When I got this stove it was still what I would consider shoulder season. I ran smaller loads for longer with temps up into the 40s. I’m anticipating loading the stove 1 time before bed and that being good enough for all the next day in warmer temps.
Whenever the temps. are 40F or above steadily, I only load the stove about 1/2 way and burn a fairly aggressive, hot fire. Then just let the stove run out of fuel for the day. I cannot keep a fire in the stove at those temps. without opening windows.... not the plural.
I think we are typing similar answers at the same time. Perhaps we are really the same person? Has anyone actually seen us together in the same place at the same time?
One thing I've noticed is its kind of a slow starter from cold, going to split some smaller pieces for shoulder season.
Eckie heres a partial load I threw in about an hour ago just to bump the heat a bit until I make the big reload before bed
I do, will get more practice when it gets warmer with the smaller hot fires. Interesting on these below zero days the stove draws hard enough to rumble but reducing the air and it quits it immediately.
Yes, the stove has to be pushed a bit to get the splits involved and burning. But the stove also basically needs about 1/2 of a full load for its own consumption..... I know that may sound strange but because these stoves are fully lined, and very much unlike any all- metal stove, they require a fair amount of both heat and high temps. to begin to radiate significant heat. For example, in an unlined steel or iron stove, a hot cardboard fire will provide significant heat to the room the stove is in. The Ideal Steel, on the other hand, will burn a bunch of cardboard and never get more than lukewarm on the outside of the stove and provide very little heat to the room. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time depending on what you want and how you use it. It is fantastic for damping the effects of a small but hot fire when it is 50F or higher outside. But unfortunately it takes both some wood as well as some time before the stove is radiating significant amounts of heat. It is just how the stove behaves and for those, including me, coming from a simple steel stove will generally find it a very different and probably odd behavior. It took me a season to get used to this stove and learn to expect how it behaves as compared to unlined stoves.
Yeah well, there is a sword that cuts both ways And I will not even comment on the identical twins because that whole thing fascinates me to no end. Sometimes it seems that I am not a Homo Sapiens (I guess I cannot type H- O- M- O) at all but rather a different species studying anthropology on this planet. I have never known identical twins sufficiently that I could even begin to ask the questions I really want to ask but I do happen to know a mother and daughter, separated at birth and reunited many years later and it is absolutely fascinating to see how much they resemble each other in behavior and general personality without ever having 'met' for more than 30 years. Beyond fascinating and I have the fantastic position of being close enough to both of them that I can speak quite freely about these things without rubbing anyone's' fur the wrong way. But I digress..... you can have the brain today if you want but I need it for some of tomorrow when I pick up my new glasses (never wore glasses- this ought to be an interesting learning experience).
Yep but he is running his at 'medium'. Open the draft on yours to 1/4 or a touch more and it will do the same things. The wafting flames are truly amazing to watch and the colors are fantastic. My only problem with running the stove that way is that I would have to sit on my porch and look through the windows at the stove 'cause I could not stand to be in the same room with the stove
So, with some.of these "concepts" it takes me reading/hearing them a few times before I get my head wrapped around it and it clicks, or hearing it a little different way. The above clicked some for some reason.... I had been thinking (in regards to a cat stove and needing less heat) why not just put a small load in it. I think I will still have to just do this myself to see what and how it works (or doesn't), what size and species composition in the load gives little heat, up to something that's usable. And then the small splits and quick/hot fire, if that's usable in the AS. Honestly my mind gets a bit "stuck" on associating a full load with a super hot burn/fire and runaway type conditions. I've never burned wood before, I've got a lot to wrap my head around.
Thanks Dave! The camera on the phone does all the hard work. I’m no Eric VW Speaking of which… You gotta warn folks before posting the real ugly mugs on here! Pic like that might just hurt the membership numbers.
