Would a stove screen be a good idea (for the coals)?

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Propane_Poor

Member
Oct 20, 2018
85
Ohio
I was wondering if a stove screen for our Jotul F400 Castine would be a good idea to let out more of the heat and have the coals burn down more quickly? I believe they offer one as an accessory that can be ordered.

Is Carbon Monoxide poisoning a concern from bare coals, or only earlier in the combustion process?

I've waffled a bit but we're going to make the best of the Castine. Anything larger may take up the small room the stove is in, so we may upgrade if/when we add on to the house. I think we can make it work but due to the firebox size it runs out of room fast from the coals from a couple of burns. If a door screen was an option for the coaling phase I wondered how much that would help?
 
I was wondering if a stove screen for our Jotul F400 Castine would be a good idea to let out more of the heat and have the coals burn down more quickly? I believe they offer one as an accessory that can be ordered.

Is Carbon Monoxide poisoning a concern from bare coals, or only earlier in the combustion process?

I've waffled a bit but we're going to make the best of the Castine. Anything larger may take up the small room the stove is in, so we may upgrade if/when we add on to the house. I think we can make it work but due to the firebox size it runs out of room fast from the coals from a couple of burns. If a door screen was an option for the coaling phase I wondered how much that would help?
CO is a big concern from the coals more so than an active burn. You will also lose more heat up the chimney with the door open so you won't be gaining anything.
 
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All the heat will go up the flue with the door open.
I find that if I'm down to coals and open the air back up a little bit, I can hold 300 on the stove top. That's usually enough to hold room temp if it's not too nasty out. After a couple hours the coals have burned down to where I have more room to reload (1.4 cu.ft. firebox.)
 
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Thank you. A few google searches didn't turn up that info on CO so I'm glad you folks are here!

I didn't think of the heat up the flue. So the extra heat felt when opening the door will instead be radiated out through the stove with the door closed?

I've also read that some people burn pine or other soft-wood on top of a bed of coals to take it down some? I don't have any pine but it may be worth looking into if that's an option.
 
Thank you. A few google searches didn't turn up that info on CO so I'm glad you folks are here!

I didn't think of the heat up the flue. So the extra heat felt when opening the door will instead be radiated out through the stove with the door closed?

I've also read that some people burn pine or other soft-wood on top of a bed of coals to take it down some? I don't have any pine but it may be worth looking into if that's an option.
Yes you will feel more radiant heat when right infront of the stove with the door open. But you will be sucking lots of air out the chimney and cooling the rest of the house as you do it.
 
I've also read that some people burn pine or other soft-wood on top of a bed of coals to take it down some? I don't have any pine but it may be worth looking into if that's an option.
Yes, that way the secondary will kick in to produce more heat as you burn the coals down.
 
Thank you. A few google searches didn't turn up that info on CO so I'm glad you folks are here!

I didn't think of the heat up the flue. So the extra heat felt when opening the door will instead be radiated out through the stove with the door closed?

I've also read that some people burn pine or other soft-wood on top of a bed of coals to take it down some? I don't have any pine but it may be worth looking into if that's an option.

Screens are for folks who think buying one would be a nice way to make their woodstove act and look like a fireplace . . . which is partly true as it will heat more like an inefficient fire place vs. an efficient woodstove.

You can burn down the coals by either just opening up the air for a bit and letting it burn without adding wood . . . or toss on a single split and open up the air. Softwood works especially well as it tends to not coal up as well . . . but about any species of wood would work.