Freaked out last night................

[WoodMann]

Oh yeah- the stove top and flue temp can differ as much as 200*.............

 

[WoodMann]

Putting something ice cold on something that hot isnt gonna do anything good for it. That could cause alot of stress in that one area and cause minute fractures. Waiting it out would of been the best plan. The everburn on the VC,s actually run that hot when they get rumbling. I am glad it all worked out for ya. If you would of had some build up in your flue it could of been a different story.

Thanks for the heads up, N of 60; I didn't think of that at the time. The pan/pot was pretty much room temp, then I tossed in the ice cubes. Kind of a good idea to humidify the ambient air I would think.............

 

[Highbeam]

I see a temp and think of stove top temp cause that's what I burn by ...sorry for any confusion. As long as it's become an issue tell me...is it possible to have a stove top temp of 500 and a flue temp that much different? How much higher? thanks

I'm a recent condar probe meter owner and I love it. You can absolutely have a different flue temp than stove temp. My routine is to start a new fire and let the flue temp soar to 900 before backing the primary air to half way or so. With a flue temp of 900 my stove top temp is barely 200.

Amusing since the hearthstone manual tells you to run at full throttle for 30 minutes each day which would easily overtemp the flue. I am getting to 900 within 15-20 minutes!

What you won't see is the flue temp much colder than the stove temp on a non-cat stove.

I've accidentally seen 1000 on the condar and it was easily brought down by closing the primary air. I recall that the 1000 degree temp is the max continuous temp with 1800 degree bursts. That's for class A which is a ways up the line from where we are measuring flue temps in the stove pipe so I assume it is colder as you go up.

Ash pans suck.

 

[savageactor7]

Thanks for the heads up Highbeam, well with your advice in mind I checked out (broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/probe_meters_dir4use_woodstoves.html) next time I go to LOWES I'll pick one up and put hook it up on a warm day.

 

[Highbeam]

I couldn't find any locally and the prices from condar are actually pretty good. So if you can't find one at Lowes then you can maybe order one direct. Pretty easy to install.

Kinda funny though with double wall pipe the inside and outside walls expand at different rates so as the flue heats up the condar meter's face goes from vertical to pointing at the ceiling a bit. It's just something I noticed.

 

[Sleepy]

Add me to the Pro-Ash Pan list. I debated on getting one, but in the end bought a stove that already had one installed on it. I like it. I burn each load down to coals and rake the ashes into the pan each time. It is fast and easy, and I can empty the pan anytime I want.

 

[savageactor7]

Sleepy our last 2 Shenandoah's had ash pans and I thought we couldn't live without one. If you're happy with it that's what counts.

 

[crazy_dan]

I'm a firm follower of the K.I.S.S. principle, when I can be. Dave

LOL I love it I have a close friend that lives and breaths that principle.

 

[wendell]

Back to the original post, I didn't think 1000 internal was too high. Although, you wouldn't want too go much higher or run there real long or am I sadly mistaken?

 

[WoodMann]

No- you're right on there, wendell. Routinely I nip at 1000 briefly and back down to 850 for an early shake down of creosote then level out................

 

[SteveKG]

Don't discount ash pans. My Rais has one that you slide a lid across and then carry the thing outdoors, almost zero fine ash flying in the room. My other stove has no pan and when removing ash with a shovel it is impossible to keep significant ash from the air. I roll an air cleaner unit over next to the stove when I clean it out to help with the problem. I also build a tiny fine in the box if there isn't one going already to create a draft through the ash collection area, and that helps too. If you are emptying a stove sometime with sunlight streaming into the room, you will be amazed [and worse] at what you see in the air.

 

[firefighterjake]

I couldn't find any locally and the prices from condar are actually pretty good. So if you can't find one at Lowes then you can maybe order one direct. Pretty easy to install.

Kinda funny though with double wall pipe the inside and outside walls expand at different rates so as the flue heats up the condar meter's face goes from vertical to pointing at the ceiling a bit. It's just something I noticed.

I noticed that as well with mine . . . for awhile I kept spinning it back to be dead level . . . but after a few days I've noticed it's spun back to the old position . . . still easy to read . . . just not dead level.

 

[firefighterjake]

What I have done with every stove I have ever had is let that ash drawer fill up with ashes and never touch it again. Scooping out a few shovels of ashes just ain't that hard and not as messy as ash drawers.

good advice! lock the ash drawer and forget it...maggie :kiss:

I feel like a lonely voice in the wilderness when it comes to ash pan opinions. I've had very well designed ash pans on both stoves I've used during the last 24 years. Zero mess when emptying ashes. Empty them whenever I want, at any point in the burn. During 24/7 burning, I've needed to deal with ashes once per week or maybe every 10 days. If the firebox floor has the right slot configuration, and you don't get carried away raking the ask around, you get a nice layer of insulating ash that says a relatively constant thickness. Just enough drops through each day to keep it that way most of the time. Occasionally I'll have to do just a touch of raking to keep it from building up too thick. I wish the stove had a large enough ash pan so I could go a month between worrying about ashes.

So far, I've never had an air leak around an ash pan door. Though I suppose there's always a first time.

The key things are a well designed ash system and using it the proper way. The mistake most people make is causing too much of the ash to fall through, and losing the insulating layer.

The large ash pan and well-designed door and grating were key selling points that drew me toward the Oslo.

A fire should never be coaxed with an open ash door. Too risky, if you forget to close it up. In 24 years of burning, I've never used the ash door for that purpose. On the old VC, I had to leave the front doors cracked open to get it going. On the new Oslo, I don't need to leaving anything open but the main air inlet. I consider that a blessing, as I don't have to worry about leaving a door open and forgetting about it.

I agree with you Brother Grommal . . . or would that be Prophet Grommal? I love my ash pan . . . but I suspect the pro- and anti-ash pan fans have come to their belief based on past experiences with either very good or very bad ash pans. My Shenandoah had a good ash pan and like you I think the ash pan for the Oslo is a nicely designed one -- plenty large and the grates are set up so that it limits the coals that drop into the pan.

In my own experience last year I was emptying the pan every 7 days . . . this year I've been doing it every two weeks . . . partly because there have been some days when I'm not stoking the stove as I will get a day or two that is warm enough to just do a morning or afternoon fire and partly due to the fact that this year I have been leaving more ash in the stove instead of cleaning it right down to the metal which has resulted in better heat, more coals on restarts, etc. Like you, little to no mess with the ash pan.

I have however noticed that last year I got carried away a couple of times in stirring the ash and as a result I had an overly full ash pan . . . not a big deal in dumping the ash . . . but when I went to push the pan back it didn't go all the way back in and so the ash door wasn't a nice, tight fit. I now solve this by a) avoiding the zealous stirring, believing instead it is better to keep more of the ash in the firebox and b) before dumping the ash pan I take a shovel and clean out any spill-over ash in the ash pan . . . a very easy solution . . . and then I make sure the ash door is snug.

 

[LLigetfa]

I have however noticed that last year I got carried away a couple of times in stirring the ash and as a result I had an overly full ash pan . . . not a big deal in dumping the ash . . . but when I went to push the pan back it didn't go all the way back in and so the ash door wasn't a nice, tight fit. I now solve this by a) avoiding the zealous stirring, believing instead it is better to keep more of the ash in the firebox and b) before dumping the ash pan I take a shovel and clean out any spill-over ash in the ash pan . . . a very easy solution . . . and then I make sure the ash door is snug.

Sage advice.

 

[WoodMann]

Everythings cool now. I even got a chance to do a full sweep so I'm good for this windter..........