lots of flame no heat.

[Spartanfan23]

I have a new (2 month old) Ironstrike Canyon ST310 wood stove that is not pumping out much heat. The only real heat output is with stove top temps of +550°F. The only solution from the dealer was to burn it hotter to produce more heat but that seems to waste wood. Once I turn the blower on the stove top temps will drop 150-250 almost instantly and the secondary burn tubes never slow down. Always a 3-4" flame from them when they are engaged.
Any ideas on how to radiate more heat or to keep more heat in the firebox in order to allow for better heat transfer?
Thanks
Its starting to get cold here in northern Michigan.

 

[weatherguy]

Are you turning the air all the way down once you get up to temp?

 

[Spartanfan23]

No, only closing the air about ½ way to maintain temps.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

If I was a betting man I'd bet your wood is wet

 

[begreen]

Try closing down the air further. If the wood is fully seasoned you should be able to close it almost all the way once the fire is going strong. That stove is a strong heater.

 

[blades]

Moisture content of wood too high - need something in the 15-18 % class internal. high internal moisture content in wood cools the fire down wide open you will get secondaries and big flame but when you try to adjust air tends to die out

 

[Spartanfan23]

I have checked the wood out and that is not the issue. I'm burning sugar maple that was standing dead and cut and split 2 years ago. Wood is stored in a woodshed after drying in the sun. So I am pretty sure it is plenty dry. Any other suggestions?

 

[mass_burner]

I have checked the wood out and that is not the issue. I'm burning sugar maple that was standing dead and cut and split 2 years ago. Wood is stored in a woodshed after drying in the sun. So I am pretty sure it is plenty dry. Any other suggestions?

Try a load of bio bricks to completely rule out bad wood.

 

[tarzan]

Your stove is designed to run with very little primary air. By running it with the draft half open you are letting a lot of heat go up and out.

I'm agreeing with most here that the problem is likely your wood.

I used to run the ST-230 and could maintain a stove top temp (measured in the middle of the step) of 600*F with the draft open about 1/2" and blower running.

As a side note, I ran the stove for a full season before deciding to purchase the blower. The stoves performance was dramaticly increased with the blower in my case.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Any other suggestions?

99% of the time if a stove isn't working properly it's one of two things: wet wood or poor draft. And sometimes it's both. And these two problems compound each other. So if your wood is dry, your chimney is either choked up or too short.

 

[Nick Mystic]

I'm not surprised that your stove top temperature drops rapidly when you turn the blower on since the blower moves 700 CFM! That seems like a lot of air compared with what most other blowers move. Is there a variable speed control on the fan where you could experiment running with at lower speeds?

 

[TheRambler]

Have you checked your wood with a moisture meter?

 

[blades]

My Nc 30 with big blower on is about 250 deg. lower than without blower on and that will vary with the type of fuel also. temps checked with mag gauge on face of step in top as well as with IR gun.

 

[tarzan]

I'm not surprised that your stove top temperature drops rapidly when you turn the blower on since the blower moves 700 CFM! That seems like a lot of air compared with what most other blowers move. Is there a variable speed control on the fan where you could experiment running with at lower speeds?

LOL. The blower on the ST-210 was on a rheostat and 400cfm if memory serves me correct. It was ridiculously to big but handy to warm the house up quick, or in a couple instances, cool the stove.

 

[begreen]

Spartan, have you tried burning a full load of wood but closing the air down almost completely once the wood is burning well? Running the stove with the air half-open is will waste wood.

 

[Spartanfan23]

Going to try running it hotter. Manufacturer only recommends a stove top temp of 350-400. This seems low but I was trying to stay within manufacturer specs.

 

[begreen]

Either they are talking about long burn temps or that was written by a lawyer. It's hard to run a modern stove that low cleanly,