Cold start question.

[Ctwoodtick]

how long does it typically take you all to be able to start fire in stove/insert from cold start and then begin being able to turn air down? Manual to my stove states to begin turning air control down when fire is "established". Trying to figure out if I have been taking too long or to short a time to turn air down. Thanks

 

[begreen]

It depends a lot on the dryness and species of the wood and the strength of the draft. From a cold start I can usually start turning down in 10 minutes or so when burning doug fir, but that would not be true if I was burning locust.

 

[firefighterjake]

For me . . . on a cold start it's anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes before I start dialing back the air.

 

[JA600L]

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A top down fire is ideal. If you do this right you can light your emissions system in a few minutes. Also, you can put a good amount of wood in it below the kindling so you don't have to load for a while. I've found this only works well with very dry wood because you don't have a coal bed on the bottom. The fire has to trickle down.

 

[Corey]

Time will vary a lot based on any number of factors... species of wood, wood size, how much wood in the stove, moisture content, outdoor temp / humidity (strength of draft), etc.

I guess to me, 'established' means that when I turn the air down (from the initial 'open') the stove continues to get hotter. This means you're reducing excess air and starting to dial into the proper fuel/air mix for efficient burning. If you turn the initial air down and the stove cools off, then the fire is not established and you're on the way to smouldering the fire. At some point in turning the air down, the stove will finally reach a 'peak' temperature, then start to cool off. Then you have a controlled fire and you can regulate heat output to some degree.

 

[xman23]

Depends If I get the first load rippin. Sometimes I just don't get the air flow right. Because the draft is week then, I can put the fire out. But after a few reloads and a bed of coals, the stove will suck the round out of my hands when I open the door.

 

[velvetfoot]

I'd say turn it down when most of the wood is charred. If turning it down turns it off, then it's too much too soon.
I don't use bunches and bunches of kindling, like the top down people do (who's got the time), however. Just a small piece of fire starter and if it's totally cold, some newspaper and an open door for a little while.
I would say don't watch the clock and go for a quality start.