New stove advice

[cableman]

I have the shelburne which i think is pretty close to the manchester, my glass is always getting dirty on the lower corners more then the rest! Once i get a couple years worth of seasoned wood ill see if it changes. The ash pan i believe is the same which i dont use either! Just the other day i decided to try it, the grates were closed and it was a pain to get them open which led me to pull the top one off. I think im gonna make a steel plate with a square plug like i saw somewhere here. The open back to me just makes dumping into my metal can easier!

 

[Sprinter]

my glass is always getting dirty on the lower corners more then the rest! Once i get a couple years worth of seasoned wood ill see if it changes

I think that's pretty common with most stoves. Mine's a different stove, but I got a lot of staining on the lower corners the first year. This year my wood supply is much better (drier) and the staining is much less.

 

[D8Chumley]

I can say there is a small amount of staining but its even all the way across. I'm burning 2+ yr seasoned maple, cherry, poplar and some black walnut. Its all mixed together in the pile. I have some hickory I split the beginning of summer I might throw a piece of that in today to see how it burns. I don't know why yours would be doing that, mine isn't that I can see. I threw 4 splits in last night at 10ish before I fell asleep. It was 82* in the family room and 72 back the hallway into the bedrooms. This morning when the dogs woke me up to go out at 5:30 there was still a nice bed of coals and the temp was 67* in the family room. Keep in mind I have 2 ceiling fans on and a 10" fan in the next room pulling the cool air from the back of the house, its still 64 degrees back there.
I'm still super pleased with this stove. I keep the air flow right around the middle to keep the burn above 300* and with a nice bed of coals I only find myself adding 1-2 splits every hour plus. My son was sitting here in just a pair of shorts when I came in from mowing the lawn (leaves) for the last time yesterday. The dogs are loving it also. And- I'm 50/50 on the ash pan, sometimes I use it sometimes I just shovel it out

 

[D8Chumley]

Oh BTW I forgot to say this- its 21* here with a wind chill of 9* currently at 7:15 am

 

[302darren]

Wise guy, thanks for the nicely detailed reply. I was mostly wondering how the stove does on the all night situation.

 

[Wise Guy]

Wise guy, thanks for the nicely detailed reply. I was mostly wondering how the stove does on the all night situation.

Happy Thanksgiving to all

Now that I have a spare moment, I have the following info to share. As temps fell into the 20s and the windchill temps fell even lower over the past few days here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the Manchey got its first real test. The lack of insulation in this old farmhouse really shows up when the winds howl and temps outside fall into the low 20s. For the last four nights, I stoked the fire for the last time around 1030pm. The thermometer in the dining room was no higher than 74 over these four nights, and when I got up at 6, the thermometer read 61 every morning. The Manchey had about two inches of hot coals, that could easily start a fire. The sides of the Manchey were hot, sorta like the feel of a hot cup of coffee. There certainly was a bed of hot coals. Does this constitute "burn time"? I've never quite understood when burn time ends. Does burn time end when the coals are out? If so, then the burn time over the past four days was at least 7.5 hrs. Of course, over that same time, the temp in my dining room fell from a comfortable 74 to a chilly 61 every night.

For what this is worth, I'll add this. As I opened the front door on Tuesday morning, I saw the door seal in the lower right corner begin to come away from the door. Of course, I was shocked, and I took it slow. I wasn't a happy camper. Do I now have to reseal the door? Anyone else having trouble with the front door seal?

302darren, I hope this info is helpful.

 

[bluedogz]

Happy Thanksgiving to all

Does this constitute "burn time"? I've never quite understood when burn time ends.

302darren, I hope this info is helpful.

I've always thought of 'burn time' as 'time where I can throw more wood in and not need another Super Cedar.'

 

[begreen]

WiseGuy, this can happen with new stoves, not a big deal. Get some gasket adhesive then very gently pull the gasket out of the channel where it is loose only. Put a bead of adhesive in the channel, press the gasket back in place and close the stove door. Let it set up per instructions.

 

[Sprinter]

I've never quite understood when burn time ends. Does burn time end when the coals are out?

That's a very common question around here, and the answer varies. Seems like most of the time, it's taken to be as long as you can start a new fire from coals. But for others, it means the stove staying hot for meaningful heat. But even that lacks a real definition. It's a nebulous term.

 

[D8Chumley]

Wise Guy, I have been experiencing about the same as you. I did have an issue last Sunday when we were having high winds all day, I couldn't get it to burn higher than 300*. It was back to normal the next day after the winds had diminished, did you have the same issue by chance?
I climbed up on the roof today to inspect the cap for creosote build-up. I figured its been burning pretty steady for about a month now. It burns in the "zone" when someone is tending to it but I damp it down overnight, and when the wife is working also and the kids are at school and/or not being too attentive (read playing video games or iPad stuff) it tends to be around 200* when I get home. Enough coals to easily get it going again most times. I found that there was very little creosote around the cap. Some, but not enough for me to worry about I think. I will check it again over Xmas break and tear it apart to clean the flue pipe if need be.

 

[Wise Guy]

WiseGuy, this can happen with new stoves, not a big deal. Get some gasket adhesive then very gently pull the gasket out of the channel where it is loose only. Put a bead of adhesive in the channel, press the gasket back in place and close the stove door. Let it set up per instructions.

Begreen, thanks for the info.

 

[Wise Guy]

Wise Guy,...I did have an issue last Sunday when we were having high winds all day, I couldn't get it to burn higher than 300*. It was back to normal the next day after the winds had diminished, did you have the same issue by chance?

D8Chumley, I can't remember how you have your thermometer situated. I have mine placed on the backside of the stove pipe about 6 inches above the top of the stove. I have never had the stove so hot that that thermometer read above 400* even on that first firing when I was trying to cure the paint. I think at that time I got the stove up to 400*, but no further. When the fire seems to be rolling along, the thermometer consistently reads just above the 300* mark. On those windy days a few days ago, the gauge didn't go above 250*. Today and yesterday, I had no trouble getting that dining room thermometer up to 76* and again the thermometer was reading just above the 300* mark. In fact, today, I have tried not to keep a roaring fire, and the thermometer throughout the day has consistently been in the 73-75 degree range. It is currently 74. I plan to stoke the fire for the night, damp it down, and then I expect to find a thick bed of hot coals around 7 tomorrow morning.

But keep this in mind. The thermometer reading is likely to go up once I start burning that seasoned northern red oak I have. Remember, I am burning seasoned hackberry, and the BTU output of hackberry is less than northern red oak, and probably less than what your maple, cherry, poplar, black walnut mix is putting out too. Nonetheless, I saw a noticeable decrease in the heat output of the Manchey when the temps fell into the 20s and the wind was gusting up to 40mph sending the windchill temps into the low teens. The real problem here isn't the Manchey, it's the lack of insulation in the drafty old farmhouse.

 

[D8Chumley]

My thermometer is on the face of the flue pipe 12" from the stove top. Depending on what wood I'm burning and how much air I'm feeding it mine stays between 3-400 without much trouble. 400* when I throw a few splits in then down around 300 when its just coals, time for a reload.