Documenting our Quadrafire Explorer II install

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Ok, as promised, here are all our final clearances. I also included a little illustration in the bottom right corner showing the clearance to the bar top/mantel; as previously mentioned, it is a solid granite overhang. There is no wood supporting it, only metal brackets that are on either side and not near the pipe. The clearance from the stove pipe outer wall/edge to the granite is only 5", but as mentioned, it's non-combustible. With a hand test yesterday, it's warm but not burning hot near the pipe (I can keep my hand on it when the stove was in the 300-360 range); about 10" away it cools down considerably, and feels no different than the rest of the countertops on the other side of the slab (the edge farthest from the pipe). That said, only non-combustibles are "allowed" on the countertop during operation of the woodstove, just in case. Also, as you can see in the chart, there is still plenty of clearance from the stove to the combustible portion of the wall supporting the countertop.

I also don't have this written down on the diagram (although I wrote it on the previous page) but this stove calls for a hearth with ember protection. Ours has that plus an R-value of 1.48.

And that's it for now! The next update will be the touch-up job on the paint.
Thank you all for following along!

clearances woodstove.jpg
 
Ignore the .5” difference on the countertop overhang; there was a piece of trim that wasn’t accounted for when I measured from the wall to the edge of the overhang, it should be a half inch shorter, because, well, math.
 
That should work out well. You will be glad to have generous clearances when the stove is pushed for heat at 650º. Where are you reading the temperature? Any luck with the bees nest removal?

Enjoy your Christmas! And congratulations on the nice install.
 
I honestly don't know that we'll ever get it that high. It's been typically sitting around 350-400ish and our house is getting up to about 81, but sitting in a cozy 75-80 range. Yesterday we tested it and just let it burn out and watched to see what the temps did. We had that cold blast too so our temps outside were low 20's (at the time of this test; before that we were down to 7). The house got up to 81; we left everything to die out, then went out to eat for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner at a Thai restaurant. By the time we came back it was still a comfortable 71 inside; it had been about 4 hours since the fire went out. We were pretty pleased with that! We haven't played with a full load of wood yet (frankly I'm afraid that if we pack it up, it'll get a "runaway fire" going), only throwing a log or two on at a time has made our house plenty comfortable for a few hours. I hope to get some more experience with it then write a review down the road since there aren't too many out there on this model. I will say, the rumors are true -- this think does tick like crazy! But honestly I block it out so easily it hasn't been a bother (having 3 boys will give you this super power). It doesn't bug hubby one bit either. Maybe if this wasn't our first stove it would be an issue but we're just beyond elated to have it up and running, if this is a "fault" we're overlooking it.

Regarding the nests, I couldn't figure out how to get the top off and there are no instructions online of how to do this. Maybe if we completely remove all the back plates, we might find a way...but Hubby had the "it'll burn itself off" mentality, and since we just wanted to run it, I reluctantly agreed....kind of. I still got into the crack (where we could see the nests) with a thick aluminum wire and pulled out as much as I could. The rest fell into the unit. We lit a fire anyway and watched it closely in case of smoke or combustion of the nests, but nothing has happened. We've had it going constantly and haven't seen any smoke.... *insert shrug* So hopefully we're good!

That's today's update!
Thanks again everyone and enjoy your Christmas!
 
It's been a while, but I think this stove may have a convective lid. In other words, the cast iron lid may be separated by an air gap from the actual steel stovetop inside of the cast iron jacket. If that is the case, the cast iron stovetop temp will always run low.

Paging webfish for confirmation and suggestions on where the best spot is to measure the temperature if this is the case.
 
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Thank you, and yes that’s definitely the case. That gap is where the nests were.

We have one gauge on the front door and one on the pipe. Door is reading 330, we’re 80 inside the house :) I’m afraid the air gap might inhibit our abilities to use the top to cook though 😕
That would be a disappointment but we’ll have to mess around with it. Maybe if we can crank up the heat….
 
