Don't Flame me for posting this....

[MarkSJohnson]

..... but what is the ultimate goal for adjusting your air input? Output temp? The burn pot keeping clean?

I read a lot about lazy flames and, new to pellet stoves, I think I was burning with too much air for the first month or so. I've backed off a bit on that by closing the damper more, and my flame, though "lazyer", is taller and reaching the heat exchange tubes better. In short, I'm getting temp reading with my IR thermometer that are 50° hotter.

I AM finding daily that the burn pot has clinkers this way. Not rock hard, they break apart pretty easily. And I clean the burn pot everyday anyway.

So what say you, gurus? Do the clinkers indicate that I should be opening the damper more, or is it OK to deal with some clinkers because heat output is the goal?

(I know, I know....it's somewhere in between, right?)

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Yeah that tall flame licking the exchanger is not ideal. I would open the air a bit, you may find yourself destroying your burn pot or worse getting pellets piling up.

 

[chken]

..... but what is the ultimate goal for adjusting your air input? Output temp? The burn pot keeping clean?

I read a lot about lazy flames and, new to pellet stoves, I think I was burning with too much air for the first month or so. I've backed off a bit on that by closing the damper more, and my flame, though "lazyer", is taller and reaching the heat exchange tubes better. In short, I'm getting temp reading with my IR thermometer that are 50° hotter.

I AM finding daily that the burn pot has clinkers this way. Not rock hard, they break apart pretty easily. And I clean the burn pot everyday anyway.

So what say you, gurus? Do the clinkers indicate that I should be opening the damper more, or is it OK to deal with some clinkers because heat output is the goal?

(I know, I know....it's somewhere in between, right?)

One, I think this is a good topic, what is the goal?

Two, I wouldn't trust the IR thermometer too much, because so much depends upon the exact spot you aim at.

Three, I don't mind clinkers as long as the holes in the burn pot are not blocked. Sometimes I'll find a thin cookie in the fire pot with holes in a grid pattern where the air has been blowing through.

Four, why I try to avoid a lazy flame is because it indicates to me that I'm getting incomplete combustion. And, incomplete combustion means I'm getting more soot in my vent pipe. I don't mind fly ash, as there's no way to avoid that, but I do want to avoid soot, as that will mean having to clean my vent pipe sooner. Plus, my feeling is that once you start to burn dirty, i.e. with a lazy flame, things tend to go downhill quite quickly. So, I tend to err on the side of more air, rather than less. I don't want to see a lazy flame 23 hrs into a burn.

 

[Mt Bob]

One, I think this is a good topic, what is the goal?

Two, I wouldn't trust the IR thermometer too much, because so much depends upon the exact spot you aim at.

Three, I don't mind clinkers as long as the holes in the burn pot are not blocked. Sometimes I'll find a thin cookie in the fire pot with holes in a grid pattern where the air has been blowing through.

Four, why I try to avoid a lazy flame is because it indicates to me that I'm getting incomplete combustion. And, incomplete combustion means I'm getting more soot in my vent pipe. I don't mind fly ash, as there's no way to avoid that, but I do want to avoid soot, as that will mean having to clean my vent pipe sooner. Plus, my feeling is that once you start to burn dirty, i.e. with a lazy flame, things tend to go downhill quite quickly. So, I tend to err on the side of more air, rather than less. I don't want to see a lazy flame 23 hrs into a burn.

Chken about nails it.Tall flame does not always mean lazy flame.Many newer stoves have less problems with clinkers.Older stoves only had so much adjustment,and pellets have changed over the years.Maximum heat out the exchanger may also mean a ton is going up the stack.

 

[Pellet-King]

lower the damper = more heat

 

[SwineFlue]

What does the manual say about adjusting the damper? When in doubt, rtfm (read the free manual)

 

[MarkSJohnson]

Thanks to everyone for their responses! Swine, I've read the manual and I think it does a pretty good job of helping the user to tweak the damper, explaining lazy flames and such.

But I guess what I was wondering was:

People say you don't want a lazy flame and you don't want clinkers. But what if a "somewhat" lazy flame is giving you the highest heat output? Isn't the goal of the stove to produce as much heat as possible for the fuel that it's given....even if I have to keep an eye on the burn pot more often than most people? (I work from home and can check the burn pot 20 times a day).

Does output temp rule above all else, or are there other concerns that would warrant a lower output temp?

 

[Mt Bob]

You are overthinking a space heater.Time and experience.Slightly lazy flame is safe.Compare it to a car,heck,an oil burner.You get maximum power(heat is power}running slightly lean,but things will melt down internally.Run rich and will plug things up.Time and experience,and find people that have same stove to converse with,stove designs are very different and cannot compare burn properties.

 

[chken]

Thanks to everyone for their responses! Swine, I've read the manual and I think it does a pretty good job of helping the user to tweak the damper, explaining lazy flames and such.

But I guess what I was wondering was:

People say you don't want a lazy flame and you don't want clinkers. But what if a "somewhat" lazy flame is giving you the highest heat output? Isn't the goal of the stove to produce as much heat as possible for the fuel that it's given....even if I have to keep an eye on the burn pot more often than most people? (I work from home and can check the burn pot 20 times a day).

Does output temp rule above all else, or are there other concerns that would warrant a lower output temp?

I'm not sure what you call "lazy" is really "lazy, since you seem to be getting more heat out of it. Remember, tall isn't necessarily lazy. Does your flame get more lazy during the day? If it doesn't change, then I'm not sure what you call lazy really is that, because a lazy flame tends to worsen over time.

 

[GuitsBoy]

When in doubt, rtfm (read the free manual)

**Free** ???

 

[midfielder]

"Don't Flame me"...

 

[Big E]

One, I think this is a good topic, what is the goal?
Two, I wouldn't trust the IR thermometer too much, because so much depends upon the exact spot you aim at.
Three, I don't mind clinkers as long as the holes in the burn pot are not blocked. Sometimes I'll find a thin cookie in the fire pot with holes in a grid pattern where the air has been blowing through.
Four, why I try to avoid a lazy flame is because it indicates to me that I'm getting incomplete combustion. And, incomplete combustion means I'm getting more soot in my vent pipe. I don't mind fly ash, as there's no way to avoid that, but I do want to avoid soot, as that will mean having to clean my vent pipe sooner. Plus, my feeling is that once you start to burn dirty, i.e. with a lazy flame, things tend to go downhill quite quickly. So, I tend to err on the side of more air, rather than less. I don't want to see a lazy flame 23 hrs into a burn.

Agreed, I always err on the side of more air, generally so the burnpot doesn't fill up and back into the chute.

 

[SwineFlue]

**Free** ???

This is a family forum...

 

[HopeItBurns]

No pellet is created equal, I have found that clinkers are from bad wood pellets.