PE Alderlea T5 operating tips?

[begreen]

With "real time" data, do you tend to let the flue temp peak higher before shutting be down? I'm guessing with the Condar flue probe's lag, people unknowningly adjust for the lag you've noted.

Yes, I am a little bit, but it's more like I am doing it more accurately. I am turning it down at ~600ºF while the Condar probe is reading about 400º. I also am making smaller changes in the air so that I can close it down earlier, but not squelch the fire too much. On the flipside, I have also had a few alarms go off (+900º) when my cellphone timer is still counting down the minutes.

 

[Woody Stover]

I think thats just the consequence of a secondary stove? They are all going to surge a little inefficiently after a big reload? Totally worth it for these gorgeous secondaries dancing around!

RIght. One of my concerns was that the secondary stove would go through more wood than her previous VC Dutchwest cat. This stove is much better able to heat her space, and with a bigger stove and more output, more wood is burned. Hard to compare to previous winters, as it has been mild through the coldest months this year..
Yeah, the secondary burn is way kewl.

 

[thunderhead]

The optimum "perfect burn" would have a flue exhaust temp of 250 degrees and no smoke right? I guess its too much to try and rig a thermometer all the way at the top? Is there a ballpark value of how much double wall chimney pipe cools per foot of rise? I guess that probably depends fairly strongly on draft speed and also based on outside temp.

 

[begreen]

The optimum "perfect burn" would have a flue exhaust temp of 250 degrees and no smoke right?

For surface flue temp maybe, but 250º on a flue probe 18-24" above the stove is going to lose some heat in the chimney. With flue gases that cool there will be condensation = creosote accumulation.

 

[thunderhead]

For surface flue temp maybe, but 250º on a flue probe 18-24" above the stove is going to lose some heat in the chimney. With flue gases that cool there will be condensation = creosote accumulation.

Oh ya, I meant 250 on the very top of the stack, if you could get a sensor way up there. That would allow 0 accumulation with wasting minimum heat?

 

[begreen]

It should be a measurement of the chimney liner surface temp then. Flue gases may be hotter, but cool rapidly in contact with a colder surface.

 

[Newburnerwisconsin]

First off I'd like to say thanks to members of this board, especially begreen, for answering my questions. We just got our stove installed a few days ago, and right now it's cranking along on its first real fire after a few warmup fires... now its got a nice set of secondarys on almost-low some 45 mins after startup! And I love how it looks!
View attachment 255856

So now a few more questions if you don't mind.

What is the max height I want to stack the wood? A few inches below the top? How far from the glass should they stay?

After browsing some other threads it looks like the stovetop temp can hit 700F with no problem? But the stove top is kindof hidden... what about a temperature guage at the base of the flue? Would that work? What do you guys recommend for thermometer brand and location?

Do you folks ever use the ashpan or do you generally not bother with it?

Thanks!

So you are getting nine hour burn times overnight with cedar wood? Is your stove the new EBT2 version? Thank you.

 

[thunderhead]

So you are getting nine hour burn times overnight with cedar wood? Is your stove the new EBT2 version? Thank you.

Ya, its the new epa2020 version but from what other posters have said about their older versions it sounds like mine is behaving pretty much the same as the previous generation?

I am using doug fir, not cedar, for overnights. My overnight burn times vary depending on what you consider the end and plus minus a little variability. I can relight from coals 10ish hours later, but get useful heat for less... perhaps as low as 5-6 hours if i let it take off a bit too aggressively on a reload, but more commonly 7 to 8 hours of heat? My homes other heat sources usually kick on just before we wake up.

I'm quite pleased with the stove though! Im new at this and with a high density wood and more experience I figure i can make the overnight burns last a little longer.

I'd expect to lose a few hours burning cedar though. Cedar is so low density.

I love the cast iron look, its easy to start and the air control is pretty responsive, the glass stays clean. No complaints at all so far. I think i chose well!

 

[thunderhead]

One thing i really like about this doug fir is it seems like it has almost no ash. I think I've turned 1500 pounds of it into a single pound of ash. Shovelled out my stove once in the last month... mainly because i wanted to use the new shovel

 

[Woody5506]

In my experience each burning season has gotten better for me as my wood ages. I hadn't gotten up to a 3 year plan until last year so technically what I'm burning now is 2 years old. Point being, properly seasoned wood makes a world of difference especially in regards to overnight burns. I have no issue getting 10-12 hour burns now.

 

[thunderhead]

In my experience each burning season has gotten better for me as my wood ages. I hadn't gotten up to a 3 year plan until last year so technically what I'm burning now is 2 years old. Point being, properly seasoned wood makes a world of difference especially in regards to overnight burns. I have no issue getting 10-12 hour burns now.

