Left the house for the first time today...

[Firedancer]

...hard to do with 450 degrees blazing in the background. I was careful though and made sure I blew out the one candle I had lit in the house. Harder to leave than it is to sleep at night IMO.
All is well...house still here and it's nice and warm.

Went out and bought a fan so we'll see what that does. Just trying to move the heat around. I'm still in need of a steamer for my insert. Any good websites out there with reasonable prices to purchase such a thing?


Enjoy the cool weather

 

[eclecticcottage]

Lol, yeah, it is a different experiance isn't it? It was weird for us even with the DV stoves, seeing that flame there and just walking away from it. I think I was less anxious with the wood stove after getting use to the Dv for 10 years.

 

[rdust]

You'll get over that uneasy feeling soon enough. It's just another step in my morning when I have to start doing morning loads. I usually take a peek at the stove as I walk out the door, if the bypass is closed, door is latched and I see no flame(blaze king on low burn) I know I'm good to go.

 

[eclecticcottage]

You do get a rythym to it. Get up, start the stove, let the dog out, adjust the stove, get ready, check the stove, leave....

 

[Firedancer]

You do get a rythym to it. Get up, start the stove, let the dog out, adjust the stove, get ready, check the stove, leave....

Get up, start waking kids, check stove, grab COFFEE, call kids, start stove...watch stove, call kids...



..call kids

 

[PLAYS WITH FIRE]

i don't know if you are new to wood burning or anything. The problem I had was not so much that the wood burner would explode or something. I kept thinking I would have a chimney fire because of creosote. I was cured of that after cleaning my chimney every other week for a month or three. It really helped me see what was going on and set my mind at ease.

 

[Firedancer]

You'll get over that uneasy feeling soon enough. It's just another step in my morning when I have to start doing morning loads. I usually take a peek at the stove as I walk out the door, if the bypass is closed, door is latched and I see no flame(blaze king on low burn) I know I'm good to go.

I figure if my air intake is fully shut (my stove still allows some air even when fully shut) I probably, hopefully can't get into trouble. Is that the wrong way of thinking??

 

[USMC80]

...hard to do with 450 degrees blazing in the background. I was careful though and made sure I blew out the one candle I had lit in the house. Harder to leave than it is to sleep at night IMO.
All is well...house still here and it's nice and warm.

Went out and bought a fan so we'll see what that does. Just trying to move the heat around. I'm still in need of a steamer for my insert. Any good websites out there with reasonable prices to purchase such a thing?


Enjoy the cool weather

Same here. Left the new insert alone for first time this morning. Always had the wood furnace in the basement but wasn't the same. Only through 3 small splits on as I knew it would be in the mid 50s this afternoon. As the others say I loaded it up on hot coals from night before and made my adjustments as usual. I was able to close the air all the way down and left to some beautiful secondaries. I expect it would burn until about noon as I left the house at 0630, just enough to keep the dogs cozy

 

[MishMouse]

Get up, start waking kids, check stove, grab COFFEE, call kids, start stove...watch stove, call kids...
..call kids

make sure kids get their clothes on the right way, handle a crisis of one not being able to find x (sock, shoe, dress)...
Check stove to make sure secondary burn is active and stove is cruising at appropriate temp.
Wake kid up who went back to sleep, get kid shoes and coats back on..
Handle another crisis of a kids who can not find a brush which she just had....
Start car to get frost off of it and get it warmed up.
. . .
The first few times I was a little concerned but after a while once you get used to getting the stove at proper temps and at cruising speed you do not have to worry anymore.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I figure if my air intake is fully shut (my stove still allows some air even when fully shut) I probably, hopefully can't get into trouble. Is that the wrong way of thinking??

All the epa stoves are designed so you can not completely shut off the air. However, that does not mean you should fully close that draft. You may do more harm than good with this. It will take some experimenting to find just the right setting but it should not be a zero for most installations.

 

[firefighterjake]

I figure if my air intake is fully shut (my stove still allows some air even when fully shut) I probably, hopefully can't get into trouble. Is that the wrong way of thinking??

Well . . . not exactly . . . depending on the heat, draft, etc. you may deprive the stove of too much oxygen and then it can become a creosote machine . . . but in general, if you've dialed in your stove at the right temps (not too hot and not too cold) you may be able to shut 'er all the way down.

 

[firefighterjake]

As folks have mentioned . . . feeling safer with your stove is all about developing good burning habits and practices . . . following those habits religiously. I check and often double check things before leaving the house.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well . . . not exactly . . . depending on the heat, draft, etc. you may deprive the stove of too much oxygen and then it can become a creosote machine . . . but in general, if you've dialed in your stove at the right temps (not too hot and not too cold) you may be able to shut 'er all the way down.

