too hot?
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What stove do you have there?
Normally, on a steel stove 700 is not to hot but getting there.
If you don't want to burn that hot try shuting the draft control down sooner or use less wood.
However, I have a feeling that since you posted the temps have went up some more and your to busy watching the stove to read this
Normally, on a steel stove 700 is not to hot but getting there.
If you don't want to burn that hot try shuting the draft control down sooner or use less wood.
However, I have a feeling that since you posted the temps have went up some more and your to busy watching the stove to read this
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CAL
New Member
New to wood burning and to the forum but I have a osburn2400 insert and the same stove thermometer as you Woodbee burner and mine reads 100 higher then my non contact thermometer. I try and keep it at 650 on the stove thermometer but sometimes my middle secondary tube glows a dull red. Is this considered too hot?
Dairyman
Minister of Fire
I have not tested my thermometer. That is probably a good idea.
700 was sort of the peak. I leave it open until it gets up around 400 and then pull back to 1/3 till 600 then all the way off. I did stuff it full of odd pieces because I an trying to save the good stuff for the cold. Maybe too much air between the pieces?
My main question is when you are running at 700 with the air as low as possible it seems too hot. I think I will try turning it down sooner as suggested, but when?
After a reload how do you handel the air? I usually leave the door ajar until it is flaming ok then let it go to about 300 full open with the door closed. Then i progressively turn it down to around 30 - 20% primary air (my only control).
The directions say I can run 350 to 750 efficiently but the installer told me not to turn it down for my chimney's sake. It seems that maybe the installer gave bad advice or assumed that I will have bad fuel or something because I seem to need to turn it to 0 (lowest air setting) if I load it up, but I do let it get hot before turning down.
Ps it is a Timber wolf insert. They are the parent company of Napoleon. The model number is in my signature, but it is a basic no frills stove. Thanks for your help. This forum has taught me a lot.
700 was sort of the peak. I leave it open until it gets up around 400 and then pull back to 1/3 till 600 then all the way off. I did stuff it full of odd pieces because I an trying to save the good stuff for the cold. Maybe too much air between the pieces?
My main question is when you are running at 700 with the air as low as possible it seems too hot. I think I will try turning it down sooner as suggested, but when?
After a reload how do you handel the air? I usually leave the door ajar until it is flaming ok then let it go to about 300 full open with the door closed. Then i progressively turn it down to around 30 - 20% primary air (my only control).
The directions say I can run 350 to 750 efficiently but the installer told me not to turn it down for my chimney's sake. It seems that maybe the installer gave bad advice or assumed that I will have bad fuel or something because I seem to need to turn it to 0 (lowest air setting) if I load it up, but I do let it get hot before turning down.
Ps it is a Timber wolf insert. They are the parent company of Napoleon. The model number is in my signature, but it is a basic no frills stove. Thanks for your help. This forum has taught me a lot.
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It's hot but not dangerously so. Try closing the air sooner, around 400F. On a reload be sure to burn down the coal bed enough to avoid a large flare up. Take it down to about an inch or so.
Sconnie Burner
Feeling the Heat
Sorry to hijack but I'm having the same issue with my Quad 3100 step top. Last night filled with larget oak splits and minimal air gap, I completely closed it down (as far as an epa stove will anyway) at 400 and still saw 750 on my thermo without the blower running.
Not real concerned about the temp for the stove but what's going to happen when the draft increases? Or will that suck more warm air up the chimney and keep it cooler?
Not real concerned about the temp for the stove but what's going to happen when the draft increases? Or will that suck more warm air up the chimney and keep it cooler?
It seems like you have a good handle on what caused it to get a little hotter than you would like. Those odd shaped pieces were probably a lot of surface area to off gas at once, as you suggested.
700f isn't to hot but I do realize it is knocking on the door and when you get there by accident with nowhere left to go with the air control it can be pretty scary.
Some people will open the air control or even the door (I would try air control first but even then, not until the stove is at 800f. Use your own judgment) to cool the stove. either should cool the stove by sending cool air in quickly and heat up the stack. The latter would do a better job of shutting down roaring secondaries I suppose but I've honestly not been in a situation where I felt I needed to do either.
As far as reloads, I personaly never left the door open when I reload on a hot coal bed with dry wood but all stoves are a little different so feel like I I couldn't tell you specificly what to do on reload.
What you are doing though sounds reasonable. You just need to spend more time with the stove in different situations.
Also, as mentioned above, those thermos can be off quite a bit. Still a fine reference for routine but not a good judge of what is actually happening. An IR gun can be picked up at the big box stores and are great for many things besides wood burning.
