Nigel459
Feeling the Heat
A few thoughts and questions on this thread from a fellow GM driver (ha). @cabinwarmer I'm confident we can get you going with this.
Re: draft, I have the same ish length of flue. I think yes, a damper is a good idea, probably necessary. With the hybrid tech these things can really heat up and take off with the unregulated secondaries... your foil trick can come in handy. Interesting reading here about these modern stoves and the need to burn cleanly in all setups, including a florida bungalow, which is a way warmer climate and shorter flue than you. Florida Bungalow Syndrome. Some folks on the Hearth here actually run two dampers. I admit I modified mine by blocking one side of it to make it very restrictive. Or the tinfoil trick at the intake, which in some ways makes more sense as outlined in the article, but isn't really a friendly way to control the stove regularly and is more directly "tampering"... but hey, if it works...
I find my GM runs very much like a non-cat stove if I use smaller sized splits. Which is to say it's harder to find the sweet spot that makes for a balanced fire and can't be turned down. In my stove, using thicker splits makes all the difference. What size are your splits? Species? MC?
I find it can run more like a cat stove with larger splits. I can burn low and slow, barely a candle flicker of a flame, no smoke and an active cat. The trick here is having the mass warmed up first, with either a top-down start or reloading on coals.
Your GM60 a sizeable stove, and very massive. It should eat smoke when up to temp. So try reloading on coals, just enough as you described, not too hot or cold. Put in a few of your largest splits. Let them catch, engage cat (assuming it's still "active", mine stays active long time during coaling) and keep air on high to char "just enough" (you'll get the hang of this!). For me this is usually ~10-15 mins with a firebox full of thick splits of ~19% black locust (very dense) these days. Then turn the air back. Sometimes halfway, sometimes full on in one go. (Again you'll get the hang of which to do). As long as there's some flame and your cat is active you should be good. You're aiming for a wispy flame above the splits. early on in the burn this is usually in the form of "secondaries" above the wood for me, then it shifts and looks like candle like flames coming from the wood.
I have reloaded on coals using dense hardwoods in my stove after 12 hrs. I do question the "16 hour burn" claim of the marketing material as I have to be perfectly dialled in to get 12. Your larger stove really should be able to do overnight no problem though.
I do suspect your draft is strong, and maybe your splits are a bit on the small side. Sorry if you posted any info I've missed... and good luck, have fun and keep us posted
Re: draft, I have the same ish length of flue. I think yes, a damper is a good idea, probably necessary. With the hybrid tech these things can really heat up and take off with the unregulated secondaries... your foil trick can come in handy. Interesting reading here about these modern stoves and the need to burn cleanly in all setups, including a florida bungalow, which is a way warmer climate and shorter flue than you. Florida Bungalow Syndrome. Some folks on the Hearth here actually run two dampers. I admit I modified mine by blocking one side of it to make it very restrictive. Or the tinfoil trick at the intake, which in some ways makes more sense as outlined in the article, but isn't really a friendly way to control the stove regularly and is more directly "tampering"... but hey, if it works...
I find my GM runs very much like a non-cat stove if I use smaller sized splits. Which is to say it's harder to find the sweet spot that makes for a balanced fire and can't be turned down. In my stove, using thicker splits makes all the difference. What size are your splits? Species? MC?
I find it can run more like a cat stove with larger splits. I can burn low and slow, barely a candle flicker of a flame, no smoke and an active cat. The trick here is having the mass warmed up first, with either a top-down start or reloading on coals.
Your GM60 a sizeable stove, and very massive. It should eat smoke when up to temp. So try reloading on coals, just enough as you described, not too hot or cold. Put in a few of your largest splits. Let them catch, engage cat (assuming it's still "active", mine stays active long time during coaling) and keep air on high to char "just enough" (you'll get the hang of this!). For me this is usually ~10-15 mins with a firebox full of thick splits of ~19% black locust (very dense) these days. Then turn the air back. Sometimes halfway, sometimes full on in one go. (Again you'll get the hang of which to do). As long as there's some flame and your cat is active you should be good. You're aiming for a wispy flame above the splits. early on in the burn this is usually in the form of "secondaries" above the wood for me, then it shifts and looks like candle like flames coming from the wood.
I have reloaded on coals using dense hardwoods in my stove after 12 hrs. I do question the "16 hour burn" claim of the marketing material as I have to be perfectly dialled in to get 12. Your larger stove really should be able to do overnight no problem though.
I do suspect your draft is strong, and maybe your splits are a bit on the small side. Sorry if you posted any info I've missed... and good luck, have fun and keep us posted
