Can anyone give me a visual descripstion on what my logs/fire should look like before I turn down the air supply to get a more extended burn? Or other helpful hints on the matter. I want to make sure I am not turning the air down too soon. Thanks!
When to turn down air supply on insert
- Thread starter Marcus
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What kind of insert do you have? The owners manual would be an excellent place to get model specific info. If you don't have one post what kind of stove you have and maybe someone here has a pdf copy they could send you.
I have a regency i3100. The manual gives little information. They just say after 15-20 minutes when the wood is burning strongly you can lower the intake to a moderate burn and when there is a good bed of coals you can adjust the draft to a low setting.
2" bed of coals is usually good. When you look at the wood it should be well past the evaporation stage and totally on fire. I think a stove top thermometer would be a good thing, sometimes managing temperature is a little more scientific.
I do have a magnetic thermometer stuck on the insert surface, but the manual does not give any information about burning temperatures.
I found it best to go outside and look at the exhaust out of the chimney and when there was no smoke, I'd go in and look at the flames. After a while you get a pretty good idea what the fire should look like. I'm sure my neighbors thought I was crazy to go out and look at the chimney so often, but I hope they appreciate less smoke in the neighborhood and I appreciate the efficiency.
You can probably keep track of the temperature reading when the smoke is no longer visible and within a short while, you won't have to go outside to look.
You can probably keep track of the temperature reading when the smoke is no longer visible and within a short while, you won't have to go outside to look.
Huh..I thought I was the only one that did the out and up stair at the stack at the beginning of burning in the current stove. Not EPA approved (new one will be installed this summer)...but I do know that billows of smoke it Bad(tm) no matter how old the stove is.
As for temps...no manual for my old Bat Cave either..but the sweep noted from records that no more than 600. I generally burn it to ~550 as of recent. Took alot of checking and rechecking as well as weeding out the 'burn this year' from the 'still needs some more warm sun and breeze' pile. Someone (I think Elk) said that burning is an ever being perfected science. Even after years of burning, many are still tweaking to get the most bang for the buck.
As for temps...no manual for my old Bat Cave either..but the sweep noted from records that no more than 600. I generally burn it to ~550 as of recent. Took alot of checking and rechecking as well as weeding out the 'burn this year' from the 'still needs some more warm sun and breeze' pile. Someone (I think Elk) said that burning is an ever being perfected science. Even after years of burning, many are still tweaking to get the most bang for the buck.
Thanks for the tips. I'm going to watch the chimney and go from that. Burning at 450 degrees there was no smoke visible at all.
I think if you've got a firebox temp above 400, and none of the wood appears to be steaming, you should be OK, esppecially if you have some decent coals. If it's a catalytic you'd want to go higher.
Steve
Steve
So has anyone set up a live video "chimney cam" so they can see what's coming from the chimney from the comfort of their lazy boy? I have a wireless thermometer system and it lets me see what the room temperature in the room with the insert is from my office in the house. I wish there was a wireless stove thermometer.
Marcus said:
Can you expose that thermometer as a web service? Maybe Craig would put a link at the top of the page to check Marcus's room temp. We talked about the stove cam already, but seems like the combo of the stove cam and the chimney cam would be key. Just think, pre-scheduled stove loading. Uh oh.....Mind is going down hill as to the possibilities
And then we can have a robotic arm pick up the log and put it in the fireplace, and the wbe camera towatch that, and the teleoperation controls for it, and eventually, the electricity bill will outweigh any oil bill I could have gotten!
LOL
joshua
LOL
joshua
Marcus said:
I have been circling around the chimney for a while looking for the right place for the cam. Been wishing for the wireless stove thermometer for years.
Our video baby monitor might work to let me see the fire from the bedroom at night so I don't have to get up to check it.
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