Owners of century stove model fw24007, I have questions...

[tlhfirelion]

Works well for a little stove, and funny thing we lost power the 1st day after we started using it. I love that kind of stuff when it happens.

I did do a search but wasn't able to locate the answers to my questions

1) My wood moisture meter shows my wood (all oak) at 10-15%. I assumed this was dry enough but it seems to not want to take off when burning. It burns like it is green, hard to start, hard to keep going etc. Any thoughts?

2) I've read that others have to have the door cracked open to get things roaring. I have the same problem, when I shut the door it seems to kill the fire with the damper open all the way. I think I have a very good draft as I can see ash get sucked up and out of the pipe when I open the door. Am I wrong about the draft?

3) I got a burn from 10PM until about 2AM and then it died sometime shortly after that as I got up to take a wizz and it was out. lol Where does this stove need to be set at damper wise to get it to burn the longest? (i know wood will make the difference but with dry oak, give me a ballpark)



Thanks in advance!

 

[begreen]

It takes experimenting to find the sweet spot for a stove, flue and wood. Start the fire with smaller splits and kindling. Don't put on the larger pieces until a good coal bed has been established. Keep the damper open full until the big splits start to burn well, then try closing it down to the point where flames float at the top of the stove in a gentle manner. Let her burn like that and watch the top temp. When it hits about 500 and the wood is charring well, see if you can inch the damper down another notch, say to 1/4 open.

 

[InTheRockies]

I don't have your exact model. The firebox on mine is slightly larger, at 2 cf. I'm not having problems getting my wood to start, but I burn with softwoods, mainly pine, because that's all we have here. I don't have to keep the door open to get the fire going, I'm lucky to have good draft. If you're having to start your fires from scratch, BG's advice is good--use smaller splits and wait til the fire's going good to put larger pieces in. I load rounds in my stove at night and I pack it tight--I cut small pieces to load NS at the end of the EW pieces. I also cut my larger pieces that I use for EW loading at 18 inches even though the stove can handle 22 inch pieces so I can put small piecies NS at nighttime. I shut the air control down completely (although with new EPA stoves it's not completely shut off, unlike the air controls on older stoves). I'm able to get 7 hour burns and wake up to a coal bed. The size of your firebox may limit your burn times, but experiment with loading and if you can, you might try some rounds. Good luck. Enjoy your stove.

 

[fossil]

That's the stove I have in my workshop. Everything BG says pretty much describes the way I burn mine. I do leave the door cracked open during startup from cold, just to get things goin' (maybe the first 15 minutes or so). I never leave the stove unattended that way, though. I find that when I've got a good bed of coals (I'm talking after a couple hours steady burning), after a reload I'll have gradually inched the primary air all the way shut, and have a nice dancing secondary display going if the box has a good load of fuel in it. Interestingly, I never get the primary all the way shut on my big Liberty in the house. Different stoves, different operating nuances. I can't advise on extended burn times or overnights on the Century, because that's tough to achieve with softwoods, and my wife has yet to require that I spend the night in the shop...but that day (night) may well come, and when it does, I'll get back to you. I like my little Century stove. Rick

 

[EatenByLimestone]

1) My wood moisture meter shows my wood (all oak) at 10-15%. I assumed this was dry enough but it seems to not want to take off when burning. It burns like it is green, hard to start, hard to keep going etc. Any thoughts?

Any sizzle when you burn it? The meter may be wrong, or maybe you are measuring the outside of the split and the inside is still wet. How big are the logs/kindling that you are trying to start? Are you using any type of firestarter? Are you using paper to get a draft going up the chimney/flue?

2) I’ve read that others have to have the door cracked open to get things roaring. I have the same problem, when I shut the door it seems to kill the fire with the damper open all the way. I think I have a very good draft as I can see ash get sucked up and out of the pipe when I open the door. Am I wrong about the draft?

Sounds like you have draft. Are you seeing this happen when the stove and pipe are warm or when they are cold? When starting from dead set cold I sometimes have to crack the door to get something going, but after everything is warm there are no problems at all. The paper trick could help you here.


3) I got a burn from 10PM until about 2AM and then it died sometime shortly after that as I got up to take a wizz and it was out. lol Where does this stove need to be set at damper wise to get it to burn the longest? (i know wood will make the difference but with dry oak, give me a ballpark)

I turn mine down all the way. An overnight burn with my stove means a warm stove in the morning where I can pull up some (enough) coals to get a fire going again.

