My England Madison install

[spirilis]

Also do you have a decent ash rake? I bought mine from Clark's ACE hardware in Ellicott City... it's a nice rake with notches to help move the coals around (without the ash so the ash settles out)-

 

[jatoxico]

I avoid shoveling out coals. Rake them and turn up the air to burn them down. *Loading on a heavy coal bed can cause the load to nuclear which isn't usually helpful and in some cases can cause overfire.

If you're wanting to get more heat while burning down the coals add a small amount of kindling or a small splits. You'll get a short hot fire that will consume the fuel w/o producing a lot of new coals. Then load normally.

 

[srchar]

With my Madison I sometimes rake the coals into a N-S line in the center and load one layer of splits N-S on either side. Then place the rest of the load E-W on top. This puts the old coals in a super hot little box to consume them.

I find that with full loads there is a fine line between an even burn and an overfire. It depends a lot on how large the splits are and how tightly they are loaded. There's a learning curve for sure.


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[WayneN]

I'll definitely get a rake. I've been using a fireplace shovel to move the coals around. I like the idea of boxing them in I'll give that a go. I've also been letting them burn down after I rake the coals to the front. Seemed to help and I've been loading less wood while keeping the same Temps ( although it's been 10 degrees warmer outside....still seems to have helped )


Thanks for all the tips! I used the blower on the back past night with no fans and the bedroom doors opened. Things stayed between 70 and 75 overnight. Raked EW up front and loaded 3 good sized splits. I left the damper open and went to bed around 1130pm. Woke up at 7 and the upstairs was 70. I think the fan pushing the air away from the box had to help circulate the air upstairs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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[WayneN]

Update :

Just started my second season. Better this year than last! I think having the right wood ready ( minimum 6 months seasoned ) made the biggest difference. I've only been half loading and it lasts a good 4-5 hours before needing to reload. Temps are fairly mild here ( 30-50 degrees ) right now and keeping the house over 80 seems too wasteful lol. So far I love this thing. Been cooking in it non stop since I've fired it up. I even got a stovetop percolator for her and have made coffee and tea.

Awesome non cat stove!

 

[kennyp2339]

I always enjoyed your enthusiasm with cooking on your stove.

 

[WayneN]

I always enjoyed your enthusiasm with cooking on your stove.

And I have definitely been cooking in her lol

Just today : here's baked potatoes, roasted eggplant ( not sealed on the ends ), and roasted baby Bella mushrooms in olive oil and Himalayan pink sea salt I also did Thai satay chicken roasted but didn't snap a pic. Originally the wife was going to use the glass top stove but I figured why not use the wood stove for that too lol. Because the heat isn't exact, it's important to keep an eye on things. The chicken ( breasts cut as strips and marinated ) only took 15 minutes baking and was perfect!


Plus the top was used the other day for ramen and now I've been percolating coffee and green tea


Why use the electric stove / oven if I don't have to right? Also, it saves money on the bill lol!

Plus I'm cooking on sugar maple.... It added a nice smoked flavor to the eggplant and mushrooms, and satay

 

[spirilis]

And on the other end of things, I complain when anyone uses the woodstove as a temporary platform for putting their water bottle on the way out the door... (wife's notorious for that)

This is during the summer/fall of course. I don't want anything marking up the surface & prematurely rusting it :D

I really need to get into the foil campfire style cooking though. Never got the itch to try it.

 

[kennyp2339]

And on the other end of things, I complain when anyone uses the woodstove as a temporary platform for putting their water bottle on the way out the door... (wife's notorious for that)

This is during the summer/fall of course. I don't want anything marking up the surface & prematurely rusting it :D

I really need to get into the foil campfire style cooking though. Never got the itch to try it.

I've done steaks and pizza in the stove before, I bought a cheap pizza stone from Home depot and used that, it did work great but was a pain to remove even with welding gloves

 

[WayneN]

I've done steaks and pizza in the stove before, I bought a cheap pizza stone from Home depot and used that, it did work great but was a pain to remove even with welding gloves

Don't cook when you have massive amounts of fire or wood in it for one. I use a simple silicon glove and tongs. I set cooked things onto a bamboo cutting board. No issues at all lol


I figure a half load at 7am gets me to about 11am. By then I have nice coals to cook on. Then repeat if I want to cook dinner in it. I only give it a good bit of wood overnight or if I'm leaving the house. ( Still roughly 3/4 full ). Still have plenty of coals for an easy light. Just toss a couple splits and some bigger stuff on top and she is good to go.

I clean ashes out every 2-3 days depending on how hard I'm pushing it. This is right now. Maybe about half packed and loose so I can clean the glass with a hot fire ( flue open and door slightly cracked right now ). Still looks as good today as when I installed.

I did notice a small gap around the door gasket but it's only a $15 fix from Amazon. If it gives me issues with air flow I'll fix it. For now it seems fine if I clamp the door completely shut. I bought high temp wood stove paint last season just in case, but haven't needed it yet.

