New wood burning insert - burning / how hot / is this right?

[BanjoGuy]

I just completed the installation of a Drolet Escape 1800i insert with a 18' chimney (give or take) serviced by a Vortex liner kit up a 13" x 13" firebrick chimney. Sealing up all the mess from the 1980 masonry fireplace was a chore, as was the block-off plate and getting the beast into place. I've had two fires so far so the factory smell is almost if not non existent. The second fire was significantly hotter and longer than the first.

I have about 1 cord of seasoned oak I brought back from Missouri last year (I'm in CO), and the remains of a cat-piss cottonwood we felled and split 2 years ago. I'm using the cottonwood to get things started, and then the oak for longer burn. This is my first experience with a wood burning stove so I'd like to know what I don't know... Once I get things going, I have the damper closed to about 40% open or less and the flames look like they are dancing off the wood and on the ceiling of the fireplace. I assume this is right and good because the fire keeps going and the insert gets nicely hot.

I see a lot of videos or guides on how to get the fire going, but I'm not sure what an ideal burn should look like. I've included a video of mine, but what should I be looking for? I assume that once my oak gets going nicely, 40% or less on the damper should allow a slow burn and I assume that is ideal?

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[BanjoGuy]

I must have done something right. 11:30PM put 2 decent sized oak pieces in, 8:30AM decided to restart it, but I didn't need to restart it - still had hot embers and the heat sensitive blower was still running.

 

[TomMcDonald]

Looks great

 

[EbS-P]

Looks nice to me. Here is thread on running the Escapes. Do you have a thermometer to measure stove top temps? Start cutting all your wood short enough to load North south. It burns weekly well that way. I never got the andirons with mine.

Dialing in the Drolet Escape (1500, 1800 and inserts)

The great value of these two stoves means lots have been sold. The intent of this tread is to help owners figure out the best/ most efficient way to run their stoves or inserts. I think the simple design is great but I am wondering if the easy breathing nature of this design results in an over...

www.hearth.com

 

[Garbanzo62]

The dancing flames are your secondary burn. As you shut down the air it is rerouted to the secondary tubes. The wood transforms from a solid state to a gas state without enough oxygen to burn, that gas then gets to the heated air from the tubes and ignites. As you shut down the air, you might see what looks like a wave of flames from the top part of the insert.

 

[BanjoGuy]

The dancing flames are your secondary burn. As you shut down the air it is rerouted to the secondary tubes. The wood transforms from a solid state to a gas state without enough oxygen to burn, that gas then gets to the heated air from the tubes and ignites. As you shut down the air, you might see what looks like a wave of flames from the top part of the insert.

Is that a good thing - "without enough oxygen to burn" ?

 

[BanjoGuy]

Looks nice to me. Here is thread on running the Escapes. Do you have a thermometer to measure stove top temps? Start cutting all your wood short enough to load North south. It burns weekly well that way. I never got the andirons with mine.

Awesome tips, I'm watching that thread.
This is my first wood insert, and we're going to use it for supplementary heat - we're in the city, gas furnace, and seldom have power outages, but it's such a nice heat and that old masonry leaky monster had to go.

I don't know how much we will go through in a season - probably depends on temps as we can have somewhat mild winters in Colorado Springs, but usually get a fair amount of cold/snow on average. Regardless, anything new will be short enough to N/S load - might be a year before I get through all this - 1+ cord (true) of oak, 1/2 is already seasoned 1 year.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I just completed the installation of a Drolet Escape 1800i insert with a 18' chimney (give or take) serviced by a Vortex liner kit up a 13" x 13" firebrick chimney. Sealing up all the mess from the 1980 masonry fireplace was a chore, as was the block-off plate and getting the beast into place. I've had two fires so far so the factory smell is almost if not non existent. The second fire was significantly hotter and longer than the first.

I have about 1 cord of seasoned oak I brought back from Missouri last year (I'm in CO), and the remains of a cat-piss cottonwood we felled and split 2 years ago. I'm using the cottonwood to get things started, and then the oak for longer burn. This is my first experience with a wood burning stove so I'd like to know what I don't know... Once I get things going, I have the damper closed to about 40% open or less and the flames look like they are dancing off the wood and on the ceiling of the fireplace. I assume this is right and good because the fire keeps going and the insert gets nicely hot.

I see a lot of videos or guides on how to get the fire going, but I'm not sure what an ideal burn should look like. I've included a video of mine, but what should I be looking for? I assume that once my oak gets going nicely, 40% or less on the damper should allow a slow burn and I assume that is ideal?

