Some qaulity time with the Castine

[Skier76]

My wife and I spent 11 days up in VT and that gave me some time to really use the Castine. Previously, I'd been limited to weekends and long weekends.

Wet wood is a PITA. I already knew this, but throw two wet logs on a fire and sizzle city...Blah! I'm getting pretty good at telling if a split is ready just by handling it.

Burn Cycles: This was the biggest "learn" of the time spent with the stove. Previously, I'd just keep tossing splits on to the fire as it coaled down. So at 10 or 11 at night, I'd have a downstairs that was 80F and a firebox full of coals. I could never stuff enough wood in there for a decent overnight burn. I'd get up around 3AM to reload.

Now, I let the fire die down. It's amazing how a firebox full of coals will still keep a room up to temp. The temp is much more consistant now as well. Plus, I can easily not touch the stove for hours. Furthermore, when I get things going for the overnight burn, I've got a nice empty firebox and I can stuff a bunch of splits in there.

Overnight burns: This is interesting. I guess it all comes down how you define and overnight burn. If you define it as a burn that keeps the stove at 500F for 8 hours, no, I can't do that. If you define it as a burn where after 8 hours you have more then enough coals to start a fire and the temp on top still reads 250F or so, yes, I can pull that off. Does the temp drop in the house a bit? Yep. But more insulation over time will probably help. We usually see a 10-12F degree drop on our main level. Downstairs, where the stove is, I'd say a less than 10F degree drop. This is a-frame built in the mid 1960's...it's a bit under 1,000 sq/ft.

Pine: I can't say enough about this stuff. I used my Fiskars Super Splitter (yeah, the big one) to cut the pine up into roughly 1" splits. These things light up like crazy when you put them on the coals and open up the intake with the Euro plate on.

So, I'm still learning! But so far, so good...love the stove too. I'm looking forward to having a bettery supply of wood next year. Luckily, most of my wood is just about at the right moisture level. Not bad considering we got the stove in early August...and the wood came the next day.

 

[thewoodlands]

Hi Skier;

I define a overnight burn has having coals when I get up, I have been loading hard maple at night (6 splits) loading 4 E/W & 2 N/S with the back split being the biggest. So far it's been leaving me with a good bed of coals in the a.m.

zap

 

[cycloxer]

Sounds good and my Castine burns pretty much the same way. It's a pretty solid stove for its size and it heats 1,000 sq. ft. spaces w/o blowing you out of the house.

 

[southbalto]

I've had the Castine running for a week now and am still having issues getting the top plate over 500 degrees. I'm burning cherry and red oak which was split and stacked 18-24 months ago. The only way i've been able to hit 500 is to stuff the box with 2-3 inch splits and open it up.

I also have had issues with smoke during a cold start up. Cracking the window has resolved that issue but I thought I'd throw it out there.
It's vented out the rear to a new class a system that goes up about 23'. I have a key damper in it. Draft dosen't seem to be an issue.

I've tried using kiln dried wood and had simmilar results (peaking out at 500).

I'm wondering if it would be worthwile to replace the gasket on the top plate. Thoughts?

I picked up the stove slightly used from a dealer in the area (25% discount). He had a client who was dissapointed with the heat output and was upgrading to an oslo. The dealer indicated that the stove had only been run a handful of times.

Tonight I loaded the stove at 6, burned down the starter sticks, loaded the stove again at 7 and i'm not crusing at 420 or so on top. Pretty good secondary burn at this point at 1:40 min into the burn.

What do you all reccomend my next move be?

 

[cycloxer]

Are you running a 6" flue?
Is it clean?
Is your chimney blocked off at the top and bottom?
What air setting are you running at to hit max temp?
What size splits are you burning?
Where are you positioning your thermo?

 

[begreen]

I've had the Castine running for a week now and am still having issues getting the top plate over 500 degrees.

I also have had issues with smoke during a cold start up. Cracking the window has resolved that issue but I thought I'd throw it out there.
It's vented out the rear to a new class a system that goes up about 23'. I have a key damper in it. Draft dosen't seem to be an issue.

Tonight I loaded the stove at 6, burned down the starter sticks, loaded the stove again at 7 and i'm not crusing at 420 or so on top. Pretty good secondary burn at this point at 1:40 min into the burn.