So far the Madison is saving me about $250-300 US / month in the winter. Well worth the investment! Oh and I get most of my wood free too!

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Don't cook when you have massive amounts of fire or wood in it for one. I use a simple silicon glove and tongs. I set cooked things onto a bamboo cutting board. No issues at all lol


I figure a half load at 7am gets me to about 11am. By then I have nice coals to cook on. Then repeat if I want to cook dinner in it. I only give it a good bit of wood overnight or if I'm leaving the house. ( Still roughly 3/4 full ). Still have plenty of coals for an easy light. Just toss a couple splits and some bigger stuff on top and she is good to go.

I clean ashes out every 2-3 days depending on how hard I'm pushing it. This is right now. Maybe about half packed and loose so I can clean the glass with a hot fire ( flue open and door slightly cracked right now ). Still looks as good today as when I installed.

I did notice a small gap around the door gasket but it's only a $15 fix from Amazon. If it gives me issues with air flow I'll fix it. For now it seems fine if I clamp the door completely shut. I bought high temp wood stove paint last season just in case, but haven't needed it yet.

So far the Madison is saving me about $250-300 US / month in the winter. Well worth the investment! Oh and I get most of my wood free too! View attachment 216053View attachment 216054View attachment 216055

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You are a renaissance man, Wayne Nestor!

 

[Hogwildz]

6 months is nowhere close enough for the wood to be dry. 300 degrees is not hot enough to reduce creosote build up either. The stove should be in the area of 600+ degrees at optimal burn. Make sure you check your stack a few times over the season to make sure no heavy build up is going on.
Looks like the installer was kind enough to fix the gutters, that's always a plus. Enjoy

 

[jwfirebird]

love mine. gasket was flat on a couple spots on mine, kinda kneeded the sides a few times and checked with the dollar trick learned from here, seems fine you could tell by the fire being orange around that spot now its not.

havent been brave enough to cook anything yet, been thinking chili or soup would be good. i had a old pot full of water on my old boxwood even with the spots for it took quite a while to steam that off. this one was a quarter of the time, ended up just leaving it off

 

[WayneN]

6 months is nowhere close enough for the wood to be dry. 300 degrees is not hot enough to reduce creosote build up either. The stove should be in the area of 600+ degrees at optimal burn. Make sure you check your stack a few times over the season to make sure no heavy build up is going on.
Looks like the installer was kind enough to fix the gutters, that's always a plus. Enjoy

Those pics ( and 2-300 temps ) were from last year burning green green wood ( IE tree just cut ). The highest I'm getting now is 500-550 using an actual IR temp gun. Any hotter than that and my house it hitting 90 right now. The wood I'm using currently is 6-8 months seasoned. Was collecting all year. The reason I was burning green was it's all I had.

Also, I installed the stove and had a friend fix the gutter while I was at it. Not a fan of heights lol.

I completely cleaned the stack before burning this year. I bought a sooteater ( goes into a drill ) and used a cut milk jug to funnel the soot. FYI burning all green wood ( most burned the same week/ weeks it was cut ) created soot but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Less than half a milk jug and the chimney was shiny metal again.


6-8 months seasoned made a HUGE difference in starting and maintaining the fire. Hardly ever need to add kindling unless it was like a 10 hour stretch loading wood. Also, I'm only loading 3/4 or less full. Even with only small embers, the wood I'm using now self catches if I leave the flue open and door slightly cracked. I've only had to make a new fire 1 time this season because we hit 60's for a few days and I let it die on purpose.

Aside from that, I've been sticking 1 - 6 to 8 inch thick split at a time during milder climate ( 40s to 50s ) for 2-4 hours and had no issues with black glass or the fire going out smoldering. I get 2 years seasoned is better.... But I'm not going to buy wood when I can get free wood. I'll just have to start even earlier next year before burning I suppose, and maybe try to stockpile an extra cord or 2 to start.


This is my first stove / fireplace since being a child ( 25-30 years ago ). Learning as I go and this is now my second season. Definitely improving though!


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[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Those pics ( and 2-300 temps ) were from last year burning green green wood ( IE tree just cut ). The highest I'm getting now is 500-550 using an actual IR temp gun. Any hotter than that and my house it hitting 90 right now. The wood I'm using currently is 6-8 months seasoned. Was collecting all year. The reason I was burning green was it's all I had.

Also, I installed the stove and had a friend fix the gutter while I was at it. Not a fan of heights lol.

I completely cleaned the stack before burning this year. I bought a sooteater ( goes into a drill ) and used a cut milk jug to funnel the soot. FYI burning all green wood ( most burned the same week/ weeks it was cut ) created soot but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Less than half a milk jug and the chimney was shiny metal again.


