New Woodstock Ideal Steel installation

I agree totally, black glass is the result as many have reported with cat stoves, many have reported creosote in the chimney also.

 

For what it's worth, I took the door off, laid it face down, and let the stove/glass cleaner sit on it for a while. Works better than having it run down the glass and drip everywhere. With a razor installed in a paint scraper, most of the stuff came off. This is a reasonable solution, especially given I don't run my stove 24/7, and I can afford to have the door off every now and then.

 

Doesn't the combustor burn the smoke, so there should be less chance of creosote in the chimney?

 

Qyota you will find a hot fire in morning to burn down coals will get most of it in future

 

all last winter 4 cord just cleaned mine about 4 cups in stove pipe and chimney with marginal wood

 

When you say stovetop, do you mean on the front face of the stove above the door? In my case, when the temp is 550 above the door, the actual stove TOP is about 350-375. At 640 above the door, I did see TOP temps in the 450-460 range. We need to agree what constitutes the "stove top".

 

If the combustor is 'lit' and working then yes. But if the combustor is not hot enough or stalls even after it was working, then some or all of that smoldering smoke goes up the chimney.

That is a downside of a cat. stove because they are often used running too low and slow to burn efficiently in the firebox. That is fine as long as the combustor is cleaning up the smoke (by burning it exactly as you said) before it leaves teh stove but if not, then that stove can produce an amazing amount of creosote in one burn. I have no idea how many stoves stall or how often they do it but it has been a problem for me and my catalytic based stoves; the Ideal Steel has been much, much better than my last stove but it can and has been used with a stalled (cold) combustor and thrown a lot of creosote into the chimney.

Non- cat. based stoves are not inherently better but they generally are used at higher firebox temperatures and so do not have that condition where they were working OK but then something happened during the burn to cause them to run so inefficiently and dirty regarding smoke. Also, it seems that most non- cat. stoves, at least all the EPA models made since 1988, have minimum airbox draft settings that are large enough to keep some flame in the firebox, again running somewhat harder than a comparable cat.- based stove does.

Brian

 

I measure what I call stove top temps. at the hottest point on the top of my stove, which happens to be right next to the smoke collar on the stove.

I call the top of the stove the 'stove top' and the front of the stove the 'front of the stove' or the 'stove front'. I do not measure stove front temperatures but if I did, I think I would call them 'stove front' temperatures. And I agree, let's agree on what constitutes the stove top, I propose it be the top of the stove. For further definition, it would be that part of the stove that would be white in the event of a horrible baby powder explosion in a room nearby..... (this assumes a stove in the 'normal' or 'feet- down' position; no fair if one has a stove lying on, say, its back for this test)

I measure four points on my stoves using thermocouples and they are:

1) Inside the firebox, in the front / left / upper corner.
2) The catalyst, with the probe being just above and centered over the catalyst.
3) The stove top.
4) The flue gas temperature, again with a thermocouple inserted into the smoke pipe, just before the smoke pipe enters the chimney's thimble, about 2 1/2 feet above the stove smoke collar. Also I measure the temp in the horizontal portion of the smoke pipe after a 90 elbow.

A lot of people do measure the outside stove temp. on an Ideal Steel at the front of the stove but I find the stove top temps. to be more useful; one of the main things I use to gauge efficiency is the difference between teh stove top temp. and the flue gas temp. as the two together are good indicators of how much heat the stove is putting into the house and how much heat is going up the chimney respectively.

Brian

 

Qyota I agree with everything BDF said, he is an invaluable resource of knowledge on this stove,

my question to you is how are you measuring? the door front of stove where your magnet is in pic on page 1... I think is picking up on some of heat from your combustor. I only have single wall pipe and 2 magnets I on stove top to left of my top pipe coming out. and one 18 inches up stove pipe when stove pipe Which is exhaust hits 275 I engage cat. slowly drop air til flames go out for me just to left on air control of first big notch and forget it til re-load.. I actually get more heat stove top Temps without flames just secondaries. I burn cleanest this way also!

However I am married and my wife get home from work wants her glass of merlot and see flames! so of course I accomodate

 

Well thanks for the kind words but remember, this 'invaluable resource' was not bright enough to notice the plug fell out of his chimney...... So it may be 'un- valuable' at least some of the time.

And maybe a bigger glass of wine and she won't care so much how dirty the stove glass is? Just trying to help.....

Brian

 

Hmmm, the top of anything is the top. Where's the top of your head? It's not on your nose. All of the vertical surfaces would be sides. Front side, back side, left side, right side.

See?

 

You guys are keeping me honest! I like that. My issue with STT with the Ideal Steel is that Woodstock recommends a front placement of the surface thermometer. If that thermo is 550, I’ve measured the temp at the top rear of around 300. That’s a big difference in 15 inches or so. So, which is most critical, and why?

 

I like to watch both locations plus the stove pipe 18 inches up. The front-top and the stovepipe I use to monitor the cat and the top-top to know when to reload.

 

not well worded but I do same! but give Unhdsm which is always a bit of a break cause if irc he's got several girls under 12 so he's swimming in estrogen ocean which is always tough

 

Probably no need to pull out the thermodynamics book; I think there would be a pressure drop in the gases. However, I thought he had a really tall chimney so would it matter about the flue size?

 

Smoke spillage was one of the things I mentioned when I first got my Madison from England Stove Works. Of course at first my chimney was too short and increasing the height did help. However, the Madison still spilled more smoke than I thought it should. However, the Madison also has a very large door; which is one the things I liked about it as it gives a really nice view of the fire. So I think your points are very valid; the reason my Madison 02 spills smoke while the Madison 01 does not may be the large door. Even thought there is the air wash metal strip at the front of the stove, the stove drafts for the flue is also at the front of the stove. Opening the door interrupts the intended flow because as you stated, you are introducing cooler air etc. What you have stated makes perfect sense to me in why I see such smoke spillage with my Madison.

 

Maybe normally but you forget about wind; in that situation, the pressure at the top of the chimney where the wind is blowing will be lower than the pressure at the bottom of the chimney so air would flow up the chimney even if the temperature gradient was zero.

 

Does anybody read past the first line anymore?

 

I was skim reading; which I usually do if there are like a dozen pages and I need to catch up. However, you made a statement "...has no draw...". Then you state an exception so that makes the first sentence invalid since there are situations when the chimney will draw. So maybe the first sentence should have been written differently if this is about English composition. "A chimney usually will have no draw... " LOL,
My apologies and a big HUG.