Help with new Fireview

[art 65]

Hi everybody.
What a great site. I have a new Fireview and could use a little help. I have had it about two weeks now.
I have searched and read about everything on the forum about the fireview and still have a couple of questions.

It seems that most of you get the cat engaged and then turn the damper down to about 1-1.5 and still get good temps. What i am running into is with the damper on about 2.5 I can get about 500 stove top temp and the cat glowing. as soon as I try to turn it down the cat will barely glow and my temp drops down to about 300-350. If I set it to 3 or 3.5 it will get on up to 500-600. I have tried turning it down from that point too and it still drops all the way back down.
I don't mind running it set at 3-3.5. I really like the heat output at 600 but it uses alot of wood. I have really well seasoned hardwood (a couple of years) so I don't think it is that. It seems from what I have read on here that most of you can get 500-600 with it set around 1. Any Ideas?

The other question I have is concerning the bed of coals that develops in the firebox. It will get so deep that it is nearly up on the window and above the threshold of the loading door. When it is at this state is also when the wood needs reloaded and the temps are starting to fall. So with the coals that deep about all you can fit in is 2-3 splits. That is not enough to last all night. So do you guys periodocally clean some of(glowing red) them out or let them burn all the way down every so often?

 

[ckdeuce]

Wet wood. Hate to say it.... But...

 

[jeff_t]

That wood been cut for two years or split for two years? Big difference.

 

[Todd]

Yeah, sounds like wet wood. Most people run their stoves around #1. The only time I go higher than 1.5 is when I'm reloading and that's just to get the fresh load going in the bypass mode for a few minutes then I bring it back down. I also don't reload til the stove drops below 300 which leaves just enough coals for another full load. Sometimes if I have too many coals I will just open the air full and let it burn down for 30-60 minutes before reloading.

Another thing could be your draft, what kind of chimney setup do you have? I have heard of a few other Woodstock owners with larger diameter chimneys needing to use more air than others with 6" chimneys but never heard of anyone having to run at 3 or higher.

Sometimes when you turn the stove down it will look like the fire is dying and your tempted to turn it back up but after a few minutes it will come back to life. What does your fire look like at #3? The most efficient fire is turning it down til the flames slow down and start to lift off the splits.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum Art.

You have answers on the wood so I'll continue from that point. First, realize that not fully seasoned wood will produce more coals but you can still burn them down. My wife and I also had too many coals when we started burning the Fireview but we did not get much help. So, we just started going at things in our own way. Before the wood gets burned down to all coals, we simply open the draft full. I'd say this will happen usually with the stove top around 400-450. We do not worry about extra heat going up the chimney at this point as that does not happen now.

Usually burning this way the coals will burn down with no problem but occasionally they don't. This is when we simply add a small split or even a little bit of kindling to the fire. We do leave the draft full open for this. In this manner, the coaling problem does not exist and we have plenty of room to add the next load of wood. I hope this helps.

On running the stove, we engage usually when the flue pipe (single wall) reaches 500 degrees. Then we usually turn the draft to 1 or 1.25 for just a bit and then our normal setting is .75. With this and a full load the stove top temperature will go up to 650 or more and the flue temperature will drop to the 350-400 range. Both then will gradually decrease in temperature from there. If it is really cold outside and we want lots of heat we'll run the draft more towards 1.5 and that is when we get the wild rolling flame in the stove for sure! It is quite a sight and gives lots of heat.

 

[pinewoodburner]

Welcome to the forum Art.

You have answers on the wood so I'll continue from that point. First, realize that not fully seasoned wood will produce more coals but you can still burn them down. My wife and I also had too many coals when we started burning the Fireview but we did not get much help. So, we just started going at things in our own way. Before the wood gets burned down to all coals, we simply open the draft full. I'd say this will happen usually with the stove top around 400-450. We do not worry about extra heat going up the chimney at this point as that does not happen now.

Usually burning this way the coals will burn down with no problem but occasionally they don't. This is when we simply add a small split or even a little bit of kindling to the fire. We do leave the draft full open for this. In this manner, the coaling problem does not exist and we have plenty of room to add the next load of wood. I hope this helps.

