Hiya Folks,
I first touched base on this forum about 4 years ago to try to figure out which stove to purchase for a small cabin in northern NM. Well I'm happy to say I finally got around to getting a unit installed. I went with an RSF Focus 250 and have been quite happy with it so far. Having never owned a stove like this before, I'm definitely in the learning mode. So I was hoping I could ask a few questions.
1. I placed a magnetic thermometer on the face of the stove this past weekend (Condar Inferno). I found out it is very easy to over temp without building a huge fire. Few logs inside and air off, and voila, 650 easily. This has me a bit worried. Now, in order to cool it off, I found I needed to open up all the air and actually opened the door a bit. This did the trick but am I right in shooting for less than 650 using this thermometer as I am? If so, I suspect I may be putting just too much wood in (although, again, I haven't put that much in).
2. I find that to get the stove up to temp such that the secondary combustion kicks in, I really have to leave the door open for quite some time. Now, I'm not literally leaving the door wide open but just cracked/unlatched. But it takes at least 30-45 mins before I can close the door and start adjusting air. Does this sound normal?
3. I have two air controls. One is inside air and the other is outside air. I have not noticed any change when adjusting the outdoor air. I can leave it full on or off and it makes no difference to the fire. I'm worried there may be a problem with the adjustment although I can definitely feel the lever opening/closing a gate in there. Is this normal?
Many, many thanks for helping this newb out. As a bit of reference, I'm burning pine as that's pretty much what's available here. A quick moisture check showed it to be pretty dry but I do need to do a better check thet next time I'm up there. I suspect the wood may still be a bit wet as it hasn't seasoned all that long.
Cheers,
james
I first touched base on this forum about 4 years ago to try to figure out which stove to purchase for a small cabin in northern NM. Well I'm happy to say I finally got around to getting a unit installed. I went with an RSF Focus 250 and have been quite happy with it so far. Having never owned a stove like this before, I'm definitely in the learning mode. So I was hoping I could ask a few questions.
1. I placed a magnetic thermometer on the face of the stove this past weekend (Condar Inferno). I found out it is very easy to over temp without building a huge fire. Few logs inside and air off, and voila, 650 easily. This has me a bit worried. Now, in order to cool it off, I found I needed to open up all the air and actually opened the door a bit. This did the trick but am I right in shooting for less than 650 using this thermometer as I am? If so, I suspect I may be putting just too much wood in (although, again, I haven't put that much in).
2. I find that to get the stove up to temp such that the secondary combustion kicks in, I really have to leave the door open for quite some time. Now, I'm not literally leaving the door wide open but just cracked/unlatched. But it takes at least 30-45 mins before I can close the door and start adjusting air. Does this sound normal?
3. I have two air controls. One is inside air and the other is outside air. I have not noticed any change when adjusting the outdoor air. I can leave it full on or off and it makes no difference to the fire. I'm worried there may be a problem with the adjustment although I can definitely feel the lever opening/closing a gate in there. Is this normal?
Many, many thanks for helping this newb out. As a bit of reference, I'm burning pine as that's pretty much what's available here. A quick moisture check showed it to be pretty dry but I do need to do a better check thet next time I'm up there. I suspect the wood may still be a bit wet as it hasn't seasoned all that long.
Cheers,
james
