Secondary burn help

[Welderman85]

Hello all I just started burning with my avalon pedelton. I'm new to woodburning in general. I have had a few fires now and have been playing with settings. I cant seem to get a good low setting with any secondary burn. I get it set and have a nice burn on them and then a minute or two it goes out. If I give it more air it just burns normal with no secondary flames. All the inside parts are ew kawool blanket,baffle, air tube and fire bricks. What and I doing wrong?

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Hello all I just started burning with my avalon pedelton. I'm new to woodburning in general. I have had a few fires now and have been playing with settings. I cant seem to get a good low setting with any secondary burn. I get it set and have a nice burn on them and then a minute or two it goes out. If I give it more air it just burns normal with no secondary flames. All the inside parts are ew kawool blanket,baffle, air tube and fire bricks. What and I doing wrong?

How dry is your wood?

 

[Welderman85]

How dry is your wood?

20 or less

 

[begreen]

20 or less

How was that measured?

You may need to keep the air open a little longer so that the wood is a bit hotter. Try mixing in some construction lumber cutoffs (2x4s) with your wood in the stove and see if that helps.

 

[Welderman85]

How was that measured?

You may need to keep the air open a little longer so that the wood is a bit hotter. Try mixing in some construction lumber cutoffs (2x4s) with your wood in the stove and see if that helps.

I took a few splits that had been Inside for a while. Split them and tested. Maybe the other stuff is a little damper. It's all ash that was dead when cut, but it was cut and split/ staked 2 or 3 years ago

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

I took a few splits that had been Inside for a while. Split them and tested. Maybe the other stuff is a little damper. It's all ash that was dead when cut, but it was cut and split/ staked 2 or 3 years ago

If you let the stove run up to at least 400 F stove top, and then turn down the air, gradually, you might get secondaries. Each stove has its own "manual". It is a learning process for all of us.

 

[Welderman85]

Would a blower make a difference. I always have the blower on and I know that affected stove top temps

 

[Grizzerbear]

A blower will lower your stove temp some but it wont effect secondaries or hinder them once the stove is up to temp. Maybe leave the blower off until the stove is up to 400 or so.

 

[Woody Stover]

You may need to keep the air open a little longer so that the wood is a bit hotter.

If you let the stove run up to at least 400 F stove top, and then turn down the air, gradually, you might get secondaries. Each stove has its own "manual". It is a learning process for all of us.

Exactly the problem I was having when first running my SIL's new secondary stove; I was cutting the air too soon, and in too big of steps. Let that secondary crank for a while, which gets the load burning well and the stove up to the temp where it can easily maintain the burn. Cut the air too soon or too much, and she crashes.

 

[EbS-P]

Try lighting your fire top down with plenty of kindling. I don’t
Pack the first load tight at all.

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Evan

 

[weatherguy]

Takes some trial and error on how your stove runs,everyone's different due to stack height etc. , I dont cut mine down until it's over 400+ or I wont get secondaries, it'll take a little time to learn your stove.

 

[Nigel459]

...I have had a few fires now...

It can take a handful of fires to truly break in a stove, might be the firebrick is still drying out...

 

[kennyp2339]

There is no specific cookie cutter draft, due to different chimney heights, wood species, moisture content, low pressure, high pressure ect,... there are many variables to specific woodstove setups, some members that burn have excellent draft and can turn the stoves all the way down and still achieve secondary reburn, others can only turn the air control halfway and achieve the same results in secondary action. Learn your stove setup, about the only thing you can control is stove top temp, get the stove top to 450 then start cutting the air back a 1/4 at time, wait for the burn to settle before cutting the air back again, this could take 10-15min until you learn your minimum air setting, the idea is to just have calm almost whisper flames in the firebox, and a rolling top action above the wood, the air tubes just create turbulence by introducing fresh o2 and it reburns the unburnt smoke / particles from the main fire, a good burn should settle between 550 - 650 deg stove top, also be forewarned that you need a stove top thermometer, some members get confused and put a chimney thermometer on the stove top and vis versa, they are calibrated slightly different and will give a false reading of true temps.

 

[Woody Stover]

be forewarned that you need a stove top thermometer, some members...put a chimney thermometer on the stove top and vis versa, they are calibrated slightly different and will give a false reading of true temps.

That's the first I've heard of that. I know that the colored ranges are different on a flue meter vs. stove top meter ("creosote, "best zone" and "too hot" on a Condar Inferno stove meter)but I assume that the actual temp numbers themselves are accurate.
On the stove top meter, the marked sweet spot is 400-650F. On the flue meter, it's 230-475F. I believe I could toss the flue meter on the stove top, and I would get the same temp as the Inferno shows.

 

[begreen]

Yes, the range scales will be different, but the actual temperature reading (if it has a temp scale) should be the same.