Getting a couple just as soon as possible, next week probably.
Ran into the 'Oh no', situation last night.
All pine.
Had a couple charred logs that just weren't taking, had been three, one burned. My wood has some dry, and I'm learning not so dry, in it. So loaded it with two decent sized logs (I think they were dry as the coals under them got them going fast. Shut her down started getting hot. Not glowing anywhere, secondary tubes weren't glowing...but after 400-500 degrees a hand held at distance isn't any good.
So I got some foil (per the site), and shut her down.
So my question is: My best option till then, as I like to see the secondary going.
Currently my idea is to:
1) Keep the pieces smaller (less mass, less BTU runaway potential {and learning pine goes up fast in these}
2) make sure I always have the coal bed down
3) if secondary not taking and need to make tunnel only put one tiny piece on top, not two medium.
4) Really keep an eye on the wood as I stack/load it, as no moisture meter yet. Some seems a year dry, with greying and such...Other small rounds still had green pine needles here and there.
5) Try to get all fires started with coals in front of box not spread to back.
Learning curve.
Probably got it hotter, or as hot, curing the paint, but I hadn't re-found this site yet. So per user manual, it wasn't glowing, it wasn't too hot...Had I let it keep going, may have turned out to be my hottest fire yet.
Going well though, house is warmer than last winter and I don't feel like I'm going through a lot of wood. Pellet stove would burn 2.5 - 3 tons a year and keep the house at 68, fixed some leaks, put in the rectangle, and it's only under 68 when I wake up (could be warmer, but I'm easing into the overnight fire, generally let it burn down a lot before bed).
Which made me think after I read the new EPA guidelines thread.
Yeah, Politics. They could do a lot more to spread the use of current tech and proper use, industry standards among fuel labeling, ect...
Looks like some emergency shutoff pieces are going to have to be constructed. And that air control needs a little fixing...But for being put in a rental, and as renter, finding the cheapest EPA I could at the time (because I was paying half), I think I still come out even monetarily as I'm saving money on BTUs...
When I buy a place it's either getting a nice one (thermostatically controlled) sounds nice, or a masonry heater. But given the situation, I'm just glad I bought a chimney brush...
Any other ideas to help are appreciated, but I learned my lesson about adding to a large coal bed...Funny how the instructions didn't go beyond "make sure your coal bed is down to 1-2 inches" or "if glowing red, then shutdown air"....
And people with pre-EPA, around here at least, smoulder their fires all the time. Could an EPA stove smouldering (secondary not going) ever be dirtier than a pre-EPA?
Maybe other user manuals are better, but they should all have a link to this site...Left to the manual alone, I'd be overfiring constantly, trying to get that secondary going, telling myself "I bought seasoned wood'
Also, if I haven't (I don't think, by looking a the color difference in the corners) cured all the paint on the stove, have I overfired it? Or not necessarily related.
Thanks.
Ran into the 'Oh no', situation last night.
All pine.
Had a couple charred logs that just weren't taking, had been three, one burned. My wood has some dry, and I'm learning not so dry, in it. So loaded it with two decent sized logs (I think they were dry as the coals under them got them going fast. Shut her down started getting hot. Not glowing anywhere, secondary tubes weren't glowing...but after 400-500 degrees a hand held at distance isn't any good.
So I got some foil (per the site), and shut her down.
So my question is: My best option till then, as I like to see the secondary going.
Currently my idea is to:
1) Keep the pieces smaller (less mass, less BTU runaway potential {and learning pine goes up fast in these}
2) make sure I always have the coal bed down
3) if secondary not taking and need to make tunnel only put one tiny piece on top, not two medium.
4) Really keep an eye on the wood as I stack/load it, as no moisture meter yet. Some seems a year dry, with greying and such...Other small rounds still had green pine needles here and there.
5) Try to get all fires started with coals in front of box not spread to back.
Learning curve.
Probably got it hotter, or as hot, curing the paint, but I hadn't re-found this site yet. So per user manual, it wasn't glowing, it wasn't too hot...Had I let it keep going, may have turned out to be my hottest fire yet.
Going well though, house is warmer than last winter and I don't feel like I'm going through a lot of wood. Pellet stove would burn 2.5 - 3 tons a year and keep the house at 68, fixed some leaks, put in the rectangle, and it's only under 68 when I wake up (could be warmer, but I'm easing into the overnight fire, generally let it burn down a lot before bed).
Which made me think after I read the new EPA guidelines thread.
Yeah, Politics. They could do a lot more to spread the use of current tech and proper use, industry standards among fuel labeling, ect...
Looks like some emergency shutoff pieces are going to have to be constructed. And that air control needs a little fixing...But for being put in a rental, and as renter, finding the cheapest EPA I could at the time (because I was paying half), I think I still come out even monetarily as I'm saving money on BTUs...
When I buy a place it's either getting a nice one (thermostatically controlled) sounds nice, or a masonry heater. But given the situation, I'm just glad I bought a chimney brush...
Any other ideas to help are appreciated, but I learned my lesson about adding to a large coal bed...Funny how the instructions didn't go beyond "make sure your coal bed is down to 1-2 inches" or "if glowing red, then shutdown air"....
And people with pre-EPA, around here at least, smoulder their fires all the time. Could an EPA stove smouldering (secondary not going) ever be dirtier than a pre-EPA?
Maybe other user manuals are better, but they should all have a link to this site...Left to the manual alone, I'd be overfiring constantly, trying to get that secondary going, telling myself "I bought seasoned wood'
Also, if I haven't (I don't think, by looking a the color difference in the corners) cured all the paint on the stove, have I overfired it? Or not necessarily related.
Thanks.