What do you all reccomend my next move be?

It's normal to have to have the door slightly ajar for starting a fire. That's ok. How is the stove connected to the class A pipe? Straight into the tee or with a couple elbows? This is a sensitive area for this stove. Next, is there a cleanout tee? If so, make sure the bottom cap is tightly in place. Then look at the flue collar sealing on the stove to check for leakage there.

This may sound a little odd, but make sure the thermometer is reading reasonably close to accurate. Many of us have seen thermometers that are 100 deg off. And although you trust the wood, maybe try a couple bundles of store bought wood for comparison?

 

[Skier76]

Even with some marginal wood, I can get the Castine up to 600+ without much effort. Also, my chimney setup is far from ideal. If I load the box up and leave the air wide open, I'll have to start backing it down. With the Euro plate, I get my best and longest burns with it set at about 75%+ shut. The stove usually chugs along at 525+/- at that setting.

Check your intake on the back of the stove and make sure nothing is blocking it. You may want to take the plate off (the one inside the box) and make sure the air control is sliding correctly and there's nothing blocking the holes in the plate.

Oh, I goofed in my original post. I should have said 150f...not 250f....after an all night burn.

 

[southbalto]

Are you running a 6" flue?
Is it clean?
Is your chimney blocked off at the top and bottom?
What air setting are you running at to hit max temp?
What size splits are you burning?
Where are you positioning your thermo?

New Class A installed last week. Still very clean even at the top.
I run the stove wide open and am only hitting 500 at best
1-3" splits for the first fire.
I've tried several locations for the thermo. Back right front left ect.......

 

[southbalto]

I've had the Castine running for a week now and am still having issues getting the top plate over 500 degrees.

I also have had issues with smoke during a cold start up. Cracking the window has resolved that issue but I thought I'd throw it out there.
It's vented out the rear to a new class a system that goes up about 23'. I have a key damper in it. Draft dosen't seem to be an issue.

Tonight I loaded the stove at 6, burned down the starter sticks, loaded the stove again at 7 and i'm not crusing at 420 or so on top. Pretty good secondary burn at this point at 1:40 min into the burn.

What do you all reccomend my next move be?

It's normal to have to have the door slightly ajar for starting a fire. That's ok. How is the stove connected to the class A pipe? Straight into the tee or with a couple elbows? This is a sensitive area for this stove. Next, is there a cleanout tee? If so, make sure the bottom cap is tightly in place. Then look at the flue collar sealing on the stove to check for leakage there.

This may sound a little odd, but make sure the thermometer is reading reasonably close to accurate. Many of us have seen thermometers that are 100 deg off. And although you trust the wood, maybe try a couple bundles of store bought wood for comparison?

Stove into timble out the back. Up 4' then two 30 degree elbows then a 20' run straight up.

I hear you on opening the door. Thing is though, I get a pretty roaring fire in there even with the door closed. Secondary burn kicks in when the top is around 300-350 and it's shooting fire out of most secondaries by 450.

I put the thermo in the oven last night and it seemed like it was pretty darn close to being accurate.

Since I had the issued with smoke at start up (neg pressure) I tried running a 3" duct from the outside to the intake last night. I thought maybe the stove was being starved of air. No real performance issue.

Confused.......Confused.

I"m thinking my next step is to replace the top plate gasket.

 

[cycloxer]

Are you getting the blast furnace jets out of the secondaries? Is the wood on fire w/ bright red coals or does it look black and charred?

Something is not right because once you get the Castine burning properly it will easily run away from you and hit 700°F temps with a full box of wood and the air wide open.

Why do you think the top plate gasket is bad?

I measure my temp at the front right corner of the flat section of the top. I literally center the mag thermo on the cornermost hatch grid (you know the cast in hatch pattern on the top).

 

[southbalto]

And just to give you all an idea of the space i'm heating. It's the kitchen and living room. probably 600 sqft. I'm on the couch watching tv 5' from the stove and I guess I expected to be blown out. That is, If I push It, I thought the thing would get temps in those rooms into the uncomfortably warm range.

Maybe my expectations are too high.

 

[cycloxer]

You should be able to get temps into the 70's in the room w/ the stove. I can do this in my room and it is 14' x 31' w/ 13.5' cathedral and a wall of glass. After a couple of runs at max burn I am usually at 71 degrees. I can easily maintain 68-73 degrees with a moderate stove operation level.

