F400 still wants to overfire at night

[Revturbo977]

It's gota be the wood. Good enough to burn but hard to burn a large load without watching it. I can easily burn small loads without issues. I need an auto damper ha

 

[claydogg84]

It's gota be the wood. Good enough to burn but hard to burn a large load without watching it. I can easily burn small loads without issues. I need an auto damper ha

Grab an IR to verify. If the temps are in fact going that high you may need to install a pipe damper to calm it down.

 

[tarzan]

I gotta say if his wood was really wet I think he would struggle to get to these temps.

Post #27.

Cracked the door and waited. Took a half hour to light the load.

 

[Revturbo977]

Once your fire is established and you are t the air 1/4 open point, I would shut the air all the way, then just crack it open. You will probably revert to nice secondaries quite quickly. Watch for about three or four minutes. As long as you retain some flame and the coals stay red, I would leave the stove at this setting for the overnight.

i do try to run it here, but it will struggle to stay lit. very inconsistent. will run for say a half hour, the die out, or take off whichever it feels like

 

[Stretch]

Wow! Dunno, Turbo. Mine acts like yours does with the air control way down in that it just goes out.
I've got to run at least 20% open or I risk the fire smoldering.

You say your wood was cut in March. Stored under cover, or still out in the weather?

Some of mine was cut September of 2013, and is mostly ash and maple. Most of my wood
was cut in August of 2014. I've dried some in the garage with a dehumidifier, and some on a
sunny deck. I put a fan on it on the sunny days, and covered it on rainy days. It's okay,
but it'll have to do - it's all I've got! So I dunno if the wood is your problem or not. Mine's
probably not as dry as yourn.........

Is your window gasket okay and tight? Could that be letting air in as the fire sucks for
more oxygen when you aren't looking? Seems to me that the fire wouldn't run away
without enough air, but mine's only run away once, so I ain't the expert on the phenomenon.

 

[Revturbo977]

my wood is stacked on pallets, and the top is covered by tarps. it seems to be drying out nicely but we have had a ton of rain lately and the sides get damp. i have a wood box with lid on my deck which i fill every few days, and have a smaller box next to the stove.


this is from March/April when i was stacking

 

[Revturbo977]

my doors seem to be sealing off well. its very tight when i close them off. i cant see if anything is leaking at all

 

[tarzan]

The Cherry and Maple should definately be better than the Oak by now. The cherry perhaps better than the Maple so since you have a lot of Cherry maybe you could try burning it exclusively for now.

Cherry or Maple cut, split, and stacked in March could be made to work depending on the enviroment it has been in since but I wouldn't even consider the Oak this season.

 

[Revturbo977]

i try and dig the wood out as i pull it from the stack but 90% of the time im doing this in the dark so its hard to tell what im grabbing

 

[Warm_in_NH]

You're on your way to getting it. Lots of good info listed here. You'll have to try different methods and woods. Don't get discouraged.

I wouldn't "stuff" the fire box full until you figure out how to effectively burn smaller loads and keep them under control. Like everything else, a stuffed fire box is a different animal than a half full one.

Right now I'm sure you fighting wet wood, especially the oak. You're getting it dialed in for wet wood, then the moisture is steamed out, now you have dry wood and too much air....

Amazing how easy a fire will spread when you don't want it to but how difficult it can be to get one going at other times.

Patience grasshopper.

 

[Revturbo977]

i know we can control a smaller fire. probably because the wood isn't out gassing at all different times. smaller load heats up and gasses at the same time where the larger load with bigger splits is a time delay

 

[tarzan]

Well, you have about 3 cords plus or minus? Take away the Oak and you may be close on having enough wood for the season so maybe you could just try smaller fires for a while and (don't scream at me here) let the heater run a little at night.

More importantly is preparing now, if not sooner, for next season!

 

[Revturbo977]

Well, you have about 3 cords plus or minus? Take away the Oak and you may be close on having enough wood for the season so maybe you could just try smaller fires for a while and (don't scream at me here) let the heater run a little at night.

