There is an block-off plate but it is not insulated. What should it be insulated with?
Should I buy a Palladian?
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ManitobaSky
Burning Hunk
Before giving up on the C3 I would stoke it with some more dry wood and try to get the stovetop 100º hotter. Then take a basic table fan and set it on the hearth so that it blows air at an angle to the rear of the fireplace, behind the stove. Run the fan on low speed and see how this affects room temp.
DuaeGuttae
Minister of Fire
I’ll second that recommendation. We have them in nearly all of our large (double pane) windows. We keep them in year round. It makes a big difference keeping both cold and heat out for us.
@begreen, we don’t notice the vinyl film being any less transparent than glass, but our windows themselves are not kept sparkling clean. Our house has a contemporary sort of look without a lot of trim on the windows, so they fit right in. I think the frames would stand out more in traditional wood windows.
I'm having trouble getting the stove top hotter than 500. I'm not sure if this is because of the self regulating function of the stove or because our wood is not dry enough. I ordered a moisture metre and have a friend bringing one over today so I'll be able to check the wood later. The fan blowing to the back of the fireplace has helped though!
Chimney does have a block off plate but it isn't insulated (I'll fix that!). I think a very large part of the issue is how far back it is sitting, as evidenced by the fact that a fan blowing into the back of the fireplace has helped a lot. I got this stove because I didn't want to extend the hearth into the living/dining room, but the junky hearth pad that is sticking our about three feet has bothered me not at all in the last year, so I think over the summer we will build a bigger hearth pad and get a (used) back venting stove. The 700 square feet we are trying to heat opens up into the rest of the house so if we could heat more than that it's a bonus. We are building a workshop this winter that we could use the C3 in. I really appreciate everybody's help and great tips for getting the most out of this little guy though. And I've come to my senses, I won't get a palladian.
ManitobaSky
Burning Hunk
I can see why you wanted the Palladian, they are a beautiful stove. I would just be worried you would be feeding it 3 or 4 times a day with the space you are working with. The fireview would solve the reload issues if you can find one or an absolute steel if you like the look of them. Well it’s good you have a home for the C3 they do look like a great little stove, so it’s nice you can make use of it the the workshop.
Good to hear. If you can get some unfinished flooring scraps or 2x4 cutoffs to mix with the wood, that will help. If you have a Tractor Supply nearby pick up some of their compressed sawdust brick fuel and add a brick to the fire.
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Yes there is a ceiling fan set to push air down. It's about as far away from the stove in the room as it can be though. Tested our wood yesterday, and most of it actually seems pretty good with a moisture level below 20. That fan pointed to the back of the fireplace is amazing , and I can really feel the difference using it.
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
Can you describe your testing procedure?
With stove top temperatures, assuming at the hottest point, topping out at 550 your wood or flue are not right and no stove will fix that.
I do think that if you want the Palladian you should try it out. There's a lot to say about getting something that looks good in all seasons. That being said, if your flue isn't strong enough for the VC Aspen, it's not going to work for the Palladian since it calls for a 7" flue normally.
This is my first time using a moisture meter. It is the 'general' brand and I was just sticking it into the cut side of the wood as far as it would go. Is that right? I don't think we have a flu problem. It's a 6" steel liner in an interior masonry chimney. Its about 20 feet. No issue with draft or smoke coming into the room. Maybe supplementing our wood (which is admittedly somewhat variable) with the compressed bricks would push the temp higher. Just took a look through the manual to see what temp the stove is supposed to run at but didn't see any guidance on that. I had assumed that 500 was great based on our stove top thermometer which actually shows 600 as an overfire.
Ok a few things there. The way to get an accurate moisture content measurement is by resplitting a room temperature piece of wood and testing on the fresh split face. Your wood is probably too wet.
Next 600 is not an overfire on most stove tops. I am assuming you have a pipe thermometer not a stove top thermometer. Most stoves easily run at 800 top temps
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SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
The temperature ranges on those magnetic pipe and stove top thermometers are a bit arbitrary. I don't measure my stove top anymore, just go by flue surface temp. If you have double connector pipe, you need to measure the inside of the flue with a probe thermometer. My stove is a similar shape and functions similar and I used to get temperatures of 800df or higher at the peak of the burn. During our first winter we had to supplement our wood with the compressed sawdust bricks. They did the trick and were definitely worth the money. Our wood was mostly dead standing spruce and fir, the moisture content was probably around 25%, a bit too much water for a modern stove. Loading up the stove with half bricks and half cordwood was optimal for burn times and stove temperature.
When you get a chance, watch the video here.
www.hearth.com
The importance of seasoned wood - Dry vs Wet
This is a somewhat extreme case comparing dry wood @ 16% moisture and wet wood @38%. 38% is just under dripping wet or like green wood that was split recently. Adding a second video. Short and to the point. Further thoughts: https://hearth.com/articles/chimneysweep/howetwd.htm
www.hearth.com
Wow, great detective work. You guys really are amazing. Yes, just looked up my thermometer and it's intended to go on the stove pipe.
Still waiting on my moisture meter (borrowed one yesterday) so will have to check again after freshly splitting some wood but ya'll must be right, my wood must be too wet. I just went to Tractor Supply and looked for the sawdust bricks but all they had were duraflame logs that said not to burn them in an enclosed wood stove.
Yeah I think you must be spot on and our wood is too wet. I'll have to wait for our meter to arrive and test it right.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
A couple easy field tests from an old wood burner:
Knock a couple splits together. Wet wood thumps, dry wood rings.
If you throw a split on hot coals and it immediately bursts into bright flames, at least the outside is dry. If it sits there and hisses at you, it's pretty wet.
If you split a split and the fresh-split face is a darker color than the old face, it's wet inside.
Honestly 90% of the problems people ask about here boil down to 'wet wood', but a lot of people aren't open to hearing that answer.
There's been a couple that I remember in particular who had long, long threads detailing their trying journey troubleshooting the elusive manufacturing defect in their first stove, ignoring everyone who said it was their wood or their venting, and then they replaced the bad stove and somehow amazingly got a different stove from a different manufacturer which mysteriously had the same exact problem.... what are the odds...
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I'll admit to being one of those frustrated by non-optimal wood my first and even my second year of burning. If you get ahead of your wood supply and let it dry outside, top-covered, in the sun for a couple of years, you will be amazed at the amount of heat this (or any) wood stove will provide.
Mt Bob
Minister of Fire
You should easily be seeing 700 in the middle of the cooktop. I've seen over 900 on mine and I have a very short chimney - but I have very nice dry mulberry firewood and I pack the stove full. Let us know what you find when you get your meter and follow the testing procedure mentioned by other posters above.
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