How long til you close it down??

[Bubbas Boys]

We have a Kitchen Queen 480 cookstove. We are firing her up again this morning to take chill off house. I have burnt 6 test fires but I am wondering what people recommend for the time to let it burn with draft all the way open and the flue to chimney wide open before you shut it down to really heat house. I am sure it depends on the wood and what fire is doing but just a ballpark time would be great. Thanks

 

[Shari]

We have a Kitchen Queen 480 cookstove. We are firing her up again this morning to take chill off house. I have burnt 6 test fires but I am wondering what people recommend for the time to let it burn with draft all the way open and the flue to chimney wide open before you shut it down to really heat house. I am sure it depends on the wood and what fire is doing but just a ballpark time would be great. Thanks

First of all, it's not 'time' you should be thinking about here it is 'temperature' as in your stove manual should say "Bring the stove temp up to 'xxx' then start shutting it down."

What temp does your manual say? Each stove/manufacturer is different.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Actually my stove manual states full air for 20-30 minutes after a reload with no mention of temperature.

I think with time you'll figure out what works best for you as it's definitely not a "one size fits all" situation.

Depending on your fuel, draft (affected by many things daily), coal bed, etc...Each reload will be unique to some extent and each one should be tended until it's settles in. This is the key time to babysit your stove though as it's the time that most things can go wrong.

I try to get the new load good and charred up, make sure it's all caught and then start cutting the air back in stages until I get a good secondary burn. Sometimes I have the air cut back in 20 min other times (waited too long to reload, wet log, etc) it may take 45 min or require the door to be cracked open for a few. During this time I keep an eye on the stack temp and stove top temp to make sure they're both getting hot but not too hot (especially the stack w the air wide open).

You'll figure it out, it'll take time, it's not something you can entirely learn by reading about it.

 

[Bubbas Boys]

Thanks! The manual doesn't say, that's why I asked. haha. I am sure I will figure it out, we are new to wood burning of any kind and have tons of questions. Thanks again.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

This is my 4th year burning, but only 2nd year with my stove in my house. Found this site shortly after my decision to install a stove in this house. Lot of useful info on here and people who really know their stuff.

If that's a pic of your stove, I don't see a stack thermometer on it, I'd consider getting one to help you figure out what's going on since there's no window. (I would have trouble without seeing the fire until I figured it out) and a stove top thermometer as well. (Usually magnetic available online or at your local hardware store) it'll have the safe and not so safe zones marked out on it to help you get a feel for where she's running. (use the search on here and look for stack, stove top, or pipe thermometers to read up on them).

Also try looking at your manual online, my printed manual had about 60% of the information I needed. It wasn't until I was on this site and was reading people quoting the manual of my stove, that I realized there were about 6 more pages on the online version (key pages with temperatures and such) that just were not printed into my version. I hope it's a omission unique to Hearthstone, but who knows.

Good luck and enjoy the new stove!