More importantly is preparing now, if not sooner, for next season!

run the oil????? are your crazy??? hahah

i have 5 cord from march now all mixed. ive been cutting away this past month trying to get more for next year and trying to get set for the year after. unfortunately i only have one cord split and stacked that i just finished last night. still have 3 cord on the ground that needs to be split and about 12 more trees to cut down, buck and split.



still need to split all of this

 

[tarzan]

Looking good! The hardest part is getting ahead but once you do you can hit the cruise control

I like getting my wood in the winter personaly. It sure beats the bugs, bees, snakes, and sweet of summer.

 

[Woody Stover]

ive been cutting away this past month trying to get more for next year and trying to get set for the year after

That Black Oak will be really good...in about 3 yrs, maybe 2 if it's split medium-small. Best find some more Cherry, soft Maple or other faster-drying wood for next year. Even with that, don't split too big...

 

[Revturbo977]

how do you guys measure splits? across the large radius?

 

[Revturbo977]

not a great pic but these are how my splits are now

 

[Woody Stover]

how do you guys measure splits? across the large radius?

Even with Cherry or soft Maple, I would keep the longest side 5" max. for decent drying in 1 yr. I make them a bit bigger if I have enough time to get 'em really dry, but I don't need a lot of big splits since I can cut the air way back with my cat stoves. With a tube stove, you might want your splits somewhat bigger (provided you have 2 yrs. to dry 'em, 3 yrs. for bigger Oak splits) to keep the load from taking off on you as can happen with a load of smaller splits.

 

[Woody Stover]

not a great pic but these are how my splits are now

Yeah, those will dry pretty quickly...doesn't look like Oak either.

 

[Woody Stover]

Looks like a good dog, too.

 

[Revturbo977]

Yeah, those will dry pretty quickly...doesn't look like Oak either.

probably wasnt on that run, that was back in march. most of those loads were maple and cherry. cut one smaller oak on the property too. 4 good size cherry trees and a bunch of smaller maples . 1 or 2 of those trees are probably of another species that i dont know of,

and hes my best bud. next to my wife, hes my best friend

 

[Revturbo977]

Even with Cherry or soft Maple, I would keep the longest side 5" max. for decent drying in 1 yr. I make them a bit bigger if I have enough time to get 'em really dry, but I don't need a lot of big splits since I can cut the air way back with my cat stoves. With a tube stove, you might want your splits somewhat bigger (provided you have 2 yrs. to dry 'em, 3 yrs. for bigger Oak splits) to keep the load from taking off on you as can happen with a load of smaller splits.

my biggest splits are around 5-6 inches of what i just did. i made more larger splits than smaller because im really looking hard every night to find bigger splits for my over night runs. i wanted them to be available every night.
this is what needs to be split asap . im running out of time

 

[rideau]

Revturbo 977: Don't want to go back and read through all the posts again, butwanted to mention, although I am sure you know, the bigger the splits you put in the stove the less surface area you have and the less offgassing, so the less likelihood of the fire taking off. I would definitely load for the night with a combination of a small amount of very small stuff to get the fire hot fast, and a very few very large logs for the overnight burn, if you have the wood to allow you that option. That should prevent the problem you are having with late, hot burns.

 

[Revturbo977]

Revturbo 977: Don't want to go back and read through all the posts again, butwanted to mention, although I am sure you know, the bigger the splits you put in the stove the less surface area you have and the less offgassing, so the less likelihood of the fire taking off. I would definitely load for the night with a combination of a small amount of very small stuff to get the fire hot fast, and a very few very large logs for the overnight burn, if you have the wood to allow you that option. That should prevent the problem you are having with late, hot burns.

I'll give it a try tonight. Been loading mostly big stuff at night anyways. The firebox only allows me to Put 4 big splits in and one small one. Almost wish we bought the 550

 

[claydogg84]

run the oil????? are your crazy??? hahah

i have 5 cord from march now all mixed. ive been cutting away this past month trying to get more for next year and trying to get set for the year after. unfortunately i only have one cord split and stacked that i just finished last night. still have 3 cord on the ground that needs to be split and about 12 more trees to cut down, buck and split.

View attachment 147093 View attachment 147094 View attachment 147095 View attachment 147096 View attachment 147097

still need to split all of this

Nice trees, but as someone already mentioned that oak won't be ready next season. I would say your splits are medium sized which is fine, but in 2 years. I tried to burn some oak I had stacked for 14 months and it was a smolder fest...