"New" englander 30 install and initial curing burn commenced

[michaelthomas]

Got my englander 30 and an 18' dura plus chimney system installed yesterday. My wife wouldn't let me burn it last night because I was getting home around 8:30 pm and the last time I cured a stove it was at 11:00 at night and the smoke alarms went off and the kids about jumped out of their skin (she realizes I have a hard time controlling myself so sometimes she just needs to lay down the law). So the burn is going now! up to 250 and holding. Draft seems good and I am very excited. More to come.

 

[Jags]

Whoooo Hoooo! I wish I had a need for another stove. I would really like to try one of those 30's out. It has the same appeal to me that a plain Jane Dodge loaded with a 426 hemi has. YEEEEEE HAAAAAAW!

 

[iceman]

i gotta get my hands on one

 

[michaelthomas]

Did an initial burn this afternoon, got her up to 250 with some kindlin and let her die and cool. Came back from some work around 9:00 and fired her up again with some kindling and 5 splits. She got up to 400 and got rid of a bunch of smoke and she is settled in for the night. I can't get over how big that firebox is In my Resolute there is only one way the wood will fit and in this monster I can almost stand it up in there! The area that I am heating with it is a 24 x 36' greatroom with 13' vaulted ceilings and a staircase that leads up to 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and an office above the garage. I had this stove at 400 for 40 minutes and the room was at 72 and the entire upstairs was at 65 and the outdoor temp is 39. It is going to have to be -40 before I will be able to get this up to 700? It seems to be an awesome stove and I look forward to the next few weeks of figuring out the new stove and trying to figure out the processes required for a 2 stove house. I am very excited and I need to remember to give the family some attention in my OCD like excitement.

 

[begreen]

Congratulations MT, sounds like a real winner. Time to update the signature with your new pride and joy. Post some shots in the Pictures forum if you get a chance.

 

[nhtodd]

I bought one this year as well and gave my fire alarms a good workout as well. Lots of fun!

 

[michaelthomas]

Well I have had the "30" running for a few days. today was the first day of all day burn. This thing puts out some heat I have my 24x36 greatroom with 13' sloping ceilings at 78 degrees and the stove top temp is at 500! The upstairs 4 rooms are at 75 degrees The outside temp is 19 degrees so it is actually a pretty good test for winter weather. I think if I were to load this thing up and let it burn at 600-700 I could open up my door to the garage and heat the garage with this thing. That great room has never been above 65 degrees during the cold weather season because I heard the money flying out the door with the oil heat every time the furnace kicked on for that room. I am absolutely sure that with the "30" going and my Resolute going, that I will be independent in heating my 3000sf home with wood only. Now I just need the snow to go away so I can start processing my wood for next year.

 

[Roamer]

The more I read about the 30, the happier I am with the 13 we bought a month or so ago. Our house is smaller than so many others and I think the 30 would have just been too much stove for our needs.

We got home this evening to a chilly house. The living room temp was about 60 - the basement gameroom (where the stove is) was even colder. We haven't needed a fire or any heat for a few days and were gone most of the day today while the temperature dropped. I started a fire this evening and with less than two 5-gallon buckets of wood, the basement is bordering on hot and the temp in the living room on the main level is 65.

Very happy with this 13. If I had a bigger house, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the 30.

 

[SlyFerret]

As you get to know that stove and how it operates, you'll find that when it's running the way it should, you'll cruise with your stove top temp between 500 and 600 degrees.

Each new "record high" temp will bring out a little more paint curing smell.

After operating my stove for about a month, I picked a time when my wife was out of town on business to do a "final" cure. I got my 30 ripping away and ran it up to just a touch over 800. I figure that I won't go that high again, so that "record high" should do it for curing the stove.

Generally I don't let it run much over 600. One other note... Don't trust the little dial type stove thermometers. They tend to not be very accurate. As you get used to the stove, you'll get a feel for the position of the needle, but ignore the actual numbers. For accurate temp readings, pickup an infrared thermometer from harbor freight or your favorite home store. Make sure to get one that will go up to 900 degrees or so (some don't go high enough for our uses).

That stove is a serious heater and wants to run. Let it burn the the way it wants, as that is how it was designed. You'll get the cleanest burns out of it that way. The next step then is just to figure out the reload interval so that you don't bake yourselves out of the house!

-SF

BTW... I love my 30. I'm not sure, but it may have been the best money I ever spent.

 

[amkazen]

This post answered one of my questions. I just fired up my new 12-FP this past weekend and have set the smoke alarms off also. I was wondering if I was doing something wrong but I guess not. Thanks for the info!

 

[stoveguy2esw]

when these (and most other plate steel units) are fired for the first time and to a lesser degree in subsequent hotter fires they will in essence "unpickle" themselves.

when the steel arrives to our factory it is in 4X8 sheets and is pickled in light machine oil. this oil is essential to protect the steel during storage and actually assists in the punching and bending processes. the processed pieces are then taken to the top of the welding line (called "fit up"where the pieces of the outer hull are set measured and tacked together. from there they go to the top booth where the secondary manifolds, and the primary intake doorframe are welded out and the top is tacked on. then it hits the "leg booth" a name that goes back to when we welded legs on our stoves, at this station the base supports for the legs and the pedistal are added.the unit then hits the "weld out" booths where the long passesaround the outside of the firebox are applied (this is close to the end of the line as if a top needed to come off for a missed weld that couldnt be reached through the door it would be a simple matter of popping the tack welds instead of trashing the stove trying to fix it)by then a fair amount of the oil is cooked out, then finally the door booth where the door is mounted and the hinges are welded on, the stove gets its final welding line inspection (there are several during the process) and is taken to the finish dept. , there the stoves are then subjected to a shot blasting machine from wheelabraider which helps as well , the stoves are then bricked, chipped to remove any weld spatter which the abraider didnt get, wiped and painted. then the unit will run through the dryer booth to dry and seat the paint, then door gasket glass and any trim is added, the unit goes through the final inspection booth where it is "born" (once it has passed final inspection the serial tag is attached ) and finally its crated and warehoused until shipment to the retailer

this process does eliminate a lot of the surface oils but the oil literally permeates the steel and the heat from the first fire will cook the oil and it will smoke as it is released from the steel , hence the free check of the smoke detectors. generally speaking this process will be coomplete within the first several hot fires and will not come back.

 

[amkazen]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the info on how the stoves are made, and how the steel is protected. I found it very interesting.