Jotul burned to "overfire" setting on thermometer

[cozyranch]

Last week I returned home to find our little stove "maxed out". I don't know for how long it was burning this fast, my husband was working outside in the yard. It turns out the ash draw door was slightly ajar, causing a good draft. We use this door regularly to get the stove going, but close it once the fire is going good. What kind of damage might we have caused? It did seem like we are getting more smoke-smell in the house the last couple of days, but we also have had that damp, sort of rainy weather that causes the down draft in the chimney. I'm just hoping we didn't damage anything!

 

[meathead]

If it just reached the overfire setting on the thermometer you're fine (probably around 600F?). You're especially fine if it hit the 600F mark and you have the thermometer on the stove top, as the stove top is generally about 100F hotter than the pipe. 500F pipe temp is hot but safe. With the ash door open - I'm guessing it went hotter than the 600F mark. I'd give the stove a good cleaning out and check for any signs of warping or cracks. Chances are on one overfire it'll be fine and you can get right back to burning. If you're going to use that ash clean out door to get things cooking, give it a good yank after you latch it closed to make sure it is in fact completely closed. Once things have been up to temp, you should be able to play with holding the loading doors open for a few seconds after adding new logs and messing with the air control to get things going - the less you open that ash door the better.

 

[Jags]

Last week I returned home to find our little stove "maxed out". I don't know for how long it was burning this fast, my husband was working outside in the yard. It turns out the ash draw door was slightly ajar, causing a good draft. We use this door regularly to get the stove going, but close it once the fire is going good. What kind of damage might we have caused? It did seem like we are getting more smoke-smell in the house the last couple of days, but we also have had that damp, sort of rainy weather that causes the down draft in the chimney. I'm just hoping we didn't damage anything!

NEVER use the ash door for start up air. It is a really bad idea for the reason you just started this thread. NEVER. Consider yourself scolded.

A cracked open door is one thing, but feeding the air from the ash pan with the large volume of air that can be introduced is basically turning your stove into a forge. Bad stuff can happen.

You need to inspect the stove for damage. Damage can be in the form of warped parts, burned out parts (gaskets) or damage to the flue/ chimney.

Chances are that this was a wake up call and your stove will be fine (this does not negate the need for a good overview of the stove however).

 

[potter]

Side door works really well for start up with this stove. I leave it cracked open 1/8-1/4" until it gets to 250* or so. Check the grate and see if you warped it. I once made the mistake of trying to remove the ashes while there was a nice thick layer of coals- it lit up white hot in seconds and the stove began to vibrate like jet taking off. (All that in the time it took me to get the door shut and latched.) Safe and efficient operating temps for stove top according to the manual are 400*- 600*. On another thread someone said they spoke to someone at Jotul and the said not to worry damage-wise unti 700*. Oh, and using the ash pan door will violate your warranty.
I'm a newbie here, mostly repeating what I've gleaned from searching old posts relating to the oslo.

Needed to edit this as I see you didn't say what model you have. Living in an Oslocentric world. :red: You would have to do the same in the smaller stoves using the front door.