Where is your stove located? Is it out in the open on the hearth or do you have it tucked into a fireplace?

 

[southbalto]

Yea, I'm getting the blast furnace jets. They seem to kick in strong when I'm hitting 400-425 on the top. If I close down the air at 500 all hell breaks loose and it's a massive wall of fire at the top that blasts into the glass and runs down 4' on the glass. That said, I get NO ADDITIONAL increase in my top plate temperature. As soon as I stop the primary air it hovers at 500 for a time then gradually goes down.

I don't know that the gasket is bad but over in that "dissaponited with Jotul FC3 output" thread on poster indicated that a bad seal up top might result in bad performance. They indicated that, before replacing the gasket, cold air would seep into the stove (around the top) after the secoanday burn and reduce the temperature of the top plate. The poster indicated that with a new seal it was like a whole different stove.......

I dunno. The stove is keeping the furnace off....so I suppose I can make due with it. I just want the option to run it hot for a couple cycles to really heat up the house before locking it down with some big splits.

Cycloxer......Regarding the stove placement. It's in the living room on a tile hearth. It sits out 7" off the rear wall. Not tucked into a fireplace at all.

I did a install thread last week. It's over in "the perfect picture" forum. "Castine install loads of pictures"

I have an order coming in from the dealer late this week. If I haven't resolved it yet, I'll get him involved.

 

[begreen]

It doesn't sounds like the top gasket is the issue here, but it doesn't hurt to look. With the top off you should be able to see the burn pattern over the baffle. It should be even. This would be a good opportunity to make sure there is no debris in the smoke path. It is also a good time to look from the inside out for any light leaks in the flue path. If you find them seal them with stove cement.

The stove sounds like it could use more serious fuel. 2-3" splits are kindling, but if the firebox is filled with them, they should burn hard if they are dry.

How far down is the air being "stopped" when the stove top is running at 500, partially or all the way? A rear exit connected F400 is going to behave differently than a top-exited one, especially when dumping into a cold chimney. When the stove starts strong secondary combustion, try only closing the air halfway. As the top heats up, take it down to 25%, but no further and watch the top temps.

 

[southbalto]

BeGreen,

thanks for the response. I actually took out the baffle a on Sunday, removed the bolts securing the top plate and removed it. The gasket was in like new condition. I didn't see any issues with it but I'm not posititive I know what to look for.

Regarding the air, I let it run wide open up to 500 and It just ends up sitting there. This while the stove is going nuclear in the box. Baffle has several rows of ports and maybe two full rows are jetting blue/yellow/red flames.

One possibility I should throw out, the class A chimney comes through the wall and through the wall protection. I needed another 4" of length so I added single wall with a key damper. I did not seal the single wall with cement to the thimble or stove. I don't think that is contributing to the problem since it's after the flue collar and obviously after the top plate. I really don't think I have a draft problem. I get zero smoke in the house while the fire is going, even when the door is open. The flue, even with nonsealed connnection, seems to pull hard and the stove will warm to 500 in about a half hour given the right wood.

I'll keep experimenting and report back. I appreciate all the feedback!!

 

[Skier76]

Just a really random thought here and hopefully, I didn't missread somewhere above. Are you using stove top magnetic thermometer? I've seen some posts here where people have used oven thermometers and those are usually off 100F+. If you are using the magnetic, I'm sure there will be some other suggestions.

I'm sure in time you'll get in running. The Castine is a great stove and we love ours.

 

[cycloxer]

Do you have another thermometer? The only reason I ask is because if your box is going nuclear and you have the flame jet effect in full force coming out of the baffle holes, I can't see how you are only hitting 500°F. When my Secondary Air chamber starts the bluish flame jets it is only a matter of time before I hit 600°F+ and have to back off the air.

 

[southbalto]

Do you have another thermometer? The only reason I ask is because if your box is going nuclear and you have the flame jet effect in full force coming out of the baffle holes, I can't see how you are only hitting 500°F. When my Secondary Air chamber starts the bluish flame jets it is only a matter of time before I hit 600°F+ and have to back off the air.

