How quick is too quick?

[Sootfoot]

If making a top down fire, sometimes I have extreme heat quickly. I was concerned that my cast iron stove can't take what amount of heat/ temp change that quick. Is it bad for the olso or can it take those intense heat changes that quick? I'm not even talking about having the side door open just the air control opened all the way. I was told you need to be gentil for the first 10 mins ish until cast expands. How true is this? Or am I just being paranoid?

 

[stovelark]

Hi soot, unless you build a superhot fire with gasoline or something very hot, don't think you're going to hurt her too much, except if the ash door is open, then heat will have hot spots on the base plate cast piece and could cause issues. The stove body will absorb heat only so quickly, that's why we want to keep the heat inside the stove, so the body can absorb it and radiate it out to you. I think its a good thing to be careful though like it sounds like you are being.

 

[Woody Stover]

I agree that running a stove moderately rather than running it hard is easier on the steel, cement, etc. Can you ramp up more gradually if you cut the air more, instead of having it wide open? While still burning cleanly, of course...

 

[Shari]

My recipe for my Oslo:

Air full open until temp reading 450 on top right corner (top down fire starting on cold start up)

Reduce air to 1/2 until temp reaches 500

Reduce air to 1/8 and cruise............. (temp may rise above 500 but that's fine)

(Oslo's are rated to run between 400-600 - other stove's will have different ratings.)

 

[begreen]

Our Castine was quick heater when fed good dry wood. It could be up to 400F in 15-20 minutes with the right load. I would be closing down the air to 1/4 or less at that point.

 

[Jags]

Brake drums and rotors are still being made from cast iron. They heat and cool very rapidly and have no problems. Think of all the engine exhaust manifolds that were made from cast. Several hundred degrees in a matter of minutes. You aren't hurting the steel. There is some validity to the argument about the cement in the joints expanding at a different rate, but I doubt that you are heating the stove fast enough to speed up the degrading of the cement, either.
Just one dudes opinion.

 

[begreen]

If the heat was concentrated in one small area there might be an issue with differential expansion of the metal. This is what I understand causes the cracking of stove bases when using the ash pan door for startup air. But with the relatively even heating of the stove under normal quick startups this should not be an issue.