I was Here:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/pe-pacific-insert-not-bullet-proof.37956/ and spent quite a few hours happily absorbing it. I posted the following without much hope that anyone would notice but begreen was kind enough to advise me to start a new thread with a copy/paste so here it is. I am new to this so hope I have done it appropriately:
Last night as I sat reading this thread this recurred: I had a nice fire actively burning but getting low on wood so I added about four big splits and immediately returned the air control to minimum. The new fuel lit in seconds and proceeded to burn vigorously for about two hours. I stayed up and observed the stove while reading several more pages of this thread. The intense heat warmed the living room and kitchen of my 12x60 beercan to 89* in those two hours. I listened with new appreciation to the loud pings, pops and bangs coming from the cracked steel box. mine!
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I would strongly recommend that you never do this. It is a recipe for overfire. Wait until the fire has burned down to coals, at a minimum. It is really a good idea to get a complete burn from a load before adding new wood...let the colas burn as long as they are giving off decent heat, before you add new wood. On really cold days you may want to make an exception and put wood on a good size bed of coals, but if you do, cut the air down quite rapidly. The wood will usually ignite before the door is closed.