I gave my stove a good cleaning today, and thought I'd check a few things out while it was out of commission. I checked the air wash bolts and noticed they were way loose. If it wasn't for the stove they would have come out completely. I didn't realize how sloppy my air wash lever had gotten. It's on my radar now. I guess I need to relearn my air flow... It does pay to inspect everything now and then.
I should inspect my stove more often. I usually give the caskets a look a couple times a week while loading, eyeball this and that but thats about it. Nothing super thorough until end if season.
My first Napoloen 1900P literally would eat wood when I bought it. After close inspection of the primary/secondary air control slider under the unit, I found it to be improperly installed from the factory (or from the original dealer), and allowing way too much air into the stove, even when it was at the lowest setting.. After properly reinstalling it (and making a small mod to it) I was able to drastically cut back on my wood consumption and control the stove much easier. So yes, it pays to not only inspect your stove from time to time, but also to inspect it even when it's brand new.
Caskets give me the creeps! Just joshing.. LOL Obviously I haven't even given mine that close of an inspection, in the 3 years I've had this stove, till today. But I will now.
You would never suspect a faulty setup from the dealer or manufacturer, and it's good you have enough experience to recognize it. My stove temps have run up on me a couple times lately (probably playing that tetris game.. (eye roll)). Manually controlling the air on my stove is limited to the air wash above the door. The air inlet at the bottom front doesn't have any control, so I thought I would make a tool to choke it off when my stove temps appear to be challenging the surface of the sun. The pics shows my prototype tool, and where it will be placed between the ash pan and stove to choke off the bottom air inlet. My initial test is promising.
Scotty Overkill You know, I’ve always felt my Napoleon insert should throttle back more than it does. Even after putting fresh door/glass gaskets in and new manifold and air wash gaskets. I would imagine the air control on our stoves is pretty much the same. Would you care to go into a little detail about what the issue was and how you resolved it? I have read somewhere about how someone modded the intake with steel wool to restrict the air a bit more. Thanks.
