I've been reading this site for a while now, but have been slow to post. All the information is great. It's great reading about people as nutty as I am about burning wood. Anyways, this is our first winter in our new house (new to us). It is my fourth winter heating with wood. Previously I had a Lopi insert, I think from early 90's. It appeared to use some of the EPA tech (one secondary tube in front), but didn't really burn "clean". My new setup behaves much differently and I though I should take advantage of the wealth of knowledge here and get some input/advice. Some background: I bought my oslo used, though it is only a few years old. I've had the top off, baffle and secondary unit all out of the stove, due to it being moved around a lot before the install (to lighten it up some). The secondary, I actually removed because I noticed the cement was loose on one side where it seals to the back so I remove just to reseal with cement and reinstall. All appears sealed well, and my secondaries are functioning good. I removed the old 8" triple wall chimney and put in 6" Selkirk Metalbest double wall. I'm also using the Selkirk double wall stove pipe - about 15' and 5' respectively. I love the Oslo already although it hasn't been cold enough yet to give it a real test. I think it's going to work out great. Question 1: After loading I leave the primary open 100% until the stove top temp (at the corners per the manual) is around 400-450 or so and then begin backing it off gradually. I start getting pretty nervous when things really get kicking in the firebox. I fear that the flue temps may be getting out of hand because the draft sounds so strong. It's hard to tell with the double wall what's really going on. I've went in the attic and the chimney is not too hot. Is the roaring fire with open primary normal? I've experienced one brief chimney fire and the sound reminds me of it...so I'm a little gun shy. I've yet to get my temps up over 500 because I'm quick to shut it down as I don't want my flue too hot. My previous install was into a masonry chimney with a stainless, insulated liner. This is my first experience with exposed stove pipe and a manufactured chimney. I may just be more exposed to the sound. Do I need to get a probe thermometer or am I overreacting? Question 2: My oslo didn't have the bottom heat shield. My hearth pad is flush with the wood floor and from the joists up consists of 5/8" plywood decking, 2, 1/2" layers of durarock, 1/4" of thinset and 3/8" slate. The slate gets way hotter than I expected. I don't have an IR thermometer, but getting a rough estimate with the stove top thermometer I'm guessing it's over 200F. At it's hottest I cannot hold my hand on it. I've been using a small fan blowing under the stove and this keeps things cool. I've considered just getting some sheet metal and making a small shield. I hate to pay $100 when I think the protection I need is minimal if any. What do you guys think? I just know i cannot chance having a fire in the crawl space.
Sorry for the long post...look forward to the replies.
Sorry for the long post...look forward to the replies.