Still the newbie with questions to the experts

[NickW]

So Mad Mark, Space Bus and Woody Stover have been helping me greatly so far.

I've hit 690 with the new stove with no issues and am easily able to keep the rec room where the stove is in the lower level in the 70's to low 80's, family room upstairs around 70 and the back bedrooms mid 60's. I haven't quite gotten to a Mark size load yet, but I'm working my way up to it. It hasn't been really cold or windy since the install though; mid 30's daytime, 20's at night. In the morning the rec room is still 68 or so and upstairs is about 65 all over.

Several more questions/comments:

1. The hot spot on the stove top seems to be on the lower step in the middle at the back. I am using the old spring steel stovepipe thermometer, but it seems to get stuck sometimes at 380 and then jump to 550; so time for a new and better one... Nobody local seems to stock what I'm looking for...

2. Do any of you open the air up some after secondary stops and temps come down to try to increase coal output or is this a lost cause other than to burn down the coals to get ready for a new load?

3. I struggle getting it going sometimes. Maybe I wait too long before reloading it. Loading it up and leaving the door open 1" like Mark suggested seems to take forever to catch. It does better catching with the door fully open, but again it seems like forever before I can close it to 1" or all the way with the air wide open without it going out. Next time I am going to try some small stuff on the bottom then larger on top. The top down method doesn't seem to catch well on a warm start - small stuff on top doesn't catch well. Maybe I am putting everything too tight together. I also have only been loading everything north south, not alternating each level. I might try that too. Maybe (and being a smoke dragon guy before most likely) I am just too damn impatient!

4. I am considering a small load mid-afternoon to keep it going and maintain temps before loading up for the night. The morning load heats it up good but I start losing temp by mid-afternoon , but I don't want to do a full load and not be ready for a reload by bedtime or overheat the house. Comments?

5. I did not run air intake from outside. The house was built in 1978 and is insulated OK but certainly is not airtight. I had a friend tell me I'm just sucking more cold air in. I don't feel like this is really making much difference... Opinions?

Thanks for all your help so far!

 

[xman23]

Sounds like your figuring it out on your own. That's the best way. You learn what works and what doesn't. Fire starting can be tricky. Wood, draft and a lot of other unknown variables play a part. Keep at it. I don't have an outside air source, and don't need one. My draft is fine. Stoves sip very little air. I don't think you will know the differences.

 

[begreen]

Nick, how well seasoned is the firewood? Partially seasoned wood is tougher to start a fire with.

Can you put your stove make and model in your signature line in your account settings? That will help folks provide more specific suggestions.

 

[NickW]

I put it in Begreen, hopefully it shows up. Burning ash that was 15-18% in fall. Stored inside. Between this new stove and the solar panels we put in back in Feb we should really cut the electric bill. The solar panels were huge during the summer, hopefully this does as much over the winter. Electric baseboard heat socks! I attached this photo of my install to one of my previous threads.

 

[Woody Stover]

Nick, how well seasoned is the firewood? Partially seasoned wood is tougher to start a fire with.

That's what I was thinking, but looking at his other thread, he says he measured it on a re-split. It's always possible to run into some outliers that are drier or wetter than the bulk of your wood.
Nick, when you put some splits on a big coal bed, do they burst into robust flame almost immediately, or do they seem to be slower to ignite?

 

[NickW]

I haven't generally been reloading on a "big" coal bed. I've been letting it burn down pretty far, raking the coals to the front, letting them freshen up, then reloading. I've been trying what the manual says by spreading them out and digging a trough down the middle.

I think I have a couple of things going on... burning the coals down too far and putting the wood too tight together so it can't breath. When I leave the pile of coals in front the front will start right away but won't work it's way back well.

The wood that I was burning in the smoke dragon that was 20-25% sometimes had a little seepage out the ends as it boiled the excess out, but nothing I'm burning now is doing that.

I think it's just learning curve, but I am trying to shorten it with you wiser more experienced fellows.

 

[NickW]

Tonight before I load it up I'll take one of the bigger splits here in the house outside and split it and check it again.

