Over Firing Summit

[Doddington]

Wondering if anyone else has it where their stove cruises for a couple hours and then randomly the wood starts to off gas and heat spikes while secondaries burn strong for a while before it settles down again? I have a PE Summit and my stove will sit around 500-600f flue probe temp for 3+hrs then the fire will jump up 750-900f when wood starts off gassing even with the air vent fully shut. Thinking it’s more of a wood thing than a stove thing?

I just recently added a PE blower and blocked the boost air hole to see if that helps at all. Added a key damper last year and had a draft test done but fell well below manufacturer spec and have noticed very little difference with key damper. Going into second season with this stove and still very frustrating I can’t get it to burn properly like so many other manufacturers out there.

 

[EbS-P]

Can you describe your install? Height, turns etc. how and where are are you measuring temps. How do you use the damper.

 

[Doddington]

This is a picture of my install. Overall about 22’ of flue with double wall and insulated flue with 2x 30degree bends between the stove and ceiling adapter. I have a condar probe thermometer in the double wall flue 18” above the stove as well as a STT thermometer that I used as a secondary reading. Damper control isn’t really something I have a system down for at this time. Have tried not using it, closing it half way and all the way (still 30% air flow when closed I believe) once flue is at temp.

 

[begreen]

That is drafting very strongly. Where is the flue temperature probe located? Did the boost air port just get blocked (per the other thread comment)? How thick are the splits being loaded and what species wood?

 

[Southwestpaburner]

I’m no expert by any means but in my regency 3100 I have no problem that your describing if my load is made up of say 6 big pieces if however I load up with say 12-15-18 smaller pieces I can have an over fire if not paying attention and when I say big pieces I’m talking 6 pieces of 3 by 9 rough cut oak basically 3 pieces stacked 2 rows wide and my box is full compared to a bunch of little pieces , makes a huge difference try bigger pieces and start turning down sooner good luck

 

[Millar]

I am assuming the summit has Ebt , is it possible that causes the flue temp spike . No expert but we have a super with similar though shorter chimney setup and don't see similar results. Disclaimer our chimney is slightly under recommended min. height .

 

[Doddington]

That is drafting very strongly. Where is the flue temperature probe located? Did the boost air port just get blocked (per the other thread comment)? How thick are the splits being loaded and what species wood?

I had a draft test done by my stove inspector and it peaked at .1” which falls “well below” the 0.14” water column that the stove is designed for according to the tech at PE. Probe thermometer is 18” above stove. Boost hole just blocked two fires ago and seeing promising results. Having a hard time with small loads of reload fires keeping it in the optimal flue temp zone so now that I’ve got more confidence in controlling the fire I’m going to try 3-5 splits. Previously that caused flue temps 900-1100f within 2hrs even when shut down as soon as it caught fire.

Not sure on species of wood besides being told it’s hardwood from my supplier. Typically 5-6” splits.

 

[Doddington]

I am assuming the summit has Ebt , is it possible that causes the flue temp spike . No expert but we have a super with similar though shorter chimney setup and don't see similar results. Disclaimer our chimney is slightly under recommended min. height .

It has EBT but not sure that’s causing the issue. The summit is a big stove and all things considered I should have gotten the super.

 

[begreen]

That's a little surprising. .1" is a strong draft. Many stoves want to work at around .04-.06".

All PE stoves have the EBT now.

The wood split thickness is fine. Closing the boost air hole will help. Load with the splits packed tightly and start with a top down fire. Also, an E/W loaded fire will take off slower if you want to try that variation. Just don't load the logs Lincoln Log cabin style. Criss-crossing the wood load introduces a lot of air space.

 

[Doddington]

That's a little surprising. .1" is a strong draft. Many stoves want to work at around .04-.06".

All PE stoves have the EBT now.

The wood split thickness is fine. Closing the boost air hole will help. Load with the splits packed tightly and start with a top down fire. Also, an E/W loaded fire will take off slower if you want to try that variation. Just don't load the logs Lincoln Log cabin style. Criss-crossing the wood load introduces a lot of air space.

Wow didn’t realize that. I’ve had nothing to reference to after having the test done and that was with the flue temps around 900f and outside temp mild around 28F. Both times I talked to tech from PE I was told the stove will operate as intended with a draft of less than .14”. I have tried EW fires as they worked well in my old stove but even with the boost hole open I found they didn’t burn well in this stove.

Any tips on top down fire? I’ve tried them a handful of times but resorted back to a log cabin style kindling fire to start up as that’s all I’ve ever known.

 

[begreen]

For a cold start, load 5-6 splits, leaving about 4" clear below the baffle. Then ball up some paper and do the log cabin style kindling fire on top of the splits.

 

[Millar]

It has EBT but not sure that’s causing the issue. The summit is a big stove and all things considered I should have gotten the super.

Ha we could have gotten away with a Vista for our stove location , but the super was a good deal. Also has the Ebt 2 and ash dump that I thought was just a gimmick. I am a convert now. Burning small loads only of ash split and stacked 4 years because it is still so mild.