Right Jake. I really question all the recent posts about folks closing their drafts all the way. I do not think it a good idea.

 

[etiger2007]

I agree with jake as far as when you have good burning habits bad things shouldn't happen. Always check once then again , the rest of the family depends on it.

 

[Bster13]

I've just gotten started with 24/7 burns in my BK Princess Insert. I think it might be more tough psychologically to leave a stove with roaring fire, but with the BK it's just this dull read glow for 12 hours. Haha. Monday was the first day I left it alone, and I came home at lunch. And each day after it's gotten better as I've learned the stove. Loving it!

 

[BurningBrutus]

Im getting very jealous of you guys with your BK inserts and stoves doing 12 or 24 hour burns, i really wish i would have known about BK before i bought my PE. I got a 8 hour burn today, but i would love to get 12 or 24. errrrrrrrr

 

[D8Chumley]

I'm happy to hear I'm not the only one nervous about leaving the stove blazing when I leave for work at 0530. I have texted my son who gets up for school 45 min to see how its doing after I leave every morning since I have been running it 24 hrs. I threw 5-6 splits on a nice bed of coals last night, and woke up slightly nervous 2 hrs later when she started cracking and popping. Stack temp right around 400+, but I was still a little tense for a good 20 minutes

 

[HotCoals]

I just don't ever see myself not burning a cat stove.
You can start with a room temp stove and have it closed down with no flame in a hour easy..sometimes a 1/2 hour or less.
When I go to bed there are no flames and I know my chimney is clean..no worries.

 

[rdust]

Im getting very jealous of you guys with your BK inserts and stoves doing 12 or 24 hour burns, i really wish i would have known about BK before i bought my PE. I got a 8 hour burn today, but i would love to get 12 or 24. errrrrrrrr

The BK stove wasn't my first along with a bunch of other people. I had to see what all the hype was about, I had a non cat(Lopi Endeavor) for 2 seasons before buying my BK.(starting season 3 with the BK) Have to say it lives up to all the "hype" that you read about. Getting ready to load up on a nice coal bed, last load was last night at 7pm with Silver Maple and Cherry so over 25 hours on average hardwood.

 

[BurningBrutus]

The BK stove wasn't my first along with a bunch of other people. I had to see what all the hype was about, I had a non cat(Lopi Endeavor) for 2 seasons before buying my BK.(starting season 3 with the BK) Have to say it lives up to all the "hype" that you read about. Getting ready to load up on a nice coal bed, last load was last night at 7pm with Silver Maple and Cherry so over 25 hours on average hardwood.

I hate you, jk, i guess im stuck with this one for now since i just got in 2 months ago. I have to ask though, how is the technology so much better. Does it cut off so much air that it makes it last so much longer?

 

[rdust]

I hate you, jk, i guess im stuck with this one for now since i just got in 2 months ago. I have to ask though, how is the technology so much better. Does it cut off so much air that it makes it last so much longer?

Not sure it's necessarily better just different. The BK stoves do a fine job of controlling the burn and releasing the heat. My Endeavor was either on or off, load it up, it would head for the moon and come back down as the wood burned down. The BK has a flat output or less ups and downs.

Sorry for the derailment of the original post. Back to the top of leaving the stove!

 

[Bster13]

It's all about the bimetal thermostat and the CAT, IMO.

I hate you, jk, i guess im stuck with this one for now since i just got in 2 months ago. I have to ask though, how is the technology so much better. Does it cut off so much air that it makes it last so much longer?

 

[BurningBrutus]

It's all about the bimetal thermostat and the CAT, IMO.

Bster, do you mind me asking what your insert cost. Im trying to see how much more yours is to mine.

 

[Dix]

...hard to do with 450 degrees blazing in the background. I was careful though and made sure I blew out the one candle I had lit in the house. Harder to leave than it is to sleep at night IMO.
All is well...house still here and it's nice and warm.

Went out and bought a fan so we'll see what that does. Just trying to move the heat around. I'm still in need of a steamer for my insert. Any good websites out there with reasonable prices to purchase such a thing?


Enjoy the cool weather

You're doing fine.

How many times did you leave your house with the oil/gas furnace going and not give it a thought?? Lotsa BTU's burning there, in a self contained box

 

[HotCoals]

It's all about the bimetal thermostat and the CAT, IMO.

Mostly it's big and has a cat imo.
The t-stat is lazy but seems to work better for some.
I just set mine all the way down when the load is set. No probs but I do turn the air up to burn down coals a few hours before a reload.