No problem, I can use all the help I can get.Ok, thanks...missed that somehow.
First Burn in Vogelzang defender
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Well this weekend we are giving her another shot. This time it is supposed to be near 60* so I'm not entirely sure how much we will actually run the stove. My plan is to add an electric baseboard heater in each bedroom and the bath room. I am also considering adding some more insulation to the ceiling in the back part of the cottage in the small attic area. I have room for it so why not. My plan this summer is to seal/foam all the windows also with spray foaming the crawl space to help seal that up. The exterior walls aren't bad but the cathedral ceiling has some gaps I'm going to be sealing up. I also have some ash from my parents house that are larger splits this time to try.
Would using smaller splits or bigger work better in a smaller 2 cu.ft. fire box?
Thanks everyone for the help
Would using smaller splits or bigger work better in a smaller 2 cu.ft. fire box?
Thanks everyone for the help
What size is the wood from the parents? Medium sized firebox, so use medium sized splits in the 4-5" range.
Biggest would be 5" across at the widest part. My smaller splits are 3" across some smaller just to get things going.
Sounds about right. You might be able to fit in a couple larger splits with smaller ones filling the gap. Fully seasoned wood is important here.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
What do you have for a chimney? Straight up out of the stove? How tall?
I have had a Defender for 3 winters now and I quickly learned that these things are VERY easy breathers. If you have a decent chimney, you will need to close off some of the air intake holes just as you did. The sweet spot for me was to cover 2/3 of the large primary air hole in the center, under the cover above the door, and then to plug one secondary air hole with a wad of aluminum foil. I also have a small wad of foil that goes into the boost air hole right in the front/center on the bottom (about a 1/4" hole) after the fire is established and things are on "cruise".
I will remove the foil from the secondary air hole sometimes for a cold start up if the temp is warmer out...say above 50-55*. I can cold start as high as 60* outside with no problems...a testament to having a straight up and insulated chimney, also the easy flow design of this stove.
This stove also likes about 2" of ashes left in 'er too, the coals last much longer. I have great success in using the "tunnel of love" too (plowing a trench in the ashes front to back right in front of the boost air hole)
I like to load 2 larger splits in the bottom (mixing some hard and soft wood work great) and then some smaller stuff on top. You will learn to have a good assortment of smaller random shaped/sized pieces to fill in the gaps so to make the most of this small firebox.
I have been able to go from a 4 hour heat cycle initially, to ~8 hours now, by operating it in this manner, depending on how/what I load obviously. I'm heating about 1200 ft, but honestly it will only keep up when it is 35* or above outside, below that and I just fire up the wood furnace.
IMO you are asking a lot of the stove doing what you did last weekend, but it will do a good job for you in milder temps, or when run for a longer time so to raise the house/mass temp...
I have had a Defender for 3 winters now and I quickly learned that these things are VERY easy breathers. If you have a decent chimney, you will need to close off some of the air intake holes just as you did. The sweet spot for me was to cover 2/3 of the large primary air hole in the center, under the cover above the door, and then to plug one secondary air hole with a wad of aluminum foil. I also have a small wad of foil that goes into the boost air hole right in the front/center on the bottom (about a 1/4" hole) after the fire is established and things are on "cruise".
I will remove the foil from the secondary air hole sometimes for a cold start up if the temp is warmer out...say above 50-55*. I can cold start as high as 60* outside with no problems...a testament to having a straight up and insulated chimney, also the easy flow design of this stove.
This stove also likes about 2" of ashes left in 'er too, the coals last much longer. I have great success in using the "tunnel of love" too (plowing a trench in the ashes front to back right in front of the boost air hole)
I like to load 2 larger splits in the bottom (mixing some hard and soft wood work great) and then some smaller stuff on top. You will learn to have a good assortment of smaller random shaped/sized pieces to fill in the gaps so to make the most of this small firebox.
I have been able to go from a 4 hour heat cycle initially, to ~8 hours now, by operating it in this manner, depending on how/what I load obviously. I'm heating about 1200 ft, but honestly it will only keep up when it is 35* or above outside, below that and I just fire up the wood furnace.
IMO you are asking a lot of the stove doing what you did last weekend, but it will do a good job for you in milder temps, or when run for a longer time so to raise the house/mass temp...
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Right now i have a 14' straight chimney. Where is the secondary hole you mentioned? I had originally burned the stove off with a 8' chimney and was 65* outside and didnt have any issues with the draft. Yeah im planning on adding baseboard electric heaters in both bedrooms and bathroom so in reality it will be for our 600 sq.ft. dining, kitchen, living room.
Unfortunately we picked the coldest weekend possible to go. Normally it is around 20* sometimes single digits. I think she will do ok once I install those basboard heaters.
Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk
Unfortunately we picked the coldest weekend possible to go. Normally it is around 20* sometimes single digits. I think she will do ok once I install those basboard heaters.
Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
There are two, outer edges on the bottom, about half way back. Roughly 3/4" x 3/4" holes
Got everything sealed tight and she holds the heat so much better. Overnights have been in the 40s but the cottage didn't drop below 70*. Now I'm disappointed I couldn't run the stove and see how warm it would get.
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