Modifying a Wood Stove

[Gypo Logger]

I think what we are all after from our stoves is heat and longevity of burn.
Airtight means bone dry wood starved for air.
The stove I have is great to minus 10F, but after that it doesn't do the job.

So I made a few modifications. Firstly, I replaced the 1/2" door gasket with a 5/8" gasket for a tighter fit.
With a crowbar I bent the inside latch outward so the door will fit tighter.
Also as a temp fix I plugged all primary damper holes with tin foil which I will weld closed later.
In place of the existing primary I plan on putting a threaded primary damper on the side of the stove so I can control the burn.
The mods Ive made so far have increased burn time from 4hrs to 12hrs.
The stove in question is a small Drolet. Can't wait for minus 40 to see how it does. All I expect at 40 below is that the inside temp stays above freezing.
Any thoughts?

 

[Trx250r180]

I think it needs to be warmer than 32 in the house ,but that is just me
sounds like need a bigger stove

 

[Gypo Logger]

I think it needs to be warmer than 32 in the house ,but that is just me
sounds like need a bigger stove

It's 34F outside now Brian and 74F inside with one window open. So if my math is right 40 below is a difference of 70 degrees of frost which will make it a balmy 32F inside.
John

 

[Chris-PA]

Drop the inlet and raise the exhaust. Oh, wait....nevermind....

 

[laynes69]

I understand wanting to create a longer burn, but if your starving the fire for air, isn't the output of the stove going to be low? If I made our furnace airtight, I wouldn't produce enough heat during entire burn to do any good. Also as a result, I would plug my chimney with creosote. If your looking for long burns then maybe a catalytic stove would be the best match.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Drop the inlet and raise the exhaust. Oh, wait....nevermind....

What about the transfers? I already did a muff mod and a woods port.
John

 

[midwest_170]

Extended burn times requires more wood. A bigger stove is your best option.

 

[Gypo Logger]

I understand wanting to create a longer burn, but if your starving the fire for air, isn't the output of the stove going to be low? If I made our furnace airtight, I wouldn't produce enough heat during entire burn to do any good. Also as a result, I would plug my chimney with creosote. If your looking for long burns then maybe a catalytic stove would be the best match.

I hear what you are saying. When it's really cold it's a balance between longevity of burn, loading more wood and staying reasonably warm.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Extended burn times requires more wood. A bigger stove is your best option.

The stove in question actually holds a lot of wood, but your right, a bigger stove may be the answer, but for 90% of the weather we get here the stove seems to be adequate.
The other 10% of the time I feel like I'm married to the stove.
John

 

[Trx250r180]

Maybe on the -40 days have propane heater ready for double duty ? I am sure where you are propane refills are far away ,maybe have a few jugs ready for the cold spells if they are not too long at a time .I believe you are off the grid so elec heat is not an option right ? Need to get that cabin closed in so can warm up in there .

 

[svk]

Gypo, how close are you to getting your new place liveable?

Otherwise I agree, a larger stove throttled back is preferrable to running a smaller one at full bore all of the time.

 

[M.R.]

A few Mod's

 

[Gypo Logger]

Gypo, how close are you to getting your new place liveable?

Otherwise I agree, a larger stove throttled back is preferrable to running a smaller one at full bore all of the time.

I'm not too far away from clad, just soffits and an 8x6 window.
John

 

[svk]

I'm not too far away from clad, just soffits and an 8x6 window.
JohnView attachment 395145

That looks great. I love how you have that burl worked right into the back wall.

 

[Trx250r180]

Maybe heat up some water ,and make a radiator like the old houses had ,maybe put some antifreeze in there so do not crack a pipe ,put a shut off valve on it so when warmer does not heat the water ,red neck radiant heat more or less

this was at bottom of my page gave me the idea

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/modified-wood-stove-to-heat-water.229968/

 

[Whitespider]

Extended burn times requires more wood.

I've never noticed that to be true... at least not enough to matter much. If all else remains the same (i.e., dampers, settings, and such), more wood just makes more heat over the burn time, but it don't extend that time. A stick of firewood is gonna' take x-amount of time to burn... it don't matter if there's 5 other sticks around it, or 10 sticks. The idea, or belief, that more wood means longer burns is because the box is putting out more heat with more wood in it... so the operator turns the stove down (if that added heat ain't needed). It wouldn't matter if there was 15, 10, or 5 sticks in the box... turning the stove down the same amount is gonna' extend the burn the same length (or, damn close anyway). But if ya' need that extra heat per hour to keep up with heating demand, ya' ain't gonna' turn the stove down... and burn time won't be extended no matter how much ya' stuff in there.

