montpilier stove

[Stateguy]

I dont think my stove is running right if someone could help i would appreciate it.
What maxinum size wood do you put in,(how do you measure the diameter) I know the length of wood
Not sure if its getting a seconardy burn. The flame go past the tubes and past the bafffle and from the i think it goes into theliner is that right (What does it look like for a secondary burn)
I mention here before that the glass turn black and was told maybe to much moister in wood welll check 3 peices(split them in half)1was 15% 2 was 20% 3 was 22% of moister.
I was wondering anyone who has this unit .The room where it sits what is the temp when it is runinng at it maxinium. For me its 70-73 degrees (i know it alll depends on the size of area) but my friends at work who have insets say they cant stay in the same room as stove.
Thank You All who answered my ques on my last post and this one to

 

[jatoxico]

Good dry wood can be large (5-6") splits and burn well but it's all about results. If your glass is blackening and your temps are low try splitting some stuff up smaller and stack so you have a nice airy fire then give it the air it needs. Want nice bright flames. See if your stove temps climb. Secondaries look like the burners of a gas grill when the are kicking. They don't do that for an entire burn cycle but hour hour and half is easily achieved. Got a stove thermometer? Want to be 400-500 for most of the burn, little more at the hottest. No glowing though!

Honestly despite your moisture meter readings sounds like sub-par wood. Split small see how that goes. If it's better get some pallet wood or other dry stuff to mix in then get ahead in your wood supply for next year.

 

[firefighterjake]

I don't have the stove in question, but I've got to ask . . . once you had the stove running for 10-20 minutes and the fire was going strong did you start to cut back on the air control from all the way open to 3/4 shut . . . or less. A lot of newbies to modern stoves don't realize that with the air control all the way open most of the heat is going up the chimney and you will not get a secondary burn.

To answer your question about what a secondary burn looks like . . . it depends . . . some times it looks like the BBQ gas grill with blue jets coming out of the holes in the secondary burn tubes at the top of the firebox . . . sometimes it looks like the Northern Lights with fireworks-like explosions of gas in the top of the firebox . . . and sometimes it looks like Bezelbub has opened up a Portal to Hell in your woodstove with great billowing Hades-like flames in the top of the firebox . . . all while the flames near the wood are "slow" and "lazy."

Black glass can be many things -- turning down the air control too much or too soon, wood placed up against the glass causing the air wash to not be as effective, not allowing the stove to get to the proper temp and . . . of course . . . unseasoned wood.

 

[Jagtec1]

I had that stove, and you need to get it HOT. I always left the door open for 10-15 minutes while starting it up, then closed door with air all the way open for a good 30+ minutes....then started shutting it down. Load it full North/South...seemed to burn better than East/West loading. I could easily cook us out of our 22'x12' room with 8' ceiling if I wanted to, with temps well over 80F. When you've got good secondaries going, you'll see flames shooting out of the tubes, usually with a bluish tint...and flames will wash forward, cleaning the glass. I don't think you are getting it hot enough...and you may have a wood issue, as in not dry enough. Go outside and tell us what is coming from the stack with regard to smoke.

 

[Stateguy]

I don't see much somke when is the best time too look. How do you measure the wood circumfrence

 

[Fod01]

best time to look is almost any time other than the first 15 - 20 minutes after you light, or re-load. If you think you can cut the air back, do it. Flames still look good, or are they getting dull. Look at the chimney. Smoke coming out? Needs more air.

I compare my splits to the palm of my hand.... about 4". We've got a lot of red oak... 4" is about as big as I like.

....and I dont want to hear from you BK owners with really big hands