Newbie thinking of joining the wood burning crowd, looking for advice

[stoveguy2esw]

sweet!, aint my stove but im not gonna try talking you out of it, the regency is a solid unit and i suspect it will serve you quite well. as for backpuffing, it remains to be seen if you will get any, as i had say back when the thread was newer, the 6X10 while isnt optimal, its close and if its "standby" draft is noticable you likely wont have much if any issue with it especially when it gets cold outside. if it does, try cracking a close window about 5 minutes before you strike the match and see if this improves the situation, if so an "OAK" may be a viable solution.


congrats on a hell of a deal and welcome to the woodburning community. savings to follow

 

[burnt03]

sweet!, aint my stove but im not gonna try talking you out of it, the regency is a solid unit and i suspect it will serve you quite well. as for backpuffing, it remains to be seen if you will get any, as i had say back when the thread was newer, the 6X10 while isnt optimal, its close and if its "standby" draft is noticable you likely wont have much if any issue with it especially when it gets cold outside. if it does, try cracking a close window about 5 minutes before you strike the match and see if this improves the situation, if so an "OAK" may be a viable solution.


congrats on a hell of a deal and welcome to the woodburning community. savings to follow

Thanks stoveguy! I had my mind set on your NC-30 (or TimberRidge up here) and was saving up but stumbled on this one instead.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Thanks stoveguy! I had my mind set on your NC-30 (or TimberRidge up here) and was saving up but stumbled on this one instead.

well, it is what it is. you got a great deal on a great stove. if nothing else i do appreciate your looking at my products, maybe if you look at a new unit later on you might remember us.

 

[Ashful]

Congrat's on the new stove! Great deal.
Late on these comments, but they're still valid:

One article in the article section (https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/choosing_a_wood_stove) states that you should go for a bigger stove (can always build a smaller fire in the stove). There's another article in the section (can't remember which one) that says the stove should be sized accurately (not too big) to prevent underfiring and too much creosote buildup. Can anyone confirm one way or another?

A bit late on this comment, but this can depend entirely on the type of stove, cat vs. non-cat. Catalyst stoves can reburn the creosote-producing compounds at very low temperatures, so they can be burned very low for long periods of time. Non-cat's work on the same principle, but without the addition of a catalyst, require much higher internal temperatures to do so. So, it is a little easier to go "too big" on a non-cat stove, whereas many cat stove owners are running very large stoves in their smaller spaces.

"If your chimney is too large, the heater will have a difficult time raising the temperature of the flue enough to provide adequate draft, which can cause a "smoke back," poor burn, or both." which is in line with what you've said (and from what I've read, most people have discovered with the EPA stoves).
But, the next page is more specific about the flue size and states "The area of the chimney liner must also be equal to or greater than the area of the flue collar on the stove. If the area of the flue is greater than the collar, it should never be more than two and 1/2 (2.5) times greater." So if that's to be believed, I'd be within limits.

I have a 6" steel stovepipe feeding an exterior masonry chimney with an 8" round clay tile liner. If you're like me, you will have no problems in cold weather, when the draft is strong. As it warms up, the strength of your draft decreases, and you may experience the dreaded back-puffing when you try to burn low and slow. If so, you'll have a few options:
1. Install an insulated liner, and be done with it.
2. Only run the stove when it's cold enough outside to provide the required draft.
3. Run the stove hotter than you want when it's not cold outside. Running with the primary air control more open promotes better draft.

 

[begreen]

Good tips, though #3 is not necessarily true with a non-cat EPA stove. At the outgassing stage, more primary air can actually cool down the fire and stove. If draft is strong enough to pull air through the secondary manifold, then cutting the air back so that secondary combustion takes over can result in a hotter stove.

 

[Ashful]

Good point. My experience was with a cat stove / never burned a non-cat.

 

[burnt03]

Bringing my original thread back to life again

Got the OK from my house insurance to start burning, once I get it up to temp, has been working pretty good even with relatively warm weather (50deg).

So now wondering about how to move the heat around.... from the first page, here's a sketch of my house floorplan:

(broken image removed)

The whole basement is nice and warm (almost too much so) and the heat starts to move up the stairs and the vents, but it's slow to heat the upstairs (as everyone warned me). I have the blower attached to the stove, but I seem to remember reading something about putting a small fan at the entrance to the stove room, blowing into it. Also have a ceiling fan in the kitchen (cathedral ceiling), but haven't tried it with that yet.

Any other ideas?

 

[rideau]

Sort of an update, but not much really going on, just some ideas/plans.

- convinced the wife that a woodstove is the way to go BUT she says she doesn't want a used stove. Plus I'm having trouble finding a bigger stove for sale used around here. So, the plan is to wait until next year's tax refund and I'm leaning towards the TimberRidge 50TNC (same stove as the Englander 30NC). Everyone seems to have good things to say about it and it's relatively cheap (around $1000 new). Planning on installing the big stove downstairs.
- have a 6x10 ID clay lined chimney. I know that the stove performs best with a 6" chimney liner but not sure if we'll be able to afford it, so going to try it with original chimney first. Plus, the 6" chimney wouldn't fit anyways, have an email into Englander to see if a 5.5" would work if needed.
- build a new hearth. From what I've read, steel studs on the flat, covered in concrete board and tiled should do the trick for R-value.
- keep reading threads on here, watch my electrical meter spin faster than I can track when the furnace kicks on and keep dreaming.

So not up to much right now. Going to fall some standing dead trees at work this winter, split and store at home to start the drying process. Which brings me to another question.... primarily have Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine around here (both being killed off prematurely by Tussock Moth and Pine Beetle). I've been told that the fir is the way to go but the pine is more prevalent. Should I completely steer clear of the pine or?

Thanks for all the advice!! This site is great

Tussock moth? What kind of tussock moth? I didn't realize they were killing any trees. I have lots of hickory tussocks. Do they harm the hickory? (other than munching a few leaves)?

 

[rideau]

Fan on the floor blowing from a colder area toward the stove room (gently) will get air moving, and even whole home heat out starting to be noticable after about 1/2 hour operation....You can try blowing it down the stairs. Don't know what would happen if you insralled a through the wall fan in one of the floor vents, installed so it blows into the basement? Don't even know if you can install them horizontally instead of vertically?

 

[burnt03]

Cool, thanks. Not sure about the hickory tussock moths, the one around here only kill off fir and some pine.

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/rsi/ForestHealth/Tussock_Moth.htm