Morso 2110 - building a fire, secondary burn process/timing and stove temps

[kmdesautelle]

The Morso 2110 was installed last week, my only complaint so far is the manual, very simple, "The initial fire should be small, so that the stove paint can cure and the main plates of the stove can settle into position. Some fumes will be given off by the paint. Ventilate the room during this phase." I was looking for more specifics on temps, the flames coming off the top baffles, etc. Here is what I did based on what I read on Hearth.com:

First fire, Friday nigth, burned 2 fat wood sticks and 4 -6 pieces of kindling (bought a bag of sticks at Lowe's), did not have a temp guage. Pretty much left air control all the way to the left, which I figured out means open - manual just said move lever downward, which makes no sense since the lever is on the right of stove and moves from right to left and left to right. No smell of paint.

2nd fire, Sat morning, (went to dealer and got a temp guage for top of stove - magnet, but it doesn't stick to pipe not sure why) burned 2 fat wood sticks, several pieces of kindling and got it to 200 degrees. Moved lever to the middle. Then let it go cold. Made another small fire that night with one piece of split wood, reached 200 and let it go out. Very little paint smell

3rd fire, Sunday afternoon, this is when the fun began, started with fat wood and kindling, then 2 -3 splits, air control full, got over 300 degrees then moved lever to right (closing air), then fire went down around the wood, saw flames on coals and bottom of wood and then flames shot out from the top baffles for several minutes then stopped. It looked weird to have no flame in center of stove, only under wood and from the top. Finally started to really smell the paint fumes.

4th fire, Monday night, started fire, let it get to 450, with more paint smell. As I closed the air supply, the flames would come out top, but only for a few minutes.

5th fire Tuesday, last night, started fire, got it over 550, then panicked and closed air to bring temp down under 400 (I'm such a girl!) I am figuring I need to balance it so there is enough air to have flames out the top baffles and not off the wood itself? But the flames out the baffles only last maybe 5 minutes and then it settles down. Is this what it is supposed to do? I let it go down to coals at 11 p.m and then put in one split, the house was warm at 77 so I cracked the window in my bedroom (always have window in living room (where stove is) open 2 inches. I got up this morning where it was 35 outside and 71 inside, stove was coals and 175 degrees. Am I doing this right? I appreciate any comments on the secondary burn.

I think the stove I grew up with was easier, we couldn't see inside to see what was going on with the fire!
Karen

 

[begreen]

Sounds like you're doing pretty well for a newbie. Congratulations on the new stove. Keep posting on it, I'll be helping put one in at the end of the month. I'm curious about how large a space you are heating with it and how it does.

The stove may go up to 700 degrees without hurting it. Around 600 may be normal, I'll know more in a month or so. With the next fire, try closing down the air supply a little earlier, maybe 10 minutes after the splits are burning well and the stove top is about 400 degrees. That may increase secondary burn time.

 

[kmdesautelle]

I have a 1,000 sq foot ranch, with open living, dining & kitchen and a short hallway to the 3 bedrooms. I was surprised the room got up to 78 and the far bedroom at 71, so I may need to have smaller fires until it gets really cold outside. Is the secondary burn supposed to be happening throughout the burn cycle or just once in a while?

 

[begreen]

Secondary burn happens as the wood outgases. This occurs when the wood gets hot, but after it has reached the charcoal stage, the wood gases are spent and secondary burning is over. The charcoal still burns and puts out a lot of heat, but the light show is over until the next load of wood is added.

 

[kmdesautelle]

Does this mean that for the first hour or two after loading, I should see the secondary burn pretty constantly and then I won't see it? And if I don't see it after loading, then that would mean I have the primary air intake closed too much?

 

[begreen]

If reloading the stove, it should start up as soon as the wood is heated up and the fire is hot. I don't know when that occurs in your stove, but I would say roughly 10-20 minutes if the coal bed is hot. Normally I don't start closing down the primary air after refueling until the secondary burn has started.

 

[G-rott]

It sounds like your on the right track. I get a good secondary burn as long as the temp stays up and the wood still holds it's shape. Before the charcoal stage. I leave the air open(left) for a few minutes, until I have a good strong burn going. Then I shut it down at least halfway, then when it's up to temp 450-500 I shut it all the way down and the light show begins. Some time after it dies down I open the air up a little and get a few more ghost flames floating over the bed of coals.

Hope you enjoy your Morso as much a we enjoy ours.

Garett

ps. Keep the ash pan from overfilling, it's a snug fit and if much falls over the sides it has to be cleaned out to get the pan back in. Not a fun job if the stove is HOT.