I've finished my seasoning/smell-up the house burns on with my Woodstock Keystone and am now in normal burn mode and have some observations and questions.
Firstly, I've got good seasoned dry wood, mostly oak and locust with some other stuff mixed-in. Also, I'm (and have been while waiting on installing my stove) reading volumes of archive posts.
Presently, I have about a 3/4 firebox full load of wood that I'm burning and between an earlier fire this afternoon, I am finding the following:
Observations:
1. The stove is pretty sensitive to the damper setting. A slight movement results in a definate change in the fire box.
2. Side load ain't to bad. I grew-up on top loading stoves (with the exception of an old front loading Englander smoke dragon) and aside from getting on my knees to load/start the stove, I don't think a thimble of smoke has excaped when the door is opened - totally different from the top loaders from my past.
3. When I drop the damper to 1, so far, I loose the redness in the coals on the bottom of the stove and about the bottom of the splits. The cat also appears to go out - even when the stove top is about 300ish - but I'm still playing with this.
4. This is something I expected from reading about the Keystone (and other cat stoves), though there is a big window, once the bypass is closed and the cat is engaged and the damper is turned down, the light show completely goes away - except for an occasional flash of secondaries. So far, the big glass is more useful for monitoring the burn and cat than a light show.
Questons:
1. When you are crusing at 500-600 stove top degrees, what is your damper setting? What about other stove top temps vs damper settings?
2. Hearth pad is toasty even with the factory heat sheild. I gather no surprises here.
3. When you are down to 1 on the damper and loaded-up for the night, what is your stove top temp?
I'm a bit fixed on damper vs stove top temps just validate my findings.
It has taken me about a half hour to write this post as I my attention is drawn to other stuff going on in the house, but I just checked the stove and I've got the damper down to 1.5, hardly an ember glowing in the firebox, the stove top temp is holding at 425 degrees and the cat is glowing nicely orange.
Thanks everyone,
Bill
Firstly, I've got good seasoned dry wood, mostly oak and locust with some other stuff mixed-in. Also, I'm (and have been while waiting on installing my stove) reading volumes of archive posts.
Presently, I have about a 3/4 firebox full load of wood that I'm burning and between an earlier fire this afternoon, I am finding the following:
Observations:
1. The stove is pretty sensitive to the damper setting. A slight movement results in a definate change in the fire box.
2. Side load ain't to bad. I grew-up on top loading stoves (with the exception of an old front loading Englander smoke dragon) and aside from getting on my knees to load/start the stove, I don't think a thimble of smoke has excaped when the door is opened - totally different from the top loaders from my past.
3. When I drop the damper to 1, so far, I loose the redness in the coals on the bottom of the stove and about the bottom of the splits. The cat also appears to go out - even when the stove top is about 300ish - but I'm still playing with this.
4. This is something I expected from reading about the Keystone (and other cat stoves), though there is a big window, once the bypass is closed and the cat is engaged and the damper is turned down, the light show completely goes away - except for an occasional flash of secondaries. So far, the big glass is more useful for monitoring the burn and cat than a light show.
Questons:
1. When you are crusing at 500-600 stove top degrees, what is your damper setting? What about other stove top temps vs damper settings?
2. Hearth pad is toasty even with the factory heat sheild. I gather no surprises here.
3. When you are down to 1 on the damper and loaded-up for the night, what is your stove top temp?
I'm a bit fixed on damper vs stove top temps just validate my findings.
It has taken me about a half hour to write this post as I my attention is drawn to other stuff going on in the house, but I just checked the stove and I've got the damper down to 1.5, hardly an ember glowing in the firebox, the stove top temp is holding at 425 degrees and the cat is glowing nicely orange.
Thanks everyone,
Bill