 

[Woody Stover]

Nick, when you toss splits on a good coal bed, as they start to burn do your ever hear hissing or see any moisture coming out the ends of the splits?

using the old spring steel stovepipe thermometer, but it seems to get stuck sometimes at 380 and then jump to 550; so time for a new and better one... Nobody local seems to stock what I'm looking for...

Get a Condar Inferno. I didn't have as good of luck with the Rutlands. Did you look at the local stove shops, or just the farm stores?

Do any of you open the air up some after secondary stops and temps come down to try to increase coal output or is this a lost cause other than to burn down the coals to get ready for a new load?

I open the air to maybe 25% on the coals sometimes, if I need to burn down the coals to make room in my small box, while still keeping output up to maintain room temp. My stove top can hold about 325 when I do that. I only give it enough air to perk up the coals, not so much that it loses a lot of heat up the flue. The slower that air moves through the stove, the more heat it can extract.

I am considering a small load mid-afternoon to keep it going and maintain temps before loading up for the night. The morning load heats it up good but I start losing temp by mid-afternoon , but I don't want to do a full load and not be ready for a reload by bedtime or overheat the house.

Sure, I do that sometimes too. You just have to experiment and see what works. If you're around to reload whenever you want, you'll figure out a schedule that works with whatever kind of weather you're having, and how much heat you need.
I can't criss-cross wood in my box, it's too small.

 

[NickW]

Woody Stover, I think we were both typing at the same time.

No hissing or moisture, but tonight I'm going to take the biggest, gnarliest chunk that's inside and warm, split and check it. The 20-25% I was burning in the old smoke dragon did a little hissing and seepage, but I was smart enough to save the good stuff for the new stove. There used to be years I was burning fresh stuff in the smoke dragon that was at least 30% and that would sizzle and his forever.

The old spring thermo that gets stuck is an SBI stovepipe one. I bought a Meeco Red Devil at Menards today that says it's for single wall stovepipe or stove tops. Old one reads 550, new one reads 320. Stupid things. Good secondary burn firing. Gotta find something better. Not many stove shops local that stock anything for stovetops. I'll see if I can find that Condar online.

Still feel like I'm fighting air supply and draft. Ran it all night at 1/8 open and it was pretty good in the morning. Coals and some charcoal. I don't think we've ever had 5 days in a row this time of year with virtually no wind. We'll see what happens when winds return to normal. I think I'm also letting it cool down too much and lose my draft before firing it up again. Maybe my actual temp is somewhere between the 2 thermo's and I still need to get hotter to keep the secondary going. Not going to try it until I have a better thermometer though...

I feel like I sound like I'm really struggling, but the house is much warmer now - all the time!

Final thoughts for now:
1. Better thermometer
2. Verify moisture level
3. Refuel sooner
4. Leave more gap between the wood so it can breathe a little better

 

[Woody Stover]

I bought a Meeco Red Devil at Menards today that says it's for single wall stovepipe or stove tops. Old one reads 550, new one reads 320. Stupid things. Good secondary burn firing. Gotta find something better. Not many stove shops local that stock anything for stovetops. I'll see if I can find that Condar online.

Still feel like I'm fighting air supply and draft. Ran it all night at 1/8 open and it was pretty good in the morning. Coals and some charcoal. I don't think we've ever had 5 days in a row this time of year with virtually no wind. We'll see what happens when winds return to normal. I think I'm also letting it cool down too much and lose my draft before firing it up again. Maybe my actual temp is somewhere between the 2 thermo's and I still need to get hotter to keep the secondary going. Not going to try it until I have a better thermometer though...
3. Refuel sooner
4. Leave more gap between the wood so it can breathe a little better

That Meeco is fine. It's a Rutland type, so don't knock the needle against anything or it might come loose. They are accurate, though, from what I saw. If the needle comes loose, you might be able just slightly flatten the gripping portion, then put it back on when the meter is at room temp. Check the needle position now, at room temp, so you know where to put it back on if it comes loose.
You could get an IR thermometer gun, then you can check your meters for accuracy, check for cold air leaks around doors, and have your cats chase the laser aiming dot!
Sounds to me like you're doing fine..a warm house means you're on track.
Packing the wood looser will give you faster starts, but so will more coals to load on. With a tight-packed load you'll get longer burns and better ability to burn the stove with more control over max temp; The packed loads won't get as much wood gassing at the start.

