What does the Buck 91 manual mean by slowly

[woodnt]

Hello,

I'm a new insert owner and completely new to any type of wood stove. I read in the manual that it says once I've come to temperature, to slowly cut back on shotgun and primary air to ultimately 1/8" each from closed for a long burn.

Well, what does slowly mean? Get it to 1/8" out over 5 minutes, 30 mins, an hour?

Thanks for your kind assistance,
Nathan

 

[jatoxico]

Mostly cutting air is a matter of dialing back until the flames visibly slow a bit. After that allow the fire to recover before doing it again. Each stove, day and fire will be a little different depending on conditions.

From a cold start it may take longer than when reloading an already warm stove. You want the fire to be burning fairly briskly throughout since starving the fire for air too much leads to a dirty burn and creosote formation. After some time you'll get a feel for the right balance and what final setting works. A stove top thermometer is helpful along the way to see where your temps are.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Excellent question. A cold stove takes a lot longer than a warm one, anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Stove top temperatures will be your guide, I recommend a harbor freight infrared thermometer, cheap and accurate. Once the stove is hot, more like 15 to 30 minutes.

In the future, stove makers will figure out how to make this less manual. In 2017, I think only a few stoves regulate it automatically.

 

[Woody Stover]

First of all, is your wood dry? How long has it been split and stacked in the wind, preferably top-covered?

 

[woodnt]

Thanks for the input from all of you.

Woody stover, the wood dryness is variable. Some is over 3 yrs old I brought with me, covered. Some age unknown but uncovered (inherited it when I bought the place), but it is dry to super dry. It was uncovered until I read that wasn't good, so it was tarped. Now, it is staged under the porch and brought inside usually a day ahead of time.

 

[iron]

i'm no expert, but i believe the general rule of thumb i've seen is for every 15 minutes, you close it down by a 1/4 of the air control. therefore, at the end of an hour, you'd be fully closed (or 1/8" open per the manual).

 

[4fire]

Cut the air when the fire allows. I mean, do it when the fire has gained strength.

 

[begreen]

The speed of cutting down the air is variable. It's going to depend on how dry the wood is, wood split sizes, draft strength and whether it's a cold start or a reload on a hot coal bed. I just reloaded on a modest hot coal bed with super dry alder and locust. The air was down to about 1/8" in 5 minutes. On a cold start or on a warmer day with weaker draft that might be 10-15 minutes.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

The speed of cutting down the air is variable. It's going to depend on how dry the wood is, wood split sizes, draft strength and whether it's a cold start or a reload on a hot coal bed. I just reloaded on a modest hot coal bed with super dry alder and locust. The air was down to about 1/8" in 5 minutes. On a cold start or on a warmer day with weaker draft that might be 10-15 minutes.

Now, that's some good H2O! Heed bgreen's sage words.

 

[woodnt]

Ok, everyone. Thank you for your education and sharing your knowledge / experience

 

[begreen]

Use your eyes and thermometer as a guide.

 

[Woody Stover]

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Use your eyes and thermometer as a guide.

And may the Force be with you...

 

[kennyp2339]

10-15 min seems like a very good ball park # for everyone to flowing when learning your stove, yes lots a variables like wood dryness, draft, cold start, warm reload. Once you learn the stove it will come very easy / second nature.