6-8 months seasoned made a HUGE difference in starting and maintaining the fire. Hardly ever need to add kindling unless it was like a 10 hour stretch loading wood. Also, I'm only loading 3/4 or less full. Even with only small embers, the wood I'm using now self catches if I leave the flue open and door slightly cracked. I've only had to make a new fire 1 time this season because we hit 60's for a few days and I let it die on purpose.

Aside from that, I've been sticking 1 - 6 to 8 inch thick split at a time during milder climate ( 40s to 50s ) for 2-4 hours and had no issues with black glass or the fire going out smoldering. I get 2 years seasoned is better.... But I'm not going to buy wood when I can get free wood. I'll just have to start even earlier next year before burning I suppose, and maybe try to stockpile an extra cord or 2 to start.


This is my first stove / fireplace since being a child ( 25-30 years ago ). Learning as I go and this is now my second season. Definitely improving though!


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Wayne Nestor, you are intrepid.

You didn't let anything deter you from having a go with the wood heat. No seasoned wood, no problem. Townhouse, no problem. Close clearances with the couch, no problem. Potential dirty chimney, no problem.

And, while you're at it, you're just gonna cook up some delicious meals in your extra toasty house, right in that new stove that you cleaved out of your circumstances.

You are an inspiration, my man.

 

[Squisher]

Yes Wayne I'd say you've done well. I was on yah about your couch clearances in one of your threads I think? But it seems you're a conscientious burner, which goes a long ways for safety.

I always mention when people talk soot eater that it's important to always verify your whip is through to the top if cleaning bottom up. Visually, with binoculars if you aren't going up top. And nothing replaces giving the cap a good scraping off with a hand brush and visually inspecting the top of the chimney by accessing the roof.

 

[WayneN]

Yes Wayne I'd say you've done well. I was on yah about your couch clearances in one of your threads I think? But it seems you're a conscientious burner, which goes a long ways for safety.

I always mention when people talk soot eater that it's important to always verify your whip is through to the top if cleaning bottom up. Visually, with binoculars if you aren't going up top. And nothing replaces giving the cap a good scraping off with a hand brush and visually inspecting the top of the chimney by accessing the roof.

Lol yes you were. The minimum clearance on the sides is 18 inches ..... There's a big shield around the sides and back that decreases the needed clearance. Trust me, I've read read and reread the manual on clearances. I'm certainly clear of combustibles.

And yes I can see the whips come out of the top of the stack barely and that's when I stopped. Not worried much about a chimney fire. It's all clean straight up.

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[Squisher]

And when you burn properly and maintain properly you don't need to worry about a chimney fire.

Glad to read everything is working out for you so well.

I wasn't meaning to imply that you didn't verify your cleaning whip was through. Just like to throw that out there for people who aren't going topside. Not only is it good to verify that you're through. But if you are just visually inspecting the cap from the ground then having that whip up and in the cap at the time gives a bit of reference and can help to see it better when viewed just through binos.

 

[jwfirebird]

no such thing as to much info, you will have people like me reading this stuff if they have been looking at buying a soot eater or madison.

ive been thinking about the eater not sure how good it would be on an 8inch square older masonry, also have a 6in round on my backup stove, purposly ade that one easy because of how hard the other one is. also goes basement to above second floor

 

[brenndatomu]

no such thing as to much info, you will have people like me reading this stuff if they have been looking at buying a soot eater or madison.

ive been thinking about the eater not sure how good it would be on an 8inch square older masonry, also have a 6in round on my backup stove, purposly ade that one easy because of how hard the other one is. also goes basement to above second floor

8" and 6" will take two separate tools...the SE will work good on the 6" round...but it will do a poor job on anything square.

 

[WayneN]

8" and 6" will take two separate tools...the SE will work good on the 6" round...but it will do a poor job on anything square.

I completely agree. It does an Excellent job on mine. I think you need the square brush that you drop down the chimney using a weight.

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[Squisher]

Others mileage may vary and I've never used a sooteater. But my pro rotary system will clean a rectangle/square clay lined masonry chimney with the proper length whip head on it. I've done testing for myself with using the whip head first, followed up by a proper fit brush and not been able to get anymore significant cleanings out. And I've also experimented the opposite way and found that after using a traditional brush I've been able to get more out with the rotary.

A big part of cleaning is verifying the effectiveness, if you're throwing a rotary or a traditional brush in a chimney and 'hoping' it gets clean enough. Neither is proper. It needs to be verified, visually, camera, somehow or other. Blind cleaning is not proper cleaning IMO.

 

[jwfirebird]

its just never been real fun, what i normally do now is the brush, weight 50ft of rope. you can see from the top fine. ive had it inspected and pro cleaned a few times over the years, when i had the oil one sleaved.

it just sucks, i normally do it when its still warm because that part of the roof is kind of steep so you have all the crap going down into the wifes face, theres no way to get away from it. both furnaces are in the way, you have to sit on the poured riser with about 12 inches for your feet and scooch about 8 ft back to the clean out. just thought it would be better if i could do something from the roof by myself