Need a better lighter

[enchant]

You will find that you need to shut down the air all the way sooner, or the stove will get quite hot.

I watched an official Jotul video, and although he didn't specify exactly where he set the damper after filling the stove with wood, it sort of looked like it was fairly open, like maybe 1/3 open. Are you saying that once the wood appears to have started burning well, I should immediately close down the damper completely?

Note that the manual shows thermometer placement at the sides of the stovetop patterned area.]

As you saw in my video, I had the thermometer at the front center. The side areas were considerably cooler. So when people are saying that they cruise at a particular temperature, they're referring to readings taken off the side like that? If that's the case, the stove wasn't as hot as I thought.

I mean, the fire I had going in that video was a thing of beauty. There was zero smoke coming out of the chimney, and I was getting good heat.

 

[kennyp2339]

Quick question, what kind of cap do you have? Also is there insulation at the clean out, or is the clean out sealed?

 

[HisTreeNut]

I may have missed it the postings but his old is your house and how well insulated is it?
You may want to crack a window in the room that your stove is in to see if that affects the draft or the smoke issue. If opening a window keeps the smoke from coming into your house, then you will need to look into an outside air kit for your stove. It is not getting enough "make-up" air for lack of better phrasing. Also, make sure that things like bathroom fans, gas dryers, & such are not running either.

 

[revdocjim]

I've read in several places of people filling the stove before they go to bed and it runs through most of the night. I'm assuming they're not getting up out of bed every hour to tend it.

I haven't used either the 600 or the 400 but I would have thought the larger stove would need less tending since it holds more wood. Was your 600 a pre-EPA model without secondary combustion?

 

[enchant]

Quick question, what kind of cap do you have? Also is there insulation at the clean out, or is the clean out sealed?

I'm not sure what kind of cap it is. Here is a photo, if that tells you anything. As for the clean out, I don't know the answer to those questions.

 

[enchant]

I haven't used either the 600 or the 400 but I would have thought the larger stove would need less tending since it holds more wood. Was your 600 a pre-EPA model without secondary combustion?

Like I said in another post, it was not a 600. It was a 602. At least 30 years old. It came with the house when we bought it.

 

[enchant]

I may have missed it the postings but his old is your house and how well insulated is it?
You may want to crack a window in the room that your stove is in to see if that affects the draft or the smoke issue. If opening a window keeps the smoke from coming into your house, then you will need to look into an outside air kit for your stove. It is not getting enough "make-up" air for lack of better phrasing. Also, make sure that things like bathroom fans, gas dryers, & such are not running either.

The room has no actual windows. It does have five 8-foot sliders surrounding it. The first floor is a fairly open floor plan, and I don't think the house is that tightly sealed.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

Enchant: I have run a Castine for years, along with a handful of other stoves. It is by far the most efficient stove I have ever run. It is also the most finicky.

It is sluggish in temps above 45 degrees and you will not get anywhere near an 8 hour useable burn like it says. I get 3-4 useable hours per load out of mine, but will certainly have useable coals for up to 6-7 hours. This is with 2-3 year seasoned hard/soft wood mixes. I've found the Castine likes to be burnt hot and quickly for the most efficient use of your wood.

Everyone is right about the top down fire. It will get your chimney warmed and burn the most smoke possible during startup. I light the fire starter, close the door and within 20 minutes the stove is cruising at 500 degrees or more if I let it.

 

[enchant]

Thanks for the info, CentralVAWoodHeat. When you get your fire going and are going to leave it to burn, where do you set your damper? Yesterday when I was having issues, the outside temperature did rise up to nearly 50 by mid-day.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

Thanks for the info, CentralVAWoodHeat. When you get your fire going and are going to leave it to burn, where do you set your damper? Yesterday when I was having issues, the outside temperature did rise up to nearly 50 by mid-day.

Glad to help.

My damper position varies based on size/type of wood load and outside temperature. When it is around 50 my damper will end up at 50-75% closed for the burn cycle. As it gets into the 20's and 30's I will get nearer to 80-90% closed. I rarely go all the way unless I reload too quickly, when the stove is around 350, in which case I will shut it down all the way to prevent the stove from over heating.

There is a serious learning curve to new EPA stoves. It sounds like your Castine is your first experience with one. Don't get frustrated. It will take at least a full year or burning good wood below 20% moisture to get the hang of it.

 

[enchant]

Thanks for the encouraging words. I'll try to be patient and learn.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

Thanks for the encouraging words. I'll try to be patient and learn.

The real key to any of the new stoves is dry wood. Way drier than you are likely used to burning in your old one. Let your wood dry for a full 1-3 years, depending on the type and your climate and operating your stove will be a pleasure.

 

[firefighterjake]

I apologize since I may have missed this... has the chimney been swept recently or is it brand new? If the answer to this is yes I would think there is a possibility (slim) that something is wrong with the stove or it is a draft issue since a stove burning for several hours should have a well established draft at that point and there should be no smoke coming out ... stream of conscious thinking here ... if you're reloading on hot coals honestly there shouldn't be any smoke in the fire box.

Regards to too much heat ... avoid loading one split at a time and monitor temps and turn down the air sooner rather than later.

 

[enchant]

Brand new stove and chimney.

 

[mellow]

If you are getting smoke spillage on reloads that is a draft issue, your draft is not strong enough even with the chimney warmed up. Can you take some pictures of your setup? This could be a chimney issue or just a shoulder season issue with warmer temps out.

 

[enchant]

Here are a couple of photos.

 

[mellow]

Is that doublewall or singlewall from the stove to the thimble?

 

[enchant]

I'm almost sure it's single wall.

 

[jatoxico]

So you said the chimney is lined? That means the cleanout shown in pic #2 is nonfunctional at this point?

 

[enchant]

I'm sorry, when all of this was being installed, the contractors told me what was being done, but I had no idea I'd need all of this information. I expected to hook up the stove and it'd work.

I appreciate all of the attempts at helping me, but I obviously don't have the technical background nor sufficient knowledge of my structure to hold up my end of the conversation. I think I should just do my best to get it all working this season. If I'm unable to get it working properly, I'll sell it next year and get the 602 back into place which I know works well.

 

[mellow]

Will have to see if the smoke spillage goes away with colder weather but you might need to switch that out to doublewall pipe and two 45's instead of a 90, it will push your stove out a bit more but helps a lot with draft issues.

 

[enchant]

What sort of tools would be involved with something like this. I'm fairly handy at wordworking, but haven't done anything with this. I assume I'd need something that can cut the 6" pipe, and something to crimp one end of it?

 

[enchant]

it will push your stove out a bit more but helps a lot with draft issues.

Could you explain the physics behind that? I'd think that a perfect (albeit unrealistic) scenario would have the stove pipe feeding directly up the chimney, with no horizontal travel, right? I can understand how replacing existing horizontal pipes with 45-degree angled pipes would improve the situation, but I don't see how moving it away from the wall would help. Doesn't that increase the horizontal travel?

 

[Dobish]

Could you explain the physics behind that? I'd think that a perfect (albeit unrealistic) scenario would have the stove pipe feeding directly up the chimney, with no horizontal travel, right? I can understand how replacing existing horizontal pipes with 45-degree angled pipes would improve the situation, but I don't see how moving it away from the wall would help. Doesn't that increase the horizontal travel?

2 45º pipes will take up more space than the 90º bend that you have now, so you will have to push the stove out to accommodate.

 

[Dobish]

oh also, get a propane torch... i don't know why I ever used anything else.