That's what people used to do with the old air-tights... stuff em' full 'n' choke 'em down...
They could have loaded 'em ¼ full and choked 'em down the same way to get the same longer burn... but they would'a had cold noses.
Some of 'em never did learn that was a horrible way to run those things... much better to find the setting that gave the best balance between efficiency and burn time, then load appropriately for demand. Rather than go for the 12 hour burn just because you could, be happy with the 8 hour burn because that was good enough for a night's sleep, or a day at work... and end up using less wood because (heating) efficiency was increased.

Once I figured that out (like 25-30 years ago) my house heated much easier, more evenly, more consistently, and with less wood... and that "smoky" smell in the house disappeared totally.
*

 

[Ironworker]

View attachment 395139A few Mod's

What is that, a time machine, cool.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Very good post indeed, I think what you say is good for 95% of people who burn wood.
I'm guilty of donkey dinkin around with the stove mostly because I sit 4' away from it.
When it's really, really cold I tend to keep it loaded right up and ablaze, but when things are warm like this, I'll just keep a few small rounds and let it alone.
When I need to cook on it I let it roar and open up a window or two.
John

I've never noticed that to be true... at least not enough to matter much. If all else remains the same (i.e., dampers, settings, and such), more wood just makes more heat over the burn time, but it don't extend that time. A stick of firewood is gonna' take x-amount of time to burn... it don't matter if there's 5 other sticks around it, or 10 sticks. The idea, or belief, that more wood means longer burns is because the box is putting out more heat with more wood in it... so the operator turns the stove down (if that added heat ain't needed). It wouldn't matter if there was 15, 10, or 5 sticks in the box... turning the stove down the same amount is gonna' extend the burn the same length (or, damn close anyway). But if ya' need that extra heat per hour to keep up with heating demand, ya' ain't gonna' turn the stove down... and burn time won't be extended no matter how much ya' stuff in there.

That's what people used to do with the old air-tights... stuff em' full 'n' choke 'em down...
They could have loaded 'em ¼ full and choked 'em down the same way to get the same longer burn... but they would'a had cold noses.
Some of 'em never did learn that was a horrible way to run those things... much better to find the setting that gave the best balance between efficiency and burn time, then load appropriately for demand. Rather than go for the 12 hour burn just because you could, be happy with the 8 hour burn because that was good enough for a night's sleep, or a day at work... and end up using less wood because (heating) efficiency was increased.

Once I figured that out (like 25-30 years ago) my house heated much easier, more evenly, more consistently, and with less wood... and that "smoky" smell in the house disappeared totally.
*

 

[svk]

I've never noticed that to be true... at least not enough to matter much. If all else remains the same (i.e., dampers, settings, and such), more wood just makes more heat over the burn time, but it don't extend that time. A stick of firewood is gonna' take x-amount of time to burn... it don't matter if there's 5 other sticks around it, or 10 sticks. The idea, or belief, that more wood means longer burns is because the box is putting out more heat with more wood in it... so the operator turns the stove down (if that added heat ain't needed). It wouldn't matter if there was 15, 10, or 5 sticks in the box... turning the stove down the same amount is gonna' extend the burn the same length (or, damn close anyway). But if ya' need that extra heat per hour to keep up with heating demand, ya' ain't gonna' turn the stove down... and burn time won't be extended no matter how much ya' stuff in there.

That's what people used to do with the old air-tights... stuff em' full 'n' choke 'em down...
They could have loaded 'em ¼ full and choked 'em down the same way to get the same longer burn... but they would'a had cold noses.
Some of 'em never did learn that was a horrible way to run those things... much better to find the setting that gave the best balance between efficiency and burn time, then load appropriately for demand. Rather than go for the 12 hour burn just because you could, be happy with the 8 hour burn because that was good enough for a night's sleep, or a day at work... and end up using less wood because (heating) efficiency was increased.

Once I figured that out (like 25-30 years ago) my house heated much easier, more evenly, more consistently, and with less wood... and that "smoky" smell in the house disappeared totally.
*

Depends. The stove in our hunting cabin prior to remodel was good for three hours whether there was one piece of 10. If you filled it up best plan to open every window in about an hour. OTOH my boiler can last 12 hours when shoved full of hardwood but if its filled 1/3 full you'll be lucky to get 2 hours.

 

[Whitespider]

OTOH my boiler can last 12 hours when shoved full of hardwood but if its filled 1/3 full you'll be lucky to get 2 hours.

Yes, but your boiler, like the furnace I'm using now, varies the firing rate according to heat demand. Loading your boiler light means less heat in the "stand-by" mode... which means the "let-'er-rip" mode will kick in more often... which will also produce less heat in the "let-'er-rip" mode because of the lighter load... which will mean the "let-'er-rip" mode will run longer times... which means shorter times between loadings. In other words... all else is not remaining the same (i.e., dampers, settings, and such). That's not the type of combustion system I was referring to.
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