Sounds like it's working better now, Tony. It's quite possible there was something attached to the baffle underside. A ceramic fiber baffle board, perhaps?
Kent Tile Fire (and Sherwood) stoves
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Rick, I see no difference. It's a really small amount of air bleeding off through those holes. I recently made some of them a little larger.
Very cool you have two Tile Fires. I just ran into another owner last week, he bought his new and it has been his primary heat source ever since, still in beautiful shape.
Very cool you have two Tile Fires. I just ran into another owner last week, he bought his new and it has been his primary heat source ever since, still in beautiful shape.
Thanks for the reply. I bought the Nordic Bronze one new in '88. I put in back in service in '05. I found the Gray one on Craigslist in '08 and had to have it. It is in great shape too. I have been looking to buy a cabin in north Ga. and figured it would be a great addition to it.
So would you suggest me doing that modification ? Did it make that big of a difference?
So would you suggest me doing that modification ? Did it make that big of a difference?
Rick, yes, it made a big difference, it burns visibly cleaner and measurably hotter. But I'm not sure how to advise you on just doing the air part of the mod; that is just one of the ingredients. Raising the temps in front of the baffle is the other, which is done by insulating the firebox and especially the area right around the secondary holes.
After re-reading this thread again I remember something that struck me as odd when I first got my TF. Being the curious person that I am,I had to stick my head inside the firebox and look around. In the secondary mini-burn chamber just behind the holes there was a white insulation type fiber that ran all the way across the holes. I thought to myself why would this be there....it is just going to burn up. After several fires I looked up there again and it was still there....just not as white anymore.
Well, I just looked up there again and it is gone....no telling how long it has been missing.
Was this some type of ceramic fiber aiding in the secondary burn process? Can it be replaced? Should it be replaced?
Well, I just looked up there again and it is gone....no telling how long it has been missing.
Was this some type of ceramic fiber aiding in the secondary burn process? Can it be replaced? Should it be replaced?
Hmmm... that sounds odd. There is not much benefit to having insulation inside the chamber, and how it got up there is a mystery too, with no way to access it for maintenance or replacement. Next time you have your chimney pipe disconnected for cleaning, I'd do a good cleanout of that chamber. If you see anything unusual. snap some pics and post them so we can see.
Precaud, I've been following your mods quite intently. I'm curious about the strip of insulation across the bottom of the baffle. Is the insulation buying you anything, or is it there just as an obstruction to add some turbulence to the airflow? I'm thinking a piece of steel angle or even curved stock (if I can find some) in the same place might garner the same effect?
agartner said:
Hi agartner. Yes, the insulation bought me a cappuccino this morning. You can imagine my surprise.
Seriously, yes, both insulation and redirecting the flames forward are important. Remember, the goal was to increase the temperatures in front of the baffle holes, to make this increase happen more quickly, and then add some air into it for more complete secondary combustion. The insulation there does that. If you watch the flame pattern, you'll see alot of it hits the front 3-4" of the baffle. The steel soaks up alot of that heat. Insulating there lessens that and allows more flame to move to the front, with a little added turbulence as you noted. Then it can benefit more from the bleed air from the front holes provide.
Drilling and tapping the two mounting holes up into the baffle plate was a pain in the butt.
agartner said:
Did you ever get around to snapping those pics? It would be great to have them here.
Finally got around to snapping a pic of the Kent Sherwood. You'll notice the Kent is not nearly as ornate as the Tile Fire - it's your basic black box, no fancy tiles here, it's all about generating the heat.
You'll also notice mine is missing it's pedestal. That was me - I took it off in order to fit it into the existing hearth. I've also drilled out the airwash plate in a similar manner to what Precaud did earlier in this thread. I just did it earlier this evening - I've been kind of reluctant to take power tools to a perfectly good heating appliance, but my curiosity finally got the better of me. I think I'm glad I did...although it's not obviously noticeable, I think I can see where allowing a little "top air" in is resulting in better combustion and higher stovetop temps.
And yes, that's an EcoFan atop the box. With the stove set back in the hearth, that fan does a great job aiding the convective currents around the stove and getting warm air into the room.
You'll also notice mine is missing it's pedestal. That was me - I took it off in order to fit it into the existing hearth. I've also drilled out the airwash plate in a similar manner to what Precaud did earlier in this thread. I just did it earlier this evening - I've been kind of reluctant to take power tools to a perfectly good heating appliance, but my curiosity finally got the better of me. I think I'm glad I did...although it's not obviously noticeable, I think I can see where allowing a little "top air" in is resulting in better combustion and higher stovetop temps.
And yes, that's an EcoFan atop the box. With the stove set back in the hearth, that fan does a great job aiding the convective currents around the stove and getting warm air into the room.
Thanks for posting the pic, Al, it looks great. I'm sure the fan helps alot in that situation. Some questions:
How many holes and what size did you drill?
I'm curious about the biobricks - how you load them, do you load it full all the way to the back?
Is that where you normally have the air control?
How many holes and what size did you drill?
I'm curious about the biobricks - how you load them, do you load it full all the way to the back?
Is that where you normally have the air control?
Heya Precaud - 5 holes, 11/64ths I think was what I used. Don't think I'm going to open them up any or add any more holes at this point. Seems like I'm getting slightly better flame action on the top of the box and stovetop temps are higher than previous.
