A Progress Hybrid Full Load

Thanks, I'll poke around through them.

 

Hey guys, sorry for the resurrection of this post, but I thought it would be better to reply here than start a new one. I have burned my PH about 4-5 times now and I am not getting anywhere near 12hrs on a half full box, ~barely 8hrs, and barely 10 hrs on a full box, no embers to be found. I am burning mostly 2yr seasoned oak with the air damper fully shut and a mostly shut stove pipe damper. I am trying to follow the rake the coals to the front and shut down asap after loading without getting the new load active method you guys describe. The fire smolders/soots up for a bit and then the secondaries seem to roll then rage. With a half load I cannot get under 450 stove top temp and with a full load i cannot get under 560 stove top, all with a full shut damper and a 2/3 closed stove pipe damper. This is all in NJ where it isn't cold yet. I fear when it gets cold the stove will be uncontrollable. Any advice/thoughts on what to try next? I'm new to wood burning, I burned coal for a few years but got sick of the dust/fly ash.

Set up:
~18-20" of a horizontal pipe into a Tee attached to a insulated 23-25' SS 6" dia liner, with a chimney cap. The stove pipe damper is very close to the stove collar, rear exit.

 

Most stove pipe dampers still let quite a bit of air flow even with them shut fully. Sounds like you have an ideal set up, slightly long on the horizontal pipe, but given your issue that is certainly not the problem in this case.

If the secondaries are raging you need to cut down the air. First thing that comes to mind is checking for any possible air leaks. Are you sure you have the ash drawer tightly closed and look at the gasket for that. Strong possibility for air leak there. Also look at other gaskets, just to make sure you're seeing good gasket contact all around. I don'twon a Progress, but plenty of guys here do, so others may pipe up. Also, is the cat properly seated in it's cradle and do you have the cat engaged when this happens? Not having the cat engaged is something I don't see mentioned in your post.

You've got a great stove so don't lose sleep over this, and don't hesitate to call our friends in Lebanon if you are still scratching your head on this.

PS sounds like you've got an awesome set-up there, we would love pics of your install.

Steve L
aka Oldhippie

 

So tungsten , is this a new install or have you had it for a bit?
I'd agree with Steve to check all the gaskets, and make sure they're all sealing well.
Check the stove pipe as well for air leaks.
Those temps don't sound outrageous, but the burn times seem low from all the reports of others who burn the newer WS stoves.

 

Those temps are hotter than my PH. I run close to 400-450. If I'm going to be gone for an extended period I can come home to coals in the firebox after 14-19 hours. This all depends on type of wood and size of splits.
A 10 or 12 hours burn is common and realistic. Follow what Oldhippie suggest and you will figure it out it's a great stove.

 

New install. I do have a small pipe leak at the stove collar, maybe some high temp RTV will take care of that. I may have over crimped the pipe.

[QUOTE="OhioStihl [/QUOTE]

I think I saw somewhere you have the 7' pipe? Tonight I put 3 medium splits in after the initial kindling and closed the stove air completely. I just about killed the fire and the temps stayed low, no secondaries. Granted I put virtually no wood in the thing, too warm out. I'll have to give a real test Thursday.


When you guys engage the cat at 250 stove top do you still have smoke out of the chimney? Also, when I engage the cat the flames don't seem to change, they don't roll, still wave and flick. This is without the stove pipe damper. I have been leaving the stove pipe damper alone until I can figure out how to run this thing.

 

well that reply did not go as planned...I'm missing the link to my old post for the picture, and the 3 guys who replied only one is showing up....

 

Just thinking out loud here- do you have a picture of your loaded stove? Is it full but with a lot of air space between splits? How small are the splits? If you have a bunch of small splits loosely packed in you might see this. Bigger splits packed tight might help.

 

You're probably right Ray, but I don't like leaks of any kind. I've had pipe leaks and it did seem to affect the burn. I never let them leak for long, so ................
Nothing scientific here, just my butt dyno at work.
Wouldn't it encourage an increase in draft? Hard to pull more air in through the stove intakes if everything's shut down though. I dunno.
Unhdsm , that's another good point.

 

You are probably on to something with that. Splits are varying in size from small ~1-2" and large up to 8", but I've only run the stove once with the 8" and actually had good results from it, 2 large splits, probably got me close to 8hrs. I tend to loose pack, for some reason I get smoke in the room when I open the door although I tweaked the technique slightly and it was less this morning. I do open the bypass and draft, today I cracked the door.



For you guys with this stove, my wife noticed the draft handle would "spring" open a tinny amount when you shut it and let go; does yours do that? I played with it this morning and when I hold it shut the stove really sets down , I can get intermittent rolling secondaries, stove top temp was 525/550 at this point with a 1/2 load of wood. I leaned my coal rake on it and it almost seems like the fire is out after an hour, but it's still going, no secondaries, stove top temp actually went down, something I have not been able to do since firing it up. Temp is now 480, glowing coals in the front, wood in the back is smoldering very little. Also, back soap stone is covered in soot, is it normal for the inside of the stove to be covered in soot? This does not include the glass, glass is mostly clear.

