After many years of Vermont winters (and autumns and springs and stick seasons and mud seasons) warmed by a decades-old Vermont Castings Defiant Encore, we recently crossed the river and bought a WS Absolute Steel hybrid. I'm geeking out trying to figure out how much wood to use, when to add it, what air flow setting to use, when to engage the catalyst, etc. I honestly had wanted/hoped that the new stove would just blow us away, but although it's been super nice, it doesn't feel like a massive upgrade beyond our prior stove. So maybe that means the old stove was really good. Or else I'm not using the new stove effectively. Of course I've only been burning it for a month now, haven't gotten deep into winter. A few questions below. Any feedback appreciated, thanks.
1.I did not take a close look at all of the interior of the firebox before using it, but recently I noticed that there appeared to be some gaps between the top/ceiling of the box and the back wall of the box. There are three bolts connecting the top and back (right, center, left) and in between these connections the top of the box appears to be a bit bowed. See the photo. Is this normal? Perhaps this is by design to allow the metal to expand/contract as the temperature changes? I just want to ensure that combustion airflow, exhaust flow, isn't going somewhere that it shouldn't and undermining efficiency, creating any exhaust leakage risks, etc.
2. I've been successful at gradually getting the temp up into the 250-300 range on the external thermometer provided with the stove, placed on the pipe 8 inches above the stove. If I understand correctly, 250 is the threshold when I can then engage the catalyst. This usually requires that I have the air flow wide open to 4, though with enough wood in the box I've been able to drop the airflow to 3 or even close to 2 for a bit, while still keeping the thermometer at the 250 threshold. But I haven't been able to get it very much above 300, which is where it says the optimum burn is 300-600. I use hardwood that has been split and stacked under a roof outside for a year, so I don't think the wood is a huge problem. When reading about the stove, I had thought that the goal in terms of efficiency, using the catalyst and secondary combustion, was to get temp in the 300-600 range, engaging the catalyst, while also keeping the airflow really low. But I can barely get to 300-325 with the airflow wide open to 4. Maybe I just need to get used to throwing a LOT more wood into the box than I'm used to from our old, smaller, Vermont Castings stove? Is this an either-or situation, such that I can either (1) fill it with tons of wood, and keep airflow low and burn for a super long time, but the temp won't be super high, maybe not even high enough for the catalyst, or (2) I can keep the airflow wide open, run the stove at much higher temps and engage the catalyst? Or can I have it all, really low airflow, and temps well above 300?
1.I did not take a close look at all of the interior of the firebox before using it, but recently I noticed that there appeared to be some gaps between the top/ceiling of the box and the back wall of the box. There are three bolts connecting the top and back (right, center, left) and in between these connections the top of the box appears to be a bit bowed. See the photo. Is this normal? Perhaps this is by design to allow the metal to expand/contract as the temperature changes? I just want to ensure that combustion airflow, exhaust flow, isn't going somewhere that it shouldn't and undermining efficiency, creating any exhaust leakage risks, etc.
2. I've been successful at gradually getting the temp up into the 250-300 range on the external thermometer provided with the stove, placed on the pipe 8 inches above the stove. If I understand correctly, 250 is the threshold when I can then engage the catalyst. This usually requires that I have the air flow wide open to 4, though with enough wood in the box I've been able to drop the airflow to 3 or even close to 2 for a bit, while still keeping the thermometer at the 250 threshold. But I haven't been able to get it very much above 300, which is where it says the optimum burn is 300-600. I use hardwood that has been split and stacked under a roof outside for a year, so I don't think the wood is a huge problem. When reading about the stove, I had thought that the goal in terms of efficiency, using the catalyst and secondary combustion, was to get temp in the 300-600 range, engaging the catalyst, while also keeping the airflow really low. But I can barely get to 300-325 with the airflow wide open to 4. Maybe I just need to get used to throwing a LOT more wood into the box than I'm used to from our old, smaller, Vermont Castings stove? Is this an either-or situation, such that I can either (1) fill it with tons of wood, and keep airflow low and burn for a super long time, but the temp won't be super high, maybe not even high enough for the catalyst, or (2) I can keep the airflow wide open, run the stove at much higher temps and engage the catalyst? Or can I have it all, really low airflow, and temps well above 300?
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