Wood Heat Thread ~ post pics

My home thermostat is only 10 feet away from the insert . If this is what you mean ? Or do you mean the actual temp of the stove ?

 

I see what you mean now . I might get that inferno thermometer myself

 

I just have a cheap Vogelzang thermostat on the pipes on mine. I don't pay much attention to the surface temps because they vary so much. The soapstone never gets 'hot' like cast iron does, and the cook stove will vary as much as 200 degrees from one burner plate to another, but I like to keep an eye on the chimney temps. Old habit from when I had an old pre-EPA smoke monster that you had to burn the creosote out of the chimney out every morning.

 

My insert has a built in blower . I just switched from a regular wood stove to the insert . Didn’t realize that too hot will shorten the life of the blower .

 

And of the stove/insert, typically.

 

Definitely want to take care of this new insert . 2019 model was 50% off because of some new law about all stoves sold in 2020 have a new label of some sort . This was $2200 at the discount

 

Well, starting this year the 2020 EPA regulations go into effect. So new woodstoves have to produce less than 2.0 grams of particulate matter per hour, I think.
I was reading about it a few months ago. Something like 40 manufacturers have ZERO stoves that will meet the 2020 requirements, and the new regulations will eliminate something like 85% of the woodstove models out there.

 

Me and the neighbor still have smoke monsters. NBD we live in the middle of nowhere.

 

Yup ,any stove manufactured before 2020 can not be sold after 2020 according to the place I purchased mine .

 

Yep. Puts the dealers in a real bind. I know of 2 that are going out of business because they can't get anything 2020 certified from their manufacturers

 

Our 1988 model Sierra stove is welded 1/4" steel. It came with provisions for adding a catalytic device of some kind, but maybe Colorado and a few other states had any emissions requirements back then. We keep a simple magnetic thermometer on the short pipe connecting to a "heatilator" fireplace that has had its drip shelf removed and double-wall stainless pipe added up to the chimney top. This last was done to satisfy homeowner's insurance carrier. The safe zone for the exhaust pipe according to the thermometer starts at about 250*F. At that point, the top of the stove ranges from about 300 to 400, according to infrared pyrometer.
No creosote problems; we add 2 tbsp of conditioner every once in a while. Burn mostly ash [sob!], oak [various], black walnut, yellow locust, and an occasional chunk of eastern cedar.
4toys

 

Here's why I love our Hearthstone, in a nutshell:


But, the stove in the cellar is keeping the upstairs at:



Since it's so cold and windy I loaded the cellar monster up with some red oak, and when I tested the firebox temperatures it defaulted to "HI" which means that it's reading well in excess of 800 degrees. But the outside temps (and flue temps) are considerably cooler.





I added a fresh log and it immediately went into full reburn mode the instant I shut the door.





And the awesome thing is that even though the fire won't go all night, when I get up at 5-ish the soapstone will still be around 300 and there will be enough coals for it to rekindle as soon as I reload it and shut the door.

That's the best thing about the soapstone; the firebox will be hot enough to tighten the skin on your face when you open the door, but what you get from the stove is even, steady heat. Not nearly as 'peaky' as cast iron (Of course, the downside is that if you let it cool off completely you'll have a hot fire in it for 3+ hours before it actually starts throwing heat)

 

This is my wood furnace that came with the basement when We bought the house 27 years ago.
I didn't try to use it until 9/12, have been every year since. Just on the 30 below days.
It's loaded for the night.

 

Is that an optical illusion, or is wood piled up along side the furnace?
I do not keep combustibles anywhere near my stove.

Too bad. I go all night and have wood in the morning. And that, not even full. But it drops to the high 60s inside at night. I have to turn it up in the AM.
Consolidated Dutchwest FA288CCL.

We are thinking of a more efficient stove. Maybe not.

Ken

 

I go about 24 hours on a load most of the time on my OWB.

 

I'm running it hot enough to keep the house around 70-72 most of the time. In the AM it's down a few coals but the soapstone is still throwing heat and the fan on top is still spinning, so I don't worry too much about it. Probably getting 8 hours of burn time and 10-11 of heat life out of a full load.

Edit- If I was burning Oak I'd have a 10 hour burn pretty easily, but most of this year's wood was Maple and Cherry with a little bit of birch mixed in, and they don't go as long, unless you throttle it back so it doesn't throw as much heat.

 

What brand is that?

 

Hearthstone...

They're a soapstone stove company based in Vermont. My particular model is the Mansfield.

Edit-- https://www.hearthstonestoves.com/