Ideal Steel Season #2 Tips, Tricks, and Improvements.

Hey Bran thanks, I probably should have went an ordered one of those data logging multi thermocouples. Would make tracking this a bit easier! But I am only doing all this for a few burns to get it figured out. The lines can be a bit deceiving though, unlike yours that makes a nice accurate graph I am only checking every 20 minutes or longer, and like an 8hr gap when I was sleeping. I suppose it might be more accurate just to chart the actual data points, as the lines between might be misleading. Anyhow that graph would look like:


I think the line plot looks nicer, but just putting that one there fwiw. Not trying to hide anything.

Yeah outside air intake would make it hard to put magnets or whatever on the air plates. But with a key damper at least you can slow the burn down some with that. I might yet try that. I don't think but can't confirm yet if blocking the secondary hole partly would burn any less clean at a low burn. It is still letting some air in, in fact I think based on that data (I probably should indicate when I put the magnet on and take off, etc) the magnet would need to cover less than half of it for a nice stable low burn. I think it would only significantly effect the smoke if it was on a high burn with the magnet (which might have happened for a short time, but the goal here is to cruise on a low cat burn, say in the 600-800 range). It quickly dropped firebox temps when I put it on, and the revers when I took it back off a couple hours later.

I guess put another way, I didn't have any secondary action before partly plugging it, so I don't think the air was doing anything but acting like primary air - just burning the stack from the top down. If there were some secondary flames, then surely blocking them would increase smoke output (if above the ability of the cat to burn). Note that for most of the burn, the cat wasn't even working hard enough to glow, so I doubt it was letting smoke by.

 

Well you know I had a sort of brain fart in that post of the last test and apparently there is a time limit to edit the text. I made it seem like the test was "3+ days long" as it spanned from the 29th to 31st, but 41 hours or so is of course not even 2 complete days, so not truly a 3 day test if you look at it that way. I think I've worked too many 12 hour shifts, I am starting to think they are days.

 

41 hours is great!!!!!

But I think there was one who went 54 hours.... They loaded it up as they left for the hospital to have a baby. Came back 54 hours later and still had coals.

 

There is still no standard for "burn time" though.

Just like we still don't have a standard for the first notch on the air control!!!

 

Anyone get the tool set from WS? Is that worth it?

 

I got the cat probe thermometer. Condar makes it. It's the 4 inch probe. You don't need it, but it is useful. I can engage the cat quicker compared to using the flue gas temperature as a guide.

I didn't get their tools because I found a really nice set at a local place. I've got pictures in the thread "What do you use for a coal rake?"

 

Sorry for posting the cat ?, I found it earlier on this thread and deleted.

If I remember correctly, is that the tool set that you found locally? It includes a rake?

 

Yeah, I was going to go see if they shipped them for another member on here but got busy that day. I'm actually off today since I'm working this coming Saturday so I'll take a look today.

It's more of a hoe vs rake but yeah its got a shovel, broom, poker and rake. The poker has no barbed hook so that it doesn't catch on the inside of the door frame. That happened a lot with the fireplace set I had. Also the tools are shorter so they fit the stove versus long tools which you need for a fireplace.

 

Keep us posted on what you find!

 

Or a deep stove full of coals.

 

The IS is considered pretty deep right? I dunno, but with stove gloves on the shovel is a good length for the ashes.

I'm heading there now. Just gonna see if they are open or not first. I've found out the hard way a lot of businesses are closed on mondays. Now I usually check online first.

 

The 30 is 20" deep, and I don't always put on the gloves, so I'm glad to have a nice long handle on the rake. It's about 31".
I can dang near stand in the living room and move coals around. JK

 

Ok I went to the shop and it was a chit show. They have the set there but getting an answer on shipping was like pulling teeth. Uhm, we don't usually do that.... Alright thennever mind..

So I found one in a box and it said Dagan industries on it. Went to Amazon and found it. Not sure the link will work 100% since Amazon is signed in on my phone.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004C...40_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=dagan+fireplace+tools

They are 50 at the shop so it's about the same price.

 

That's a nice set of hearth tools.

 

Just as a comparison, this is my data for just under a 24 hr. burn

:

At the end time, the inside of the stove had perhaps 5 gallons of coals in it, all black although while I had the door open for the photo, some spots did turn red and I am confident what is present will start a fire easily at least until tomorrow morning:



Stove was pretty much filled with 2 year old oak. loaded N/S as the splits are fairly short at ~17". There was a small amount of under grate draft used (perhaps about a 3/8" hole), the draft set at 2 lines and the damper fully closed. It was in the mid- 30's last night but temps. rose today into the 60's (let's give a big shout out for global warming!) so no additional fuel or fire was needed this morning.

I think this is a great example of 'how long does X brand / type stove burn?" because I would consider this well under a 24 hour burn. Sure the stove is still warm (just barely able to hold a hand on the top of it) but it is not putting out enough heat to be useful in anything close to normal winter conditions. That said, this stove will easily continue to be warmer than the room it is in for at least another 12 hours and probably more. So in my own personal opinion, the question of how long does it burn is not useful but how long will it heat the house IS a useful question and in the end, I believe it all comes down to firebox capacity and efficiency. Cat. stoves (including hybrids here) are far more efficient at low burning rates and I think expecting 24 hours of honest, useful heat out of a 3.4 cu. ft. stove is unreasonable- they just do not hold enough fuel. Brian

 

BDF Brian I just want to say thank you for your detailed description and ability to present data without putting other product down. You were one of reasons I went with IS and I am

 

I think the stove could have used a little more draft in that cycle. Especially with the warm weather this morning. Then again who knows, there's endless tinkering that can be done to find the best settings for every stove and variable that goes with it.

 

Thanks for the kind words. And now I want a commission on your stove.....

Yeah, I am not really a brand kind o' guy, more interested in performance. I was looking for a large, cat. stove and three made it to the finals: In no particular order: the Blaze King King (because it is simply the biggest cat. stove I could find), the Regency F5100 (again, virtually same size as the BKK) and the Ideal Steel (not as large but several design preferences as well as things such as combustor cost, etc.). I like the I.S. very much but still am not quite getting as much heat or time out of it as I would like; again I believe because it is a 3.4 cu. ft. stove. That said, I DID get more heat out of it last year, or at least more useful heat later in the burn cycle (in the morning) but there have been so many changes in my setup that picking out the most important change would be nothing more than a guess if I am honest. Then again, I was very happy with the stove last year when I had an insulated second floor on the house; this year, due to renovations, the second floor is uninsulated and of course, the first floor ceiling is not (and never was) insulated so I really do not know how much heat is being lost. But that said, I have data gathered last year that showed the stove top at 350F and higher for a 10+ hour burn and I am not really able to do that this year. ??

Brian

 

If you are referencing my post and data, I am trying to stretch out and even out the burn. Basically, I want to trade and get less heat from the left side of the graph and throw it over on the right hand side. I think this is where the Blaze King's thermally operated damper may be really useful. I do not mind manually adjusting the stove but obviously it needs the adjustment(s) most when the stove is unattended (overnight and day burns; early evening is never a problem).

Brian

 

It has always puzzled me that other stove companies do not attempt to install a similar t-stat as BK. I would be curious if you have any thoughts on why this might be.