Just a Wife, Standing in Front of This Wood Stove ... With Questions

[WifeOfPK]

@WifeOfPK, welcome to the forum. It is an excellent place to help you learn to operate your insert safely and comfortably.

First of all, I’m really glad that you started with the manual. That’s really an excellent resource for your particular stove, of course, though you will find more information here that you can add to those instructions as appropriate.

Secondly, I‘m glad you ordered a moisture meter. It’s a good tool for learning what truly dry wood feels and sounds like. It’s especially important when you’re new to burning or buying wood. I’ve been burning for a number of years, though, and was just using mine this weekend to test some different types of wood that my husband and I were sawing and splitting. I wanted to see if my instincts about dryness were correct, and the moisture meter helps me verify. I think it’s a great Valentine’s Day present myself.

When I was learning my first insert, I found an infrared temperature gun a useful tool. I’m not sure that it would be as much help to you, though, as your insert doesn’t appear to have a top where you could measure temperatures. Mine did and specified an overfire as temperatures above 800 degrees, and I liked being able to check what temperatures were. I did look at your manual but didn’t see whether they specified a location for checking temperatures. Do they give any instructions about temperatures or measuring?

Others have given you great advice, but I also wanted to ask if you have seen the sticky thread at the top of the page by the Moderator Begreen?

Starting a fire and running an EPA stove

Questions about starting a fire and avoiding a runaway stove come up so frequently I decided to document starting our stove. This is a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 with about a 3 cu ft firebox. The stove is connected to a straight-up, 20' interior flue. The outside ambient temperature is 34ºF. The...

www.hearth.com

It would be worth reading over a couple of times and even practicing on your own and with your husband. Note that the terms N/S or North/South and E/W or East/West don’t really have to do with actual directions of the wood. North/South loading refers to putting the wood in so that the ends face the front of the firebox. East/West refers to putting the long side of the wood parallel to the door. I believe that you will usually load your firebox E/W because of its dimensions. In my experience, E/W fires from a cold start are a bit harder than N/S. Using a couple of short “sleepers” (Begreen demonstrates those in his thread) can help.

Again, welcome. There is a learning curve to woodburning, but you’ve come to the right place to get help. Verifying the moisture content of the wood is a great start.

Hi and thank you for the warm welcome!! I checked the manual again and I don't see anything about temps or measuring them. I did order one that magnets to the outside, so I am hoping that gives me some type of measurement. I appreciate that sticky and I will be heading over there to read it. This is so helpful!

 

[WifeOfPK]

If you can get your fire to burn like this after it's been established, you will be doing very well.

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This video is great! Thank you!

 

[WifeOfPK]

+1 for the Top Down fire starting.
If you need to see how to do it, i have a youtube vid " How to Build an Easy Top Down Fire. No fire starters needed. Not even paper!" on the channel with the fire vid posted above.

Wow this video was a learning experience, thank you!!

 

[WifeOfPK]

To me your post is borderline inappropriate.

There are quite a few lady burners on this forum, who contribute very well.

Yes I know there are. I'm here to get advice and learn from everyone. I hope to be an excellent "ladyburner" myself one day!

 

[ispinwool]

Welcome @WifeOfPK !!
You'll find tons of helpful info on here...brew a BIG pot of your preferred hot beverage and read.

(Someone mentioned top-down to begin your fire. I have been woefully unsuccessful with that. But I have
figured out how to load it at night so I have a quick/easy relight in the mornings with hot coals so I'm not entirely
useless. LOL)
You'll figure out the quirks of your insert. Every set-up is different due to chimney height, wood burnt, seasoned/unseasoned wood, etc, etc...lots of variables.

I have no additional suggestions that haven't already been offered... I just wanted to welcome you to the neatest
site on the www.

 

[bigealta]

Welcome @WifeOfPK !!

(Someone mentioned top-down to begin your fire. I have been woefully unsuccessful with that. B

I just made a new "Super Easy" Top Down Fire vid. It's pretty long, 35 min. or so but pretty complete. Maybe this can help you?

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[WifeOfPK]

Welcome @WifeOfPK !!
You'll find tons of helpful info on here...brew a BIG pot of your preferred hot beverage and read.

(Someone mentioned top-down to begin your fire. I have been woefully unsuccessful with that. But I have
figured out how to load it at night so I have a quick/easy relight in the mornings with hot coals so I'm not entirely
useless. LOL)
You'll figure out the quirks of your insert. Every set-up is different due to chimney height, wood burnt, seasoned/unseasoned wood, etc, etc...lots of variables.

I have no additional suggestions that haven't already been offered... I just wanted to welcome you to the neatest
site on the www.

Thank you! So far this forum has been extremely helpful! I've got a lot to learn and this is the place to do it!

 

[murphanza]

Hello everyone! What a great site - I've been enjoying and more importantly learning about our new wood burning insert. My husband has wished for a wood burning insert for a very long time and I'm happy to say it got installed last week. We went with the Napolean Oakdale Contemporary Insert, EPI3C. It's lovely and looks amazing! However, as many times as I read the manual, I still have questions. I would love any advice you all can give!

My major malfunction when it comes to this insert is starting a fire and keeping it going. And first let me say that the wood is properly dry and seasoned. Husband was so excited he drove an hour to a place for a giant truckload of wood. He's remarked many, many, many times about how nice this wood is. We've cured the insert in about eight small fires, and he's chomping at the bit for this weekend so he can properly have a fire.

I want to be better at this, and so here I am. While I don't think he gets annoyed at all of my questions, I just want to be less anxious about this so I thank you in advance for any responses. He's so happy, and I don't want my anxiety to get in the way of that.

So - the manual says I should never leave the damper open fully for more than 20 mins, but I also understand I need to get the insert hot to be efficient. My struggle is that sometimes my fire takes longer than 20 mins to get where it needs to be, but if I close the damper I am losing the flames. What to do? If I close the damper a 1/4 way, can I leave it there and not worry to much about it until it gets where it needs to be? Is there a happy medium somewhere?

I am burning smallish fires right now, so as to not overfire or cause some issue. Husband is very excited to do an overnight burn, and I am very anxious about it. Any advice about an overnight burn would be great. Is it okay to have the blower on for an overnight burn?? Should the damper be closed when doing this?

Right now it's 20 degrees here, is it okay to have this going 100% of the time? And if so, for how long is that okay for?

What is the right time to refuel the fire? I've kind of waited until it I just had a super hot coal bed and reloaded then. (By the way, he's at work so I'm doing this solo during the day.) Also, should I be opening the damper all the way when I want to open the door to refuel?

That's about it for now, and that's a lot. Thanks in advance, I've included a picture in case anyone wanted to see it.

View attachment 291419

Hi, I have this exact insert and have been using it regularly and will share my experience with starting fires. First off, the install lever should be all the way to the left. You need to keep the door open longer than you think at least an inch or 2. Start small and build up once the starters are fully engulfed . My rule of thumb is keep it open until the wood is fully engulfed. Keep the intake fully to the left even when the blower kicks in.

 

[reaperman1]

Being you ordered a magnetic thermometer, the correct placement may not be all that important. Rather, pick a spot on the insert and leave the thermometer on that spot. Whatever the temp is where you place the device isn't the most important thing. But over time you will see temperature patterns develop and the displayed temps correspond to the heat output, home temp, damper position, etc. In a short time you will have a idea of your approx "target" temperature.

 

[begreen]

The best place will be at the top of the door. Get a 2" diameter one for the best fit.

Stove top thermometers

Condar stove top thermometers magnetically attach to the surface of your stove and help optimise stove's performance by showing best temperature range.

www.condar.com