Need help choosing stove size with house layout! Morso?

[Squisher]

Sort of.... one split at a time in a stove like the summit is never going to support secondary combustion even wide open. Probably not. A small load in the summit, would be like three or four splits at a time, vs six or seven for a full load.

It's not about air settings, so much as about temperatures. Stove top 400-700+in a 'tube' stove to support secondary combustion. Flue temp 250-500+ to stay clean. The size/type of the load and the setting of the air are infinitely variable, the proper temp zones are not. You're either in them or your not.

With a oversized stove, you'd be better off to burn hot and then let it go out, than trying to baby it through running cool.

 

[enigmablaze]

Sort of.... one split at a time in a stove like the summit is never going to support secondary combustion even wide open. Probably not. A small load in the summit, would be like three or four splits at a time, vs six or seven for a full load.

It's not about air settings, so much as about temperatures. Stove top 400-700+in a 'tube' stove to support secondary combustion. Flue temp 250-500+ to stay clean. The size/type of the load and the setting of the air are infinitely variable, the proper temp zones are not. You're either in them or your not.

With a oversized stove, you'd be better off to burn hot and then let it go out, than trying to baby it through running cool.

Would one split work for secondary combustion with a stove like the Morso 7110 (firebox 1.04 cubic feet)? I'm not familiar with the Summit at all.

So if you get it up to 400-700...what about when it's cooling down? When the temps are going down does that build up creosote? Or is it just while you can see wood you need to give it enough air to keep flames going until it's a coal bed then you can damp it down?

 

[begreen]

Would one split work for secondary combustion with a stove like the Morso 7110 (firebox 1.04 cubic feet)? I'm not familiar with the Summit at all.

It would be hard to burn one split unless on a hot coal bed. 3-4 smaller splits would be much better. The Summit is a large stove, too much for this application. There should be little creosote buildup if the wood is fully seasoned. Once the wood is in the coaling stage it has stopped outgassing and there is no risk of buildup from a cooler flue temp. You start closing down the air as soon as the wood gets fully involved in flame. Turn it down until the fire starts to get lazy, but not out.

 

[nola mike]

How 'bout a cat stove in this case?

 

[enigmablaze]

How 'bout a cat stove in this case?

I know almost nothing about them, why do you think one would be a good idea? I have tried to read about them but have mostly only come across how folks don't tend to like them...not sure why.

 

[nola mike]

Just because you can run it low for a longer period of time, vs a tube combustion stove that needs to be run hotter for shorter periods. The people that don't like cat stoves tend to not own them...look at the blaze king threads here, they have cult status.

 

[enigmablaze]

It would be hard to burn one split unless on a hot coal bed. 3-4 smaller splits would be much better. The Summit is a large stove, too much for this application. There should be little creosote buildup if the wood is fully seasoned. Once the wood is in the coaling stage it has stopped outgassing and there is no risk of buildup from a cooler flue temp. You start closing down the air as soon as the wood gets fully involved in flame. Turn it down until the fire starts to get lazy, but not out.

I did not realize once they were coals they weren't off gassing any more. How exactly do you know when the wood is "in the coaling stage"?

 

[enigmablaze]

Just because you can run it low for a longer period of time, vs a tube combustion stove that needs to be run hotter for shorter periods. The people that don't like cat stoves tend to not own them...look at the blaze king threads here, they have cult status.

I have wondered if cat stoves produce creosote the same as a non-cat? I will look into the Blaze King...I have seen the name plenty, did not know it was a cat stove.

 

[bholler]

I have wondered if cat stoves produce creosote the same as a non-cat?

yes they can produce creosote just the same as any other stove if used improperly or with wet wood.

 

[begreen]

If constantly run at a low level they can produce more creosote due to lower flue gas temperature.

 

[begreen]

I did not realize once they were coals they weren't off gassing any more. How exactly do you know when the wood is "in the coaling stage"?

When it is a pile of glowing coals and there is no flame.

 

[enigmablaze]

When it is a pile of glowing coals and there is no flame.

So when you start the fire you have the door slightly open, watching it until the fire gets going a minute or two? Then you close the door and adjust the damper open or closed to try to keep it in the appropriate temperature (what exactly are those temps? By stovetop or flue thermometer?) with lazy flames but not out, until the wood is gone and it is coaling with no flames, then the damper can be closed more to extend the burn...
...is that right?

