This is my first full season of burning. I have a question/concern about my overnight burn last night.
I got home late last night, and the house was cold (50*), so at 9:45 I put in half a pine-pallet and it ran for a good 2.5 hours. The great thing about the Freedom is that I can bring the temps in the house up 10* in an hour from a cold start. Once it started coaling, a little after midnight, and the stove top was down to 300*, I loaded up 15 BioBricks. I've been experimenting with them recently. I have put 10 in at a time before, and the stovetop maxed out between 600* and 650*. This time I wanted to see if I could get a good long burn, so I put in 15.
When the stovetop reached 400* I pulled the air-control out to half. When it hit just under 500*, I cut the air completely. It kept slowly rising over the next hour to 675*. This is where I got concerned/confused. All my readings so far are from the Condar Medallion magnetic thermostat on the stovetop. It seems to be pretty accurate compared with the IR. Then I took some readings from the IR, and saw one spot on the stovetop that read 780*. (800+ is considered overfiring for the Freedom.) At no point was the stovetop glowing, or any other color than black. The secondary tubes in the firebox, however, were glowing a little. And an IR reading of the glass topped 800, and even was close to 900. I had the blower on high the entire time. At no point did the Condar ever go above 700*. The secondary show in the firebox was amazing. It was right out of Lord of the Rings. There was a small stream of flame coming up out of the BioBricks which lit up the secondary tubes with blue flame all across the top of the firebox for 3 or 4 inches. It was still doing this 3 hours later when I went to bed.
I opened the bypass for a few minutes and that brought the temps down. I had to reopen it a few more times until it finally dropped to 600* on the Condar and I felt safe going to bed. By this time it was 3 am.
But, it was giving great heat, and still is! Even as I type this 9.5 hours later the fan is still going on high and the stovetop is at 200*.
This is my idea of a great overnight burn. As a first year burner, I need some comments or reassurance that this is how it's done. I just want to be sure I'm not pushing the line.
How much should I trust the reading on the Condar? Maybe I'll try sticking it in the oven to see how accurate it is.
Did I need to open the bypass, or was I being overly cautious as a first year burner?
I got home late last night, and the house was cold (50*), so at 9:45 I put in half a pine-pallet and it ran for a good 2.5 hours. The great thing about the Freedom is that I can bring the temps in the house up 10* in an hour from a cold start. Once it started coaling, a little after midnight, and the stove top was down to 300*, I loaded up 15 BioBricks. I've been experimenting with them recently. I have put 10 in at a time before, and the stovetop maxed out between 600* and 650*. This time I wanted to see if I could get a good long burn, so I put in 15.
When the stovetop reached 400* I pulled the air-control out to half. When it hit just under 500*, I cut the air completely. It kept slowly rising over the next hour to 675*. This is where I got concerned/confused. All my readings so far are from the Condar Medallion magnetic thermostat on the stovetop. It seems to be pretty accurate compared with the IR. Then I took some readings from the IR, and saw one spot on the stovetop that read 780*. (800+ is considered overfiring for the Freedom.) At no point was the stovetop glowing, or any other color than black. The secondary tubes in the firebox, however, were glowing a little. And an IR reading of the glass topped 800, and even was close to 900. I had the blower on high the entire time. At no point did the Condar ever go above 700*. The secondary show in the firebox was amazing. It was right out of Lord of the Rings. There was a small stream of flame coming up out of the BioBricks which lit up the secondary tubes with blue flame all across the top of the firebox for 3 or 4 inches. It was still doing this 3 hours later when I went to bed.
I opened the bypass for a few minutes and that brought the temps down. I had to reopen it a few more times until it finally dropped to 600* on the Condar and I felt safe going to bed. By this time it was 3 am.
But, it was giving great heat, and still is! Even as I type this 9.5 hours later the fan is still going on high and the stovetop is at 200*.
This is my idea of a great overnight burn. As a first year burner, I need some comments or reassurance that this is how it's done. I just want to be sure I'm not pushing the line.
How much should I trust the reading on the Condar? Maybe I'll try sticking it in the oven to see how accurate it is.
Did I need to open the bypass, or was I being overly cautious as a first year burner?
