Lennox s160 operating temps

[chiznitz]

Hi all,

I have a lennox s160 and have been wondering how hot is too hot? I have a thermometer placed on top and sometimes it maxes above 800F.
I read that I should get a stat tapped into pipe. Ill go ahead and get that, but until then should I be worried about this temp? I'm burning these things called woodchuck firelogs which are 100percent compressed oak.

I turn the air down all the way to stove but it can still get hot, for instance air has been turned down for 40minutes and stove is at 800-900F. Also there is some sooty buildup on the window since I turned the air down....I'm afraid to run anymore air into it.

Thanks in advance!

Ryan

 

[begreen]

If the thermometer is reading correctly, that is too hot. How many of these logs are you burning in one load?

 

[chiznitz]

If the thermometer is reading correctly, that is too hot. How many of these logs are you burning in one load?

They are firelog pieces, hard to tell how many but I would say less than enough to evenly cover bottom of stove plus existing hot coals.

It gets decently hot like this with gamble oak as well, the issue is I can only fit 2 pieces of oak in. That isn't good for a 4 hour burn in my stove, my house is only 1200sq ft and I'm having a hard time heating it with this stove.

 

[chiznitz]

Any other suggestions for me? What/where should I order a better thermometer for my 6" double wall pipe? I have the temperature gauge on the pipe right now and it's reading about 500. I'm sitting 8' from the stove and can barely feel any heat

 

[corey21]

Any other suggestions for me? What/where should I order a better thermometer for my 6" double wall pipe? I have the temperature gauge on the pipe right now and it's reading about 500. I'm sitting 8' from the stove and can barely feel any heat

500 On double wall pipe surface is way to HOT !

 

[jatoxico]

Any glowing parts on the stove?

 

[chiznitz]

looking inside there is a small bar that goes below one of the pipes for secondary burn gas..at least thats what i think it is, has a bunch of small holes in it and i can see flames, that looks red..never noticed it until just now after coreys comment i looked inside, nothing glowing on the outside but it does have firebrick inside and then an extra metal surrounding

 

[chiznitz]

only have this one magnetic thermometer at this time. when i had it on the stove before it would peg out above 800 degrees, I don't think it was to much hotter then that, when i would turn the stove down a few minutes later it would drop out of that range..sometime it takes 15-20mintues to get out of that range though. currently I have aspen in the stove and a few of those compressed oak logs.. http://www.woodchuckfirelogs.com/

 

[corey21]

looking inside there is a small bar that goes below one of the pipes for secondary burn gas..at least thats what i think it is, has a bunch of small holes in it and i can see flames, that looks red..never noticed it until just now after coreys comment i looked inside, nothing glowing on the outside but it does have firebrick inside and then an extra metal surrounding

What does the top of your chimney look like outside?

 

[pen]

If you can't heat 1200 foot with any stove that hot, something is going on here. How old's the house? Decent insulation?

The glass turning black is because those bricks you are using are out-gassing so quickly that the stove's air can't keep up.

I think you need to find some other fuel to fix in.

EDIT TO ADD: I'm assuming this stove is in the 1200 sqft living area and not in the basement? Is there a blower on the unit?

 

[BrotherBart]

Just look at the website for those firelogs. Six to eight percent moisture content. Them suckers will burn way hot.

If you are around Durango it is six degrees right now headed down to one. That lil stove has a lot of work on its hands to heat the joint if the place isn't well insulated and sealed well.

 

[chiznitz]

Chimney looks fine, its dark out I don't see any red up there..the stove pipe is down to 300 now as well. I can also safely place my hand on the box where the pipe goes into the ceiling.

Pen, I guess I should just switch back to pine and oak and ditch the woodchuck stuff. Seems like a great idea but not for my stove.

Uploading some pictures now, yes its only 1 degree outside right now. This is an existing issue though, at least to me. My fathers house has a bigger stove and the old style without all the fancy features. that thing will burn all night and heat very well. This thing only burns good for 20 minutes and then burns at 300 degrees or so for a long time. If that's normal then I guess my house is just terrible.

I do not have a blower on the stove, there is a cold air intake from outside.

 

[jatoxico]

I'm suspicious your thermo is off. A 900 degree stove and you can't get any heat? Maybe your not anywhere near those temps and your choking the stove, getting dirty burns and no heat? Get a new thermo but you could and watch that the stove top is not glowing especially around the flue.

 

[chiznitz]

The stove is hot when you stand next to it. I'm used to not being able to be in the room with a woodstove because of how much heat its throwing. Maybe thats different with a small stove?

 

[pen]

Pen, I guess I should just switch back to pine and oak and ditch the woodchuck stuff. Seems like a great idea but not for my stove.

Not sure how the pine/oak burnt for you, but it sounds like that man made fuel is releasing it's gasses faster than the stove can handle them. Did you try mixing it with some oak?

 

[chiznitz]

the pine and gamble oak mix worked fine. Just saw these fire logs and figured it would be a lot less work and for $168 for 35 bags...less than or around 1 bag per night, thats not to bad of a cost.

I believe I had the stove this hot with that mix of wood as well though. Where should I be keeping the stove top temperature? I need to order a thermo for inside the pipe, was reading about some easy tap ones on here last night.

I may just throw 4-5 of these logs in the wood stove when I have a piece or two of oak/pine in there...just fill in a few gaps and turn it down right away before letting it fire very high.

Would getting the fan addition for this stove help very much? I had gotten one of those magic heat things for christmas but afterwards I read they are junk and would ruin the way my stove reburns the fuel.

 

[pen]

How tall is this chimney? I'm thinking you have an excessive draft since it's a straight shot and the stove can't handle it thus the short burn times. The low outside temps you are seeing makes this a bigger problem for you than many.

How about a stove pipe damper?

The "magic heat reclaimers" will reduce draft but can cause other issues and tend to not do well if the power goes out on you in a full load. With the demands of the industry these days, if they were a good option, stoves would come with them.

I think I'd be throwing a pipe damper in for your unit to try and slow things down a bit.

pen

 

[chiznitz]

57" to the ceiling from the stove and I would say maybe 3' sticks out above the roof...if that helps.

Here's another question. if i push the dampening rod all the way in should that cut off all air? Should I be able to outten the fire like that? Right now I push it in all the way before bed and the flame gets small but still burns.