Picked up an Englander NC30 today...

Probably a different store next year.....usually is, but no I don't remember.
Ordered in Feb. of '14, got it mid-March (Date is in my sig.). Installed the same morning.

 

You are talking about the HD sale, which seems to be history...we are talking about buying "seconds" from AMFM Energy

 

Oops, mah bad. I neglected to follow your link.

 

Ok I'm confuzzled here...

I've been having a problem with the nc30 holding stove top temp and putting out heat. I tested a piece of my wood the other day and it was at 17% MC. I'm not ruling that out but I figured that isnt the problem as a lot of the splits I have are lighter than the one I tested (picked it to test cause it was heavier).

Lately I get about an hour of good stt (700-750*) with good secondaries and no smoke out of the chimney. The stt drops like a rock after about an hour. Were talking down in to the upper 3s to lower 400s.

Tonight I sat and watched what was going on. About an hour in to the burn the blast furnace (aka doghouse) had ripped through the space I leave between the 2 splits in front of it and destroyed the split that was on top of them that forms the "tunnel of love". At that point the coals fell down and killed my stt. It dropped 200* in about 10-15 minutes. The fire is not smoldering. It's basically all coals in the center and some small flames on the outside splits. This also killed the secondaries though too.

I decided to try blocking one of the doghouse air holes with a magnet. Instantly the stt went UP about 30* and the flames picked up. This was with the fan running on low the whole time. I didnt figure my draft was that strong with the setup I have.

Is this phenomenon from slowing the air down? Does this make any sense?

Here's how I've been running it (I'll keep it brief, this post is way too long as is )

Rake coals forward and load.
Close door and let wood catch fire with air full open.
Once pipe temp reaches 400* (double wall probe) start cutting the air down.
When it reaches 600* flue temp make second air adjustment.
This puts the end of the spring about even with the ash lip.
At this point in have good secondary burn and the stt works it's way up to about 740-750* before settling back down and hanging at 675-700* until the center collapses.

Okay my thumbs are tired now...

 

I will try this mod out for a bit to see what happens on a reload and report my findings.

 

Hey Marvin , give this a try.........when reducing air, push the rod in all the way, then pull it back out about 1/8" or a bit more. Keep an eye on the fire for a minute or two to make sure you didn't kill it (which should be done any time you're closing the air). Adjust as needed, but everything beyond about 1/2 closed is very touchy. The slightest movement can make a big difference (you may have noticed that).
Almost sounds like you aren't closing the air enough.
I don't mess with the pipe temp (inside or out), but watch the "step" ...the angled top right in front of the pipe.......it's the hottest part of the stove.
Once mine hits about 400 (Sometimes more, sometimes less), I'll close the air about 1/2 way, and let it simmer there for a few minutes before closing further. Get the secondaries going and going, just so they don't die, then leave it alone. It'll do that for a couple hours or more depending on the load.
What wood was in that last load?
Oh, and I used to run the fan about 1/4-1/3 from lowest speed. This year, I get much better heat through the house by kicking it up to 1/2 or a bit higher. That's with the upgraded fan.

 

That's what I was wondering, is the wood species the same as what has been used lately/normally?

 

Just did the morning reload. I'm gonna run this load with the magnet in place and then I'll take it off before the following reload and try your method papadave. This way I can compare the two and see what works best for my setup.

As far as the wood it was all ash that has been css for 2 years. I have been burning ash with some occasional cherry thrown in there lately. It's all been coming from the same pile.

Thanks papadave and brenndatomu for your help!

 

I tried several methods to "make it burn better" including the magnet(s) thing. Not that it won't work for you in some way, but my attempts weren't successful so the magnets and tape came off.
Good luck.

 

In a weird way I'm kinda hoping it works better without the magnets and just cutting the air more works better. I would prefer to run it as designed. We will see...

 

Speaking of the spring handle............it's fairly dependent on how far the spring has been "threaded" onto the rod which makes that reference point a bit vague (maybe not the right word to use).
Push that rod all the way in until it won't go in more, then pull it out. I now reference from the full off point when reducing air beyond 1/2way.
Seems like someone put some little hash marks on the rod once they got familiar with the stove.

 

I pack it as full as I can while still leaving an inch or two below the tubes. Admittedly some of my splits are on the smaller side. I also dont always get it super tight in there. Next year I need to do a better job of stacking my uglies where I can get them out of the way during the shoulder seasons.

 

I twisted it on so the end of the rod is flush with the 'tight twist' on the spring. I think it was HDRock that used a sharpie if I remember correctly.

 

Ok. Just checked mine and the rod is about 1/2 into the big portion of the spring.

 

I push my rod in till it's almost coming out the other side

And Hoytman just buy a 30, even at full list it's a good deal!

 

A couple of suggestions, but remember this is not a cat stove, and never will burn as long as one.

First, you can try a Backwards burn. See how that works for you.

Second, for the tunnel of love, put the two down, then go a bit bigger on the next layer and E-W, to increase the time before they collapse, blocking the doghouse airflow.

 

I will be trying the backwards burn again. I remember having pretty good results last year when you suggested it.

I dont expect burn times like a cat stove has but I do expect it to run hotter than 300* during the first 2 or 3 hours of a fresh reload. At least from everything I've heard about these stoves I can expect that. Unless I'm off base here...

 

If the firebox is still mostly full after two hours and your stove is just at 300 then you need to change something.

I run my nc30 very hard with softwood and I can run load after load at 3 hour cycles keeping the stove top near 700. The stove can eat! If yours isn’t eating then why? Don’t be afraid to open the air to invigorate the fire. It should roar!

 

I should also clarify I have not experimented much with loading any way other than n/s. I may be jumping the gun here and have to try loading different ways...