What wood are you using for your overnights? But ya I am just starting my stash. But I'm west coast so I think its quicker to build up a seasoned doug fir stash. Also my current splits are almost all 16 inches exact. Not perfect for either NS or EW. If they were a few inches longer or half an inch shorter it would tack on a little more burn time for me. In a year or two when my seasoned stash is built up I will have a section for perfect overnight logs.

 

[Woody5506]

Lately I've been mixing Norway Maple and Ash for overnight burns. I've also gotten good overnighters with just the Norway, as long as there's a couple big splits in there with normal sized ones. Most of what I've burned this season has been ash.

 

[mar13]

Also my current splits are almost all 16 inches exact. Not perfect for either NS or EW. If they were a few inches longer or half an inch shorter it would tack on a little more burn time for me.

The manual says 16 inches is preferred and I'll stick with that. I'm afraid a stove stuffed full with 18" (stated max) will potentially lead to dirty glass and blocking the boost air hole down at the bottom middle below the door. Let me know, though, if it works for you as I actually haven't done it with more than one or two 18" splits.

I have a bunch of old 12-14 inch splits which I'll occasionally experiment with EW loading. I find it's harder to get a strong clean burn with this loading, though I will use it to get a longer burn from a few splits in a hot stove. With a full stove, you'd be negating one advantage of NS loading which is the greatly reduced risk of splits rolling towards the window.

 

[Woody Stover]

its quicker to build up a seasoned doug fir stash. Also my current splits are almost all 16 inches exact.

Lately I've been mixing Norway Maple and Ash for overnight burns. I've also gotten good overnighters with just the Norway, as long as there's a couple big splits in there with normal sized ones. Most of what I've burned this season has been ash.

Dense wood species will give longer burns, as will bigger splits. Thunderhead, what size Doug Fir splits have you been using?
I've seen BTU numbers all over the place for Doug Fir, but begreen recently said that from his experience, he doubts some of the higher numbers.
White Ash I'd say is a medium-high output wood, a bit below Red Oak. I'm not sure about Norway Maple. If it's between soft Maple (Silver, Red) but not as good as hard Maple (Sugar) I'd expect to get burn time about like I do with Red (Slippery) Elm, what I'd call a medium output wood. Decent, but definitely down a bit from Red Oak.
This stove will keep putting out good heat, even as the coal bed has gotten pretty low, so good-coaling woods like Oak give long "burns."

 

[Woody5506]

Info for Norway Maple is all over the place but I know it to be pretty much like you said WoodyStover, between silver and red but not as good as sugar. I load my stove with 17-18" splits mostly and have no issue with it getting a clean front to back burn.

 

[bcrtops]

Doug Fir is "all over place" with regards to burn rate/btu's. It all depends on its growth rate, tree age, and density. There is a stand of 100 yr. old trees ~1/2 mile from us that is so dense/hard that the local mill doesn' t like to saw it. It burns like oak & takes long time to dry -- hard to count the growth rings they're so close together. Cedar burns slow if left in big pieces. Large cedar knots burn almost like hardwood. Local loggers thought I was crazy, but we burned cedar scrap from a shingle/shake mill all one winter (many years ago) & heated as good as fir, being the large knot pieces they split off the shake bolts/blocks.

 

[thunderhead]

I'm afraid a stove stuffed full with 18" (stated max) will potentially lead to dirty glass and blocking the boost air hole down at the bottom middle below the door.

Good points. Next year when my stash of longer splits is ready I'll try some out and let you know. Perhaps I will need to put in a smaller split middle low to give the boost air more room, or reload at slightly higher temps/coal beds to make up for it?

Good points.

Thunderhead, what size Doug Fir splits have you been using?
I've seen BTU numbers all over the place for Doug Fir, but begreen recently said that from his experience, he doubts some of the higher numbers.

Ive got 16 inch splits right now, with little variation, from a seller since this is my first year. Ive got about 5k pounds of doug fir split so far for next season... it seems like a medium density wood to me but my experience is limitted. Hard to imagine a tree that has the genes to grow to 300 feet fairly rapidly will typically be all that dense, but maybe I can find some of the denser growths.

 

[begreen]

Good points. Next year when my stash of longer splits is ready I'll try some out and let you know. Perhaps I will need to put in a smaller split middle low to give the boost air more room, or reload at slightly higher temps/coal beds to make up for it?

Good points.


Ive got 16 inch splits right now, with little variation, from a seller since this is my first year. Ive got about 5k pounds of doug fir split so far for next season... it seems like a medium density wood to me but my experience is limitted. Hard to imagine a tree that has the genes to grow to 300 feet fairly rapidly will typically be all that dense, but maybe I can find some of the denser growths.

Young growth doug fir can be mostly sap wood. They grow very quickly for the first 25 yrs. Higher altitude fir and older trees have more densely-packed growth rings.