Anyone here modify their air-control?

[DrivenByDemons]

So I did a lot of thinking and I'm going to put in a MAGIC HEAT device to solve my problems. Ok that was a bad joke...

I'm pulling the trigger on this mod first thing in the morning. I'll be sure to update with any info.

 

[begreen]

Here is an old thread with some good info on this.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/15338/

I remember reading that thread last year. Corie was dead-set against what I'm trying to do but most of the people in that thread (including you) understood what John was trying to say in his FBS artice. This is my second season burning this stove and I know there is potential for it to be better. I tried the pipe damper already and am not happy with the results. I checked for leaks multiple times. I'm thinking this is the next step. Just looking for someone who has already done it and any tips/hints.

BTW: I checked the ash dump door on this stove over and over with a lit match looking for drafts and found none, but the design seems to be really poor. Has anyone else noticed how sloppy the seal is on that little door? I'm guesssing the 3 inches of ash in the dump chamber kind of seal it up but it seems like a weak point to me. Still, it doesn't leak so I guess it works.

Can you add your stove to your signature so that folks know what stove you are referring to? Thx.

I've been experimenting with the T6 primary air intake. As far as I can see, the control only operates on the primary. The secondary appears to be an open narrow slot behind the ash pan. I've been using a formed wad of aluminum foil shaped so that I can close the air control against it and effectively block maybe 95% of the primary air. With a hot fire, I can block the air control off completely and still get a robust secondary burn while the wood is outgassing. So far, the results are better with softwood as far as burn time goes, but at times, I'm also getting a bit more coals left over.

 

[Jimbob]

I'm going to get that stopper out of the way on my PE Spectrum and was wondering how many others have already done it?

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/29676/

See my post about buying a shutter ass'y from Pacific Energy (part # is in your owner manual) and modifying that. You can always put the original one back in if you don't like the results.

I saw your post earlier this morning. I was searching/reading about this subject all day today. It's a good idea since you can put the stove back to stock very easily. Did you actually do this mod. If so, did it help in any way?

No, I am close to needing it, but not quite. I recommended it to 10-CC because he was having trouble with hot fires & short burns.
I guess I don't need to do it because I have a basement installation vented into an exterior chimney.

 

[DrivenByDemons]

Well, I did it and it was so much easier than I thought it would be. The stopper was just spot welded in there. Grabbed a 10" adjustable wrench and clamped it on and gave it a push towards the back of the stove (be careful if you try, if the wrench slips your gonna get tore up on that ashpan door). It took some effort but it bent right out of the way. I didn't really have to go very far either...

I measured the span across the primary air opening and went from stock closed @ 3/8" to modded closed @ 3/16". I didn't want to let it close all the way cause the wife won't leave the house unless it OFF! I don't want her smothering anything while I'm gone. I'm halfway into a second load today and it seems like it made a difference. You can really see the secondary jets slow down when I close it past it's original stop. Just a nice slower burn. It also seems like the actual stove is a LOT hotter but I could be dreaming. I didn't have my IR thermo for a stovetop temp but stack temps were between 600-700.

I'm glad I did it cause it would be so easy to put it back to stock or even adjust it more if need be. Honestly, the 3/16" was probably a little too much cause the fire seems to want to choke out if I close all the way. I give it the slightest bump back open and it's perfect. I would say 1/4" for me is money. A little adjustment goes a long way...

I'll post more info as the days go on.

 

[Hogwildz]

I know this may seem obvious, but got to ask.
You guys stating that your stoves are burning too hot. Have you tried loading with larger splits?
Have you been using a bunch of smalls or mediums? Just figured I'd ask.

 

[DrivenByDemons]

Oh yea, I'm way beyond all that. I can put 8" logs in there and get it to almost do the same thing. It's not so much that the stove gets too hot, it's more like losing too much heat up the stack. I'd like to capture some of that heat... I feel like the air is rushing through my stove too fast because of the excess draft of my chimney. Now, I'm no "old pro" like some on here so maybe I'm completely wrong in what I'm doing but I think I can tell a difference already.

Before, when I would be in a good secondary burn, the air/flame jets from the baffle holes would shoot way down into the load of wood and really get things going like crazy. Now they only go down about 3-4 inches or so before they start to get sucked upward. It's hard to explain but if you could see it you'd know what I mean.

 

[Todd]

Glad that worked out for you. Those temps sound more in line to me. I know my stove is a different animal, but when I fiddle around with the air just the slightest adjustment can make a big difference sometimes. It sounds like you just needed a little more air control and got it.

 

[begreen]

I know this may seem obvious, but got to ask.
You guys stating that your stoves are burning too hot. Have you tried loading with larger splits?
Have you been using a bunch of smalls or mediums? Just figured I'd ask.

