Englander NC30 questions

[larryjbjr]

Ok, New stove, a few questions. I'll start with this one

Can someone explain to me how to use the ash drawer? I mean, detailed explanation of getting ashes in the drawer. I can figure out how to separate the ashes from the coals..




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[brenndatomu]

Pain in the butt, ain't it? That's why many don't bother with it. Just rake the coals to the back, and then shovel the ashes into a metal container, cover it, and set is outside the living space on a non combustible surface well away from any thing that'll burn...

 

[BrotherBart]

The ash pan on the 30-NC is too small to be of much use but... You remove the cast iron plug in the center of the fire box and rack the ashes through the hole into the pan. Replace the plug and pull the pan out and take it out and dump the ashes in a metal can on a non-combustible surface.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The ash pan on the 30-NC is too small to be of much use but... You remove the cast iron plug in the center of the fire box and rack the ashes through the hole into the pan. Replace the plug and pull the pan out and take it out and dump the ashes in a metal can on a non-combustible surface.

Are you guys talking about the bread warmer attached to the bottom?

 

[larryjbjr]

So that's what it's for?


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[Woody Stover]

Not sure what the setup is on that stove. The Buck worked passably well. It has a 3.5 x 5.5" hole, on one side of the stove. I used the side of the shovel to sweep everything to the ash-dump side of the stove. Then I skimmed the coals off the top of the ash (where they tend to float anyway,) to the other side. Then I flipped up the lid with an L-shaped poker, and used the side edge of the shovel to sweep the ashes down the dump.

rack the ashes through the hole into the pan. Replace the plug and pull the pan out

When the pan was getting full, I waited until I was ready to load the next time to pull the pan, when the stove (and ash pan) was cooler.

 

[SlyFerret]

I don't bother with the ash drawer on my 30NC either. I just scoop ashes as needed.

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[BrotherBart]

Are you guys talking about the bread warmer attached to the bottom?

That's what I use it for.

 

[SpAmSoNiTe]

Another vote to just scoop. I tried the pan for a while but it's just not worth it.. I like the bread warmer though lol.

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[Hogwildz]

Leave the ash plug tight, cover it in ash, and scoop the ash out.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I made a new plug out of a spare firebrick.

 

[larryjbjr]

Ok, so don't bother with the ash pan. No problem.


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[larryjbjr]

Next question,

How high do you stack your wood in the firebox? With the secondary burners up top, do you load the firebox all the way up to the secondaries or.....?

And what do you find works best, north/south or east/west loading? So far I've mostly loaded north/south cause it's easier to stuff it full.


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[jotul8e2]

The Englander NC30 is the least fussy EPA rated stove I have dealt with. North-south, east-west, or cross ways, it does not seem to matter. Small splits or chucks that barely go through the door, it burns them all. Like any EPA stove, it likes dry, seasoned wood. However, marginal stuff that would choke my Jotul Oslo burns fine in the NC30 without even affecting the secondaries. Granted, that is a low bar, but still....

I stuff mine as full as I can and it seems to affect the secondaries not at all.

 

[brenndatomu]

I don't own one, but I have friends that do. I know they really like N/S loading...sometimes they will load the first layer in N/S, leaving a small gap right down the middle so that the "boost air" can reach clear to the back, then the top layer goes in E/W...I suppose this would also work good if you have some wood just a bit too long to load N/S...
Typically you want to leave an inch or two between the wood and the secondary tubes for best secondary combustion. I think many people stuff 'er full though...

 

[xman23]

That's a shame you guys don't have a good ash pan. The Oslo's is big enough and the ash falls through a large grate in the floor. I never took the ash out any other way.

 

[larryjbjr]

Another question.

Regarding the secondaries, what exactly is the point? I mean, what are they for? Do they put produce more heat? Is the goal to get them going every burn? Or just when I want to crank out the heat?


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[brenndatomu]

Secondary combustion burns up most of the unburnt smoke and wood gas produced by primary combustion.
It gives you cleaner, more efficient burn...and yes, more heat. You will only get "secondaries" for the first couple hours of the fire generally.

 

[jotul8e2]

Secondary combustion burns up most of the unburnt smoke and wood gas produced by primary combustion.

...that otherwise would be deposited as creosote in your flue.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Secondaries allow you to realize as much potential heat as possible out of every load of fuel. Changing to a newer stove has allowed some to use 30% less wood to heat their home.

 

[larryjbjr]

So, they should be lighting with every new load then?

I'm really thinking I got junk wood cause there are many a times I load'er up and she burns hot but they never go.


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[brenndatomu]

If you load 'er up and get it good and hot, then start cutting the primary air back slowly, you should see the fire move more so to the top. If you load on a bunch of hot coals, the firebox should be an inferno of secondary flame after cutting the primary air back...this is referred to as "going nuclear" when you over do it...doesn't work if you have wood that is not ready though.

 

[Highbeam]

So secondary combustion is great but can only happen if there is smoke that would otherwise be unburnt in the main fire. If you have huge amounts of primary air you can be burning clean enough in the main fire that there is no smoke to be burnt so you won't get an identifiable secondary combustion, the whole dang stove is full of fire!

Those of us that run our stoves hard know this but a properly sized stove in a fully warmed house will be asked to run slower which means a smaller primary fire and more visible secondary combustion on the roof.

If the smoke plume from the cap is clean then your stove is working right and burning up the smoke.

 

[larryjbjr]

If the smoke plume from the cap is clean then your stove is working right and burning up the smoke.

Would you mind elaborating a little? There are times when I'm getting just enough smoke to see it, is that what you mean? Or should there be no visible smoke at all?

I climbed up on the roof today to add another 2 feet of chimney. I looked into the chimney and it was all black, and some gooey stuff on the outside of the cap. But nothing was built up more than about a 1/16 of an inch. Is that normal?


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[Highbeam]

Would you mind elaborating a little? There are times when I'm getting just enough smoke to see it, is that what you mean? Or should there be no visible smoke at all?

I climbed up on the roof today to add another 2 feet of chimney. I looked into the chimney and it was all black, and some gooey stuff on the outside of the cap. But nothing was built up more than about a 1/16 of an inch. Is that normal?


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On my my NC30, which I run hard, the plume is totally clear after a brief startup plume of say 10 minutes. All the way until the bitter end. It's a very clean burning stove. The chimney does accumulate brown crunchy debris at a very low rate but under 1/8" for a year which is only about 2 cords for me since this is in an outbuilding. Never black or gooey. The chimney cap only has the lightest grey discoloration.

I don't like that you have anything sticky or gooey on your cap but I would be more worried if that gooey tar was in the chimney. Did the tar extend far down into the pipe? Accumulation of 1/16" in normal depending on how much wood you have burned. That accumulation should be easily brushed away, dry and crunchy. Tarry goo is the result of low flue temps which can be caused by wet wood or low draft settings.