I just wanted to give a little update on how we're enjoying the stove. It's been almost a month now and we absolutely love it. We kicked off the winter season with extremely cold weather, but were bummed when things warmed up into a more mild temperature range -- we weren't able to use the stove for a whole week! But things dipped again, and for now it's become necessary at night and early morning but we don't use it during the day.

We discovered a good spot for a temp gauge is on the pipe at the lowest point, right where it exits the fireplace. Outside of that, our stove itself is too insulated, as is the double wall pipe, to get a good reading.

The explorer II also has an ash pan with the trap door in the center of the unit. I've read reviews of people who do not like this feature, but we actually really like it and find it very useful. It makes a shovel completely unnecessary. We are able to sweep everything down into the ash pan, then simply empty it outside.

We've so far not been able to keep the glass clean during a burn. It stays relatively clear, but inevitably it does get the brown smudge on the door, especially on the left side. It take a little elbow grease to get it off after the stove has cooled, but the wet sponge dipped in ash trick works pretty well. I'd still like to figure out how to keep it less sooty but not sure if that's possible...

The cook top takes some real bumping up of the heat to get it hot enough to use, but we have warmed water on it and re-heated dishes (including a crock pot). We haven't gotten it hot enough to boil though. My husband was able to cook an egg in a mini cast skillet, so maybe the key is cast cookware? I don't know...but we'll keep playing with it.

As an aside I've been able to put a ceramic dish on top and melt my scented was tarts in it, which has been lovely, haha. There is nothing like walking into a room that smells of burning wood, but also pine needles, and citrus , then be hit with the warmth of the stove, too! It's made having a fire going a whole experience for the senses :)

This week my husband tried the "top down" method to get things started, and then I started using it, and wow, what an easy trick! It's really made starting the fires much easier in this unit. Whereas before it would take me a couple of tries to get it going, the top down method is mostly a one and done deal.

This stove is super ticky. It ticks heating up and cooling down. It really doesn't bother us at all but I'm curious -- is this unique to units like these with two types of metal? Or is ticking typical in other stoves?

We've been able to keep a hot coal bed for a few hours but we're still playing with packing the stove to keep it warmer longer for overnight burns. For now either my husband or I have been waking up during the night and feeding the fire -- not on a schedule, more so if we just happen to wake up we'll check on it. We've typically been able to keep it at 70 or above, with only one night waking up to it being 68 in the house. This has been with outside temps getting into the 30's.

I think that's it! Our current struggle hasn't been so much with the stove but with the wood. We had some seasoned wood but went through it quickly. We got some delivered but only about a fourth of it was actually seasoned, with the rest being "almost" seasoned or entirely too wet for this year's burn. My husband actually metered it when the guy came to drop it off, and so he knocked off a bunch on the price which was nice and will be good for next year, but we will need to find something soon for this year...

Thanks again for everyone's help and feedback! Happy burning!
 
If you have a dutch oven with a lid, try slow cooking with it. I use crockpot recipes and have had good success. It will cook a bit faster than the recipe says, like 2 hrs instead of 3 for a small turkey breast, but the results are great and it's so easy.
 
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I absolutely will give it a go, thanks for the suggestion!
 
The explorer II also has an ash pan with the trap door in the center of the unit. I've read reviews of people who do not like this feature, but we actually really like it and find it very useful. It makes a shovel completely unnecessary. We are able to sweep everything down into the ash pan, then simply empty it outside.
We've so far not been able to keep the glass clean during a burn. It stays relatively clear, but inevitably it does get the brown smudge on the door, especially on the left side. It take a little elbow grease to get it off after the stove has cooled, but the wet sponge dipped in ash trick works pretty well. I'd still like to figure out how to keep it less sooty but not sure if that's possible...
This week my husband tried the "top down" method to get things started, and then I started using it, and wow, what an easy trick! It's really made starting the fires much easier in this unit. Whereas before it would take me a couple of tries to get it going, the top down method is mostly a one and done deal.