 

As far as the leak at the collar, would you simple smear some high temp silicone there or try and do something else?

 

Is it the damper handle in the rear that "springs" open a tiny amount? To me it still feels like something isn't seating right, hence not closing completely, with the result of high burn rate. The damper have any resistance feel to it? With my WS Fireview I rarely will run fully closed. Down at 1.5 maybe to just cruise along after a real good up to heat with the cat engaged. Same with my WS Absolute. Having to close down completely and still having a roaring fire just sounds like a big air leak going on someplace.

One way to find a leak is to use a cigarette lighter and move move it around the door gaskets and any other locations you might suspect a leak. The flame will get pulled toward any air getting sucked into the stove. That front CAT engagement "bypass" door feels like it closes and opens positively? I know the draft is hard to see if it is anything like my Fv you can't see it at all, but shutting down the damper shuts down the flames pretty quickly, so I think it should on yours too.

Give our friends at Woodstock a call tomorrow if you are still struggling with this.

Steve aka Oldhippie

 

I do not have a P.H. but IMO, if you cannot get the stove top temp. of any woodstove under 560F by closing the air damper on the stove as well as the chimney damper, the stove is allowing too much air in. It may be an adjustment or that some part of the damper mechanism is bent or not working quite right, or it may be one or more air leaks anywhere around the firebox such as the door seal, the ash pan seal, etc. but in the end, the only way wood can burn is in the presence of oxygen, and if a stove cannot be throttled then too much oxygen is getting in from somewhere. So I would suggest finding and eliminating that air leak(s) before even addressing burn times because if the stove's burn rate cannot be slowed down then burn times are going to be short. So correcting the air leak will also directly affect the burn time anyway.

As I said, I do not have that particular stove and so cannot even suggest where to begin to look for leaks but there are quite a few others here who do that that stove and hopefully, at least a few will chime in with some suggestions. You can also give Woodstock a call, they are very knowledgeable and very helpful in any way possible so that is always a great source of information as well as support in getting any of their products working correctly. And as it is with any stove, if it is two years older or more, it is often worth a good look at the entire stove for fit, tightness and especially gasket condition and fit. I recently found a substantial air leak on a Woodstock Ideal Steel that had occurred over the three seasons I have been using it and it was a surprise to me but something that I should have checked over the summer as part of normal maintenance in the first place.

Best of luck but I think you will be fine with a little help and some investigation. The Progress is a nice, well made stove and there are many people reporting excellent results with them so I am sure you can get yours to perform correctly also.

Brian

 

Larger splits more densely packed is sure to help. The small splits won’t coal and last anywhere near as well as larger splits will. I’d bet this is a lot of the issue.

Our first few years with the PH were without a flue damper. We could get the stove to level off and hold at a given temperature, but could not do anything (other than wait) to get the temp to drop. Now with a flue damper we have much more control.

Our door seals quit snugly and stays put (no movement after you close and let go of the handle). It might be a good idea to try the dollar bill test on the door. Closing the door on a dollar bill, it should be difficult to remove without tearing. Try multiple places all around the door.

The ashpan door also seals very snugly.

Try leaving some ash on the grates, as it will help hold the coals longer.

Keep testing. The stove will easily hold the coals from a full load for more than a day. I don’t do many partial loads, so have less experience there.

 

Wife was cold tonight, but only 48 outside. Cruising at this point with little flame in the firebox.

Here’s a typical split for us...


No visible smoke from the chimney, as determined by the flashlight check. But there was a truck with a trailer on a neighbors land where there shouldn’t be. Funny what you see when you go out in the dark.

 

If my memory is correct, I had to install the Ash pan on my Progress. The Ash pan and the ash lip had to be bolted on.

There is a possibility that the stove came from the factory with a mechanical malfunction that would let in too much air but it is extremely unlikely. It has been recommended to check the ash pan door, I would suggest to check the fit of the ash pan where it seats to the bottom of the stove.

 

Lots of great tips guys. that split is huge, the shame of it is I had a bunch, 4 cords worth, that size and made them smaller for my old coal stove.... I think I have 1 cord left at that size, I'll leave them alone.

I checked every gasket with a lighter except the ash pan where I installed it, the door is fine. I'll go over the ash bolts prior to my next burn.

as far as the air damper it does have a positive feel to it, I think it's working properly as the bypass.

I'm not overly concerned about the stove, it's a great product and great people. I think I just need to learn how to use it.

 

Only a handful of cold coals left tonight. I forgot to check this morning. I think it takes several reloads to build up coals/ash to then hold for the 24hr period. Have fun experimenting - it should get easier as we get into colder weather.