buyer's remorse
- Thread starter Campcook
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I've actually wondered about this. The bypass handle rolls over and then stops, but if I give it some pressure is kind of clicks one more notch. I looked inside the stove this morning before loading it to see what that extra click looked like and all I saw was the damper slide toward the front of the stove 1/8 inch. I didn't know if that was by design or because the stove is 10 years old
That actually sounds normal but i would inspect the gasket anyway
That click is what you are supposed to do. It seals better.
Also, my cat was not brown when new. And it is not brown now. Metal and whitish (presumably ash).
25 ft is a bit tall if no elbows. So draft could be too much.
Wet wood uses energy to evaporate the water.
Is your thermostat knob fixed to the rod? (Set screw tight)
Maybe a good idea to take the cover off of the Tstat housing to see if things work properly; if there is debris there (should not be so), and it doesn't close well, it'll burn thru the load too fast.
Can you post a pic of how a full load looks like?
Also, my cat was not brown when new. And it is not brown now. Metal and whitish (presumably ash).
25 ft is a bit tall if no elbows. So draft could be too much.
Wet wood uses energy to evaporate the water.
Is your thermostat knob fixed to the rod? (Set screw tight)
Maybe a good idea to take the cover off of the Tstat housing to see if things work properly; if there is debris there (should not be so), and it doesn't close well, it'll burn thru the load too fast.
Can you post a pic of how a full load looks like?
The all nightera have a baffle in the middle of the fire box, creating a large smoke chamber in the upper half
Might be the case, althought the first time we burned the stove we waited the recommended 30 minutes to start turning down and the stove was raging. Second time we waited 20 minutes, still raging. Now I'm turning it down after about 7 minutes and the gage is still in the top of the range but the fire isn't going crazy
6 inch flue and I liked to keep it running at about 450 to keep (most of) the house at about 70
Trust me, I really want to love this stove, if only because I almost killed myself getting it out of the truck and into the house!
It it totally normal for the knob to spin almost 360 degrees or as you say 180 ccw past 1. Mine does too.
I burn with just a 12’ chimney even when it’s 65 outside and I don’t see smoke other than intermittent blue emissions.
The one steel cat I used didn’t even last two seasons before becoming a slobbery cold mess. My steel cat was brown and then grey sometimes, my only point was not to be alarmed if it is brown.
You can dollar bill test the bypass gasket just as you would the loading door. It’s a hard gasket to change and your description of the bypass lever operation sounds good.
Left over wood sounds like wet fuel.
I burn with just a 12’ chimney even when it’s 65 outside and I don’t see smoke other than intermittent blue emissions.
The one steel cat I used didn’t even last two seasons before becoming a slobbery cold mess. My steel cat was brown and then grey sometimes, my only point was not to be alarmed if it is brown.
You can dollar bill test the bypass gasket just as you would the loading door. It’s a hard gasket to change and your description of the bypass lever operation sounds good.
Left over wood sounds like wet fuel.
Either too much draft, leaky gaskets at the door and/or bypass! I bought a 2005 king in December put new bypass gasket on, had new door gasket already and only fill half a firebox in single digit temps and consistently get 24 hr burns and could go more but I need to go to bed at some point! Longest burn I’ve received was 36 hrs with a half load in the box. I’m pretty sure when weather warms up and stuff that stove complete full I will surpass 50+ hrs.
Give the stove a fresh cat so that you are starting off from a known point. The old cat could be dead or poisoned. Midwest Hearth is a good source for cats for this stove.
Can steel cats be cleaned in a vinegar bath like the ceramic ones? I've never owned a steel cat but if this is a possibility you may get it active enough for a short term fix.
I would do both: get a new one and do the vinegar on the old one. Buy extra gasket material. If the new cat resolves the issue, you know what the problem was. If the new one does not, you know to search for other causes. Keep the old one because it may not be dead.
If the problem is resolved and you know the cause, and the old cat is "dead", then do the vinegar thing and test the old one again. If you're lucky you have a spare with some lifetime left. And if not, you had practice doing the vinegar thing on a cat that was dead anyway.
If the problem is resolved and you know the cause, and the old cat is "dead", then do the vinegar thing and test the old one again. If you're lucky you have a spare with some lifetime left. And if not, you had practice doing the vinegar thing on a cat that was dead anyway.
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