On running the stove, we engage usually when the flue pipe (single wall) reaches 500 degrees. Then we usually turn the draft to 1 or 1.25 for just a bit and then our normal setting is .75. With this and a full load the stove top temperature will go up to 650 or more and the flue temperature will drop to the 350-400 range. Both then will gradually decrease in temperature from there. If it is really cold outside and we want lots of heat we'll run the draft more towards 1.5 and that is when we get the wild rolling flame in the stove for sure! It is quite a sight and gives lots of heat.

Dennis. When you open the draft to full to burn down the coals, is the cat still engaged?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes. It stays engaged until we add wood.

 

[leeave96]

Hi everybody.
What a great site. I have a new Fireview and could use a little help. I have had it about two weeks now.
I have searched and read about everything on the forum about the fireview and still have a couple of questions.

It seems that most of you get the cat engaged and then turn the damper down to about 1-1.5 and still get good temps. What i am running into is with the damper on about 2.5 I can get about 500 stove top temp and the cat glowing. as soon as I try to turn it down the cat will barely glow and my temp drops down to about 300-350. If I set it to 3 or 3.5 it will get on up to 500-600. I have tried turning it down from that point too and it still drops all the way back down.
I don't mind running it set at 3-3.5. I really like the heat output at 600 but it uses alot of wood. I have really well seasoned hardwood (a couple of years) so I don't think it is that. It seems from what I have read on here that most of you can get 500-600 with it set around 1. Any Ideas?

The other question I have is concerning the bed of coals that develops in the firebox. It will get so deep that it is nearly up on the window and above the threshold of the loading door. When it is at this state is also when the wood needs reloaded and the temps are starting to fall. So with the coals that deep about all you can fit in is 2-3 splits. That is not enough to last all night. So do you guys periodocally clean some of(glowing red) them out or let them burn all the way down every so often?

I encountered this with my stove and found the problem to be draft. I had a new 6 inch insulated liner installed and the stove became a different animal. Lots of large coals limiting the amount of splits I could load into the stove and damper frequently set at 2 for crusing and had trouble making 500 + degrees. All has changed with the new liner. Stove top temps up near 700 at times, coals burning to fine ash and damper settings between 3/4 to 1/4 for crusing above 500 + stove top temps.

What's your chimney dimensions? How many turns do you make going to the thimble?

You got a great stove - stick with it!

Bill

 

[Flatbedford]

My Fireview is using a 7" chimney and I have some draft issues too. Not nearly as bad as you describe, but I don't get the performance that Dennis always brags about. With the air around .75, my stove will run all day at about 450. With more air I can up to 600, but we found out the hard way that more air is pretty rough on the cat. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/67717/

 

[art 65]

Hi guys,
Thanks for all the great info. I guess my wood is not as dry as I thought. I still have about a rick left of the two year old wood, and 4 of stuff from this last summer. Looks like I'll be buying some more soon! I did realize one thing though, I was putting the center of the draft lever on the the number not the top edge. So when I thought I was on 2, I was actually on 1.5 ect.
Last night I dug out the lightest chunks I could find and tried it out. I ran it at 1 and I did get to see the floating flames and that was pretty cool to watch. While I was down on the floor looking at the cat The flames just lifted off the logs. It burned that way for a while and then the flames went up into the cat, the stove went dark and I could see small flames up inside. I hope that did not ruin the cat. I do have the new type stainless cat in my stove. I also was wondering if the stainless type cat has different burning characteristics than the old type
I have a new stainless 6" flex liner in my old chimney. It is about 23 ft and has an extremly strong draft. It will actually snuff a match out at times. I just have a tee at the bottom and a straight section of single wall pipe connecting it. I thought about putting a damper in the straight section but have not decided rather too or not yet. I think I will get some better wood first and see how it works.

 

[Todd]

Art,
What kind of stove top temps did you see when you were buring at #1? You won't ruin the cat burning that low as long as the cat is lit off and operating properly. I do think it's best to keep some flame and red in the coals. Keep playing with the air settings, you will find your sweet spot.

