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ozarkoak

Feeling the Heat
Nov 1, 2020
256
Arkansas
Last year with poorer wood It was only a few times I could get the stove over 450 degrees. This year with good to go red oak I'm finding I really have to watch stove top temps. Its like learning the stove all over again. I'm running a Mansfield 8012 with a 16 or 17 foot stack. Just now checking the stove top temps it came in at 610 degrees with the intake air 3/4 of the way or so closed, with an outdoor temp of 22 degrees. Damped it down even further and shes about 580 now. Lesson to new burners... As your wood improves there will be another learning curve. There was no possible way last year with the poor wood I could have over-fired. Keep an eye on your stove top temps :D 🚀
 
Yes, with dry wood you will find yourself turning down the air sooner and farther.
 
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...making your wood last longer, getting more heat out, and keeping your chimney and the great outdoors cleaner!

Congratulations and enjoy!!
 
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Last year with poorer wood It was only a few times I could get the stove over 450 degrees. This year with good to go red oak I'm finding I really have to watch stove top temps. Its like learning the stove all over again. I'm running a Mansfield 8012 with a 16 or 17 foot stack. Just now checking the stove top temps it came in at 610 degrees with the intake air 3/4 of the way or so closed, with an outdoor temp of 22 degrees. Damped it down even further and shes about 580 now. Lesson to new burners... As your wood improves there will be another learning curve. There was no possible way last year with the poor wood I could have over-fired. Keep an eye on your stove top temps :D 🚀
Most of us went through the same thing our first year. I thought I was smart and bought 5 cords in the spring. Trying to burn oak was a struggle, I ended up putting the oak aside for the next year and burned just the ash and maple. Nothing like good seasoned oak though, burns hot and long.
 
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Most of us went through the same thing our first year. I thought I was smart and bought 5 cords in the spring. Trying to burn oak was a struggle, I ended up putting the oak aside for the next year and burned just the ash and maple. Nothing like good seasoned oak though, burns hot and long.
...making your wood last longer, getting more heat out, and keeping your chimney and the great outdoors cleaner!

Congratulations and enjoy!!
A stove top thermometer or IR gun is 100% mandatory IMO. There is no way to accurately tell what temp you are running at and just guessing seems like a bad Idea. Need to create a good thread on items that are really needed to get started. Ir gun or thermometer, Moisture meter again it is really hard to tell what moisture you are at without a meter. All the clanking wood together, looking for checking on the ends, bark falling off still does not give you a real number. Soot eater, I was dreading cleaning my stack. Man with that soot eater it really took 15 minutes tops. Good fire starter I really like the fat wood sticks I have not needed more than one match once this year with those things. 4 little sticks and She is on the way. A stash of good kindling. I wish I would have split about 10X more kindling. This year with the weird temps required way more kindling than I had ready due to letting the stove go cold and needing to restart. Some place to store wood inside I use a big plastic roughneck tote, ugly but holds 2 or so days of wood. A good stove tool set. As far as I'm concerned that poker thing can go in the trash. The tool shaped like a hoe is the only tool I use beside the ash shovel. A ash vacuum because, reasons. You guys have stuff to add? I love this site.
 
This year with good to go red oak I'm finding I really have to watch stove top temps.
Wait until you get really far ahead in wood supply, you then start thinking that the wood maybe to dry, when that happens next time you cut & split, make sure the splits are really big, if worried about starting a fire with large splits, take a split or two and re-split to the desired thickness
 
Just now checking the stove top temps it came in at 610 degrees with the intake air 3/4 of the way or so closed, with an outdoor temp of 22 degrees. Damped it down even further and shes about 580 now. Lesson to new burners... As your wood improves there will be another learning curve. There was no possible way last year with the poor wood I could have over-fired. Keep an eye on your stove top temps :D 🚀
I normally burn at between 400° to 650° on my stove pipe probe thermometer depending on the size of the load of dry sticks in the box and outside temps and that is with my air control fully closed on my PE, so you are doing good.

[Hearth.com] Running hot.
 
Experience is the best teacher but what you can read and learn on this site can help you avoid some frustrating mistakes. It can not be said enough to get 2-3 years ahead on firewood.
 
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A stove top thermometer or IR gun is 100% mandatory IMO. There is no way to accurately tell what temp you are running at and just guessing seems like a bad Idea. Need to create a good thread on items that are really needed to get started. Ir gun or thermometer, Moisture meter again it is really hard to tell what moisture you are at without a meter. All the clanking wood together, looking for checking on the ends, bark falling off still does not give you a real number. Soot eater, I was dreading cleaning my stack. Man with that soot eater it really took 15 minutes tops. Good fire starter I really like the fat wood sticks I have not needed more than one match once this year with those things. 4 little sticks and She is on the way. A stash of good kindling. I wish I would have split about 10X more kindling. This year with the weird temps required way more kindling than I had ready due to letting the stove go cold and needing to restart. Some place to store wood inside I use a big plastic roughneck tote, ugly but holds 2 or so days of wood. A good stove tool set. As far as I'm concerned that poker thing can go in the trash. The tool shaped like a hoe is the only tool I use beside the ash shovel. A ash vacuum because, reasons. You guys have stuff to add? I love this site.
I keep my heavy duty gloves (for reloading) my stove tools with ash bucket and fire extinguisher along with a chimney fire extinguishing product near my wood stove during wood heating season..
 
I keep my heavy duty gloves (for reloading) my stove tools with ash bucket and fire extinguisher along with a chimney fire extinguishing product near my wood stove during wood heating season..
What do you do if there’s a fire? You’ll have to get passed the fire to get to the extinguisher.
 
Put the extinguisher near the exit/entry point of the stove room.

Come in,.see something wrong, grab the thing.

Or be at the stove, something goes wrong, extinguisher is along the escape route. Decide what to do at a safe point rather than increasing danger by having to go near a stove that's too hot for grabbing the extinguisher.