Learning to burn my new Alderlea T6

[M1SF1T]

I was starting to confuse people in another thread I started earlier this year regarding a BK Princess needing replacement.

We installed a new PE Alderlea T6 about a month ago. I thought I had better start a new thread in the PE sub for my questions as I look to get the most out of this stove.

Here's my stove.

We are heating a 2600sqft house on Northern Vancouver Island.


During the cleaning and install for the new stove we also noted some deficiencies in our old 5" liner and connection and last week had the 5" steel liner and the ceramic liner in our masonry chimney removed and a new 6" steel liner with clean out and 7" through wall connector installed in it's place.

I had done a couple weeks of burns prior to the new chimney, but I notice with the new 6" and additional draft I think I'm getting a shorter burn time.

I've read about covering the EBO air holes and last night I decided to trial it covering the EBO holes with aluminum tape.

At 21:30 I loaded a 85% load of large splits of doug fir and medium splits of maple on a bed of coals, dialed the air back slowly and let it fully flame up before shutting off the air entirely. I may have waited too long. STT was 750 when I went to bed around 11.

8:30 am this morning the stove is cruising along with STT at 300 and a still 30%+ load of large full log coals in fire box. I opened up the air and the stove flashed back up. STT was up to 475 at 9:15, back down to 400 at 11:20, still lots of large coals.

I suspect this isn't ideal burning overnight at that temp in this Alderlea stove, the glass did get pretty dirty, although I do like the 14 hour burn.

Anyway, I'll keep playing with it, I appreciate any recommendations and experience anyone can share in helping me get the most out of my stove.

 

[EbS-P]

Get a flue gas temperature probe and run it based on that. I like my Auber AT200 as it has a high temp alarm. I have found it much easier to learn a new stove when I can always see what the flue gas temps are. Stove top temps react slowly and you you end up on turning down soon enough then turn it down too far. All of this can happen in 5 minutes when you can see the changes nearly instantly.

 

[begreen]

I strongly recommend not altering the stove in any way at first. There is a learning curve that one needs to get over. Modifying the stove can lead to tail chasing if the fault lies elsewhere.

How tall is the 6" liner that the stove is connected to?

Link to old thread here:

M

Post in thread '11 year old BK Princess in new to me house'

Oct 11, 2024

I wanted to update this thread.

We ended up getting a PE Alderlea T6 to replace the tired BK.

Got the stove home about 2 weeks ago and have been enjoying burning it. It warms the whole house fairly well even with small shoulder season loads. I find I can turn it down overnight and still have a warm stove with coals in the morning to add another log to. I run the fan in the entry area which seems to help circulate the air between the upstairs and downstairs.

Before the installation I had a sweep give me a run down on my chimney situation, it was serviceable but had some issues that...

• M1SF1T

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[begreen]

It sounds like the firewood is dry. Doug Fir starts pretty quickly. One very common problem is not turning down the air soon enough. The flue temperature is much more important for good operation than the stove top temperature reading. That is a lagging indicator. To help better run the stove, get a probe thermometer for the stovepipe. A digital one is the best option. Here is some guidance running the T6 burning Doug Fir.

Thread 'Starting a fire and running an EPA stove'

Jan 17, 2020

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 blower was off all the time for these shots. The firewood is douglas fir at about 17% moisture content. This is a N/S loading. An E/W loading start will follow.

NOTE: as testing will show, the older Condar flue thermometer is reading low. It needs recalibration.

There are 3 instruments shown.

1. ...

• begreen
• Replies: 79
• Forum: The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces

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[M1SF1T]

Thanks for the comments.

After going out the wall, the straight run of 6" liner is probably 20-24'.

I thought I had been shutting down the air soon for the most part, but I'll try starting earlier. I realize it's best not to guess and get a more accurate sensor, but if I can get a process that works for me without running wires I'm inclined to hold off.

I'll check out that thread too.

 

[begreen]

In the least, get an analog probe thermometer. It's slower to respond than a digital unit, but works ok as long as you know this in advance. This is illustrated in the provided thread.

It's important to know the height of the liner. If it's 24', then it's on the tall side. With strong draft, a key damper inserted in the stovepipe may be the best solution. It might be why 5" liner was used previously.

An EBO was mentioned as being taped off, what is this? The boost air hole?

 

[M1SF1T]

In the least, get an analog probe thermometer. It's slower to respond than a digital unit, but works ok as long as you know this in advance. This is illustrated in the provided thread.

It's important to know the height of the liner. If it's 24', then it's on the tall side. With strong draft, a key damper inserted in the stovepipe may be the best solution. It might be why 5" liner was used previously.

An EBO was mentioned as being taped off, what is this? The boost air hole?

I'll look into the thermometer.

I was guessing on the liner height looking up outside, also not being sure the exact spot the stove comes through. But I forgot I haven't taken away the old liner yet, it is 20'.

Key dampers are against code in BC now so not an option.

I think they used 5" liner because that's what fit inside the existing ceramic liner, pretty sure it was a home install done poorly too. But by removing the ceramic liner I was able to install a 6" solid liner all the way down to the cleanout.

Yeah, the boost hole. I thought I read it was called the EBO somewhere... anyway it's difficult to see but there are 2 orifices there. I tried covering one and didn't notice much difference so covered the other one too. Anyway, I'm going to be more deliberate tonight on my timing and see what happens.

 

[Kodiak]

How goes the burning? I’m in process of installing a t6. Been reading your thread. Did you get a probe thermometer for flue gases temp?

 

[M1SF1T]

Hi.
No, I didn't get a flue thermometer. The burning has been good though. Burn times seem to have averaged out a little better, this thing radiates so well too. I avoid reloading too early and get the air turned down sooner. I don't even look at the STT thermometer anymore. Overall happy with the stove.