Post
by lowfog01 » Tue. Dec. 07, 2010 8:04 pm
With a draft like that I'd work backwards from what you know. You know that you can operate the stove at one full turn at a temperature of 250* but you are afraid it will eat all your coal and give you a shorter burn and that maybe true with that draft. Fill your fire box to the top of the fire bricks and see if your fears are justified. Use pea coal, it will act as a natural damper. If your fears are justified, then at least you know and can start working back from there. The next time reduce the air to 3/4 of a turn, does that extend your burn but reduce your heat production? If so would a larger type of coal work better? or maybe you may want to try a mix of nut and pea. Are you keeping a log? You may want to think about it because you are going to do a lot of hit and miss actions until you learn how your unique stove set up works. My log from the year I found the Forum is full of hit and miss opportunities but since I was recording them I never repeated any of the mistakes or at least not most of them.
The bottom line is you don't really know how your stove and draft and type of coal are going to all react together to produce the heat you want to generate. Find out those relationships and you too will have burns that last for 24 or 30 hours and produce just the amount of heat you want. Unfortunately, none of us can provide more then generalities. You have to do the hard part and figure it out. Good luck, Lisa