 

[begreen]

Not exactly. After closing the stove door you let the fire catch fully, then start closing down the air, usually in increments until the flames get lazy. Then wait until the fire builds back in intensity and turn it down again. At that point you might not touch the air control again until reloading.
This page has some good videos. Watch - Efficient woodstove operation.
http://woodheat.org/wood-heat-videos.html

 

[enigmablaze]

An installer/sweep today at our house thought the Morso 7110 would make our room too hot but would heat the rest of the house...based on me telling him it was for 1,400 sqft (which is incorrect, it's actually for up to 1,300). The box is 1.04 cubic feet and has a max btu of 38,000. Morso's little stoves are super cute but they only take 12" wood so I was trying to think bigger...that plus apparently how more folks wish their stove was bigger than smaller.

Would it drive us out of the room? I don't want to run it too cold to not burn properly and we want to be able to be around it. Picking a size is SO DIFFICULT since you can't "redo" it if you get it wrong...well I guess you could but for the $$

 

[begreen]

You can burn less wood in mild weather

 

[Attaboy]

First choice here is #2 followed by #4, 12 inch wood is far rarer and is sold at premium pricing, get a stove that will handle minimum 18 inch logs.

A high quality stove and installation will last you nearly a lifetime and the enjoyment it will provide is priceless.

In warmer weather you can use your smaller splits to burn less significant fires to chase the chill away.

I have found in nearly 50 years experience that a north / south log loading direction is safer than a east / west log direction, had a few mishaps with a east / west loading stove that were very stressful.

 

[enigmablaze]

You can burn less wood in mild weather

But even if you burn less wood, doesn't the temp of the stove still have to get into the same "goldilocks zone"? Wouldn't it be just as hot just not burn as long?

 

[enigmablaze]

I have found in nearly 50 years experience that a north / south log loading direction is safer than a east / west log direction, had a few mishaps with a east / west loading stove that were very stressful.

Please expound what you mean here, I'm guessing north/side is vertical (facing you and the back wall) and east/west is sideways (ends facing your left and right) but I have absolutely NO idea why one would be preferable to the other? Please please tell me.

 

[Squisher]

Firstly if you burn less wood you can still get up to temp. It's definetly been overstated recently on this site IMO the limited ability to control burn rate or temps with a non-cat stove. There is quite a variation in heat output easily available to the baffle burner by adjusting load size, species(if possible) and then the actual running of the stove. Most stoves will support robust secondary combustion around 400-500 stovetop(steel stove, magnet thermometer) and the heat output from running around that temp zone vs 700+ is very real and substantial. Certainly baffle/tube burners will heat more in cycles than cat. But that's the same when it's cold out or warm. It's the nature of the beast. Get too hot? Let the stove go out.

N/s and e/w loading is as you describe. E/w has a greater tendency of having splits potentially try to roll out or roll up against the glass. Also it's much easier to pack the box full n/s for the reasons I just listed. N/s loading when you are packing it tight the splits are up against the side of the stove, no concern and just keep jamming them in. E/w you have to consider your loading so that splits won't fall against the glass as the load burns and you can't jam it tight as there's no 'sides' to hold the pieces like when loading n/s.

 

[Attaboy]

Please expound what you mean here, I'm guessing north/side is vertical (facing you and the back wall) and east/west is sideways (ends facing your left and right) but I have absolutely NO idea why one would be preferable to the other? Please please tell me.

North / South refers to from front to rear log loading, East / West refers to loading logs side to side length wise along the glass and door. Most stoves are manufactured for either North / South loading or East / West loading, however some stoves have fireboxes that are so big that you can load logs either way.

When north /south loading your hands and arms hardly penetrate the inside of the stove so less chance to get skin and hair singed or burned and absolutely no chance as compared to east /west loading of having a log, pop, slip, slide or force back out through the door and either land on the ash lip or roll back out on the floor or as happened to me fall back in to the door and break the glass, as well with East / west loading I have always had more ash falling back out and this not to mention the red coals that often fall out as well, ever notice on many stoves how the ash lip paint is burned up and sometimes damaged, most of these are east / west loaders. If you are reloading with a partially burned load on a east / west stove you really need fireplace gloves and the higher up the arm the better as the heat singes the skin and hair , have also found that when I opened the door even when done slowly flames shot out far more on the east / west'ers, north / south loader fireboxes being deeper this is rarely a problem.

The door / glass is normally a bit wider on east /west loaders offering a tad more view of the flames and fire inside the stove if that is what you are absolutely looking for. On north / South loaders I can pack splits of all sizes a lot tighter with no hassle or danger. North / South stoves being longer or deeper if you prefer you do need to build a longer hearth 4-8 '' depending on the size of the stove, but the hearth can be narrower however than the east / west'er.