700f isn't to hot but I do realize it is knocking on the door and when you get there by accident with nowhere left to go with the air control it can be pretty scary.
Some people will open the air control or even the door (I would try air control first but even then, not until the stove is at 800f. Use your own judgment) to cool the stove. either should cool the stove by sending cool air in quickly and heat up the stack. The latter would do a better job of shutting down roaring secondaries I suppose but I've honestly not been in a situation where I felt I needed to do either.
As far as reloads, I personaly never left the door open when I reload on a hot coal bed with dry wood but all stoves are a little different so feel like I I couldn't tell you specificly what to do on reload.
What you are doing though sounds reasonable. You just need to spend more time with the stove in different situations.
Also, as mentioned above, those thermos can be off quite a bit. Still a fine reference for routine but not a good judge of what is actually happening. An IR gun can be picked up at the big box stores and are great for many things besides wood burning.
with my setup when i see that temps are getting hot or i see the fire raging i us my pipe damper.
But the IR gun would help you determine the hottest parts of your stove and pipes.
But the IR gun would help you determine the hottest parts of your stove and pipes.
BradleyW
Burning Hunk
I burned wood for the first time in my life last year with a Quad 3100 step top. I got a great feel for the stove and just knew instinctively how to deal with the air controls. I loved the primary and secondary controls on the stove. We replaced the Quad with a Jotul F55 and now I feel like I am learning from scratch all over again.
My rule of thumb is that I don't want the fire to change considerably when I decrease the amount of air available to the fire. With the Quad I after re-load I would wait about 20 minutes and then I'd be able to close the primary air control all the way and the fire would stay about the same. After another 20 minutes I'd close the secondary air about half way and that's where it stayed throughout the burn. The other side of that is that I don't want to miss those times either or I'd risk overfiring.
My rule of thumb is that I don't want the fire to change considerably when I decrease the amount of air available to the fire. With the Quad I after re-load I would wait about 20 minutes and then I'd be able to close the primary air control all the way and the fire would stay about the same. After another 20 minutes I'd close the secondary air about half way and that's where it stayed throughout the burn. The other side of that is that I don't want to miss those times either or I'd risk overfiring.
650-750* is harmless to a steel stove. 850-950* is hitting the max limit. 1000-1100* and a dull red glow can be seen, and warping could happen. Seeing 650-700* with your air intake shut down, means your burning perfect wood, and most of your heat is staying in the firebox. My 14-15% MC wood burns in the 550-600* range for 2.5-3 hours, then slowly tapers down.
Thanks for the replies.
Along the same line, can I open my air all the way if the stove seems to not be burning hot enough? Would it over heat the chimney for instance?
I am wondering if the warning, in the manual, about not leaving it open for an extended period is just a warning about the stove temperature or if it has to do with something else.
What do you guys think?
Along the same line, can I open my air all the way if the stove seems to not be burning hot enough? Would it over heat the chimney for instance?
I am wondering if the warning, in the manual, about not leaving it open for an extended period is just a warning about the stove temperature or if it has to do with something else.
What do you guys think?
At what stage of the fire? This sounds more like a damp wood problem then normal operation. Normally the only time the air is wide open is startup.
At the end of the fire when it starts to sputtering out (I should have said). Basically trying to extend the hotter burning stage.
Lol there seem to be so many nuances to such a simple thing. My wife says I over complicate everything.
Lol there seem to be so many nuances to such a simple thing. My wife says I over complicate everything.
Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
My VC would definitely sit around 650 for hours. It would reach 700 or so for a short period (this is all with the draft completely closed and secondary burn engaged). So I know how you feel! Just FYI, after 3 burning seasons, my stove's cast iron cracked in 3 places. What's worse to me is being in a mild climate with a small house and not being able to operate a wood stove at lower temps (400 or so) for long periods of time. That's why I'm switching to Blaze King and hopefully never looking back. We will see...
I sometimes will open up the air in the late coal stage to burn down the coals if they are excessive. This is hours after the flames have died down.
Begreen I have a secondary burn stove. When it burns down to coals is it best to open up the air or should I leave the air closed? I should open the air some to burn down the coals correct? The more the air is open the hotter the stove gets but the faster the wood burns. Am I on the right track? It's a osburn 2400. Thanks
Opening the air has different effects at different stages of the burn. When burning 24/7 I usually try to open the air about 30 minutes before reloading. If the coal bed is deep I will put a couple 1-2" kindling sticks on top of the coal bed to help burn it down.
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