My bis ultima will heat up to 600-700 degrees stove top temp.,without any problems,but getting a steady secodary burn is next to impossible.I have turned the air supply all the way down to all the way up and I'm not having much luck.I haven't gone for any real long burn times,but what am I doing wrong?If I cut the air supply down low it will build up a hot stove top and flue temp will come down-sometimes there may be a 150 degree difference.
trouble getting secondary burn
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Check outside and see if your chimney has any visible smoke coming from it. Sometimes I see this with certain woods or loads. The secondaries last for a real short time(no wood gas?) and then the wood just turns to red hot coal. When this happens there is no smoke emitting from the chimney so I know I'm still burning cleanly.
according to my fine chinese hf meter the wood reads anywhere from 10-25%.I have a variety of hardwood and softwood.The weather hasn't been too cold here,but this is my first epa fireplace and would like to be ready to roll next year.I have enough wood now,that is seasoning for next year.Some of the oak will be 2-3 years old and split,I have some kinda wood-the guy said it was rock maple,I can't split it with a maul.
You may be turning the air supply down too quickly. How fast do you go from 100% to minimum? Many recommend that you should let the stove get up to full temp (certainly 600-700 degrees is full temp for any stove) then turn the air down in 25% steps every five minutes until after 20 minutes it's at minimum. For some installations and situations (short chimney, warmer weather) your draft may not be strong enough to ever get to minimum air.
I've found that when I crank the air down too fast, I do get the secondary combustion for about 5 minutes or so, then the temperature drops and I get into a smolder mode. If that is the case, open it up again, get a good flame going, then turn it down as I described above.
It's also possible that your wood is just a little too wet and/or unseasoned to support sustained secondary combustion yet.
I've found that when I crank the air down too fast, I do get the secondary combustion for about 5 minutes or so, then the temperature drops and I get into a smolder mode. If that is the case, open it up again, get a good flame going, then turn it down as I described above.
It's also possible that your wood is just a little too wet and/or unseasoned to support sustained secondary combustion yet.
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