I have a Pacific Energy summit le.

[Itslay90]

My wood is 20 percent and when I turn down the air control, down to 20 percent close the stove top temperature goes to 750-800. But no signs of over firing.. the flue temperature is in 400’s the stove top and flue is not glowing red. my question is will this damage anything? The manufacturer manual says “

DO NOT OVERFIRE THIS HEATER: Attempts to achieve heat output rates that exceed heater design specifications can result in permanent damage to the heater and chimney. A glowing red, top or vent pipe are indications of overfiring. Failure to recitify an over firing condition can be hazardous and may void the manufacturer's warranty.”

 

[stoveliker]

The stove top temps you see are not yet over firing. They are getting close though. If it were me, I'd I'm to stay below 700-750. But some folks like living closer to the edge.

Turn down the air a bit sooner to reach better control; if too much wood is degassing, the secondaries will make the stove hotter after turning down the air. Turning it down sooner will limit a bit how much wood outgasses.

 

[Itslay90]

Thank you

 

[begreen]

700-800º is pushing the stove hard, There will be wear that will show up over time. Most likely this will start to show up with the baffle starting to sag.

Is the 400º reading on the surface of single-wall stove pipe?

 

[Itslay90]

700-800º is pushing the stove hard, There will be wear that will show up over time. Most likely this will start to show up with the baffle starting to sag.

Is the 400º reading on the surface of single-wall stove pipe

700-800º is pushing the stove hard, There will be wear that will show up over time. Most likely this will start to show up with the baffle starting to sag.

Is the 400º reading on the surface of single-wall stove pipe?

400 is on the pipe, so 700-800 is pushing it so what would you say will be a good temp

 

[begreen]

400 is on the pipe, so 700-800 is pushing it so what would you say will be a good temp

400 on the surface of single-wall pipe equals about 800º flue gases inside. 600-700º is a safer normal operating temperature. That will also drop the flue temps down. Try turning down the air sooner and more aggressively.

FWIW, our stove has the same firebox. It typically runs with a stove top temperature of 600-650º. Only rarely does it get up to 700º if I push it. The baffle is now in its 14th season and has very little sag.

 

[Itslay90]

Sounds good I’ll keep that in mind, at what temperature should I start turning down the air control.. I usually start turning when it gets in the 400 on the stove temperature

 

[Itslay90]

And I know they say turn it down in small increments

 

[begreen]

Go by the flue temperature and not the stovetop. The stovetop heats up much slower than the flue. It is a lagging indicator. By the time the stovetop has reached 400º, the flue temps may be spiking at 800 or 1000º inside the stovepipe.

Start turning down the air around 50% when the flue temp is about 300º or until the flames start to get lazy, but not dying. Then wait until the flames regain strength (maybe 5 or 10 minutes) and the flue temperature starts to rise again. When the flue temp reaches 350º, turn down the air again to maybe 25% open or until the flames again start to get lazy and the flue temp starts to level off and decline. Wait again for the flames to regain strength, then close down the air again. Try to keep the flue temp at or below 350º regardless of the stovetop temp. Eventually, the stovetop and mass of the stove will rise up to the desired 650º.

This thread illustrates the process:

Starting a fire and running an EPA stove

Questions about starting a fire and avoiding a runaway stove come up so frequently I decided to document starting our stove. This is a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 with about a 3 cu ft firebox. The stove is connected to a straight-up, 20' interior flue. The outside ambient temperature is 34ºF. The...

www.hearth.com

 

[begreen]

I should add that the air control action is not linear. As the stove heats up the flue gases get hotter. This in turn creates a stronger draft delivering more air to the fire. Thus, as the stove is starting up, the first air control adjustment can be large while the air adjustments once the stove is hot are small. In some cases when the draft is strong the air control may need to be all the way closed or open just a tiny bit, like 1/8" of movement.

 

[Itslay90]

Go by the flue temperature and not the stovetop. The stovetop heats up much slower than the flue. It is a lagging indicator. By the time the stovetop has reached 400º, the flue temps may be spiking at 800 or 1000º inside the stovepipe.

Start turning down the air around 50% when the flue temp is about 300º or until the flames start to get lazy, but not dying. Then wait until the flames regain strength (maybe 5 or 10 minutes) and the flue temperature starts to rise again. When the flue temp reaches 350º, turn down the air again to maybe 25% open or until the flames again start to get lazy and the flue temp starts to level off and decline. Wait again for the flames to regain strength, then close down the air again. Try to keep the flue temp at or below 350º regardless of the stovetop temp. Eventually, the stovetop and mass of the stove will rise up to the desired 650º.

This thread illustrates the process:

Starting a fire and running an EPA stove

Questions about starting a fire and avoiding a runaway stove come up so frequently I decided to document starting our stove. This is a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 with about a 3 cu ft firebox. The stove is connected to a straight-up, 20' interior flue. The outside ambient temperature is 34ºF. The...

www.hearth.com

I really appreciate this information.. I’m going to try all of this later !

 

[Itslay90]

One more question.. do your stove produce a lot of coals to the point you have to shovel some out ?

 

[begreen]

No, though some wood coals more than others. I burn down a coal bed if needing more heat before the stove is ready to reload. I don't want to reload on a large hot coal bed. That would cause a major rapid outgassing from the fresh wood, risking an overfire. Instead, I put on a couple of skinny splits on the coals and open up the air to about 50%. That provides more heat while not contributing a lot more coals to the fire bed. Then I reload on the much smaller coal bed after an hour or so.

 

[Itslay90]

Just to let you know the tips you gave me is working perfect!! Question when the stove heats up, does it make banging and popping noise sounds ?