It's a great little stove for the price. It was well worth the $242 I paid after taxes.

Matt

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It just dawned on me that there has been an awful lot of warm weather lately too. That could make starting an unfamiliar stove a bit harder.

Matt

 

[bartlett7516]

I have the Century fw300011 and start my stove like BG says with the door open till it gets going good and then run it awhile full throttle till the top hits about 600 and then inch the air control down to fully closed. I have been burning some split 6 month old oak and it burns great with no problem. I would try to use smaller splits to get your fire going.

 

[tlhfirelion]

1) My wood moisture meter shows my wood (all oak) at 10-15%. I assumed this was dry enough but it seems to not want to take off when burning. It burns like it is green, hard to start, hard to keep going etc. Any thoughts?

Any sizzle when you burn it? The meter may be wrong, or maybe you are measuring the outside of the split and the inside is still wet. How big are the logs/kindling that you are trying to start? Are you using any type of firestarter? Are you using paper to get a draft going up the chimney/flue?

2) I’ve read that others have to have the door cracked open to get things roaring. I have the same problem, when I shut the door it seems to kill the fire with the damper open all the way. I think I have a very good draft as I can see ash get sucked up and out of the pipe when I open the door. Am I wrong about the draft?

Sounds like you have draft. Are you seeing this happen when the stove and pipe are warm or when they are cold? When starting from dead set cold I sometimes have to crack the door to get something going, but after everything is warm there are no problems at all. The paper trick could help you here.


3) I got a burn from 10PM until about 2AM and then it died sometime shortly after that as I got up to take a wizz and it was out. lol Where does this stove need to be set at damper wise to get it to burn the longest? (i know wood will make the difference but with dry oak, give me a ballpark)

I turn mine down all the way. An overnight burn with my stove means a warm stove in the morning where I can pull up some (enough) coals to get a fire going again.

It's a great little stove for the price. It was well worth the $242 I paid after taxes.

Matt

Good posts everyone thank you very much. I am ne wto this stove so I know it will just take time to "learn" this stove. I have used my moisture meter on the outside and then split some to smaller splits and get the same number on my meter no mater outside or inside. I have no hissing, popping or any typical signs indicating wet wood.

I see the draft signs weather hot or cold stove. I do live just on the down side of a large hill over a lake so we have a decent breeze all the time so I think I'll always have a good draft. I will try the paper trick and see if that helps. I had to cut all my logs 14" long to make them easily fit into this smaller firebox, but maybe they need to be split again to make them smaller. I will try smaller logs and see if that helps as well.

Thanks again guys!

 

[fossil]

I think maybe the book says 18". Well, OK, but I find it'll swallow a 17" with not too much trouble, so long as it's not too big across...when that baby has a really good bed of coals in it, and I've got the loading door wide open, I'm not inclined to spend a lot of time in front of it trying to arrange my reload splits perfectly, or to have to keep twisting and coaxing them in, especially when one end has already started burning. The door opening's 15" wide. I like 16" (max length) splits for quick loading without wrestling with them. 14"'s should be real easy to deal with. You'll figure it out, I'm sure. Rick

 

[EatenByLimestone]

LOL!

18 may fit in if it's a small split pushed in diagonally! IIRC the book does say 18"

I try to cut mine at 16. Somehow I always end up with about 14"....

Matt

 

[fossil]

Yeah, Matt...18" is a stretch I don't want to try to make. 17" I can do if the conditions are right. 16" is what I shoot for, then I can use the same wood in both my stoves easily (even though the Lopi says it'll take 24"...who wants to wrestle with them?). 14" would be a very convenient size for the Century. Rick

 

[cannonballcobb]

I have a Century 300007 with a 2.9 CF box and I burn oak as well. At first I had right at 15 feet total length of flue. The stove burned okay, however it seemed that it didn't like having the intake set anything but wide open.

I then decided to add 18" of flue mainly because of the 2 FT above the peak rule (I was a few inches short at 15 FT).

Anyway, the 1st time running the stove after adding the 18" of flue I was amazed at the increase in draft difference. I now can use the entire range of air intake settings.

Maybe this could help your situation as well?