Temps vs Box size

[branchburner]

Can't you always add a few fire bricks to a larger stove in shoulder seasons to reduce "firebox size" and still have the room to pack it up in the cold snaps? (I seem to remember this somewhere on here being mentioned a few times just couldn't find the posts I wanted to reference)

Please correct me if I am wrong about this!!

Yes, I'm one of the guys that did that and posted about it. The smaller firebox (by adding brick) allowed me to build a smaller fire and get a quicker-starting and longer-lasting secondary burn without cooking myself out of the house.

Are you saying that you added more firebrick to reduce the overall size / better insulate your firebox??

Interesting........

What I noticed is that it completely changed the dynamics of the stove, and not all for the better (even though it seemed to acheive the desired effect). My biggest problem was that I could only burn shorter splits, because I had to put the bricks on the sides instead of the bottom.

Like Pen says, a really deep bed of ashes goes towards the same effect.

 

[branchburner]

@ branch, i am trying to go through your old posts now to see where you referenced it, I wanted to ask when you did it if you recommend (or have any opinion) on the "type" of firebrick to add for this, a more pumice one or a heavier one? or if you did any compares/have any opnions/insights to what to try

I used regular heavy brick. That is going to add more thermal mass to your stove. The lighter brick would be better if you wanted to intensify the fire and make is super hot, as in a kiln. I imagine the best type of brick and configuration depends on the individual stove and what you are trying to accomplish. My stove, being a downdraft, has a different burn technology that might benefit from the lighter brick. There must be tradeoffs in how much heat is radiated and how hot and efficient the burn is, and all sorts of other variables that I could only guess at.

 

[Huntindog1]

I read somewhere on here that one person took his fire brick out and put 1/4" ceramic insulation behind his fire brick.

He said he got better secondaries.

Might be over kill but if your asking about the bricks insulating you could sandwich in some of the Ceramic insulation to boot.

(broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kaowool-Ceramic-Fiber-Blank-2300-1-4-x24-x20-8-dens-/140532801733?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b86860c5#ht_500wt_1156)

 

[Dune]

Can't you always add a few fire bricks to a larger stove in shoulder seasons to reduce "firebox size" and still have the room to pack it up in the cold snaps? (I seem to remember this somewhere on here being mentioned a few times just couldn't find the posts I wanted to reference)

Please correct me if I am wrong about this!!

Yes, I'm one of the guys that did that and posted about it. The smaller firebox (by adding brick) allowed me to build a smaller fire and get a quicker-starting and longer-lasting secondary burn without cooking myself out of the house.

Are you saying that you added more firebrick to reduce the overall size / better insulate your firebox??

Interesting........

What I noticed is that it completely changed the dynamics of the stove, and not all for the better (even though it seemed to acheive the desired effect). My biggest problem was that I could only burn shorter splits, because I had to put the bricks on the sides instead of the bottom.

Like Pen says, a really deep bed of ashes goes towards the same effect.

That's why my stove is "variable volume". Right now there is 8" of ash. If it were really January and not April right now, there would only be an inch or two of ash.