Had a few things happen recently and was coming to pick the brains of all you great people. Not sure if the month away from burning has made us rusty or we have been absent minded but we have had some hot stove action recently with the NC30. My wife called me the other day and stated the stove had gotten away from her and the STT was 790. Some hairy moments and some ash on the fire to tamp it down got things back to normal. Fast forward to this morning and I had the stove cruising along and it was around 615 STT for a solid 20 mins, damper almost all the way closed and then I saw it start upward at a high clip. STT got to 700 but got back down with some door wide open and small amount of ash on it and moving of logs around. So first and foremost I was wondering what I should be checking for and where to look to check for stove damage? I know 790 is hot but I would think that the NC30 has a threshold much higher that I hopefully never see. I know some members say 700 on a NC30 is no big deal, I try to keep mine below 650. Not sure how the stove got away from me this morning especially after cruising at a nice temperature for so long. The wood is definitely very dried red oak and I had maybe 6 medium sized splits in it with the damper all but closed. Anyway any feedback on what to check for and general safety inspection tips would be wonderful.
I was over 800 couple days back - had loaded the 30 same as always but it was a kinda warm out 40 or so, so it was slow to fire up. Jumped in shower 20 minutes later oops. I just closed the damper all the way and it retreated relatively quickly. Nothing noticeable, but I have not pulled the insulation boards to check above them yet as it has been colder. Might be able to this evening. There is a deflector plate up there ahead of the flue port which could possibly become deformed. That will also allow me to inspect the top of the fire box. I have been in the 700+ range a couple times this season but again nothing prolonged and just closing the damper completely has corrected the condition within a 10-15 minutes. I know that there will be an ash build up on those boards and mine are made of mi-core having replaced the originals last fall- another oops when I was cleaning the unit- forgot how brittle they can become. Mine also fit very tightly- no gaps and are slightly longer front to back than oem. No damage to secondary pipes that is noticeable at this point but my goodness they were glowing brightly. #'s 2,3,4, #1 likely was also but I could not tell due to it getting light outside. I have been in the mid 700's before over he years with nothing resulting - but i always slow it down by closing the damper when it hits 700+. Years ago I had a runaway on another smaller stove scared the living xxxx out of me at that time. double wall flue pipe was glowing a very dull red only noticeable when lights were out between the stove and ceiling transition. That one did suffer some damage to the top of the fire box- cracks in it ( not an Englander product ). i do not run at the 700 + area try to keep in the 600-700 range max. Damper control about even or slightly past ( towards the closed position) ash lip when I leave in morning.
My only guess is being a tube stove, you need to use a damper in the flue to slow an excessive draft.
I am very comfortable with my nc30 at 750+. My setup allows good control, shut the damper and it always cools. I aim for 750 as much as possible to heat a large shop. So why is yours running away? Bad door gasket or glass gasket? Too much draft?
The gaskets may be the cause. I was planning on replacing them this year. Only been two seasons of use but figured why not.
