Lopi Endeavor Users

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sixman

Feeling the Heat
Apr 12, 2010
257
Central Texas
First year running the Endeavor and I have a question about the secondary burn. I start my stove, get it up to around 600, close the bypass and start closing the primary air rod in the front to maintain an even burn between 500 and 600. My question is, does your secondary burn seem to go out quick? Mine doesn't seem to last long and my wood is super dry, around 5 years old.
 
I generally close my bypass damper around 300F to 400F, depending on the size of the load and the species. For example, with a load of pine, I can close it earlier (300F) than I can with a load of oak (400F). Once I close the bypass damper, I have strong secondary combustion 99.9% of the time. I then close the primary air by about (guessing here) 33%-50% right away. If the secondaries die out, I open it back up and adjust as necessary. Then, over the course of the next 15 or 20 minutes, I close it a little further in stages until it's about 1/8" open or so. I find that using the ash lip for a guide is helpful. For example, if I am standing directly over the ash lip and looking straight down, I get a really good secondary when only the "spaced" part of the spring on the handle is visible. I.e., the coiled part of the spring that is touching is "hidden" under the ash lip as I look down. For overnight burns, I push it in so that the first couple of "spaced" coils on the spring are hidden by the ash lip.
 
I also close the bypass much sooner. On a cold start, I leave the door cracked for a few minutes to build draft, but whether cold or reloading I close the bypass right after I close the door. My procedure for closing the primary is the same as Pagey's. The secondaries don't usually go on forever, but it sounds like they might last longer if you close the bypass sooner and begin closing the primary air just a little bit at a time.
 
Sounds like good advice, I had thought about putting some paint marks on my main air rod to make adjustments a little more easily duplicatced. I just tap it in with my foot, too far to bend down.
 
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