New quadrafire burning way too fast

[markdolan]

My new QFire Cumberland is burning thru wood way too fast. I get about 90 minutes of burn on a full load before it burns down to coals. Here is my setup:

5500 sq ft home. (don't intend to use as primary heating source)
assorted hardwood. Most was standing dead for a few years but cut and split this summer/early fall. No meter reading but seems dry. I have no problem starting it and get very little smoke or smudge when burning.

Firing procedure: Open Primary and push in secondary for startup. Turn Primary down to middle setting after a half hour of full burn. At the same time, I pull out secondary all the way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I like my new stove but it does not perform anywhere near the advertised 15 hour burn time at this point.

 

[blades]

What species wood? As this would have a major impact on burn time length, as well as what you consider a burn. MFG's consider burn time from when you light it off to the end of coaling stage, not just when the pretty flames are dancing. Likely waiting too long to engage secondary function. Better to stage it in than all at once.

 

[begreen]

There are lots of factors here. Some have to do with the wood, some with the stove setup and then there is the stove operation itself.

1. Tell us about the wood you are burning. How thick are the splits? What species wood?
2. Tell us about the flue system on the stove. How tall from stove to the chimney cap?
3. For operation it sounds like you are giving it too much air for too long. You should be able to start turning down the air after 10-15 minutes. You want to reduce the air until the flames get lazy, but don't go out. I would close the startup air control as soon as the kindling is burning well on primary air alone. This should be 10 minutes or less with good dry kindling. Then start closing off the the primary air in 50% increments or until the flames get lazy. Then wait for 5-10 minutes and repeat as the flames regain their strength.
4. Do you have a thermometer on the stove or the flue pipe?

 

[markdolan]

There are lots of factors here. Some have to do with the wood, some with the stove setup and then there is the stove operation itself.

1. Tell us about the wood you are burning. How thick are the splits? What species wood?
4 to 6 inches. The species is mixed. Mostly hardwoods (maple/white oak/cherry) Some basswood and Hickory. I will retry fire with all maple to see if it makes a difference.
2. Tell us about the flue system on the stove. How tall from stove to the chimney cap?
I put a 27 foot stainless steel liner inside the chimney.
3. For operation it sounds like you are giving it too much air for too long. You should be able to start turning down the air after 10-15 minutes. You want to reduce the air until the flames get lazy, but don't go out. I would close the startup air control as soon as the kindling is burning well on primary air alone. This should be 10 minutes or less with good dry kindling. Then start closing off the the primary air in 50% increments or until the flames get lazy. Then wait for 5-10 minutes and repeat as the flames regain their strength.
4. Do you have a thermometer on the stove or the flue pipe?

No. I will purchase one soon. What are the target temps to look for to trigger closing down the primary and secondary air controls?

 

[begreen]

The wood sounds good, bigger splits will give you a longer burn. On a reload, burn the coal bed down for about 30 minutes with the primary air wide open. Then pack the stove tightly, like a jigsaw puzzle. I don't use temps to judge the stove air setting, I watch the fire. The thermometer is mostly to show you when the stove is running right and to avoid overfires. You may need to put it on the upper right or left corner of the door. Get a smaller 2" dial unit like these:
(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/stove_top_meters.html)
http://www.amazon.com/Thermometer-3...=8-3&keywords=wood+stove+thermometer+magnetic
http://www.amazon.com/Vogelzang-TG-...=8-7&keywords=wood+stove+thermometer+magnetic

 

[markdolan]

The wood sounds good, bigger splits will give you a longer burn. On a reload, burn the coal bed down for about 30 minutes with the primary air wide open. Then pack the stove tightly, like a jigsaw puzzle. I don't use temps to judge the stove air setting, I watch the fire. The thermometer is mostly to show you when the stove is running right and to avoid overfires. You may need to put it on the upper right or left corner of the door. Get a smaller 2" dial unit like these:
(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/stove_top_meters.html)
http://www.amazon.com/Thermometer-3-34-thermometer-magnetically-installation/dp/B000IZPWVO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1387992929&sr=8-3&keywords=wood stove thermometer magnetic
http://www.amazon.com/Vogelzang-TG-01-Temperature-Gauge-Magnet/dp/B000BQRHOK/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1387992929&sr=8-7&keywords=wood stove thermometer magnetic

Thanks Begreen. I'm an hour into a new load (5" wide cherry splits) with finely tuned primary and secondary settings. looks promising. I'll report back in in an hour or so.

 

[madison]

? for your stove: "Out" = closed and "In" = open

The last quad that I operated, i pulled out completely on both after the fire was ignited to reduce air.

 

[Hogwildz]

Wood split over summer and fall, don't sound ready to me. Prolly the reason you got so much air open to that thing, which is why it is burning down so quickly.