I know this has been discussed and I've read through some of the older threads. My question probably has more to do with when to start closing down the air. I am running an Osburn 2200. When I pack it full (using cherry at the moment) it tends to top out at 800* STT and 650-700* flue probe temp. I worry about that being to high. I should mention my wood this year is acceptable but marginal (ranges anywhere from 17% to as high as 26% MC on bigger splits). When I load and start to shut it down I'm afraid I'm not being patient enough to let the fire build back up possibly. I give it more air and then shut it back down leading to higher temps. I thought I read somewhere that SBI recommends staying under 825* so I haven't been overly concerned but I would like to keep the peak around 750*. Any advice???
Trial and error. The stove needs time to adjust after you close the air a bit. On the 30, after about 1/2 closed, the adjustments are very minimal to make large changes. It's more difficult with higher MC wood. BTDT
Ok I will keep playing with it. I usually got from full throttle to 1/2 closed and keep halving that. Perhaps my adjustments are too big too quick.
I've completely lost the burn recently by closing things down too much, too soon (comes back once I open air). Wood is dry, but when I check, the stove hasn't gotten up to temp. Once temps stay below freezing, I can shut down a bit sooner, but I like to wait until the ST is about 400. Stove operation gets a bit more predictable when it gets cold.
Each stove and installation can have its own quirks. 800 is usually about the maximum temperature for stoves to not overheat or cause warping of parts. That 750 you mention is a good figure to aim at. With our stove we use 700 as the maximum. I usually find that people tend to wait a bit too long to start dialing down the draft. So long as you keep some flame in there as the temperature is rising you should be fine.
I think that is what I have been doing wrong. I have been so worried about my wood being somewhat marginal (split and stacked late last winter/early spring but as you well know we didn't have a great drying summer) that I've been letting the temps ramp up too much. I've started cutting the air back a little sooner and it seems to have helped. I dont have it down to a science yet but we're getting there!
Are you using the char on the visible portion of the load as a guide. Once the whole load is charred you should be starting to dial it back.
Really depends on the temp outside affecting the draw on the chimney and the temp inside the firebox. Plus the kind of wood you just loaded. I try to get the stove back up to efficient burn temp ASAP so I'll leave the air open at least half way and then if I'm trying to do multiple things and can't sit there and watch it I'll set the timer on my phone so I don't forget to go back and trim it down. I've sat there on a milk crate or bucket and trimmed it down more slowly to get a feel for it. For pine I don't leave, it catches too quick, plus I don't want flames going too far round the baffle. Often if you are shutting the air down too soon you're making smoke. I've been working in the yard and noticed I've still got a smoky fire and gone in and found it didn't quite get going like I thought it would and given it some more air for 5 minutes. Timer comes handy here, too.
I haven't been until the last day or two which has helped immensely. I was going by letting the fire roar and then shutting down. Apparently it was roaring a little too loud.
I will have to remember this. I dont leave it until I have the air where I want it yet because I'm still learning the stove but this is good advice for the future.
Sounds like it. I don't do this...lose too many BTUs up the stack and IME is not necessary, but then that is with 3-4 year CSS wood too...
In my BK manual it specifically says to not dial down the stat until the new load has charred over, ensures the load is off gassing uniformly. I know the Osburn is a tube stove but i have used this method when using my FIL/MIL's stoves. They have two inserts, an enviro and an osburn, one in the basement the other on the 1st floor. It seems more predictable if you monitor the char.... Maybe not the whole load needs to be charred but most of it should be to get predictable off gassing... I guess i figure it cant be start to off gass more if the visible area is all charred. IDK, just my .02
