OK, so I just loaded up 2 hrs. ago with some Red Oak and Black Locust. After burning it in for maybe 10-15 minutes I closed the bypass, and stove temp above the cat began its slow climb. Looking at the plume, I see only steam, which is disappearing about 10-15 feet from the stack.
Forward to about half an hour ago; Cat is glowing, stove top above the cat is at 570. The air is set at about 1, on a scale of 4, and I'm starting to get some flame in the box and the cat isn't glowing since the flame is eating most of the smoke.
I go outside, it's dark so I use a flashlight and see smoke carrying pretty far from the stack....it smells more like creosote than straight wood smoke. Just a few minutes ago, I cut the air to about .25 to extinguish the flame and try to get the cat glowing again, and see what happens then.
I'm also getting a little smoke smell near the stove...I had the top flue-exit plate off the other day, blowing out the cat and messing with a longer cat probe. I think I need a new gasket on that top plate now, no biggie. When I had that top flue plate off, I didn't see any gooey creo, just powdery stuff. This smoke near the stove smells mostly like wood smoke, but faintly like creo.
Since the exhaust smell like creo, I'm thinking that hot cat and stove temps are burning off some creo, either in the box or in the stack. I don't recall seeing much wet creo in the box...maybe I need to look closer.
OK, now the flame is out, cat is glowing faintly again and I have about 470 stove temp over the cat. I go outside with the flashlight, and the plume looks more like steam, not carrying as far, but it's hard to tell at night. I go up on the roof to check out the exhaust close up. It's mostly steam but has some creo smell, which is to be expected, I guess.
Is the creo smell from the stack when the stove was hot, just creo burning off in the box? Or with more heat going up the flue from the hot cat and stove, and the air a bit open, is this coming off the liner? Doesn't seem likely to be producing that much smoke. If it's burning off in the box, since the creo smoke was making it past the combustor, is the combustor not real effective at burning creo smoke? What do you think is going on here?
Now about 2:45 in, air at .25, stove 470 so I believe the cat is burning, though not glowing. Nothing visible from the stack. Opened the air up a little, to about .5.
Forward to about half an hour ago; Cat is glowing, stove top above the cat is at 570. The air is set at about 1, on a scale of 4, and I'm starting to get some flame in the box and the cat isn't glowing since the flame is eating most of the smoke.
I go outside, it's dark so I use a flashlight and see smoke carrying pretty far from the stack....it smells more like creosote than straight wood smoke. Just a few minutes ago, I cut the air to about .25 to extinguish the flame and try to get the cat glowing again, and see what happens then.
I'm also getting a little smoke smell near the stove...I had the top flue-exit plate off the other day, blowing out the cat and messing with a longer cat probe. I think I need a new gasket on that top plate now, no biggie. When I had that top flue plate off, I didn't see any gooey creo, just powdery stuff. This smoke near the stove smells mostly like wood smoke, but faintly like creo.
Since the exhaust smell like creo, I'm thinking that hot cat and stove temps are burning off some creo, either in the box or in the stack. I don't recall seeing much wet creo in the box...maybe I need to look closer.
OK, now the flame is out, cat is glowing faintly again and I have about 470 stove temp over the cat. I go outside with the flashlight, and the plume looks more like steam, not carrying as far, but it's hard to tell at night. I go up on the roof to check out the exhaust close up. It's mostly steam but has some creo smell, which is to be expected, I guess.
Is the creo smell from the stack when the stove was hot, just creo burning off in the box? Or with more heat going up the flue from the hot cat and stove, and the air a bit open, is this coming off the liner? Doesn't seem likely to be producing that much smoke. If it's burning off in the box, since the creo smoke was making it past the combustor, is the combustor not real effective at burning creo smoke? What do you think is going on here?
Now about 2:45 in, air at .25, stove 470 so I believe the cat is burning, though not glowing. Nothing visible from the stack. Opened the air up a little, to about .5.