Good question. But no, I am burning through some big splits of softwood quickly. (Big split being 8-9")

Today, with a loosely packed load of soft maple, and with the aluminum foil dam in place in the primary air hole, I got a pretty nice 8 hr burn with a big pile of hot coals left over. At about hour 6, I pulled a mound of coals forward. Stove top temp had dropped to 300. With the air control effectively off, I stuck an aluminum foil wedge in the EBT hole to keep the flapper open and let it burn. It worked pretty well. The temp rose to about 350 in 15 minutes. By hour 8 the front of the coal pile was ashes. Stove top temp was back around 300. I still had a very generous pile of coals in the back, which I put some fresh splits on once they were leveled out.

I'm going to keep experimenting for now. Until I know a lot more, I'm very hesitant to modify a new stove unless I have conclusive proof that it will dramatically benefit burn times. But so far it does appear that with softwoods, the stove may be giving too much air to the fire once it's hot. If so, judiciously reducing the primary air does contribute to longer burn times. More to come I'm sure.

 

[North of 60]

Well, I did it and it was so much easier than I thought it would be. The stopper was just spot welded in there. Grabbed a 10" adjustable wrench and clamped it on and gave it a push towards the back of the stove (be careful if you try, if the wrench slips your gonna get tore up on that ashpan door). It took some effort but it bent right out of the way. I didn't really have to go very far either...

I measured the span across the primary air opening and went from stock closed @ 3/8" to modded closed @ 3/16". I didn't want to let it close all the way cause the wife won't leave the house unless it OFF! I don't want her smothering anything while I'm gone. I'm halfway into a second load today and it seems like it made a difference. You can really see the secondary jets slow down when I close it past it's original stop. Just a nice slower burn. It also seems like the actual stove is a LOT hotter but I could be dreaming. I didn't have my IR thermo for a stovetop temp but stack temps were between 600-700.

I'm glad I did it cause it would be so easy to put it back to stock or even adjust it more if need be. Honestly, the 3/16" was probably a little too much cause the fire seems to want to choke out if I close all the way. I give it the slightest bump back open and it's perfect. I would say 1/4" for me is money. A little adjustment goes a long way...

I'll post more info as the days go on.

Driven I had been doing the same driving you are doing now. (Say that fast three times) :lol: That tall stack in colds weather sure can cause alot of extra draft that causes that outa control feeling. So I understand what your doing, believe me. Just keep an eye on that chimney closely for awhile for build up. I had a couple of slower overnighters with flame still present/ lazy secondaries only to find that my chimney had gone through puberty over night. By reading your posts, I can tell that you are really into it and have common sense. So good luck. N of 60
P.S.: This was with my previous stove.

 

[DBoon]

Looking for some advice on this topic in regards to a Lopi Answer (1.6 cu ft firebox)...

We've had a a lot of nights this year where the temperature overnight was well below -10 degrees F. These are the times I've saved my nicely dried oak, hickory, and hard maple for, but with the really cold weather, the nicely dried dense wood and the primary air at minimum, I still get a very fast burn. The secondaries are lit, for sure, but they are screaming full on for about an hour and the the stove top gets up to about 750 degrees. I turn the blower up pretty high to keep the temperature of the stove top down.

What I would really like is to slow this burn down some - even it out and make it last a few hours longer.

Woodstove installation is not out of the ordinary - the Answer exhausts out the top into a flexible chimney pipe straight up an outside and uninsulated chimney (the stove sits inside the fireplace alcove). Total vertical draw is about 15 feet - not extraordinarily long or short, by any means. Perhaps the lack of any elbows really encourages the draw when it is really cold outside.

Would modifying the primary air intake help in this regard? I'm technical by training, so I'm comfortable tweaking the stove and iterating to a solution, and conscious enough of the negative ramifications to avoid taking it too far in the wrong direction.

 

[Todd]

I would try a pipe damper first.

 

[DrivenByDemons]

Well, I've been meaning to post some updates on how this has worked out but we haven't been burning the last few days. Got sick and had a few gatherings over the weekend so I wasn't around to mess with the stove. I have noticed that I have many more unburnt coals in the mornings when I close it down all the way. For that reason i have put the stopper back about halfway between factory and my previous mod. I'm looking at about a 1/4" opening when it's fully shut down. I can say that small adjustments go a long way... I think "N of 60" is right about deposits forming if you get this to close too much. I can just tell by the way the box smells and the large unburnt coals in the morning that things aren't very "clean" at the end of the burn. I'll keep this updated as thing unfold... Hopefully we'll get a warm spell and I won't have to worry about it till next October.