So I'm still learning how to run my new Englander NC30. This is the first modern stove I have experience with; I ran an Alaska Kodiak in my youth, and last winter, a wood/coal combo Penn Royal. So anyway:
All that I see on the forums here says that N/S is the better way to load a stove. The Englander's firebox is 22 inches wide and deep, and my wood stash is cut for my old stove, so it's about 17 inches long. I can load either way. I've burned it about 6 days total, and, as I suspected, the wood I have could use more drying time.
Last night I loaded E/W for the first time from the same needs more seasoning wood pile (I get a sizzler every now and again). It seemed as though I did get more wood in. I went through the procedure that I've been using, and the stove and pipe temp just wouldn't settle down. Spots on the stove top were about 875 degrees according to my IR. I eventually did get it to come down a bit by shutting the primary completely, and closing the pipe damper about half.
I thought perhaps it was the cold (30 degrees). So I tried it again this afternoon, and saw that things were kicking up a little faster than they had been despite warmer (mid 50's) temps. So I didn't let the temps climb as far before shutting down. It's now about 2 hours later, and I still have secondaries like the videos of stoves the way they should look with the primary air control all of the way in. My stack temp about 18-24 in from the stove is hovering at about 400 degrees.
Any thoughts about what happened? The only thing that I can think of is that loading N/S only burned the two pieces on either side of the channel from the air inlet, whereas E/W loading spreads out the air more, and causes more of the load to burn up at once.
I can't think that two weeks inside at temps ranging from 70-90 and RH from 60-40 would dry my wood out any significant amount. The wood I'm using is ash standing in various states of tree death that was c/s/s last fall and put in an enclosed tractor shed.
All that I see on the forums here says that N/S is the better way to load a stove. The Englander's firebox is 22 inches wide and deep, and my wood stash is cut for my old stove, so it's about 17 inches long. I can load either way. I've burned it about 6 days total, and, as I suspected, the wood I have could use more drying time.
Last night I loaded E/W for the first time from the same needs more seasoning wood pile (I get a sizzler every now and again). It seemed as though I did get more wood in. I went through the procedure that I've been using, and the stove and pipe temp just wouldn't settle down. Spots on the stove top were about 875 degrees according to my IR. I eventually did get it to come down a bit by shutting the primary completely, and closing the pipe damper about half.
I thought perhaps it was the cold (30 degrees). So I tried it again this afternoon, and saw that things were kicking up a little faster than they had been despite warmer (mid 50's) temps. So I didn't let the temps climb as far before shutting down. It's now about 2 hours later, and I still have secondaries like the videos of stoves the way they should look with the primary air control all of the way in. My stack temp about 18-24 in from the stove is hovering at about 400 degrees.
Any thoughts about what happened? The only thing that I can think of is that loading N/S only burned the two pieces on either side of the channel from the air inlet, whereas E/W loading spreads out the air more, and causes more of the load to burn up at once.
I can't think that two weeks inside at temps ranging from 70-90 and RH from 60-40 would dry my wood out any significant amount. The wood I'm using is ash standing in various states of tree death that was c/s/s last fall and put in an enclosed tractor shed.
