Alright, i have a post and beam and its made out of 4 inch foam panels, roof too. I holds the heat and cool so well, almost too well. The house is so tight i added a fresh air intake and its a big difference. Iv been running my stove in the mornings only since yesterday. Do you guys see any problems with running the stove wide open for hours throwing on a log or two at a time. What im saying is it gets too hot when i fill it to get hot enough to damper down. Is there a creosote buildup issue ( other than maybe using more wood) with running it at low heat wide open. I only burn 2-2.5 cords per winter and thats my only heat source i havnt turned on oil heat in 11 years.
Modern stove? Those are batch burners...they don't burn near as clean if you just chuck a split or every few hours...but if you are air wide open, then might be OK...?
There shouldn't be a creosote issue if the wood is dried thoroughly. I've wondered the same thing before and have tried this myself. The one drawback I found with letting more of the heat escape up the flue was it left me with more unburned coals, which is logical. I don't run my stove this way but instead have focused on getting the heat pushed to the furthest, coolest reaches inside the house, so that the area immediately around the stove isn't unbearably hot.
There will be less of a creosote problem if your "properly seasoned" wood has a fairly low moisture content. Even with well seasoned wood , You should be finding that your stack temp drops fairly low, even below what is recommended when you try to choke the fire way down low. Which will start to soot things up. With a couple of ceiling replacements and increased depth of attci insulation we found we had to start doing batch burns when it wasn't very cold outside. A pine fire in the morning (just one good one on a sunny day with solar gain), let that go out and and then start a fire again sometime after 3PM and burn maybe overnite depending on temps overnite. Or, opening windows, which I am loathe to do. Trying to run the stove too low everything just sooted up. I really didn't want to clean that sort of crap and burning the stove at proper temps kept the system clean.
Its a modern stove, nothing fancy no cat or anything. I only burn dry wood mostly way under 20 %. Iv never had an issue with big creosote build up. I appreciate all the feedback!!
Too much heat? We open a window or two. Great time to get fresh air into the house. Always good to change up the inside air.
I was under the impression running a stove too "cool" creates creosote issues regardless of how dry the wood is. billb3 pretty much says it like how I was taught. I have the same issue in my house where I can't have a fire unless it stays below 30 degrees for more than a load of wood worth. I do at times have to open the back door and turn on an exhaust fan. it's a good problem to have.
We have the same problem with the new house. I don't generally burn constantly unless the OAT is below freezing during the day. Just frequent small hot fires. How's your humidity? We have to run a dehumidifier in the winter, we struggle to keep the humidity below 45%. We do have a lot of plants and Hounds which I'm sure don't help with the humidity.
The main thing you want to think about is the flue temp. If an outside double wall then it probably cools off enough in batch fires to reach dew point if the wood is wet and you’re choking it down. If the flue is insulated in a masonry chimney with good wood the only place you’ll see buildup is the very top 1-2’ of exit pipe This is basically what I always encounter here in alabama unless we’re dealing with polar vortex. Load in the morning get a good char and choke it down, reload 4-5pm get a medium hot fire going then reload heavy splits 1.5hrs before bed. I did the zero propane heat for 6 years but now I’m more inclined to just let the furnace run on moderate days
No, I think a wide open small load is the best way for a clean burn, and if you're able to add a log when needed that great. But then, there's nothing wrong keeping the home at underwear temperature either.
I use my stove in the same way a lot of the time. I like seeing the flames when the stove is wide open. I never have a creosote problem.