We've been able to keep a hot coal bed for a few hours but we're still playing with packing the stove to keep it warmer longer for overnight burns. For now either my husband or I have been waking up during the night and feeding the fire -- not on a schedule, more so if we just happen to wake up we'll check on it. We've typically been able to keep it at 70 or above, with only one night waking up to it being 68 in the house. This has been with outside temps getting into the 30's.
How big is the ash drop opening? I used the ash drop on the Buck 91; Nice big 3x5" opening. It was off to one side, so I'd sweep everything over on top of the hinged lid, then with the edge of the shovel sweep the large coals back to the right to save them, open the lid and sweep the ash down..worked great! Once you have dry wood, the glass will stay cleaner. I clean it with a distilled vinegar/distilled water mix. Then I use a scouring pad approved for ceramic range tops, if necessary. I like the top-down starts as well..gets the top of the box hotter faster, for a quicker re-burn light-off. With dry wood, you should be able to cut the air lower and overnight burns shouldn't be a problem with that 2.4 cf firebox..
 
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Glad you’re enjoying the stove!
I’ve noticed more air means less glass cleaning, but a hotter fire also means less overall burn time.
If you’re having problems finding dry wood, there are quite a few here using bio bricks (compressed sawdust) with good results. Be sure they don’t have chemical fillers or glue; they should be wood products only. It’s later in the season some places, but if you check around you may still find some.
And, of course, you’ll have to relearn your starting /loading/reloading process since they burn differently than regular splits.
Cheers, stay warm!
 
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If the sooting is consistent in one corner of the glass it could mean that a gasket is not sealing well in that area. Examine closely on to see if there is a telltale soot trail to the door gasket or to the glass gasket in that location. If it's the glass gasket, proceed with care, too much tension on the glass retaining clips can crack the glass when the door heats up.
 
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Thanks all, I will definitely check the gasket the "dirty glass" does always seem to be in the same general area.

To answer the above, the door to the ash pan is probably about the same as yours, 3x5-ish. It's in the center of the unit, and it really does make cleaning out the stove a breeze. We really don't need the shovel in our little kit, basically we'd be fine with a poker and broom only...

I may have found a reputable wood guy, but we'll see! Hard to really say until the wood has a moisture reader jabbed into it! If that falls through there is a local business that sells seasoned wood, but as it's a "legit" business, the price is a bit up there....I'll be happy next year when we have all of our own from our own woods stacked and ready to go!
 
OH, as an aside--could someone advise as to a firescreen for this model? Should I try to locate one that fits on the door (I do believe they used to make it for this model) or would any ol' freestanding fire screen do the job?

Thanks!
 
I may have found a reputable wood guy, but we'll see! Hard to really say until the wood has a moisture reader jabbed into it! If that falls through there is a local business that sells seasoned wood, but as it's a "legit" business, the price is a bit up there....I'll be happy next year when we have all of our own from our own woods stacked and ready to go!
Be sure to re-split a few big ones, then then test on the fresh face for a true reading in the center of the splits.
But if you're able to start a top-down fire easily, that wood isn't too wet.
Depending how much time you have, you might be able to go into the woods if it's right there near your house and get small <8" dead trees, standing or down, bark falling off, and find quite a bit of dead , dry wood that way. With a saw and wheelbarrow, you're in business. It is a bit time-consuming though..
 
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OH, as an aside--could someone advise as to a firescreen for this model? Should I try to locate one that fits on the door (I do believe they used to make it for this model) or would any ol' freestanding fire screen do the job?

Thanks!
The screen should be the one made for the stove and snug fitting. Check online and maybe some Quad dealers to see if they have one hanging around in their attic. Part # SCR-7061.

I should note that most stove owners that have bought a screen for their stoves only use it a couple times and then it gathers dust behind the stove, myself included.
 
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