Thanks. Interesting on the small split strategy, I've wondered about that but usually the next line is over fire due to more surface area, so I haven't tried it.
Also neil, just the one air control.
Stove Ops & Burn Time
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Thanks. Interesting on the small split strategy, I've wondered about that but usually the next line is over fire due to more surface area, so I haven't tried it.
Also neil, just the one air control.
I have the same cw2900 insert and get about the same 4-5 hours between reloads when im trying to pump out the heat. when i dont need as much heat, i'll still have enough coals for restart after 8 hrs.
Ive occasionally run without the fan, usually when my house is already hot enough, but havent noticed if the burn time lengthens. Most of the time, I set the air control to 0.25" short of full closed. Based on this thread, I just turned off the fan and fully closed the air control. Will report if I get any different results..
Ive occasionally run without the fan, usually when my house is already hot enough, but havent noticed if the burn time lengthens. Most of the time, I set the air control to 0.25" short of full closed. Based on this thread, I just turned off the fan and fully closed the air control. Will report if I get any different results..
CentralVAWoodHeat
Minister of Fire
I see. You are correct in that there would be no reason to fill the stove unless you need the extra BTU output. I like to use as little wood as possible to get the job done.
I don't see fan setting affecting your burn times either. On a BK, the thermostat automatically responds to the loss of heat due to fans by increasing the draft setting but this is not a BK. It is silly and misleading to suggest that burn times are determined by the house size, outside temperature, or by fans when really what you mean is that to keep your house warm you will increase the draft setting in response to these factors which will reduce burn times.
Most non-cats have full throttle secondary air available all the time to the firebox so there is very little control of burn rate. This means very little control of burn times or stove temperatures. Hot or hotter. Limiting fuel is the most likely method of successfully limiting output but then your burn times are short.
Some people and some applications do not value burn times at all so this is fine. I am happy with a three hour burn time from my NC30 at 750 degrees and yes, I am dampering down within 5 minutes of ignition. Part way that is, and then more as she heats up. The non-cats are easy breathers!
Most non-cats have full throttle secondary air available all the time to the firebox so there is very little control of burn rate. This means very little control of burn times or stove temperatures. Hot or hotter. Limiting fuel is the most likely method of successfully limiting output but then your burn times are short.
Some people and some applications do not value burn times at all so this is fine. I am happy with a three hour burn time from my NC30 at 750 degrees and yes, I am dampering down within 5 minutes of ignition. Part way that is, and then more as she heats up. The non-cats are easy breathers!
RobbieB
Feeling the Heat
Yes, I'm just in for the romance and ambiance so I tend to make small hot fires with the air wide open. I load new wood to see the flames and I adjust the blower to keep the stovetop between 400 and 500. I generally don't fuel for more than 3 hours and then I just let it burn out with the air wide open.
The next day I'll shut off the stove air and the outside air.
The next day I'll shut off the stove air and the outside air.
That practice may keep the stovetop at 4-500, but could be blowing too high temps up the flue. Is there a thermometer on the stove pipe?
Yes not at all the correct way to run a stove. And also putting a ton of heat up a very questionable install.
RobbieB
Feeling the Heat
The manual says that small hot fires are the best. So I use little fuel and a lot of air, no smoldering. The thermometer says to run the stovetop at 400 to 650 to avoid creosote. I did stick a thermocouple in the gap between the flex liner and the 8 inch duct and it got to a max of 235F. The SS 6 inch rigid section right out the stove is as shiny as the day I installed it.
I can probably laser the pipe through one of my new vent holes but that will have to wait for next season. It's shorts and sandals weather here now.
I can probably laser the pipe through one of my new vent holes but that will have to wait for next season. It's shorts and sandals weather here now.
All true. As for outside temp impacting burn time, although may be negligible, but the bigger the temp differential outside to the exhaust gas will naturally cause a larger draft. I don't have data or tools to support this but science generally agrees with this. But, yes, if it's colder out and you're opening up the air more, this is really what's causing the decreased burn time.
Along the same token, when it's warmer outside, you have to (or at least I find this to be true) open up the air more than if it were cold to have the same level of draft due to the opposite of what I stated above. Just because it's open more doesn't mean more air is being consumed, you're really just balancing these temp differentials. Now, that's true if your output is to remain the same, but if you want a slower burn because of the warmer temps, you can decrease draft more and get longer burn times.
So I did check the door gasket. Loose on the top. Its only been since mid-December, do these really go that quickly?
Any recommendations on gaskets? Or should I just do the search thing?
For some reason, I thought I remember seeing a way to tighten the door seal via the handle and its assembly in my manual to get some extra life out of the gasket. I must've seen it in another manual.
Any recommendations on gaskets? Or should I just do the search thing?
For some reason, I thought I remember seeing a way to tighten the door seal via the handle and its assembly in my manual to get some extra life out of the gasket. I must've seen it in another manual.
While its true hotter fires are best, there's a difference between hot fire and hot flue temp. My manual says the same, however, it also says don't burn at full intensity for more than a few minutes.
RobbieB
Feeling the Heat
I'm nowhere near "full intensity", I just weighed a bundle at 12 lbs. I've never gone through a full bundle on a burn yet. The most I burn is let's say 9 lbs over 3 hours, I estimate operating at a peak input of 20,000 BTU/hr. I like to burn for 3 hours and then just stop feeding fuel and let it burn out which takes like another 3 hours.
The stove looks fine inside, even the vermiculite baffles look new.
Again, I'm not trying to heat my house, just my life. I want the thing to burn out before I go to bed.
The stove looks fine inside, even the vermiculite baffles look new.
Again, I'm not trying to heat my house, just my life. I want the thing to burn out before I go to bed.
What they mean by full intensity is air all the way open and a firebox that looks like a dragon's coming after you from the other side of the glass.
Damp it down and it'll actually look nicer IMO and you can let that puppy go out after you go to bed.
Damp it down and it'll actually look nicer IMO and you can let that puppy go out after you go to bed.
RobbieB
Feeling the Heat
Mine kinda looks like my avatar mostly. Oh, I also have a pretty short flue, I mean it's probably 16 to 17 feet by definition (bottom of fireplace) but the flex liner is maybe 14 feet? I measured the temp of the flex liner at the flue cap and it was 175F.
That is way to cool at the top probably because you have an uninsulated liner in an air cooled chimney which means you are dumping all of that heat into your compromized prefab system and making creosote before it makes it out the chimney. This makes a dangerous setup even more risky
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