Johnny B. said:I have a related question. I can definitely get to secondary burn, but it doesn't last. It will last for a few minutes, and tonight was the first time I saw the jets of fire shooting out of the tube in the top of my Napoleon. In fact, I don't know what the baffles are made of, but they were glowing. So, this lasts for a few minutes, and then the flames are gone and I have glowing coals. There's a good sized load of wood in there, so it's definitely not burned down to coals.
My suspicion is I'm not waiting for the stove to get hot enough before I'm closing off the air. I don't like to let it run for too long fully open, so after it's burning brightly and everything is charred, I close it back to half. Should I leave it at half until it gets to a certain temp? right now it's at about 500 * stovetop, and there are a few blue flames licking around the wood, but not what I'd call a light show.
Wood is well seasoned.
Any ideas?
DavidV said:I know there is a story in there somewhere. What's the deal with that 25 dollar Lopi ?
LLigetfa said:What's this obsession with secondary burn? Primary air is not a bad thing and doesn't need to be choked off to force charcoal and a secondary burn. The whole point of superheated secondary air is to extend the combustion of residual gasses that otherwise condense in the chimney and/or stink up the neighborhood with creosote.
The secondary air does not have to make it appear that the flames are coming from the tubes. That is just a stove salesman's parlour trick. Don't choke off the primary for a parlour trick. Adjust the primary to regulate the burn to meet demand along with appropriate loading.
You need two things for secondary combustion, heat in the top of firebox (greater than 1100ºF), and gaseous fuel (carbon monoxide, smoke, etc). If you've got enough heat but only slow release of gaseous fuel from your wood (good seasoned hardwood) your secondary combustion will be gentle and sporadic, maybe just hovering in the upper part of the firebox, rather than an uninterrupted fierce stream of flame that appears to be pouring out of every single hole along the secondary air supply tubes.beagler said:I have very small whispy flames and my secondary tubes are not completely lit? My stove top temp is cruising at 500 deg.
Sorry, my wife calls me obsessive all the time. Maybe because I have OCD.Johnny B. said:...terms like "obsession" are not particularly helpful. JMO
LLigetfa said:What's this obsession with secondary burn? Primary air is not a bad thing and doesn't need to be choked off to force charcoal and a secondary burn. The whole point of superheated secondary air is to extend the combustion of residual gasses that otherwise condense in the chimney and/or stink up the neighborhood with creosote.
The secondary air does not have to make it appear that the flames are coming from the tubes. That is just a stove salesman's parlour trick. Don't choke off the primary for a parlour trick. Adjust the primary to regulate the burn to meet demand along with appropriate loading.
Would you like to quantify "more experienced"?Ken45 said:I would appreciate it if some of the more experienced hands here can confirm or correct my understanding.
wxman said:Ken,
Your spot on except if you cut the air down to fast or too far you can choke the fire, most stoves and users find the "sweet spot" where you know where to set it and at what temp. For my stove i get it cranking to about 450deg then close all the way, she'll heat up over 700 sometimes but usually round 650 max then settle at 600 or so and then slowly cool down to 300 and then I reload.
Off topic: How long does that take to season compared to oak?myzamboni said:almond(similar to oak) in my stove,
That's not true. The secondaries only deliver a relatively small quantity of air and once the fire reaches the coal stage the flue temperature drops, the draft drops and the secondary air almost stalls.CZARCAR said:the air from the secondaries is an airwash for the stove's heat,up the chimney.
bokehman said:Off topic: How long does that take to season compared to oak?myzamboni said:almond(similar to oak) in my stove,
I'm burning some right now. It's been split about 8 months but still doesn't seem to be in it's prime. I really need to pack it full or the secondaries go out when I reduce the air. With the two year old oak I don't have that trouble.myzamboni said:bokehman said:Off topic: How long does that take to season compared to oak?myzamboni said:almond(similar to oak) in my stove,
about the same amount of time (maybe a little less)
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