* * * 19991023 Wednesday

Subject Line: [Survivalist issues] Vermont Castings wood stove: fine fire control techniques? ...

I've reached the limits of my patience threshold with my (1998) Vermont Castings wood stove.

Description:

. 48K BTU's (1,500 sq ft home) . Thermometer, top, center into catalytic converter. . Ash-catching tray below fire box floor grate--separate front door access! . Front (w/glass pane) and solid side loading doors. . Fine control air intake (separate) for catalytic converter mode. . One lever control for two (~1-1/2" x ~1") air intakes below each side of front door. . Installed on a (1+ foot hight) brick hearth, vented horizontally then, up (right angle) the chimney; ground floor, living room.

This little puppy can crank out some serious BTU's!! I've had the the inside temp up to 85 with no problem--except minor jeopardy of heat stroke. 8-)

I'm using mixed wood!

Firing methods I've learned:

Quick-starting fire:

. Roll newspaper on grate. . Large log, "topped" with 2-3 smaller logs. . Light newspaper; close doors; open front air intakes full. . Slightly open door to ash tray; fire sucks massive air from bottom!

RIP ROARING FIRE in 15-20 minutes! (Really!!)

Problem(s):

1. The catalytic converter is non-functional until thermometer reaches 500 degrees. (Is this true?)

At 500, close front air intakes; unscrew fine air intake directly to catalytic converter.

After reaching 500, I'm having a heck of a time controlling the burn for optimum outputs (BTU's and longevity) and maintaining that 500 degrees required for the catalytic converter.

The fire usually goes _out_ within 2-3 hours.

2. Is there a way of loading up this fire box in such a manner that it can slowly and optimally burn for 5-6 hours?

Any hints for this "city bred" boy are welcome.

Thanks in advance!

Regards, Bob Mangus

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-- Robert Mangus (rmangus1@yahoo.com), October 13, 1999

Answers

We have one and just love it. You are so right about cheating with the ash drawer open. We haven't made a fire yet this season, but as I recall: 1)you need to close the damper and then open 1/4 turn or so the intake to the c. converter after you reach 500. The converter IS useless until it gets red hot, just like in your car. Then it burns off the the gasses. Adjust the damper after the updraft has been re- established. 2) The little flappy things on either side of the door, when nearly closed, way slow down the burn. And I mean nearly closed all the way. Experiment. Read and re-read the instructions. We had a bit of a slow start too. For a long burn, keep it slow, meaning not so much air. Hard wood works best.

-- have q's (answer@here.com), October 13, 1999.

We have an older wood stove, but the problem you're talking about is the same one we had last year while figuring out how to work it.

First of all, it's a *lot* easier to keep the stove going if you use a hardwood such as oak or madrone. These are obviously heavier than fir or cedar. It's easier to START a fire with soft wood. We try to have 2 cords of hardwood and 1 cord of softwood each winter.

Second, just because you get the stove to 500 degrees, doesn't mean that it's ready for a long or slow burn. You have to have lots of coals. Before closing the door, shove all the coals together. Add several pieces of wood - LARGE pieces, and let them catch fully before closing the door.

Next, depending on what you want to do, you'll either close the damper, or leave it open. If you leave it open, and you have the vents open, you'll quickly get a *very* hot fire going. We've hit 900 degrees (briefly, scared the s**t out of me!)

If you close the damper, and leave the vents on, you'll get a hot burn. This will last 2-4 hours as you've described. The temperature should be 400-500 degrees. If it gets below 400, you'll probably have to open the damper briefly to get it really hot again.

Now, if you want a SLOW burn, you need to close off just about everything, and leave only a tiny vent open. The temperature will be a lot lower, but it takes the edge off the cold, and leaves plenty of coals to get another fire going.

I've had the stove go for 28 hours (!) at about 200 degrees in this mode without adding wood or touching the stove. This required hard wood to work,though.

Anyway, wood stoves are not freebies. They have to be attended to. If you want something requiring no maintenance, you should get a pellet stove. 'course you won't be able to make pellets....

Jolly

-- Jollyprez (jolly@prez.com), October 13, 1999.

Robert:

I own and heat with the extra large version of this stove (up to 2400 sq ft). It did take a little practice, as I recall. You really need a magnetic stove thermometer to put on the side (loading) door. The stove temperature and converter temperature are very different.

When I start a new fire (rarely necessary), I wait for the stove termperature to reach about 300 degrees before I shut the damper. This takes me about 35-40 minutes, although the fire itself was roaring within the first 5 minutes. All that cast iron doesn't heat quickly.

Once you first give the catalytic converter air, you really never need to touch that particular intake again. When the stove reaches 350-400 degrees, it's hard *not* to have a fire. At that point, I close the front intakes all the way. I've never seen any good reason to open the ash tray door to accelerate the process. And once I've closed the main air intakes all the way, the stove stays at 350 or so as long as there's wood. I stick in 2-3 sticks every 4 hours or so during the day, and one good honking log (7-8" diameter) at night, and it easily lasts all night.

Meanwhile, the catalytic converter temperature stays in the optimum range of 1200-1400 degrees. If this reading falls below 1,000 degrees then I crack the main air intake just an RCH, and it goes right back up. Anything below 1000 and you're not reburning the smoke, so you're losing efficiency. According to the user's manual, the converter doesn't do anything below 800 degrees. And it can't get to 800 without air from that side intake. I just opened that intake all the way and forgot about it, and it works fine.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), October 13, 1999.

* * * 19991015 Friday

Thank you one and all for your kind advice.

As with any new undertakings, adjustments and adaptations to the situation are typical.

With so few days to go, however, I felt it prudent to inquire for the sake of expediency on this matter. The temps have been dipping into the freezing range where I reside for the past 3 weeks.

Thanks, again, for your time and insights on this matter!

Regards, Bob Mangus

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-- Robert Mangus (rmangus1@yahoo.com), October 15, 1999.