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Congrats on the stove, really enjoy mine.

Fyi, I believe it's illegal to transport firewood across state lines. Probably for good reason, the purpose is to prevent pests and diseases from rapidly spreading. Don't mean to be a joykill, and totally get why you did it, but publicly announcing crimes committed on social media is probably a bad idea.

 

[EbS-P]

Awesome tips, I'm watching that thread.
This is my first wood insert, and we're going to use it for supplementary heat - we're in the city, gas furnace, and seldom have power outages, but it's such a nice heat and that old masonry leaky monster had to go.

I don't know how much we will go through in a season - probably depends on temps as we can have somewhat mild winters in Colorado Springs, but usually get a fair amount of cold/snow on average. Regardless, anything new will be short enough to N/S load - might be a year before I get through all this - 1+ cord (true) of oak, 1/2 is already seasoned 1 year.

I burn a lot of pine. The yellow long leaf pine here is great firewood. Your dry hot summers should get wood dry fast. But probably two summers for oak. One and pine will be plenty dry. I made friends with a tree guy that can drop a single axel trailer load off instead of taking it to the dump. One load is about what I burn a year.

 

[begreen]

I just completed the installation of a Drolet Escape 1800i insert with a 18' chimney (give or take) serviced by a Vortex liner kit up a 13" x 13" firebrick chimney. Sealing up all the mess from the 1980 masonry fireplace was a chore, as was the block-off plate and getting the beast into place. I've had two fires so far so the factory smell is almost if not non existent. The second fire was significantly hotter and longer than the first.

I have about 1 cord of seasoned oak I brought back from Missouri last year (I'm in CO), and the remains of a cat-piss cottonwood we felled and split 2 years ago. I'm using the cottonwood to get things started, and then the oak for longer burn. This is my first experience with a wood burning stove so I'd like to know what I don't know... Once I get things going, I have the damper closed to about 40% open or less and the flames look like they are dancing off the wood and on the ceiling of the fireplace. I assume this is right and good because the fire keeps going and the insert gets nicely hot.

I see a lot of videos or guides on how to get the fire going, but I'm not sure what an ideal burn should look like. I've included a video of mine, but what should I be looking for? I assume that once my oak gets going nicely, 40% or less on the damper should allow a slow burn and I assume that is ideal?

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Congratulations. The fire looks good. Those lazy bluish flames are a sign of good, hot, secondary combustion.

 

[BanjoGuy]

Congrats on the stove, really enjoy mine.

Fyi, I believe it's illegal to transport firewood across state lines. Probably for good reason, the purpose is to prevent pests and diseases from rapidly spreading. Don't mean to be a joykill, and totally get why you did it, but publicly announcing crimes committed on social media is probably a bad idea.

yikes.. well, probably won't do that again. I did check this list and where I brought the wood from is not in any of the quarantine areas.

Colorado - Don't Move Firewood

It is against the law to bring out-of-state firewood into Colorado from areas infested with regulated forest pests like imported fire ant, spongy moth,

www.dontmovefirewood.org

It is against the law to bring out-of-state firewood into Colorado from areas infested with regulated forest pests

As far as I can tell, I'm in the clear and wouldn't be in trouble for this load, but it's good information to have.

 

[Garbanzo62]

Is that a good thing - "without enough oxygen to burn" ?

It is a matter of where the oxygen is coming in. Closing the damper and routing to the secondary tubes is what you want. You get a cleaner burn by burning off the gas. Effectively you are cooking the wood to create the gas which is then burned. If the air came in right at the bottom you would burn the wood and burn it faster.

 

[Garbanzo62]

Check your state laws on the transport. Here in CT you need a permit from the Dept of Environment Protection to transport in from another state. This is primarily to prevent introduction of tree killing pests such as the Ash Borer Beetle. as a general rule of thumb, they want only heat treated wood so any pests are killed.

 

[EbS-P]

yikes.. well, probably won't do that again. I did check this list and where I brought the wood from is not in any of the quarantine areas.

Colorado - Don't Move Firewood

It is against the law to bring out-of-state firewood into Colorado from areas infested with regulated forest pests like imported fire ant, spongy moth,

www.dontmovefirewood.org

As far as I can tell, I'm in the clear and wouldn't be in trouble for this load, but it's good information to have.

Don’t worry Kansas doesn’t have any trees to infect I grew up in the KS/CO border