Englander NC30 deal .....ordered

The thinking on the OAK is that it might relieve some of the air intrusion.
Haven't run the stove very hard because it hasn't really been cold enough to warrant it.
Staying with that thought, it's hard to gauge much of anything re: house temps with outside temps being what they've been.
It's been easy to bring the house temp up, but some of that is due to the stove room insulation redo. The 30 is easy to run, like I've said, and I really like that.
The stove is not at fault here.
I'm beginning to think that when folks were speaking of 10-12 hours "burns" with this stove, they were more referring to "heatlife", because this stove does seem to hold heat for a longer time than the old stove.
Washed out pic, but this is about 1/2 hour into the night burn, which was loaded at 11:00. Eleven of the largest soft Maple splits I could get my hands on, plus 2 pretty small pieces of Oak.
Only going down to 21 tonight. Upper box filled with secondaries, and STT of 550°. Nothing blocked off.

 

Forgot to answer questions.....
I don't measure the stove room temps. It's only about 140 sq. ft., and I keep an air purifier running which blows air in that room.
The living room is directly adjacent to the stove room through a 6' opening.
The place I ordered the blower from must not have the latest greatest system, because the only notice I got was the one telling me they rec'd my order.
Website says orders are usually delivered within 7-10 days. Not sure that'll happen. It will probably show up tomorrow.
Tues. and Wed. overnight temps should be 16-17°. I'm hoping to have it before then, but I can still test if it isn't.

 

Since I can't edit the above post, I have an ETA: re: the shipping info from the web site.......
"Please allow up to 14 business days to receive your order, before contacting us. Most orders are received by the customer within 3 to 8 business days of placing the order."

 

I know there is nothing you can do about it right now, and you probably don't want to hear it, but I usually can only fit 7-8 of my splits in my BK. I might use a couple of the size that you have to fill in some gaps. I split them down smaller for really cold weather, as I end up with more heat and fewer coals in the morning. I also make some smaller for the wife.

I'm surprised you don't get it way hotter with a bunch of small splits. Especially soft maple, which I find to off gas quickly, and get plenty hot if I don't watch it.

What are you taking pics with, by the way? I hate the camera on this 'high end' phone. I end up with pics like that a lot. I have been able to change some settings and get better pics, but I much preferred my old phone, picture-wise.

 

I didn't bother turning off the flash....mah bad. It's a Droid Razr M.
I don't mind hearing it Jeff, even though I already know it. So, my splits need to be more like small trees. Got it.
It'll be a while before I get to that point, if I even do it. By the time I'd use 'em, I may have a different stove. Heck, maybe I'll get a BKK to heat this place and load it twice a day.
I don't like handling huge splits.....arthur-itis )) and all that.
Last nights load got to about 650, then I went to bed. It may have gotten a bit warmer, but I doubt much. Had the air pulled out about 1/2-3/4".
Nice coal bed this morning.
Oh, and I picked up a piece of 1/4" steel rod this morning. Once the stove cools some more, I'll cut to fit and get it put in there.
Testing, testing.
Still no update on the blower.

 

I hope the stove works out for you papadave, I like my Drolet but wont know until next winter how well it will work in below 0 temps.
I have a Summit that will make you love your 30.

 

A few things:
I always speak about usable heat when talking about burn times. Usable heat, for me, on a tightly packed e/w load will give me 10-14 hours between shoulder season and mild winter temps

 

Just had a brainstorm...I think I have some larger stuff in the back stacks
I'll go back and grab some to see what happens.
Got the bar stock in.....55° right now, so it may be a while before I can test much.

 

Good point, and for me, anything below about 300° borders on non-usable. Maybe that will change with the blower.
Thanks for that oldspark.
The Summit comment gave me a chuckle....only because I know what you went through with that stove.
Chuckling with you.....

 

Forgot to mention something re: the bar stock mod. The 1/4" could be a bit bigger......maybe even 3/8", but I don't know about expansion.
The one I bought was just over $2, and I cut it into 2 pieces.

