Help, hot stove

[tarr4133]

So I put in the Osburn 2400i last year. I am still getting used to it. This year I have burnt a few times at night. I cannot seem to get the stove to cool down. I shut the air all the way down but the heat just keeps going up. This thing will get into the 600 range and not want to shut down. I have to use wet wood to get it to slow down at all. Not sure if I got to much draft or what. I live in the nw so I burn mostly maple, alder, and a couple types of pines. This picture is about an hour after I shut the air all the way down.

 

[blades]

Normal as that is a secondary burn stove. Trick is to build a small fire for shoulder season not stuff it it full. Actually adding green wood only prolongs your difficulty(?) as after it is dried out in the stove it adds to the secondary burn time. On the other side of green wood it will cause creosote to accumulate in your flue system, repeated use in that manor could lead to a chimney fire. Note that there is a lag time with a wood stove as the whole unit needs to heat up to radiate heat, it is a long cycle as compared to a conventional forced air furnace. Shoulder season small fast burn fires, alder pine ( dry of course) many kinds of maple but would save that for the colder months. Oh and hitting 650 is normal for a peak in the burn cycle and means your fuel is of the proper reduced moisture content. (12-18%) All in All sounds like you have a good system, and will enjoy that 650 number in a few more weeks and for next several months.

 

[rideau]

Also. looks to me that you have built the fire in a log cabin style, with cross pieces underneath and upper log in air. Build it with the splits on the bottom of the stove instead. Less air around the wood, it will burn slower and therefore likely cooler. Give it a try.

 

[Swedishchef]

The more air around the wood the more it will burn (as Rideau stated).

Perhaps turn the air down sooner in the burning process. HOwever, the stove can handle 600. I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Was it a new stove? There's no gasket issue is there?

Andrew

 

[Woody Stover]

How tall is your chimney?

 

[Hogwildz]

Larger splits, packed tighter. Don't necessarily have to fill the stove.
600 is about prime cruising temp for many stoves.

 

[Jags]

600 measured where? Being an insert, measuring the stove body is tough. But the body of a stove being at 600F ain't scary at all. All of the above it true as well. A log cabin style stack can really take off on ya.

 

[Flatbedford]

Usually at hot stove is not a problem.

I agree. Small loads packed a little more tightly will slow the burn a bit.

 

[tarr4133]

My digi therm measured 610 just in front of the flue. As far as the gasket it still looks brand new since the stove is only a year old. I will do the dollar bill test on it just in case. I think the chimney is about 15 to 16 feet if I remember correctly.
Guess I am just used to filling the stove and shutting down the air for a super slow burn. I will have to wait for it to get a little colder to see if I can get an all night burn. I don't think I ever got over 6 hours last year.

 

[blades]

6hr burn = not bad for types of wood mentioned. To get the really long burns ya need to get into Oak, Locust, Hickory, Beech or similar very dense wood, your area tends to lack those items somewhat. Course then there is the definition of a burn. So if that 6hr usable heat, ok.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

My digi therm measured 610 just in front of the flue. As far as the gasket it still looks brand new since the stove is only a year old. I will do the dollar bill test on it just in case. I think the chimney is about 15 to 16 feet if I remember correctly.
Guess I am just used to filling the stove and shutting down the air for a super slow burn. I will have to wait for it to get a little colder to see if I can get an all night burn. I don't think I ever got over 6 hours last year.

Welcome to the forum tarr4133.

The temperature there is good and I too doubt the gaskets but it is still good to check. Actually, check all gaskets annually. Don't do the dollar bill test with a good fire going... Chimney height should be good.

On filling and shutting down the draft, when you want the long fires so you fill the stove, I'd for sure wait until the wood is charred before turning down the draft. As to how far to turn it down, everyone must learn their own stove but rarely will folks turn the draft down all the way; just open a little bit. Take some good time to learn the stove well and that time will be well spent.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i dont think its a gasket issue , if the OP is getting good secondaries it tends to mean the flow of air through the stove isnt being compromised

guessing the OP is new to reburn type stoves (non-cats) one of the things you get with a non cat is that as you reduce the primary air (draft control) you actually intensify the secondaries making the stove run quite hot. think about this math

chimney pulls "X" our total air budget
primary air is "A" this is usually controlled by the draft control and supplies air to the "wood" portion of the fire
secondary air is "B" this is the air supplied to the reburn element in the stove

so A+B= X so if A = say 65% of X then B will = 35% when the draft is all the way open, now, if you close the draft you may have a reversal and A=35% that means B=65% so the secondaries are really roaring along, this produces a lot more heat over a longer period of time as B air does not effect the "log" fire(A does that)which burns slower producing more fuel for the B air to burn

so by slowing down A you increase B and have a hot stove for a longer time as the log load physically burns slower this is a common point of confusion when a seasoned burner of the older "pre-epa" stoves moves to a modern reburn unit. they simply react differently to the primary draft controls.

hope this makes the process clearer for ya Tarr, and welcome to the Hearth.com family

 

[Jags]

Good explanation Mike. That should almost be a wiki entry.

Only one question. Does X and Y get to the bar at the same time?

 

[dafattkidd]

Hey tarr,
Everything you said sounds totally normal. I have found burning EW in the Oz helps slow burns down a bit. If you're burning mostly soft wood split it larger for longer burns. Sounds like you have a good set up for this unit.

As others have said, build smaller fires for shoulder season. This stove likes to burn hot. I think the manufacturers have it listed at 820* as max safe burn temps. 600* is a great cruising speed. Good luck! Feel free to reach out to me directly with any Osburn specific questions.