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Old_Skewler
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2022 12:20pm
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My first winter in the cabin and to be honest operating a woodstove as primary heating.
I've read a lot about it and I have been able to safely operate. I have a vent pipe temp gauge that I religiously keep my eye on and try to keep the fire within the RED zone (300F - 575F range).
But there are a few very specific situations that I still don't know what the best course of action is So I would like to hear from other members their understanding of these situations and what should be the best course of action:
Condition #1: Woodstove doors closed and carb vents fully open. Fire is going strong, in the red zone, full of red charcoals and red to be re-loaded with new wood. I load/add one (max two) standard size pieces of wood.
Here are my steps after that: I currently give a few minutes for the fire to catch to the new log then I close the stove doors, leaving the two vents on my Kodiak full open.
Under these conditions the fire tends to get a bit too hot and past the 575F threshold after 30 minutes or so.
I then have two options which I don't know if one is correct or better than the other:
OPTION 1: I open the stove doors and the temperate gauge goes back down to the desired RED zone.
OPTION 2: Could/should I close the stove vents?
I hope this is clear and that maybe someone is able to shed some light.
Thanks in advance and happy 2022!
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2022 02:49pm
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Doors open suck warm room air up the stack.
Throttle the draft control down to a steady-state burn that keeps the temp comfy.
Once you get into the routine you will be able to really load it up with wood and have a happy, long burn.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2022 03:25pm
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As was said open doors send already warm room air up the chimney. There won't be much difference in total fuel used if you use a window or two to regulate the room temperature.
Don't get hung up on trying to keep the chimney at the maximum/optimal temperature for the chimney. The real purpose of having a wood stove is to heat your home or cabin. Trying to maintain a hot chimney at all times will result in too much heat in the home.
It does take some time and observation to learn your stove and your chimney. If you make a habit of never burning wood that is not properly dry enough you will greatly reduce the danger of chimney fires. A hot fire once a day is often all one needs; first thing in the morning is a good time for many folks. The rest of the day use the firebox air inlet control to regulate the fire.
If one would like to have a minimal amount of tending the stove a newer stove with a good thermostatic controlled air inlet would do the job. Stoves made by Vermont Castings have a time proven thermostatic air inlet. I had one of theirs back about 1979 with that and fell completely in love with it. .
I'll take the mention of open doors on a wood stove to add that I also love the top-loading that is available on several VC stoves. The top-loading and the ash removal tray on their Encore and Defiant models means the doors remain closed almost all the time. Use an exterior fresh air system and they are almost as good as a furnace. Used as instructed, the top-loading does not allow smoke to vent into the room. Yes, VC stoves do cost a lot but they are also very good looking, especially the enameled ones.
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Old_Skewler
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2022 03:48pm
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Quoting: gcrank1 Throttle the draft control down to a steady-state burn that keeps the temp comfy.
Thanks for the reply gcrank1! Understand that is better to use the air control valves than opening the stove doors.
Follow up question: when I do try to restrain/control the fire with the air valves, it seems like the fire is starving for air and creating this pulsating sound effect.
Could you talk a bit about this condition and whether is safe and how to handle it?
Thanks in advance!
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Old_Skewler
Member
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2022 03:51pm
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Quoting: ICC As was said open doors send already warm room air up the chimney. There won't be much difference in total fuel used if you use a window or two to regulate the room temperature.
so are you saying that is okay to open the stove windows or should I keep them closed and learn how to use the air valves?
My stove is a very basic Kodiak Stove, with two large doors and two air control knobs - what is the correct name for these? I've read people call them "carbs"?
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Nate R
Member
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2022 06:53pm
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Old_Skewler, I'd recommend asking this over on the hearth.com forums, you'll likely get answers from people with the same stove.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2022 07:12pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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+1 on that site, your potential for specific responses will be lots bigger.
I expect the pulsing is an imbalance between the stack drafting and inlet air. The chimney is critical in itself and the air-tightness of the structure may require a partially opened window (good place to start), better yet a 'cold-air intake' to the stove.
