Some of us, in warmer weather, just turn the computer off when it hits '3' to preserve the coals for loading later. In fact I just got done doing that about 15 minutes ago. However, I personally, would not like it to automatically close the damper when the computer goes to '3' (wood in pyrolysis) without an option to turn that feature off. In real cold weather I need to burn the coals down ASAP in order to re-load.
Yes! Totally agree. In fact it's in my instructions to turn the computer off when it hits 3 to save the fire. With my particular stove, and the pine I mostly have to burn, I find that about 2 1/4 shutoff is about optimal for fire holding. I'd settle for 3 if it was automatic, though.
For example, right now, I'm burning two full loads a day. I've been posting and goofing off, and not watching, but I just passed by the stove and noted that it was getting cold. Draft at 3, a few small coals left, and a bunch of air cooling the stove on the way up the chimney. Checking the data on my Fireboard, I see that I should have shut the computer off about 2 hours ago. The day load went a little quicker than I expected. Had I been paying attention, it would have let me extend the reload time so I have a little more heat and a bigger buffer in the morning, and I wouldn't have had to coax a few small coals back to life in a lukewarm stove to reload. And, a longer, colder restart, I'm sure means more crud in the heat exchanger.
I'm currently pondering if there is some parameter I can set an alert on with the Fireboard that would let me know when, and only when, the fuel load is being exhausted. Most people could maybe use delivered air temp. I'm not sure if fan cycling would screw with that, but in my case, my water heating setup in the plenum definitely would.
So, I just wish I had the option for the draft to close automatically! With softwood, my only wood, the window between the draft going wide open and last call to reload, is only an hour or two on a full load. Small loads are even less. If I turn off the computer at the right time, it goes up to 6 or 8 hours. I'm sure it's completely different if you're burning hardwoods.
And, yes, it has to be optional! When it's 3 or more loads a day, my coals need to go too, and it's cold enough that if I'm home, I can sense the BTU output dropping as coal burning mode kicks in. I just dream of another little switch that says "fire hold mode" or something. I can activate or deactivate it according to my reload plans, or if I might not be home when reload time hits.
Part of what I was getting at (not very clearly) in the earlier reply to another post, is that thermostatic output control might be possible once the fuel load had mostly off-gassed, and entered a primarily pyrolysis phase. Maybe the stove could be put to idle, at least intermittently, if the thermostat wasn't calling for heat, rather than maintaining a near constant output. This would be before the 2-3-out thing starts happening. That would be nice for the cold morning transitioning into a sunny day thing. Basically a lower than "low" setting available to the thermostat, once the fire has burned off most of the nasties. It's pure speculation though, as the CO levels would have to be maintained.
For that matter, something that would do the equivalent of turning the control knob down would be great. Maybe the control goes down a notch for every 15 minutes there's not a call for heat. Maybe inches back up to the manual setpoint if the call for heat doesn't stop or lasts too long.. It'd be great if these parameters were programmable to adapt to different houses or climates. That would at least help in weather where I'm not already burning at about minimum. As it is, I don't use my thermostat, because it doesn't seem to do anything. Most of the time, I leave it max low for slow blower. If it's cold, and I'm burning in the upper settings, and I don't mind the little bit more fan noise, it's max high. High with lower output settings just leads to cycling.
Just fantasizing, though I'm sure I'm not the only one. It'll be interesting to see how much of this stuff gets incorporated into the new furnaces that are coming soon.
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