First inside burn in Madison?

[Silenced38]

This thermometer. It is reading about right now for the temp in the house.
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Yeah that cat loves the heat box when its burning. Last winter she would get under the old box wood. When i first lite it.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah all bi-metallic thermos are pretty suspect. I am changing to a digital display and thermocouple on the stove this year to give it a try. Pricey but if it works I will be able to see the temp from across the room and have an over-fire alarm. I will post results after I start burning in a month or so.

 

[Silenced38]

 

[begreen]

Yeah all bi-metallic thermos are pretty suspect. I am changing to a digital display and thermocouple on the stove this year to give it a try. Pricey but if it works I will be able to see the temp from across the room and have an over-fire alarm. I will post results after I start burning in a month or so.

OMG, next thing will be a smart phone.

 

[BrotherBart]

Actually I should be able to deduct if on my tax return. I want to use the 30 to see if this is the answer for all of those insert burners out there. It has a magnetic mount for the thermocouple so if it is accurate it would be ideal to place it on the center of the top plate of an insert and get accurate stove top temps displayed outside of the surround. I cringe every time I see somebody say they are burning an insert with a seven or eight hundred degree reading on a mag thermo on the front of it knowing that the thing is burning at least a hundred hotter than that.

Heck it is playtime year. Bought the biggest Ecofan they make also to take for a test ride. Too many stoves stacked up in the basement to buy another one so it is toy time.

 

[ckitch]

I have one of those magnetic ones pictured its 150 degrees off from my ir gun but now that I know that it serves its purpose

 

[firefighterjake]

Yeah. It was 56* outside this morning. Around 68* in the house. Got it going. Brought it up to about 525* seamed to be burning good. But never would get any secondary burn. And smoke from the flue pipe the whole time. It just wouldnt ever start burning clean. I had the damper wide open the whole time. Flames have been out for around 2.5 hours still have coals and stove top temp of about 250* so that seams good. But i dont understand why its not burning clean. And at 525* the acc trigger never tripped. Idk. Mabe still not cold enough?

Could be the wood . . . could be the temp . . . but I suspect the main reason was mentioned by Jeff -- once brought up to temp you need to start closing down the air control. It's a bit counter-intuitive since most folks associate more air with a bigger, hotter fire (and you will get some good sized flames with the air control left all the way open) . . . but to achieve the secondary burn and get a longer fire you need to close the air control (sometimes you can close it all the way, sometimes just partway -- most folks close it down in steps . . . moving it a bit at a time and then letting the fire get re-established . . . getting the stove hot enough is very important as is getting just the right mix of air.)

 

[Silenced38]

Could be the wood . . . could be the temp . . . but I suspect the main reason was mentioned by Jeff -- once brought up to temp you need to start closing down the air control. It's a bit counter-intuitive since most folks associate more air with a bigger, hotter fire (and you will get some good sized flames with the air control left all the way open) . . . but to achieve the secondary burn and get a longer fire you need to close the air control (sometimes you can close it all the way, sometimes just partway -- most folks close it down in steps . . . moving it a bit at a time and then letting the fire get re-established . . . getting the stove hot enough is very important as is getting just the right mix of air.)

When i would turn it down the fire would die away. I may have been turning it down to much. Im gona take the IR thermometer home tonite and check the mag thermometer. I may have to remark it. Then just wait for next cool spell and play with the stove.

 

[firefighterjake]

When i would turn it down the fire would die away. I may have been turning it down to much. Im gona take the IR thermometer home tonite and check the mag thermometer. I may have to remark it. Then just wait for next cool spell and play with the stove.

With many stoves if you turn down the air too much . . . or too quickly . . . it can cause the fire to die. Quite often I get the fire hot enough and then turn down the air to maybe 3/4 of all the way open . . . give the fire 5 minutes to re-establish itself . . . then turn it down halfway . . . wait and then turn it down to the quarter mark.

 

[Silenced38]

Would i benefit from a outside air kit? Would the help the draft very much?

 

[BCC_Burner]

Probably not, it needs to be colder out, there is a learning curve to operating any stove, and there's a chance your wood isn't quite optimal.

 

[Grisu]

Would i benefit from a outside air kit? Would the help the draft very much?

Depends how airtight your house is and how many other appliances may move air out of it (bathroom fan, range hood, furnace etc.) I would wait until it is colder before figuring out whether it is really necessary. When draft is still sluggish then, try opening a nearby window. If that improves the burn I would recommend an OAK.

 

[Silenced38]

Ok. Ill wait for colder weather and see how she burns. I tested the magnetic thermometer in a skillet on the stove. I heated it up slowly. It was within 10* of the IR all the way to 600*.