We're getting some much needed rain, so in for a chilly damp night. Have a load of cherry and pine warming the house up.
What Is In Your Stove Right Now?
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It's been in the 40's and 50's during the days lately and it's going to start dropping quick in the next week. Lows in that 10f range overnight should get the boiler cleaned up inside ! It turns into a liquid creosote machine when it only runs every three hours.
It's still raining pretty good here, the temp is 31.6.
Heading this way. Praying for snow next week in the Berkshires!
The outside temp is 32.9 tonight, the basement temp is starting out at 73 and the temps up here 69 & 70. The overnight load went in early, it's all pine.
Reloaded around 2PM this afternoon with locust, and kept throttle open to push BTUs into the house.
Currently it's a toasty 68F in living room. A load of sugar maple and locust just went in for overnight burn.
Currently it's a toasty 68F in living room. A load of sugar maple and locust just went in for overnight burn.
Loaded the Buck up with mostly hickory and an ash or 2 at 530 this morning. It’s 1130 pm now and the cat probe is still ~600 degrees and putting out useful heat
51F outside and pouring. 66F in living room and still comfortable. A load of ash just went in to slowly simmer this morning and maintain 66F-68F - no need to roast everyone out of house.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
23 feet is NOT a "tall chimney", by any measure, especially after discounting for two 90's and a tee. There is something wrong with your setup or your operation.
There are many here with chimneys over 30 feet, and a few even over 40 feet with basement installs. The last several years I've been burning oak seasoned 4 years under roof, fully open-sided sheds, so about as dry as you're going to get it without a kiln, on more than 30 feet of chimney. No matter the count and size of bits crammed into the stove, I've never had it take off the way you describe above, unless I do something stupid like leaving the bypass open too long at WOT.
If what you described to us wasn't a chimney fire, and it wasn't a leak in the stove, I'd be landfilling that POS and shopping for a new stove. No joke.
If you're not willing to do that, at least do yourself the favor of installing a key damper on the pipe, so you can cut draft back next time it starts roaring. What's probably happening is that poor inlet control, either due to bad stove design or a leak, is allowing the pipe to get pretty warm, which only increases draft further. Classic closed-loop run-away. Installing a key damper serves to reduce draft at a given temperature, and also reduce amount of heat being pulled into upper flue, giving a compound lever on total draft.
I have 24' of vertical rise with 4' horizontal run on my NC30. Installed a damper last February that drastically improved controllability, burn time and effective heat output. I now can start my overnight fires earlier and have better coals later in the morning...
100% wrong. I had many smaller oak splits 12%, a few bio bricks and shorties with my air control open for too long. They were off-gasing all at once. I burned all last year and this was something that was not a common occurrence. First time this year.
My setup is excellent and my PE is working as intended. Inlet control works as intended and if I cut back too soon it chokes the fire.
Regarding chimney height I beg to differ that 23’ is not tall. It sure is not short. Another regular member said 23’ is not a short chimney so which is it LOL! I’ll split the difference with yah it’s medium. With 2x 90’s and 2x 30’s I don’t need a key damper. Also I don’t consider 700 STT a runaway. My target is 600-650. My sweep said I have good burn habits by burning hot after my report in May. Also wild secondary burn eventually slowed down when primary was shut. I’ll keep the POS.
Should have clarified it was a cold start top down with window cracked. Draft sound was when when the kindling initiated the draft.
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I loaded at midnight the night we were in the 20’s and still had some coals at 7am and my Voda fan still going and I only have a 1.6 firebox. House was 68 in the AM.
The NC30 is a much bigger box so I get more wood in, but I used to load up about 9:00 at night and still have some coals at 7 in the morning but not a lot, lots of charcoal and next to nothing for heat. Now I can load at 7 or 8 and still have a big pile of coals and useful heat at 8 or 9 in the morning.
My problem was I wasn't having a "healthy" fire. I had flue temps over 900 and stt over 700 with the air control open at all, so I had to run air fully closed on secondary combustion only and still running hotter than I'd like. With no air going in at the bottom once the secondary's stopped the wood wasn't getting enough air. Sometimes the glass would be smoked in the morning. If I started early enough to open the air a little before bed I'd have coals, not much charcoal, no smoked glass but still no real heat. Full loads of all ash were barely controllable. I burn a lot of ash.
Now, with the damper, I can control the temperature while keeping the air open 1/8-1/4 keeping good secondary's and light primary flame. Cruising temperature of flue is 700-750 and stt 600-650. Much longer controlled secondary's with less heat going up the flue. I can almost lock it in to the temperature I want to run at. If I have some really good hot burning wood in the load (beech, hickory, ironwood, etc...) I might have to shut the air all the way for a little while, but because I start earlier I have plenty of time to let it settle down and open it up a little again before bed. I will note that I am in a rather windy spot too.
Not trying to convince you or argue that you need a damper, just explaining my experience and symptoms. Maybe it will help you or somebody else following the thread. Many burners don't need one, but some would benefit from it...
Thank you for your well written post.
I bought the smaller Vista knowing it would not provide overnight burns. I can load it before bed and still have the house in the 67-68 range when we wake up. With a well insulated home and mini splits for the shoulder season it was a way to lower my energy cost by almost 50% which we did last year. Only had to use over a cord so I’m not burning through wood. My wife also wanted true off grid and security to heat our home given the world we live in.
Since my wood is better this year my glass is also much cleaner. I pretty much have it dialed in to run 600-625. During normal operation I leave the primary open about a 1/4 to an 1/8”. Dancing secondary’s with little flame. Even if closed the stove is designed to still provide some air to help minimize smoldering.
During a cold start I close the air in increments as recommended by senior members on this forum. I know I should have closed air sooner on a small split load of dry oak, shorties and biobricks. My fault and the off gassing led to robust secondary’s. I saw one of the forum leaders say you want “robust secondaries” well I had it LOL.
I will keep an eye out on my draft. If it becomes an issue I will talk to my sweep/installer.
Off topic congrats on your deer. Our season starts Monday. I still have some meat in the freezer from last year.
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Gearhead660
Minister of Fire
Starting to get down into the 20s at night. Decided to fire up Myra. Only half loads.
Im burning Alder right now. Got it from a friend, he said its kinda expensive to buy. He works there, so I get scraps for free. It burns well, easy to split, and not lot of ashes.
30WCF
Minister of Fire
I’m on the fence. The stove is loaded but not lit. Supposed to be 36 in the am. Right now the windows are open. At some point it’s going to dive.
68F in living room and the hearth mason are still hot to touch.... but the coals are also starting to die down from the morning fire, and I don't want to mess with kindling. So a full load of locust just went in for the overnight burn.
It's 34.3 out tonight, the basement is starting out at 73 with the temp up here at 70. We have a load of pine going in the liberty for the overnight load.
Been a bit, first post of the season. I’m burning the last bit in a shed bay, which happens to be red oak about 4 years old. Honestly up to this point never had a fire of only oak.
Solarguy3500
Feeling the Heat
We got snow here in the Berkshires last night! I ran another load of ash overnight and woke up to a couple inches of snow on the ground but it had turned to rain by morning.
I put some chunks and knots from my stash of apple on the coals to get it going again this morning. My wife kept it going today while I was at work and I just put another load of ash in for the overnight burn. There is still a little bit of snow on the ground here.
Still burning crappy boxelder, poplar and cottonwood. It makes heat so in it goes by the arm full !
Solarguy3500
Feeling the Heat
Had plenty of coals this morning from the overnight burn of ash. I put in some sugar maple chunks and knots to get it going again. They may be ugly, but they still burn great.
40’s here no fire again. Mini split. Happy Thanksgiving!
