I got some great input from folks here in Q&A when I first started running this stove. Starting our 3rd season with it, I reread the manual and had some questions:
- If stove is allowed to go into inactive zone, then I treat it as a 'cold start'. The instructions say to get kindling going, then add a small amount of logs and get that going, then close the loading door and bypass door once those first few logs are aflame. The manual says to let those burn a bit, then open it all up and fill the stove once that coal bed is established. I thought you want to only close the bypass door after waiting long enough for the thermometer to be in the active zone, not just after a load gets lit? Also, I thought the most efficient start was kindling a fire on top of an already-loaded stove?
- Manual also says to finish loading, or to reload, when the thermometer is still in the active zone. Otherwise treat it as a cold start. I thought there was harm in opening the loading door when cat is in the active zone. Is the problem only opening the loading door with the bypass door shut, since relatively cold room air would be forced through the cat and not out the bypass? In other words, should I always open the bypass door before the loading door, and only close the bypass door once the loading door is shut and thermometer is active?
- Related to two question above, is there any time I'd close the bypass door before thermometer is active?
- I have gotten some raging hot fires going in a fully loaded stove last winter. I follow the manual instructions in terms of where I load wood, how I get the fire and cat going, etc. The thermostat is set to just one or two dots from the lowest dot, and the thermometer will be at like 5-o'clock (almost where it stands when it is cold!) Is that over-firing? What should I be aware of in terms of too much heat, for cases of very cold times and fully loading the stove for overnight burns? Based on the manual it seems like as long as the cat is hot and the stove is loaded safely (not over-stuffed, not too much ash, good wood etc.) then there's nothing to worry about, but then other parts of the manual mention overfiring as a potential problem. I guess my question here is, what to know about avoiding overfiring on this stove?
Thanks for any tips!
- If stove is allowed to go into inactive zone, then I treat it as a 'cold start'. The instructions say to get kindling going, then add a small amount of logs and get that going, then close the loading door and bypass door once those first few logs are aflame. The manual says to let those burn a bit, then open it all up and fill the stove once that coal bed is established. I thought you want to only close the bypass door after waiting long enough for the thermometer to be in the active zone, not just after a load gets lit? Also, I thought the most efficient start was kindling a fire on top of an already-loaded stove?
- Manual also says to finish loading, or to reload, when the thermometer is still in the active zone. Otherwise treat it as a cold start. I thought there was harm in opening the loading door when cat is in the active zone. Is the problem only opening the loading door with the bypass door shut, since relatively cold room air would be forced through the cat and not out the bypass? In other words, should I always open the bypass door before the loading door, and only close the bypass door once the loading door is shut and thermometer is active?
- Related to two question above, is there any time I'd close the bypass door before thermometer is active?
- I have gotten some raging hot fires going in a fully loaded stove last winter. I follow the manual instructions in terms of where I load wood, how I get the fire and cat going, etc. The thermostat is set to just one or two dots from the lowest dot, and the thermometer will be at like 5-o'clock (almost where it stands when it is cold!) Is that over-firing? What should I be aware of in terms of too much heat, for cases of very cold times and fully loading the stove for overnight burns? Based on the manual it seems like as long as the cat is hot and the stove is loaded safely (not over-stuffed, not too much ash, good wood etc.) then there's nothing to worry about, but then other parts of the manual mention overfiring as a potential problem. I guess my question here is, what to know about avoiding overfiring on this stove?
Thanks for any tips!
