Got the 30-NC installed!

I cured my in house as well and it was not that bad; I am guessing the new paints don't off-gas as much as the older paints.

 

Not sure, I got one right at the end of last year and installed it in time to do a couple small burn in fires before I shut down. Still got to do my final burn in fire to start this year. I could see the smoke rolling off of it. Rest of the family was not happy smelled like I had been burning tires in the living room. Got everything at the top of the stove cured properly. Can see a line along the bottom where the bricks are, outside of that area has not got hot enough yet.

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I haven't seen any smoke from the paint. One thing I noticed, that I would have liked to know before, is that the paint gets very soft and tacky when curing. I should have guessed that, but I didn't.

So make sure the stove is clean (wipe it off) before burning it, as any dust or other particles left on the top might stick on the paint.

 

I think this will be the weekend for setting my 30!

 

Well doing my final curing burn this morning and it's roasting in the house. Got all the windows open about to turn on the whole house fan in a bit 5o pull some cool air in.

Not sure if I'll need a pipe damper before I'm done to keep this thing under control once it gets in the 20's? I've got about 21 ft of chimney and pipe. Sticks out about 2 feet over a 12 pitch roof and pretty open area. Got to go back about 3 Acres to hit the wood line.

65 degrees out and I've got the air all the way close and over 500 stove top 600 on the probe thermometer in the stovepipe.

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Does sound as if your chimney is drawing well.

 

So the air damper on the stove can leak enough air when fully close to keep the fire burning that hot?

 

I had about half a load in a few pieces of pine and a couple pieces of Cedar all split smallish. Burned about 45 minutes like that before temps started dropping off so I opened it up more to keep it hot and try to cure behind the bricks.

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The secondary air is not directly controllable. I suspect that if the draft is quite strong, the air from the secondaries might cause difficulty in reducing the heat. In that case, a pipe damper is probably justified.

I speak from a whole week of experience with this stove, so take it for what it is worth.

 

OK, I did not know about the secondary air; so that is a separate feed from the air that enters at the doghouse and other areas. Still learning about these new stoves and I only used mine towards the end of winter last year.

 

My wife lit the stove yesterday in my absence, and was happy with it. It is proving quite easy to light and operate, once its quirks are understood.

Though is is different than the old smoke dragon, the basic principle is the same - proper fuel/air ratio will give a good burn. This one is simplifies that quite a bit with the glass providing a clear picture of what is going on.

So far I am operating it like papadave described above, with good sucess. During the lighting stage I leave the door open 1/2 inch, which greatly expedites the process. The main air is just not enough for lighting, and it will take quite a while to spread through the fuel. I wonder it the secondary air is part of the problem there, some of the weak (not yet fully developed) draft is "lost" through it, rather than pulling air through the doghouse, blowtorch style. Like I said though, leaving the door slightly open during lighting/initial burn gets it done.

 

I was doing the same with the Madison; I thought maybe it was because my chimney was too short; however, maybe that is just the nature of these stoves.

 

On the 30 (no idea if the Madison is the same, but likely), the secondary air is a separate intake, not directly controllable. The secondary air is drawn from inside the house, regardless of an outside air kit. Sorry I can't get a photo, but looking behind makes it quite obvious.

 

That's how hot yours should be running too

Not controllable at all actually...other than when you close the primary air down, the draft will then pull more air through the secondary sources...maybe that is what you meant by "not directly"

Doghouse air and secondary air are always wide open on these an most secondary burn type stoves. Even the primary air is never completely closed off. That provides the air wash to keep the glass clean. Most of the secondary air comes in via the tubes up top...they are always wide open.

 

It would be nice to have a means to close secondary air, but I suspect they designed it this way for a reason, perhaps for user-friendliness, or for EPA reasons. But I can think of two good reasons to have that possibility:

1. I think it would light better with only primary air going through the fire, rather than secondary above it, and
2. I wonder what happens with a runaway fire - can it be shut down adequately with the secondary air open?

The first is worked-around by leaving the door ajar.

The second, I am hopeful that it has been adequately tested by Englander and found to be a non-issue. But I am thinking of making a magnetic secondary blocker, that I could quickly place on the opening if I ever should feel the need to stop virtually all aifrflow into the stove. If so, I'll keep it next to my fire extinguisher, for emergency use only.

 

Generally only true in fall and spring, or when firewood is less than optimal. Had a kindling fire this morning using one of my firestarters. Lit that, closed the door, and got myself a cup of coffee. When I got back, the fire was going very well, and just on kindling it ran up to 500 for a short time.
I don't usually use kindling during the winter months. For a cold start, just load the stove with as many splits as I want/need for the required heat output, place a homemade firestarter in, light it, and within a few minutes, I've got a nice fire going.
If restarting from coals, rake those to the front, lay splits in, and shut the door. Might take a couple minutes, but it'll light off if the wood is dry.
My experience.
Kimberly, I'd need to take another look at your stove, but on the 30, there's primary (controllable), secondary, and "doghouse" air intake.
Likely for EPA requirements, but you can't shut all air off on these without mods.
Also, like brenndatomu says, this stove likes to run around 450-500 easy, and can also easily run higher. The wood just disappears quicker.
If you need/want a stove that runs cooler, you'll need a cat stove.

 

Yep, that is what I meant. Again, a full week of experience, but I envision that for a given draft, the air control does control the ratio of primary to secondary. Reducing primary would have the effect of increasing secondary, assuming the same draft, and vice-versa. So there is some indirect control of secondary air.

 

If you are burning dry wood I don't see how you could ever have a chimney fire with this stove...unless you had a completely uninsulated chimney that just ran cold all the time and made creosote...but at that point I'd think the stove would run so bad most people would just hang up even foolin with it.