In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

First fire in the Beta Ideal Steel Woodstock stove

Discussion in 'Modern EPA Stoves and Fireplaces' started by BrianK, Nov 23, 2013.

  1. Tenn Dave

    Tenn Dave

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2013
    Messages:
    109
    Likes Received:
    100
    Wow, that looks serious.
     
  2. BrianK

    BrianK

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2013
    Messages:
    3,108
    Likes Received:
    11,112
    Location:
    West central PA
    The photo of the outside pile was from when I brought the load home in Feb 2012. It seasoned outside on a wood rack till this summer when I brought it into my basement. It's well seasoned already because the blocks are cut 10" to 14" in length on average. I'm going to do one burn on low setting and one on medium and record times and temps.

    Scotty was kind enough to oblige me with enough 3 year seasoned locust for the same two tests after I do the oak burns. So we should have a good idea of burn times with better wood soon. :thumbs:

    And ....

    I found time lapse apps for my iPhone. I think a time lapse video of a full burn cycle would be pretty darn cool. (Hopefully I can figure out the app and my iPhone 4S has enough memory to hold everything.)
     
    Tenn Dave and fox9988 like this.
  3. BrowningBAR

    BrowningBAR

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2013
    Messages:
    1,379
    Likes Received:
    2,105
    Location:
    San Tan Valley, AZ
    Excellent. Looking forward to seeing how the big bastard runs on hard wood at a lower temp.
     
    Tenn Dave and BrianK like this.
  4. BrowningBAR

    BrowningBAR

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2013
    Messages:
    1,379
    Likes Received:
    2,105
    Location:
    San Tan Valley, AZ
    How are you going to run the burn at a low temp? Will you engage the cat sooner and adjust accordingly? Seems like that would be best as oppose to get it hot and try to cut it back.
     
  5. BrianK

    BrianK

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2013
    Messages:
    3,108
    Likes Received:
    11,112
    Location:
    West central PA
    Hmmm...that almost doesn't seem fair. Is that how they get those "40 hour BKK burns"?

    If so, that's how I will run my tests.
     
  6. BrowningBAR

    BrowningBAR

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2013
    Messages:
    1,379
    Likes Received:
    2,105
    Location:
    San Tan Valley, AZ
    Not sure. But, I am thinking you want to engage the cat and lock it down before the secondaries kick in. Did Woodstock give you any guidelines as to when you should engage the cat?
     
  7. BrianK

    BrianK

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2013
    Messages:
    3,108
    Likes Received:
    11,112
    Location:
    West central PA
    Just get the flue up to cat temp and engage the cat like the Fireview. We usually aim for 300 on the flue. Now that I have the Bacharach probe thermometer installed, that will be easier. Up till now all I could do was shoot the 8" to 6" reducer with the IR thermometer.
     

    Attached Files:

  8. Tenn Dave

    Tenn Dave

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2013
    Messages:
    109
    Likes Received:
    100
    VERY COOL.........
     
  9. BrowningBAR

    BrowningBAR

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2013
    Messages:
    1,379
    Likes Received:
    2,105
    Location:
    San Tan Valley, AZ
    Is there a cat probe?

    How much heat do you need right now? We have a high of 35 today. You must be a bit lower than us.
     
  10. BrianK

    BrianK

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2013
    Messages:
    3,108
    Likes Received:
    11,112
    Location:
    West central PA
    No cat probe. I just installed a Bacharach probe thermometer on my double wall stove pipe 18" above stove top.

    We just got done moving the stove and hearth pad 4 inches out into the room because the left side wall temps were making me uncomfortable (they hit 150.5 on the IR thermometer during one hot burn earlier this week. That's still well below the UL approved levels of ambient room temp plus 117 but I'm being overly cautious.)

    Its 37 out here right now.
     
  11. BrianK

    BrianK

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2013
    Messages:
    3,108
    Likes Received:
    11,112
    Location:
    West central PA
  12. Backwoods Savage

    Backwoods Savage Moderator

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2013
    Messages:
    46,966
    Likes Received:
    295,806
    Location:
    Central MI
    I would think for testing you would not want to get stuck into any one sequence. Rather, try experimenting by doing things differently. That does not mean that every fire needs to be different for sure but perhaps one week trying one way and next week changing, etc. Also this could vary depending upon how much heat is needed. Have fun with the experiments and keep some notes.