Not complaining here, just trying to figure out how to repeat this performance...
Last night I had a great burn - it really stands out as it seems to have burned longer and hotter (more heat into the house, not higher stovetop temp) than I have noticed in the past. I don't know what the key was - i.e.. why this one was so unusual....
I loaded last night at about 8:30 on a relatively large bed of coals. Loaded 7 pieces of wood and that about filled the stove so the pieces were larger perhaps than 'normal' for me. The wood started burning before I had the door shut and as the stovetop was already about 250-300 I closed down the cat very shortly after a short time (10-15 mins?) I had the air all the way down and no flames in the box - stovetop rising.
2 hrs later stovetop was running 400ish and there was no flame still - I wanted to see the logs but couldn't as the glass was black.. .seems I was running the PH like a BK at that point. I gave it a little air and fire was in the box in to time - massive secondaries. I put the air back down all the way and the secondaries were massive. About an hour or so later stovetop was reading 450ish and the actual sides/front of the stove were MUCH warmer, glass was mostly clean (burned off) and secondaries still flying. Went to bed and left it go cook away
I woke this morning with the house much warmer than it has in a while and the stove had a nice bed of coals sitting there, stovetop reading 250ish and indicating a peak temp last night around 450-500. After 12hrs still had a nice pile of coals sitting there...
Outside temps were in the low 30's, nothing exciting there really.
Anyway, I do wish I could have checked for smoke during that first part (flame less) of the burn, but given the stovetop reading 400ish I am guessing the cat was doing its thing and burning all the smoke.
So think the larger pieces of wood are the key or was it that quick full shutdown early in the burn? Something else?
Last night I had a great burn - it really stands out as it seems to have burned longer and hotter (more heat into the house, not higher stovetop temp) than I have noticed in the past. I don't know what the key was - i.e.. why this one was so unusual....
I loaded last night at about 8:30 on a relatively large bed of coals. Loaded 7 pieces of wood and that about filled the stove so the pieces were larger perhaps than 'normal' for me. The wood started burning before I had the door shut and as the stovetop was already about 250-300 I closed down the cat very shortly after a short time (10-15 mins?) I had the air all the way down and no flames in the box - stovetop rising.
2 hrs later stovetop was running 400ish and there was no flame still - I wanted to see the logs but couldn't as the glass was black.. .seems I was running the PH like a BK at that point. I gave it a little air and fire was in the box in to time - massive secondaries. I put the air back down all the way and the secondaries were massive. About an hour or so later stovetop was reading 450ish and the actual sides/front of the stove were MUCH warmer, glass was mostly clean (burned off) and secondaries still flying. Went to bed and left it go cook away
I woke this morning with the house much warmer than it has in a while and the stove had a nice bed of coals sitting there, stovetop reading 250ish and indicating a peak temp last night around 450-500. After 12hrs still had a nice pile of coals sitting there...
Outside temps were in the low 30's, nothing exciting there really.
Anyway, I do wish I could have checked for smoke during that first part (flame less) of the burn, but given the stovetop reading 400ish I am guessing the cat was doing its thing and burning all the smoke.
So think the larger pieces of wood are the key or was it that quick full shutdown early in the burn? Something else?
