're forming. Check often until you know how much you create. It becomes a guess since indoor and outdoor chimneys cool differently as well as insulated liners staying hotter inside with less heat needed to be left up.

 

[JZIV]

Coaly thank you.
That is extremely helpful.
Also bholler thank you as well.
You have both been very helpful!