I have a few questions about babysitting a fire. My little Avalon insert. Is a tricky little thing. I burn small to medium fires I don't pack it real full. Also with my insert I cant close the air all the way it will go out no matter what I do. My issue is that it seems like I have to sit and watch the fire constantly. Low it goes out alot trying to do a medium burn it will be fine for a while then it seems like if I leave the room for a second it becomes an inferno and my flue temp get to high. How do you guys get good steady burns mine seem to either try to crap out or turn into a inferno.
Fire control and babysitting a fire
- Thread starter Welderman85
- Start date
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jetsam
Minister of Fire
If the fire is always hard to start, that's probably wet wood or insufficient air.
If it's always hard to control once underway, that's possibly an air leak or an operational issue.
You could be seeing variable results because your draft is variable, too. I don't know if your stove has a reputation for being temperamental, but if you have a long flue you could be seeing a big difference in draft with the weather shifts lately.
These things are never too hard to figure out if you approach them logically. Tell us how high your flue is, how it's lined, what the moisture content of your wood is, and what the procedure you use to start a fire is.
If it's always hard to control once underway, that's possibly an air leak or an operational issue.
You could be seeing variable results because your draft is variable, too. I don't know if your stove has a reputation for being temperamental, but if you have a long flue you could be seeing a big difference in draft with the weather shifts lately.
These things are never too hard to figure out if you approach them logically. Tell us how high your flue is, how it's lined, what the moisture content of your wood is, and what the procedure you use to start a fire is.
It's a 21' insulated flex liner . Wood is mostly ash with a little bit of red/soft maple mixed in. I do a top down start. The insert is old but I replaced all the gaskets and did the dollar bill test once done. I wonder if the constantly changing fire has to do with the smaller loads I burn
On a reload I leave the air all the way open for a few minutes andet.it get going. Once it's going I start to turn it down. I get it to a few flames and decent secondary. Then a log shifts or a different catches. It seems like I'm constantly playing with the air and it seems like my line temps can go from good to too hot very fast.
Seems like your doing the right thing. Keeping a cold stove burning can be tricky. Wet wood makes startup just that much harder. The easiest is a bed of coals and a reload. My startup is doors open and reloads the air is a crack from full closed.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Yep I’ve been there. I got an Auber AT200 thermometer alarm. That helped my confidence a lot. My stove is very easy to control though and burns great with the primary air closed all the way. But being able glance up from the sofa and read the temp and knowing that if/when I walk away I will get a loud reminder that the stove is getting hot made running the stove more enjoyable.
Is this with a surface sensor? Where is the sensor located? What temps are you reading when it is time to start closing down the air? What temp are you reading when the stove is cruising at say 550-650ºF stove top temp?
I'm slowly getting the hang of it I just wish it would run with the air closed all way. Is there anyway to get a more controlled burn do I don't have to adjust it every 5 mins
If you are adjusting the air every 5 minutes you are way over managing the fire.
ok not every 5 minutes but it seems that way some times. Last night I got 2 good reloads where it was easy to keep in check but i sat by the fire and watched it. It seems if i leave for the garage when i come back its either out or an inferno. How do you guys manage to get long burns with out messing with it.
Grizzerbear
Minister of Fire
Not everybody can run their stove closed all the way all the time. Mine tends to run best 25%-10% open. Even with 18% and below mc firewood i can seldom run it 100% closed. Has to be really cold or windy as all get out. Weather and setup are all variables to this.
These are good relative questions to answer welderman.
These are good relative questions to answer welderman.
Sorry I didn't even see that post thats what I get for playing on my phone at work and trying to hurry lol on a cold start I let the flue get to 250 before I start to shut it down the stove is probably around 250-300 . When the stove top is at those temps I try to keep the liner around 350-400 I measure it with a ir gun at the start of the liner right after the applince connector. Yesterday after a good reload it was at 500 and I was able to keep it stable and low it was a nice long burn.
Grizzerbear
Minister of Fire
Are you shutting the stove down all the way in one fell swoop or in two or three actions. Most times on a cold start you have to shut it down in stages.
Stovetop or flue? If flue that is hot...roughly 1000 degrees if you are measuring with a ir gun
There should be a setting where it will burn just right for most of the burn, you just to experiment to find out where that is.
Sorry its stove top I try to keep flue under 450-500 . It has only hit 500 once by mistake. But I have noticed alot of difference in temp by checking a few different spots. I try to check a few spots and kinda average it. During most burns it stays around 350 maybe into the low 400s or lower 300d but I shoot for 350. As for the stove top it mostly just hangs out at 450 - 550 with the blower on
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blacktail
Minister of Fire
By using a stove that's bigger than 1.3cf and has more than one secondary air tube.
Grizzerbear
Minister of Fire
Temps sound good to me. When the intake is set just right your flue and stove top temps should even out to be pretty close to each other after stove gets up to temp and cruising. Their should be a setting close to all the way closed that your setup will like. You will have to play with that. Just dont get to hung up on running all the way closed.
First year stove operator here. Everything I learned has been from reading on this forum, and experimenting.
Every stove, flue, and house configuration is different. So each will have an air setting and fuel volume that is best for that particular setup. However, those best settings can still vary based on outside temp , and moisture content of the wood.
I did not see that you answered the moisture content of your wood question.
If you don't know, you need to buy a meter and test it. High MC wood will give you a lot of problems burning.
Make air adjustments in stages and give the fire time to react.
Concentrate on getting your setup to burn good with little attention first. Then you can work on adjusting your fuel and air to increase your burn time.
Just as an example, with my setup......
Once I have a good coal bed, my stove requires 3 or more medium splits. Two splits just don't off gas enough to get good secondaries going. The firebox cools and the fire becomes needy.
I cannot close the air completely. 20% open works best for my setup.
Every stove, flue, and house configuration is different. So each will have an air setting and fuel volume that is best for that particular setup. However, those best settings can still vary based on outside temp , and moisture content of the wood.
I did not see that you answered the moisture content of your wood question.
If you don't know, you need to buy a meter and test it. High MC wood will give you a lot of problems burning.
Make air adjustments in stages and give the fire time to react.
Concentrate on getting your setup to burn good with little attention first. Then you can work on adjusting your fuel and air to increase your burn time.
Just as an example, with my setup......
Once I have a good coal bed, my stove requires 3 or more medium splits. Two splits just don't off gas enough to get good secondaries going. The firebox cools and the fire becomes needy.
I cannot close the air completely. 20% open works best for my setup.
As a a first time fire parent, you'll learn to overcome the babysitting part, so then just set it and forget it... But Honestly, on a hot coal bed, it's sometimes hard with how much you wood you add. No matter what you put in there, it'll take off. Experiment with letting it go awhile longer, or using less wood on the reload.
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