Door cracked open or closed on start up?

[GAMMA RAY]

I used to crack the door too long,,,have learned you don't always have to....I am in between on my vote...from my experience I agree with the others,,,sometimes you have to crack it other times no....Depends on the wood and other factors. Some of our wood catches quickly, before I close the door. Funny thing: when I first started learning I would sit right in front of the stove while it was catching, I would watch it, don't know why, the husband said I reminded him of the little girl from poltergeist in front of that tv..... :lol:

 

[yooperdave]

cracked more often than not. but i stay there and not drift off doing something else like "captain tangent"! there are too many stories on this site of people that have done that (forget they left the door open and gone about their business)

 

[Kenster]

Top down start, Door open about an inch, blocked with a heavy brass door stop. I burn with very well seasoned wood but I'm not slow roasting a prime rib. I'm heating a large house and want to get it up to high temp as soon as possible. I leave the door open until I get a stove top temp of 600-650, maybe 700. Then I throw in another split and close the door, switch the Vigilant to horizontal burn and close the primary air to about half. I aim to maintain around 500 or so stove top. When I reload at bedtime I max the box out, loading through the griddle door, and open all the air and crack the door open again to get the fire roaring. Close the door, leave the air full open while I get ready for bed. Come back and close the air down for the night.

 

[jbrown56]

I have horizontal pipe issues to the chimney that I can't change. I leave the door cracked until the stove top reaches 300F, close the door and it takes off.

Jim

 

[Battenkiller]

I have GREAT draft and still choose to keep the door cracked about a quarter of an inch. I had one instance when I closed the door that the fire didn't take off and it's scarred me for life. Just leave it cracked to be sure. If I don't close it within a few minutes, the stove gets around 150f and the flue 18" up single wall outer temp hits around 300. Close the door and control the draft and they flip flop.

Funny how different stoves can teach you different things. I used a stove like yours for almost 20 years and found it started up best with the door cracked. I thought I had to do that with every stove, but my current one gets going much better most times if I start the flame path in the right direction from the onset (the back in the case of the old VC stoves). I only open the doors a crack when I am impatient and don't build the fire properly from the beginning. If I pay strict attention to split placement and flame path, my stove even gets green wood going faster with the doors closed. In fact, with green wood, opening the doors at any time flat out kills the fire if they are left open. Same as burning green wood in an open fireplace, nothing but smoke and sizzle. You really need to get that internal heat built up with unseasoned wood.

With the 118 I used to pay attention to the sound as the velocity of the intake air increased. I would tap the door closed a bit more and the velocity and vigor of the burn would increase with each incremental closing of the door... up to a point, at which time I closed it and tapped down the rotary intake and listened for the same thing. As about a 5/8" to 3/4" opening at the widest point, the stove seemed to burn most vigorously and put out the most heat, at least for me. Just like it seems to work with a modern stove, closing the primary air source incrementally rather than all at once is what works best.

FWIW with the 118 you are starting the flame path burning in the right direction even with the door cracked open since the air is coming in from the same orientation either way.

 

[Freischutz]

My wood is seasoned pine. I just open the primary air, start the top down fire, and latch the door. Then I sit back and watch the show in the stove - no additional air needed.

 

[DBoon]

From a cold start, cracked open perhaps for 10 minutes or so.
From a low coal start (fewer coals, ~200 degrees stovetop), cracked open for about 5 minutes
From a high coal reload (lots of coals, ~350 degrees stovetop or higher), closed door all the time.

Never leave the room when cracked open.