 

[begreen]

Most stoves make a little amount of noise as the metals expand but not loud. If there is a loud bang, then something is not right. Also, the stovepipe can make a bit of noise as it warms up.

 

[Itslay90]

Go by the flue temperature and not the stovetop. The stovetop heats up much slower than the flue. It is a lagging indicator. By the time the stovetop has reached 400º, the flue temps may be spiking at 800 or 1000º inside the stovepipe.

Start turning down the air around 50% when the flue temp is about 300º or until the flames start to get lazy, but not dying. Then wait until the flames regain strength (maybe 5 or 10 minutes) and the flue temperature starts to rise again. When the flue temp reaches 350º, turn down the air again to maybe 25% open or until the flames again start to get lazy and the flue temp starts to level off and decline. Wait again for the flames to regain strength, then close down the air again. Try to keep the flue temp at or below 350º regardless of the stovetop temp. Eventually, the stovetop and mass of the stove will rise up to the desired 650º.

This thread illustrates the process:

Starting a fire and running an EPA stove

Questions about starting a fire and avoiding a runaway stove come up so frequently I decided to document starting our stove. This is a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 with about a 3 cu ft firebox. The stove is connected to a straight-up, 20' interior flue. The outside ambient temperature is 34ºF. The...

www.hearth.com

I have my stove on right now, and it’s doing better then last year, I think it’s because of everyone that been helping me, quick question what happens when the stove top is at 650 and I didn’t keep the pipe temperature at

Go by the flue temperature and not the stovetop. The stovetop heats up much slower than the flue. It is a lagging indicator. By the time the stovetop has reached 400º, the flue temps may be spiking at 800 or 1000º inside the stovepipe.

Start turning down the air around 50% when the flue temp is about 300º or until the flames start to get lazy, but not dying. Then wait until the flames regain strength (maybe 5 or 10 minutes) and the flue temperature starts to rise again. When the flue temp reaches 350º, turn down the air again to maybe 25% open or until the flames again start to get lazy and the flue temp starts to level off and decline. Wait again for the flames to regain strength, then close down the air again. Try to keep the flue temp at or below 350º regardless of the stovetop temp. Eventually, the stovetop and mass of the stove will rise up to the desired 650º.

This thread illustrates the process:

Starting a fire and running an EPA stove

Questions about starting a fire and avoiding a runaway stove come up so frequently I decided to document starting our stove. This is a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 with about a 3 cu ft firebox. The stove is connected to a straight-up, 20' interior flue. The outside ambient temperature is 34ºF. The...

www.hearth.com

I just want to say thank you, my stove is doing so much better this year, and I think it’s because I know how to work it now. Quick question, you said keep the pipe at 350 or below. What happens if I let it fell to 250 or lower?

 

[begreen]

I'm glad to hear that. There is a learning curve for all of us with a new stove.

Quick question, you said keep the pipe at 350 or below. What happens if I let it fell to 250 or lower?

It depends on the stage of the fire. This is only during the flame stage of the burn. It doesn't matter when the burn is in the hot coals stage. The wood has finished outgassing by then. 300º surface reading is just a suggestion. It's not the end of the world if it drops down to 250º for a surface reading on single-wall stove pipe toward the later stage of the fire. The concern and objective is to keep the flue gases hot enough so that they exit the chimney above around 250º F. When the chimney flue gases drop to under that temperature internally, creosote condensation begins. If the reading is ~250ºF on the surface of the single wall stove pipe then internally the flue gases will be around 500ºF. The question is how much heat is lost on the trip up to the chimney cap?

With single-wall stove pipe a fair amount of heat will be lost. As a test, try putting the thermometer at the top of the stove pipe (or use an infrared thermometer) and compare the temp 18" above the stove top and just before the stovepipe transitions to chimney pipe. A loss of 50-100º is not uncommon. Other heat loss factors will be the length of the chimney pipe and whether it is interior or exterior. IIRC, this is a basement install, is that right? That's why I suggested 300º surface temp reading. If the stove pipe is changed to double-wall, then the heat loss will be much less. But then a new probe thermometer must be ordered for an accurate reading.

 

[Itslay90]

I'm glad to hear that. There is a learning curve for all of us with a new stove.

It depends on the stage of the fire. This is only during the flame stage of the burn. It doesn't matter when the burn is in the hot coals stage. The wood has finished outgassing by then. 300º surface reading is just a suggestion. It's not the end of the world if it drops down to 250º for a surface reading on single-wall stove pipe toward the later stage of the fire. The concern and objective is to keep the flue gases hot enough so that they exit the chimney above around 250º F. When the chimney flue gases drop to under that temperature internally, creosote condensation begins. If the reading is ~250ºF on the surface of the single wall stove pipe then internally the flue gases will be around 500ºF. The question is how much heat is lost on the trip up to the chimney cap?

With single-wall stove pipe a fair amount of heat will be lost. As a test, try putting the thermometer at the top of the stove pipe (or use an infrared thermometer) and compare the temp 18" above the stove top and just before the stovepipe transitions to chimney pipe. A loss of 50-100º is not uncommon. Other heat loss factors will be the length of the chimney pipe and whether it is interior or exterior. IIRC, this is a basement install, is that right? That's why I suggested 300º surface temp reading. If the stove pipe is changed to double-wall, then the heat loss will be much less. But then a new probe thermometer must be ordered for an accurate reading.

Thanks, I was lil worried for a second, but I manage to keep it at 350 and under, and it burns great like that, to the point I was shock. And yeah it’s in the the basement. And I have both thermometers and an every gun. This year I just have to keep the stove going for 24/7 so I don’t do what I did last year with the whole. Heat up and letting it cool down