another woodstove question?

[mwtslf23]

This is our first year using a wood stove. We moved from Texas were we did not need much heat to Ohio were we need heat. We installed a Harmon TL300 Wood Stove.

My question is, I am under the impression that I should continuously keep loading the stove for maximum heat. Am I wrong, should I just load and let burn to coals or keep loading as the wood burns down? We are burning a combination of oak and ash.

Thank you for your replies.

Mike

[amelia]

Hi, Mike,

I would let the room temperature guide you. If you want more heat output, keep that baby loaded. If you want to cool the room down (or if the stove itself is getting dangerously hot), let things burn down a bit.

I really can't think of any reason why you'd want to keep the firebox fully loaded unless your heat requirements demand that. So long as you've got a good bed of coals on the bottom, you can add additional wood without any concern about the fire going out.

[amelia]

P.S. Do you have a thermometer on the stove? I keep two--one on the top of the firebox and another on the stove pipe. My own preference is to keep the stove running at no less than 500 degrees and no more than 700. I watch the temperature of the stove pipe only if I'm concerned that something's not right.

[mwtslf23]

Originally Posted by amelia

P.S. Do you have a thermometer on the stove? I keep two--one on the top of the firebox and another on the stove pipe. My own preference is to keep the stove running at no less than 500 degrees and no more than 700. I watch the temperature of the stove pipe only if I'm concerned that something's not right.

We bought a thermometer for the pipe not realizing that it was for single wall pipe. The pipe have is double wall. The stove top registers around 600 when we place the thermometer on the stove itself.

[meanwhile]

yes get thermometer / the Chimney man, Stove man told us to do this:
-put one kid outside to watch the chimney
-put the other kid next to the wood stove and build the fire
-let outside kid watch the smoke, he will see lots of smoke, keep watching it
-the inside kid keeps the fire going and hot PLUS watches the temperature on the thermometers
-the outside kid should YELL and say when the smoke turns from smokey looking to CLEAR and no smoke but only heat coming out of the top
- inside kid then looks and THAT is your "control" temp for the thermometer

You will want to fire up the stove each time to THAT temperature. For us it is 400 degrees on the top thermometer and 450 to 475 on the lower one.

We have one thermometer on the stove pipe about 2 feet from the stove and the 2nd one is set lower on the pipe........about 1 foot from the stove body

We fire it up to 400, then let it simmer at 400 for a while (about 20 mins. to 30 mins) to be sure all the left over mess in chimney is burned off.......then we let the stove simmer down to about 350 - 375 and we leave it there........we open up dampers, burn it down some...........when temp gets to about 250 or 300 and will not go higher even with dampers open.......then we add more wood, fire it up to 400 - 450 again .....and repeat.....

Hang in there! It will be a LOT of work this year learning to use the stove. After time, you will learn it and just know when to add wood and when not to. If you know anyone who has used a wood stove before, ask them to come give you a lesson too.

Just be careful and patient and you will learn it. Good luck