Woodburner output advice please

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John

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #30 on: November 08, 2011, 09:17 »
How have you got on John? Did your flue thermometer come yet?

The flue thermometer hasn't arrived yet but the moisture meter has. The wood stored inside by the stove (with enough gap so it doesn't catch fire!) is 20% - that in the woodstore about 30% and the pallet wood is 16%. Haven't tried the freshly cut sycamore yet, although I wasn't planning on burning that this year anyway

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helens-hens

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #31 on: November 08, 2011, 15:30 »
When I started this thread I didn't realise how much interest bthere would be!

Just read the link to 'grow your own' about efficiently running a stove which was really informative and like John I think I am going to order a thermometer. Our local pub has a stove and the glass at the front soots up quite a lot so I am keen to get started on the right foot.

We are having it installed almost exactly a month from today - can't wait!
Helen

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Spana

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #32 on: November 08, 2011, 16:44 »
John a wood burning stove isn't supposed to smoulder. When it burns efficiently it will have a temperature between i think 300f-400f this is identified by fitting a stove thermometer which just stick to the flue by a magnet.

It doesn't matter how much fuel you have on,  the burning temp should be around that figure on the thermometer to tell you that your fuel is burning efficiently. Obviously if do not require much heat just put less fuel on but the burning temp should be in those figures.

If you burn below 300f on the thermometer you will start to produce soot and the stove glass goes black etc, if burning at the correct temp then the glass should be clear and the inside of the stove grey and not sooty.

You cant really use a wood burning stove correctly without a stove thermometer as you need it to set the stove air vents correctly, also your wood has to have a moisture content  20% and below.

Now all of you know by now that i am not at all 'technical'  ::) So i need explanation please.
If you need less heat  and put on less wood will you ever get up to the 300f you need  :unsure:
Surely if you only put a couple  of logs on to start with  they will burn away very quickly and you'll just have to keep adding other logs and never get any real heat out.
I find the real heat comes after the flames have settled down and the vents are closed or partially closed
We only have a magnetic thermometer on the front of our stove.  I load it up well with kindling and logs, open both vents and let it roar away until the dial shows around 400 then close it down.  It stays like that for a long time and  we don't very often have to add any more logs for an evenings warmth.  By the time the dial starts to drop we are thinking about bedtime anyway.
Its the  less wood and getting up to temp. that i find puzzling. :unsure:

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Spana

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #33 on: November 08, 2011, 18:56 »
Do you understand this now? :)

Not entirely, but thankyou for trying :lol:

I understand about the grasses burning and the flames sort of moving over the logs because that is what we get after we close the vents.  Its getting to that point, without having a good 'bottom' in the stove you wont get that and you dont get that without burning wood.  :)

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digga666

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #34 on: November 08, 2011, 19:12 »
I dont understand your reply.

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Spana

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #35 on: November 08, 2011, 19:33 »
I dont understand your reply.

Funny that, my OH says that to me quite often :D

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compostqueen

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #36 on: November 08, 2011, 23:45 »
I got a flue thermometer from ebay but it only came from just up the road  :)  They're a good idea to use, if only at least til you get used to your log burner and the way it behaves.  Mine says on it "too hot"  so you are quite clear as to when you need to turn it down  :D

I knock the logs together and they should ring if they are dry enough, rather than a dull thud
We cut some dead trees out the hedge the other day and they were good to go and didn't need stacking

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Trillium

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #37 on: November 09, 2011, 02:31 »
Flue thermometers are super helpful if you have a cheaper brand of stove. The metal on these can be on the thin or cheap side and if you have too hot heat too often, then the metal will fatigue (usually shows as a rusty colour) and one day collapse....possibly in mid burn. Woodburners are darned serious items and should never be taken lightly.

We always bought quality burners and pipes, but still installed a flue thermometer against potentially 'too hot' burns. You never quite know just how hot some pieces will burn despite 'statistics' or heat tables for wood. OH and I even took a class on burning properly and it was very interesting. The burner seller (shop) gave the lessons free by a qualified person. I think all shops should offer mandatory classes.

But I still see a lot of people overloading their burners thinking they'll get an all day burn while they're out or sleeping, then can't understand why their house burned down. My neighbour is a fireman and he's told me of many unfortunate families misled by this point. It takes time and experience to do long burns so please, newcomers, don't try it until you're very very sure.

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John

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #38 on: November 09, 2011, 21:22 »
Glad we have ours tonight - the gas supply to the house has failed so no heating, hot water or cooking on gas! Time for another log...

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Yorkie

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #39 on: November 09, 2011, 21:23 »
Oh dear  :(
I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days all attack me at once...

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John

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #40 on: November 09, 2011, 21:28 »
Could be worse - we thought the boiler had gone at first. Now we know it's the gas Mr Calor can fix it (I hope)

24 degrees here by the fire.. 10.3 outside. Mild night, thank goodness

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Trillium

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #41 on: November 09, 2011, 22:51 »
Yikes, that's the first time I've heard of gas going off. Nice that you have the backup. I've always tried to get flat top burners for cooking and we always made lots of use of them.

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John

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #42 on: November 12, 2011, 11:25 »
Our gas is delivered by truck and pumped into a storage tank. What had happened was a branch had hit a pipe causing a shockwave which tripped a safety valve. 2 second job to fix when you know what to do.

The flue thermometer arrived today - looking forward to trying it out.

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John

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #43 on: November 12, 2011, 19:47 »
Finding it interesting using the flue thermometer. I think I've been running it too hot up to now. Hopefully running it properly will save a log or two!

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asd1

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Re: Woodburner output advice please
« Reply #44 on: November 12, 2011, 20:00 »
Our living room is tiny and we have this one http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-regal-stove/brand/clarke our "vent" is the fact we have our original 1930s floor boards and so have the air vents from that :)



 

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