 

[NickW]

Excellent points and advice on the loads Woody Stover, but there's no way that Meeco is accurate. I put it on the hot stovetop and it wouldn't hit 100! Not super hot with secondary's but hotter than I'd touch other than a quick tap. 250 at least probably, good glowing coals in a big bed. So I threw a couple of logs in and they almost exploded. Old thermometer didn't stick and hit 620, new Meeco only got to 320. Good strong secondary going, etc... I found that Condar online and am going to order it and return that Meeco P.O.S. to Menards unless I find an adjuster screw on it when it cools.

Checked the biggest chunk I had warm for moisture on a fresh split and the highest spot was 15%, lowest 10%. This was a 6"×7"×15" quarter log with a major side branch knot.

And yes, the kitty's would love the IR. They love the laser pointer we have. One gets too into it and might jump on the stove at 600 degrees when checking it!

Sitting in the rec room at 79 degrees right now looking at the wood rack. A full rack used to last 5-7 days. When I fired this one up Thursday I had maybe 3/4 of a rack and I'll be able to load it yet tonight and a small load in the morning, so I know it's using less wood. The biggest thing is the house temp gets higher and stays up all night so far, so the electric baseboards haven't kicked in once that I know of since the install.

I am working on getting the wood supply for the next couple of years ready. I have some that was 20-25% a month ago that if necessary should be okay if necessary come March or April. My goal is to be 2-3 years ahead. Our area has been hit hard by EAB, so good ash firewood is free if you know where to go and let people know you'll take them down.

 

[NickW]

So my Condar Inferno thermometer showed up already today. Ordered it yesterday and was given a Monday expected delivery... must be clean living........... Attaching photos. First is coming back down, then as hot as it got, then as it was coming up, then what it was at to start (warm with good coals). They attached in reverse order of how I took them, sorry if it's confusing.


This was a small fire. It isn't too cold and I have a lot of small stuff in the pile from branches, so I'm using it up and saving bigger stuff for overnight and when it gets colder. They all change at about the same rate, but very different temperatures.

Last night I tried something I saw in another thread seeing as I struggle on reloads sometimes and think I have my method figured out. Pulled the coals forward, laid 2 big chunks E/W, then filled it N/S (within 2" of the tubes.... a Mad Mark load). I didn't burn the coals down as far as I had been either. Holy hot for a long time! Rec room was still 74 this morning. The stove temp was down to 250 though and a lot of it had turned to charcoal that was out. I had completely shut the air down because it was getting as hot as I've ever had it (690 on the old SBI), the tubes were glowing, and I was ready for bed. So now I found a thread talking about glowing tubes being common and it appears that the SBI might read high, so I may get it going a little earlier and leave it open 1/8. It's still really calm here, so the breeze isn't helping the draft. I threw a few kindling size chunks and some splitting scraps on the charcoal and was good for hours.

 

[NickW]

Sorry, it appears those photos are in all wonky order... 4th is warm at start,6 & 7 & 8 are coming up, 3 & 5 are peak, 1 & 2 are coming down

 

[Woody Stover]

I don't see strong secondary in any of the pics, but maybe you just didn't have it at the moments you snapped the pics.
I would trust the Condar, unless you have access to an infrared thermometer gun and can verify. If the Condar proves accurate, you can hold the spindle on the Meeco and move the needle to where it needs to be.

 

[NickW]

Crappy camera on the phone. There's only a couple of logs in there. The bright yellow in the center is primary flames, the blurry orange above is secondary. When I do a full load, they start out yellow then turn more blue.

I'm only on day 8 with this stove and feel like I'm getting the hang of it. Not smoking the glass much anymore, just a little brown haze that wipes off, getting better fires going faster, not burning the wood up too fast (mostly). I'll say it again, THE HOUSE IS WARM....ALWAYS! No electric baseboards kicking in. I'm actually excited to see the next electric bill to see how much it helps even if it is just half of the billing period.