I have a new hearthstone soapstone 8031 model. I have broken it in with a few small fires. Now that I’m ready to burn hot I’m having a hard time getting it up to 400 degrees. My wood is seasoned. Burning good oak. I have a laser thermometer and when I point it on the sides of the stove It’s registering 370 degrees. The top of the stove is considerably lower by 79 to 80 degrees. Also when I point at my flu which is coming out the back of stove it’s only showing around 220- 230 degrees. The catalyst gauge sais it hot enough to close damper so I’m thinking it’s burning efficiently. I’m confused. I don’t want want a bad creosote build up in my flu. Maybe my thermometer is not accurate! I also have a soapstone thermometer on the top of stove and I’m only in the low burn range. Help!!
Heating new Castleton soapstone
- Thread starter Stonecold
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Not sure yet I have a meter coming tomorrow that I ordered. Wood was splitand stacked back in April.
Yup. May want to look into engineered wood and pallets for this year. Only a few species will be dry enough after 6 months seasoning, even if you had perfect sun and wind on them.
in addition; what is your chimney setup?
- pipe diameter?
- how long is the horizontal run coming out of the back of the stove?
- how tall is the chimney?
- is it an external chimney, internal?
- is the pipe insulated?
6 inch pipe, 12 inches horizontal out back of stove. Pipe not insulated. External chimney. 17 foot chimney
I had no problem burning 6 month seasoned wood last year. It was oak but I was burning in a cast stove. Now brand new soapstone
It's likely the wood. Try adding some 2x4 cutoff to see if that helps.
Assuming this is with the catalyst active and the bypass closed. What is the catalyst temp?
Assuming this is with the catalyst active and the bypass closed. What is the catalyst temp?
am i to understand that the pipe dumps into a clay lined chimney? or is there a liner installed?
older stoves were more tolerant of burning wet wood. new epa compliant stoves run as clean and efficient as possible, so when burning wet wood you will have a harder time. wet wood = lower temperatures because you're wasting a good portion of the heat in order to evaporate the moisture out of the wood.
Time to up your game. Most of us go through that when we switch.
The material the stove is made of doesn’t matter. Tube stoves are a bit more forgiving than cat stoves, but still don’t like wet wood. That oak will be absolutely wonderful if left to sit 2, preferably 3 years.
tabner
Feeling the Heat
How hot should the exterior of a soapstone stove be getting? I thought I had read the stones tended to run a bit cooler than a steel or cast stove? Would 370 on the sides be that low?
Well tomorrow I’m getting my meter to check the wood. Also realized that the horizontal pipe coming out the back of stove is double lined so that’s probably the major heat difference I’m seeing. The catalyst comes active at 500 degrees. I have a new liner that goes up the chimney not piped through it.
Also I’m getting really good ash in stove. Burning everything. Not hearing any hissing or seeing any water bubbling when burning. I’m hoping I just have a learning curve with the new stove. I’ll let y’all know what I find out about the wood moisture tomorrow when I get the meter
I’m certainly not burning engineered wood in my stove. All the chemicals will not be good especially with a catalyst.
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So here is my oak wood I split back in the spring. 8.6 percent moisture. Definitely ready to burn
You have to measure it on the face of the wood that was split not the end. But chances are it'll be below 20% if the edge is 8%. Still, that's the correct way to do it
Well damn! Some as high as 16% and low as 11 to 12%. I do have a good bit from last year that should burn well and as humidity goes away and air dries the other will lose moisture. But under 20% is good from what I’ve read. Still learning the new stove.
Ok. Split a room temp piece in half. On the fresh split face. Test by putting the prongs in line with the grain.
Yes. The outside always dries faster.
But you can still get a wrong number, by probing perpendicular to the grain.
But you can still get a wrong number, by probing perpendicular to the grain.
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