I'm going to pick one up tonight.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[southbalto]

Skier, sorry to hijack the thread. However, it seems the in the know castine folks are posting here.


If Your Stove Does Not Produce Enough Heat

Are you burning wet or green wood?

Try burning your unit at a higher burn setting for a while.

You may have excessive draft for your unit; call your dealer to assess the situation, a barometric damper may help.


I pulled the info above from the blaze king website. Could it be that my draft is too strong? I have a key damper behind the stove. I'll experiment with that tonight as well.

 

[Skier76]

Skier, sorry to hijack the thread. However, it seems the in the know castine folks are posting here.

No problem at all! This was just me posting some random observations. There are some astute people who have posted here; I'm sure you'll get this sorted out eventually.

I think with a strong draft, you'd have a situation where the stove was climbing in temp very rapidly; you'd be constantly backing down the air control. It almost sounds like you're not getting enough air. How does the glass look on your castine after you do a burn?

 

[southbalto]

Didn't break through 500 tonight but the stove is running much better with the key damper fully closed. With the primary air full open and key damper completely closed I was getting plenty of air in the box with zero smoke secondaries going off ect........

I'm going through wood much slower and am keeping the top hotter....500 seems to be the max still.

I'll pick up another thermo tomorrow.

 

[dvellone]

Southbalto mentioned a rear exit and two 30 degree turns after 4 feet of height. Don't wonder if this is playing a significant role in draft and heat output. I'm top venting with a straight run up through the house and a 22+ foot run, and my castine can pass 500* quickly if I don't watch it, yet this stove doesn't seem to have as aggressive a draft as others. My brother heats with an oslo and has a couple of turns in his vent as well as a short diagonal run to his chimney which is outside his house, and his draft is crazy compared to mine. The castine seems to really need an ideal chimney setup.

 

[begreen]

Didn’t break through 500 tonight but the stove is running much better with the key damper fully closed. With the primary air full open and key damper completely closed I was getting plenty of air in the box with zero smoke secondaries going off ect….....

I’m going through wood much slower and am keeping the top hotter….500 seems to be the max still.

That doesn't sound right, best results should be when the primary air is reduced to encourage secondary combustion. We had a flue damper which I experimented with. Seemed that with the rear exit on the stove it was extraneous and I removed it.

The stove should never need the air control wide open once the fire is burning well and secondaries are going. I would try the opposite approach. Try closing the air control to somewhere between 50-75% shut once the stove top is hot and secondaries are strong, leaving the key damper open. You might need to do this in two stages, maybe 10 minutes apart. The goal being to reduce the air to the point that the secondaries start to get lazy, purplish and waft over the wood. That should encourage good secondary burning and raise the top temps noticeably.

 

[southbalto]

Didn’t break through 500 tonight but the stove is running much better with the key damper fully closed. With the primary air full open and key damper completely closed I was getting plenty of air in the box with zero smoke secondaries going off ect….....

I’m going through wood much slower and am keeping the top hotter….500 seems to be the max still.

That doesn't sound right, best results should be when the primary air is reduced to encourage secondary combustion. We had a flue damper which I experimented with. Seemed that with the rear exit on the stove it was extraneous and I removed it.

The stove should never need the air control wide open once the fire is burning well and secondaries are going. I would try the opposite approach. Try closing the air control to somewhere between 50-75% shut once the stove top is hot and secondaries are strong, leaving the key damper open. You might need to do this in two stages, maybe 10 minutes apart. The goal being to reduce the air to the point that the secondaries start to get lazy, purplish and waft over the wood. That should encourage good secondary burning and raise the top temps noticeably.

That's my goal. The secondaries begin to go off around 300-350 on the stovetop. To get to max temp I've been letting it roll wide open up to 500 then I back off. I back off the air in stages so that I keep a good secondary burn going. After maybe 20 minutes of half air I close the primary down and it's like a small wick of flame from the bottom of the box coming up to the secondary area where it the fire rolls. It will stay like that for another 30 minutes or so then it will be more of the northern lights type show.

Heat output seemed better last night but I wasn't blown out sitting just 4-5 feet from the stove. Upper 20's last night. Stove room might be 430-500sqft with several windows. Pretty tight construction.

 

[cycloxer]

Have you tried running with wide-open air indefinitely to see what max temp you can hit?