I essentially do the biobricks just like they describe on the website - biopellet.net. Push and stack all the coals to the back of the stove, load the new bricks in the front - snugging them up against the coal mass. My loadouts are anywhere from 4 to 11 bricks, depending on how long of a burn I want. If I burn 4, I just stack 2 on the floor with 2 laid on top. for 6, I do the same, but stand two more "on end" in front of the 4. 8 bricks are just two stacks of 4, and then, the "mother-load" is adding three more bricks on top of the block of 8, but these are cross-laid so the "short sides" are facing front to back, opposite of how the rest of them are. Doing this tends to keep the bricks in place so they don't topple forward and fall off the stack during the burn, which happens a lot on the 8 brick loadouts.
And yes, that's where the air control normally is and I usually don't touch it if the stove top is at least 250-300 when I reload. That changed from last year, with the chimney unlined, the furthest down I could bring it was about an 1/8th open, but now with the insulated liner, I can literally take the airslide down to just about a sliver.
I essentially do the biobricks just like they describe on the website - biopellet.net. Push and stack all the coals to the back of the stove, load the new bricks in the front - snugging them up against the coal mass. My loadouts are anywhere from 4 to 11 bricks, depending on how long of a burn I want. If I burn 4, I just stack 2 on the floor with 2 laid on top. for 6, I do the same, but stand two more "on end" in front of the 4. 8 bricks are just two stacks of 4, and then, the "mother-load" is adding three more bricks on top of the block of 8, but these are cross-laid so the "short sides" are facing front to back, opposite of how the rest of them are. Doing this tends to keep the bricks in place so they don't topple forward and fall off the stack during the burn, which happens a lot on the 8 brick loadouts.
And yes, that's where the air control normally is and I usually don't touch it if the stove top is at least 250-300 when I reload. That changed from last year, with the chimney unlined, the furthest down I could bring it was about an 1/8th open, but now with the insulated liner, I can literally take the airslide down to just about a sliver.
Hey Al, thanks for the info. Yeah, I was thinking that the biobricks wouldn't need as much bleed air as the stuff I burn. The Kents may be the perfect stove for biobricks.
I'm amazed you can get a clean burn with it closed down that far. May be the differences in the fuel here too. I run mine just under half open.
I recently started loading mine like the manual says, with logs only an inch or two away from the glass, and I do see the benefit of it, especially with larger pieces. More turbulence and mixing up in front of the baffle holes. I'm still amazed how clean it burns with no secondary air system to speak of. I never would have thought it possible.
I'm amazed you can get a clean burn with it closed down that far. May be the differences in the fuel here too. I run mine just under half open.
I recently started loading mine like the manual says, with logs only an inch or two away from the glass, and I do see the benefit of it, especially with larger pieces. More turbulence and mixing up in front of the baffle holes. I'm still amazed how clean it burns with no secondary air system to speak of. I never would have thought it possible.
The burns are clean. Nothing but puffy white foo-foo's off the top of the stack that just dissipate into the air. Haven't cleaned the glass since the beginning of the burn season. Last year, with the chimney unlined, I had to clean the glass once or twice, but with that insulated full liner, the draft on this thing could suck a golf ball through a garden hose. No visible accumulation of creosote in the liner either that I can tell - at least right above the stove - I've used a flashlight and mirror to inspect on a few occasions - nothing but ashey greyness in the first few feet of flex.
Not too shabby for a stove that was designed, what, almost 30 years ago?
Not too shabby for a stove that was designed, what, almost 30 years ago?
agartner said:
More than 32. They started to be imported into the US in 1980.
I would still like to know whose brainchild this was. He/she deserve some time on the pedestal. It would be fascinating to get an interview with them. Not many people have as big an influence on the direction of an industry in the way they did.
I wonder if Betty Hume is still around?
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Kent_Tile_Fire
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Kent_Tile_Fire
Dunno, but if she still lives in Portland and still has a Kent, chances are she's burning it today... 
Did a bit of splunking, apparently the Kent name lives on - no mention of the original designer, but it looks as if it's still basically the same design.
http://kent.co.nz/faqs.php?id=anytime4b1da76f238f5&question=anytime4b1da79672324
http://kent.co.nz/faqs.php?id=anytime4b1da76f238f5&question=anytime4b1da79672324
Yeah, the designer is forgotten, the corporation lives on... sigh.
The model that comes closest to the old stoves is the "Tilefire Rural":
http://kent.co.nz/products.php?section=SH&category=038&id=anytime4b28136b35434
Apparently it does not pass NZ emissions requirements and can not be used in urban areas. As you can see:
http://www.aber.co.nz/edit/uploads_products/anytime4b28136b35434b314.pdf
the internal baffle is not the same, and it uses a single secondary air tube (located just about where I wrote a while back I'd put one). The secondary air does not have a dedicated preheating channel, it draws air from the main convection channel.
The model that comes closest to the old stoves is the "Tilefire Rural":
http://kent.co.nz/products.php?section=SH&category=038&id=anytime4b28136b35434
Apparently it does not pass NZ emissions requirements and can not be used in urban areas. As you can see:
http://www.aber.co.nz/edit/uploads_products/anytime4b28136b35434b314.pdf
the internal baffle is not the same, and it uses a single secondary air tube (located just about where I wrote a while back I'd put one). The secondary air does not have a dedicated preheating channel, it draws air from the main convection channel.
I sent an email to them this morning asking for some historical info. Hope to hear back from them.
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