Again, the woodstove fora are the places to go.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2022 07:25pm
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In my opinion your worrying about the pipe being to cold. Yes a cool pipe can make creosote but it can be burnt out next strong firing. I never run my stove in the red unless I'm getting the fire really ripping.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2022 08:48pm
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Quoting: Old_Skewler As was said open doors send already warm room air up the chimney. There won't be much difference in total fuel used if you use a window or two to regulate the room temperature. so are you saying that is okay to open the stove windows or should I keep them closed and learn how to use the air valves?
Sorry for the misunderstanding...
I was being somewhat facetious in my statement. I was meaning don't use opening the doors on the stove as a means of controlling the stove heat output. The reason being the open stove doors sends warm room air straight up the chimney. My reference to 'windows" was directed at the way some people open house windows to cool off a room that was overheated with an overzealous hot burning wood stove.
The air control knobs are meant to regulate the air to the firebox. That does take some practice and experience.
The chimney does need to be kept clean and experience will indicate how often to clean.
In our old homestead house some of the chimneys needed to be cleaned twice a year, others once. There were lots of chimneys in that rambling 200+ year old home.
Brettny basically repeated in different words, my comment about not being too concerned with always running a hot hot chimney. It is not necessary to get the chimney up to red zone temperatures every time you have a fire. In fact the red zone on the last chimney thermometer I recall looking at was marked "too hot" or something like that. I think there was an orange zone marked "target", or something.
Yes, hot is good but maybe once a day and especially when arriving at a cold cabin.
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Aklogcabin
Member
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2022 11:56am
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I've only been burning wood for 40 years or so but my advice is to use the fresh air intake vent control to manage the intake air. I don't have fresh air from outside coming in as I don't feel that the fire consumes that much air.
And having a hot fire may cost an extra piece of firewood but your stove n pipes should be built to handle any temperatures. Not burning a hot fire can give trouble. Frankly speaking I purposely burn hot fires to keep the creosote from building up.
I also like to have the door open n use as a fireplace. My stove has a screen that fit over the front of the firebox to catch sparks. I've learned to put the bark to the back helps. We have a glass door that allows us to see the fire but I generally just leave the door open n watch the movie.
I also like to use the largest piece of wood that will fit through the door for overnight. Then fill in gaps with smaller split wood. And a lot less wood splitting.
I really enjoy wood stoves n each one has their own intricacies. You will figure it out. And if you're stove instalation is correct and pipes in good condition you should be worry free.
Because it hasn't been written the type of wood you use matters a bunch. Heavy more dense woods burn longer and can burn hotter. During the day if you're just perking along only add smaller amounts or smaller pieces of wood. At night load er up n close down the damper.
With the blaze king I keep going in our 20x24 garage I can start a fire n then load er up. Shut down the damper. And I don't have to look at until the next day. Been keeping the garage above 50 degrees while it been in the minus 15-20s.
Every once in a while it will take off. And get hot. Kinda feels like a stress test but its nice knowing you're equipment is up to par. I prefer stainless steel pipe as it doesn't rust and stronger.
Also I have a bag of fire retardant for wood stove chimney fires close by.
You will get used to it and should not have to worry too much but always respect it.
Good luck n have fun
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scott100
Member
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2022 01:57pm - Edited by: scott100
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My guess is that when you hear and feel the pulsing, the fire is burning pretty hot and you still have the dials opened too much. Try closing them until you hear a nice steady burn. Close them too much and you'll get too much smoke and a smoldering fire. They don't call those 80s vintage stoves "smoke dragons" for nothing, so you can't expect it not to smoke at times.
On my older box stove that was similar to yours, it was common to set the dials to around 1/8 to 1/4 open to get an overnight burn.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2022 04:35pm
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Geez even stoves from the 1990s with out a temperature dependant air intake are like living in the stone age. We have one in our shabin and its alot harder to control and get even heat than the stove in our house.
I do have a thermostatic air intake with fresh air kit along with a cat on my house stove. It will still puff smoke out the chimney. I generaly run it very cold as I like to keep the windows closed in the winter.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 2 Jan 2022 07:03pm
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My antique cheap copy of an upright cylindrical 'Round Oak' (a 24 ?) ran like a dream with the double wall chimney exiting the roof just below the peak and above it to the spec + a bit. And we were in a Jack Pine woods with the trees well above the chim height.
So far we havent heard what the op has for a chimney which is huge for correct drafting.
But to be fair I did say the woodstove fora is the place to go.
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