Getting the NC30 to hold higher temps??

[mywaynow]

Right now the stove is all coals, maybe 4 gallons worth. The top is 350, the flu is 290. The house is not hot enough. Outside was 25 this morning. Stove is in basement of Cape Cod. The Defiant I removed kept the house >70 at pretty much any outside temp. No air flow support needed. House is 68 and will hit 70 during the day no problem. Problem is when it only hits 25 during the day and single digits at night, the current burn methods in use won't keep up.

So, what methods do other 30 users employ to hold higher temps over multiple hours? I am going to add a large split either side of the coal pile, N/S oriented both coal and wood. Hope this will up the top and burn off the coals at the same time.

 

[Wood Duck]

I'd try to avoid getting so many coals by allowing more air flow in the second half of the burn. My stove is smaller but basically works the same as yours. What I do is load up and give it full air for a while, then reduce the air while the secondaries are going strong. As the wood starts to become charcoal I give the fire more air to kepe the stove hot and burn coals. If I dont adjust the air setting I get lots of coals and have to put up with a long period of coals burning or add some wood to try to burn the coals. For me the fastest way to burn down coals is to pull them to a row across the front and add a big flat split across to top leaving channels for air to move from front to back under th split and over or through the coals.

 

[GAMMA RAY]

That's a lot of coals. I would pull them to the middle front and put a split in e/w and open up the air. That should give you some heat and burn down all the coals.

 

[oldspark]

Quick question for ya, why would the Defiant heat the house better, was it a bigger stove?

 

[Jags]

And don't use large splits to burn down a coal bed. Use smaller ones.

 

[Huntindog1]

People have reported that closing their manual pipe dampers slightly have increased their stove top temps plus keeps the heat in the stove longer during the coal stage. Something to play around with and you have to see what works best for your setup.

Are you loading a full load of wood?

 

[rdust]

I believe wkpoor had similar issues with an EPA stove he tried burning in his basement. He went from an old stove with a large firebox(Natasha?) to a US stove with a 3.x cubic foot firebox(I think) and had major coaling issues. He was shoveling out coals to make room for the next load.

If you're around when it hits the coaling stage open the air up so they'll burn down faster. Give it some time to learn the stove but it may not be the right choice for a basement heater. Is the basement insulated? If not you may have trouble no matter what modern stove you park down there unless it's a KING(sorry I had to :lol: )

 

[mywaynow]

The Defiant is rated for 2400 sq ft. vs 2200 on the 30, and the BTU max is 75k on the Defiant. Not sure of the BTU on the 30. The Defiant could be held at high temps with more food. The 30 is different with the secondary burns. I am not able to regulate the activity as easily. The Defiant also had a thermostat that worked great to keep a consistent fire. I can get the 30 to 650 without a problem, just keeping it there without overheating and keeping it for hours is the issue.

 

[oldspark]

Do you have a manual damper, I installed one for my summit and I think I have much better control over the fire and hotter stove top temps and longer burns.

 

[mywaynow]

Have one sitting in the corner, but never installed it. Will keep that in mind though.

 

[BrotherBart]

Do you have the blower running? That will knock the stove top temp down a lot. So even though it is burning hot the thermo isn't going to indicate it with the blower on.

 

[mywaynow]

No blower. Blower limited the stove top to 450 when I played with that. Another question; flu temps are 300-325 most of the time. Is that cooler temp going to create creosote?

 

[Jags]

No blower. Blower limited the stove top to 450 when I played with that. Another question; flu temps are 300-325 most of the time. Is that cooler temp going to create creosote?

Surface/single wall or double wall with a probe??

 

[begreen]

I believe wkpoor had similar issues with an EPA stove he tried burning in his basement. He went from an old stove with a large firebox(Natasha?) to a US stove with a 3.x cubic foot firebox(I think) and had major coaling issues. He was shoveling out coals to make room for the next load.

If you're around when it hits the coaling stage open the air up so they'll burn down faster. Give it some time to learn the stove but it may not be the right choice for a basement heater. Is the basement insulated? If not you may have trouble no matter what modern stove you park down there unless it's a KING(sorry I had to :lol: )

There is a little truth to that. But just a little... Both the Defiant and King have a thermostatic damper that opens up as the room temp goes down. This helps burn the residual coal bed faster. The 30NC (and any other non-thermostatically controlled stove) is going to require this operation to be done manually. It sounds like you will need to do this a bit earlier, during the late stage of the burn. Add one or two small splits on top of the coals and open the air control half to all the way open (depending on the stage and draft).