Why aren't "smart stoves" more popular?

[turbojoe]

I know. I went and popped a leaf bag full of popcorn when I saw the first post.

View attachment 152054

Now that funny $hit there Bart I was ready for an attack from the BK kindom...lol.. but as usuall, the people on this forum are awesome about helping people out and not flaming us to bad.
I really do welcome all comments on what i am attemping to do, good and bad.
Poor Dan is trying to close on a new super awesome hide away and i'm blowing up his e-mail trying to figure out his control stratagy because it hates a Cat stove.

 

[BrotherBart]

Lot of flames on this site you never see. We see'em, they disappear.

 

[iluvjazznjava]

This is Hwam's system for controlling their non-cat stoves. I've seen this working and it is quite effective. It also tests as being quite efficient.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

I like this! Too bad I don't have a Hwam

 

[turbojoe]

Lot of flames on this site you never see. We see'em, they disappear.

Thanks for keeping the peace Bart !! A thankless task i'm sure.

 

[BrotherBart]

Anybody that sees anybody flaming, getting personal or denigrating a member, hit that report button. If true, the post will go away. If the poster has an issue with that, they go away.

This is the most friendly single interest website on the Net. The reason I stayed after stopping by in 2005. It will stay that way.

 

[iluvjazznjava]

Doesn't look like the Hwam has any thermostat control though, and no kind of shutdown in an emergency, but it looks like it can maximize efficiency ...

 

[begreen]

The Hwam control is thermostatic, but you are correct. It does not shutdown the stove in emergency. Maybe instead it avoids them?

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Yes, we are all guilty of this, but it has nothing to do with modern stoves. I have done it with my old Jotul 602 as well. You could do it with a 1902 parlor stove too.

I think you misinterpreted my point. I wasn't implying that "modern" stoves are more prone to this then older stoves, rather I was implying that modern stoves are generally tested more rigorously then older stoves and have a higher degree of safety and predictability built into them. In other words the manufacturers expect that we will be making those occasional errors and build the stoves to withstand the those very high temps that occur when that happens.

Personally I'm not looking for automation, if I wanted that I'd turn on my furnace or buy a pellet stove.

My first stove was a Lopi Endeavor it wanted to run away all the time. My BK has never even made me worry in the 4 seasons I've burned it, loads are predictable and repeatable.

My stove is very predictable too, if I forget to close the draft after loading it with dry wood I predict it will over heat every time. Thankfully I can also predict that my house won't burn down due to it's solid over engineering and the safety margin built into it.

 

[Huntindog1]

Would like to see how much better performance they get with automated controls.
Right now its mostly about convenience of operation, performance may be a tad better.

 

[iluvjazznjava]

Would like to see how much better performance they get with automated controls.
Right now its mostly about convenience of operation, performance may be a tad better.

Personally, I think convenience and performance could benefit. Sometimes I choke off the air on my stove a bit much and it starts to smoke - an automated system could monitor this and adjust.

 

[begreen]

Would like to see how much better performance they get with automated controls.
Right now its mostly about convenience of operation, performance may be a tad better.

Actually, performance can be nicely improved as Hwam and others have demonstrated. The next generation of options may be even better as noted at the Alliance for Green Heat's testing last fall. There were some novel and intriguing approaches there.
http://forgreenheat.blogspot.com/2014/09/final-report-on-wood-stove-decathlon.html
http://forgreenheat.blogspot.com/2014/11/test-results-presentations-and-photos.html

 

[John Ackerly]

Quadrafire is coming out with an automated stove in a few months. Will be real interesting to see how it does on the market - and how they try to market it. Pellet stoves are regarded as "automatic," but while the fuel is automatically fed, some pellet stoves leave a lot of air adjustments for the operator, which makes those more like wood stoves than people realize.

 

[Highbeam]

Talk about not popular, try putting a Smart Controller on the holy grail of stoves, a BK Cat stove, and see how popular you are...lol
Your thread has almost as many replies in one day than my Smart Stove thread has had in a week

I read your thread with interest as did many but really, we can't relate or guide you on it. You are the pioneer with this and really are educating us. Go and recommend a BK20 and I will have some guidance to offer!

The electronic controls are already here for wood burners. Look at the wood furnace and more so the wood boiler offerings. Those buggers monitor exhaust temps and stove temps to regulate each for maximum efficiency and performance. Dump wood in box, shut door, and go away. Some of them even automatically light the fire.

So long as the auto controls can be bypassed in the event of a power outage or equipment failure then I think they will be great and even necessary to meet ever tightening emission standards.

Along with the air controls I suspect we will see some sort of combustion or draft blowers to further control combustion. We have the technology.

 

[jamus34]

I work on modern ovens and food equipment all day. I want stuff at home that works, and is affordable. Modern computer controlled equipment does not age gracefully. 7 to 10 years is the limit, based on what I see each day. So long as I dont crack the frame, I can make my stove work, no matter what. To me, that is more valuable than any fancy "smart control ". This logic is why my chainsaw still has a carburetor, and why my tractor still has points in the distributor.

This pretty much hits the nail on the head. Circuits fail. It's a fact of life. Circuits fail quicker when they are hot.

One of the reasons I'm looking to get an insert one of these years when the funds allow is that worse case I can have 1 room in my house stay warm if I lose electricity.

Right now my fairly simple oil boiler still needs juice to run.

I know an insert won't be as efficient as a full stove but really I'm looking for something to A) reduce my oil usage in the winter and b) gives me at least 1 room in my house I can keep warm in case of power failure.

 

[Highbeam]

I know an insert won't be as efficient as a full stove but really I'm looking for something to A) reduce my oil usage in the winter and b) gives me at least 1 room in my house I can keep warm in case of power failure.

Once you get a stove burning I bet you'll be changing this to A) Eliminate the stupid oil burning and B) Keep my whole house warmer than it ever was when burning oil whether I have power or not.

 

[moey]

They are.. Pellet stoves..