 

[art 65]

It got up to about 550, then fell to about 450 and was still there when I went to bed.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hi guys,
Thanks for all the great info. I guess my wood is not as dry as I thought. I still have about a rick left of the two year old wood, and 4 of stuff from this last summer. Looks like I'll be buying some more soon! I did realize one thing though, I was putting the center of the draft lever on the the number not the top edge. So when I thought I was on 2, I was actually on 1.5 ect.
Last night I dug out the lightest chunks I could find and tried it out. I ran it at 1 and I did get to see the floating flames and that was pretty cool to watch. While I was down on the floor looking at the cat The flames just lifted off the logs. It burned that way for a while and then the flames went up into the cat, the stove went dark and I could see small flames up inside. I hope that did not ruin the cat. I do have the new type stainless cat in my stove. I also was wondering if the stainless type cat has different burning characteristics than the old type
I have a new stainless 6" flex liner in my old chimney. It is about 23 ft and has an extremly strong draft. It will actually snuff a match out at times. I just have a tee at the bottom and a straight section of single wall pipe connecting it. I thought about putting a damper in the straight section but have not decided rather too or not yet. I think I will get some better wood first and see how it works.

Art, what you saw with those flames tells you things are working great! Those flames are sort of fun to watch too. And like Todd stated, you surely did not harm the cat.

There are many of us who are hoping for lots of feedback on those new cats and we've heard some good things. I hope they work out as well as expected and they very well could last a lot longer too.

From what you are stating, I doubt you need a damper. I usually tell folks to not put one in but many say it won't hurt and they are right. However, it is just one more thing to be concerned about and one more thing you will have to clean every year when doing the spring cleaning. If you can get by without it, that is good. If it is really needed, then go ahead. We were once advised to put one in our flue but I resisted and have never felt one would do any good. I had stoves with dampers too many years and I like not having one now.

 

[Woody Stover]

The flames just lifted off the logs. It burned that way for a while and then the flames went up into the cat, the stove went dark and I could see small flames up inside. I hope that did not ruin the cat. I do have the new type stainless cat in my stove. I also was wondering if the stainless type cat has different burning characteristics than the old type

I agree with the other posters, I doubt that you hurt the cat. Also, the cat can be working but not glowing. About the SS cat, they say it is supposed to light off sooner, about 100* cooler than the ceramic....that's nice. My SIL has a '96 Fireview. I think the cat is half-shot, probably from burning wet wood through it. I think the SS cat is less sensitive to that type of abuse. I'm not a cat expert yet, so take what I say with a grain or two of salt. There's a lot to be learned from previous posts here, and the search engine is actually pretty decent. I wish I had more time to quickly get up to speed on some of this stuff, but I'll get there eventually.
Welcome, and enjoy your stove....it's a nice one.

 

[Flatbedford]

I installed the new SS cat last week. I haven't noticed a big difference in the way the stove performed with the ceramic, that is before we killed the ceramic one.

 

[Todd]

I installed the new SS cat last week. I haven't noticed a big difference in the way the stove performed with the ceramic, that is before we killed the ceramic one.

Have you tried engaging sooner at a lower temp?

 

[Vic99]

Art,

As you seen, there is a learning curve. But it is well worth it. The fireview is a great stove.

Many of us on this forum have gone with less than ideal wood our first year. If you can cut your own wood, great. Stack it off of the ground in both the sun and wind if possible. If you can't or won't process your own, buy your future wood in the earlier spring when prices come back down. Some guys say the wood has been seasoned for X time. Not always true for too many reasons to mention here, so just assume that it is not seasoned.

Keep reading.

 

[KevinG]

I have a SS cat burning 1-year seasoned poplar. It's 15-20% moister inside a fresh split.

I always wait until at least 10 min to engage the cat. Most of the time, the stove is at least 250 deg on a reload, so the cat is already hot. In the morning, I would try engaging sooner or at a lower temp but I'm not sure how to tell if the cat lights off or not. It's pretty easy to get a stack temp of 400-500 with this light poplar. It burns like paper!

 

[Flatbedford]

I installed the new SS cat last week. I haven't noticed a big difference in the way the stove performed with the ceramic, that is before we killed the ceramic one.

Have you tried engaging sooner at a lower temp?

I have not tried. The stove is usually 300* + when we reload anyway. Because (I think) my chimney is 7" and the draft at low air isn't so great I let the stove get pretty warm before engaging and lowering the air, usually 350* or more. I haven't had time at home to really play with it yet. Mrs. Flatbedford does most of the hearth tending due to my long work days and she doesn't have the same enthusiasm for experimentation that I have.