 

Sounds like a similar situation to what I have here. The log exterior doesn't provide much insulation, since cold air can get behind the logs. Then all I have between the cold and us is 1/2" wallboard covered by another 1/2" of concrete aggregate. I've been sealing leaks between the logs and around the log junctions on the corners but there are a lot of seams left to do. What I've focused on lately is the wallboard; Any gap there is going to allow cold air to rush in, especially when it's windy. So I've been sealing breaches in the wallboard, such as around electrical outlets, window frames and baseboards. Just sealing the worst offenders, I've been able to raise room temp several degrees, and I'm not anywhere near done.

Sure, the lack of insulation is an issue, but I think focusing on air infiltration will pay big dividends with less time and money invested. That is where I would start. When you have wind from a particular side of the house, check that wall. It should be easy to feel where the air is coming in, and come up with a way to stop it....caulk, backer rod, etc. I've got these MD door jamb weatherstrips on the doors here now (at MIL's house, too)...they're easy to install, and work great! Screw it into the door jamb with the vinyl bulb just touching the exterior of the door; Don't press it against the door too hard or the door won't close....don't ask how I know. The slotted holes let me re-adjust it, though.

I think it's the nature of any stove that it'll only maintain a high stove temp for a limited time, when a lot of wood is gassing in the first few hours on a fresh load. Then the stove top starts to slowly drop. My stove (and a lot of other folks', from what I'm reading) spend a lot of time in the 450-300 range. So I'm guessing the only way to get more heat is with a bigger stove. More surface area should put out more heat than a smaller stove, at the same stovetop temps. The stoves you mention above are all similar in size to what you have, 3.0 or a little larger. You might have to go bigger eventually....but I would seal the air leaks first, then see where you stand.

 

All good thoughts Woody.
I went around the house and sealed all outside wall outlets last year.
The back bedroom was remodeled about 5 years ago down to the studs. Sealed the walls, bottom plates, redid all wall insulation, and some ceiling insulation.
The stove room has been worked on similarly, and is not quite done. We'd like to redo the kitchen, and if we do, it's going down to studs like the other rooms I've done.
The rest of the house has drywall, then wall paneling that tries to look like wood....something from 1974, I think. I mentioned to my wife a few days ago that I'd love to just tear the house down and rebuild.
Ain't happenin' unless we win the lottery.
Anyway, yeah, still working on the sealing and insulation issues and will continue that.
I really think/know that once the air infiltration has been slowed, the house will be much easier to keep warm.
I've already noticed that while doing the stove room.
I'm also discovering that this stove burns in a very similar way as the Ashley. The difference is how much cleaner this one burns, and how much more control I have. I wanted both of those things.

 

Oh, heck no Ray. I meant Oak. I have 2.5 cord of Oak back there that I could have brought up and burned this year(there's more too), but didn't need it.
I brought up 4 splits and it about killed my back, since it's about a 100 yard walk.
I could probably do that sort of "burn time", and would have similar house temps. Is your house a sieve too?
I might try that kind of load.

 

Sounds like you've done a lot already but if you're feeling a 'cool breeze on your arms,' there's more yet to be done. I hear ya about tearin' it down and starting over....and about needing lottery-type money to do it. Guess I'll just keep pluggin' away....

 

Yeah, it's the wall right behind me.....where I sit most of the time, when I'm sitting.
I'm sure it's just as leaky as the stove room was.
I can be in a long sleeve t-shirt with a sweatshirt on and still feel the cold on my arms. Sucks.
My wife would kill me if I pulled the wall apart right now.

 

Nice......the AC30 showed up about 5 minutes ago.
Didn't realize that the fan outlet fits inside the heat shield, and only 3.25" sticks out the back of the heat shield.
So, this means I shouldn't need to move the stove out except to install it.
The stove is a bit toasty right now, so I'm not sure when I can get it installed. It'll be ASAP.

 

Couldn't wait any longer, so I pulled the stove out just far enough to slide the blower in and screw it down.
This thing really cranks on high, so it's on low right now.

 

Waiting for the "holy crap" moment.