Stove was dangerously HOT!

[mn woodcutter]

I loaded my Pacific Energy wood stove last night before bed with two 8" red elm rounds and one small one over some hot coals. I turned the air up to get the fire going and walked away. I forgot to go back and turn it down until I smelled hot metal. I ran downstairs and it was so hot that even the heavy steel plate on top was glowing. The stove has proper clearances and is only 3 yrs old however the wall behind the stove was hot to the touch and has me a bit worried if I were to be careless and forget to turn it down again. Is there any type of heat alarm or something? Anyone else experience this?? Maybe spider can weigh in on the Pacific Energy?? haha

 

[philoshop]

Yikes!!! Bet you don't forget about it again.

 

[KenJax Tree]

There is an alarm....but it goes off at the fire department.


Sent from my AutoTune carb

 

[Dalmatian90]

On a positive note, we can deduce you didn't have much of a creosote build-up in your chimney...and even less now

I got our Allnighter glowing a couple times as a young kid when I loaded it and forgot about it, I know by the time I was 12 that was a chore of mine. I think my parent's only found about the first "don't do that again" time

Worse one was when I had a room in my sister's basement. I loaded the stove in the morning and left the dampers wide open to get it going, and got distracted chipping ice off the walkway. Same time I was thinking that's an awful odd shadow the smoke is making my niece called out that the stove was really hot...that one took a good half hour after I choked the stove down to no air before the creosote stopped boiling in the 2 story tall (and fortunately very well built masonry) chimney. I had to be seconds away from it lighting off.

 

[LFEngineering]

Glad nothing serious happened. I forgot mine once, stove was over 850 degrees when I remembered.

To keep these occurrences to a minimum I picked up a mechanical 60 min kitchen timer. Now anytime I fill the stove I put the timer on for 5-15 min and keep it near by. Timer goes off you just drop what your doing and go check. Been 3 years without a problem, the timer is a great piece of mind.

 

[jwilly]

That's why Quadrafire added ACC.

 

[Rickochet]

Here's what I use...... http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=292

 

[reaperman]

Normally a smoke detector close by will let u know if the stove get too hot.

 

[nk14zp]

Forgetting your stove wide open can leave you homeless. Please please don't forget it again.

 

[Nosmo]

We hope you never experience this again. I'm glad you got it shut down before it was too late.

 

[theswampthing]

I used to light a smoke and when I was finished, I'd shut the air off. I quit now, so I'll have to use the timer on the stove like my uncle and dad now.

 

[Whitespider]

Maybe spider can weigh in on the Pacific Energy?? haha

Wow... not sure how I missed this one.
I'm gonna' be 100% serious... cause this topic is serious. There's all sorts and types of heat sensing alarms out there, preset and adjustable... some run off batteries, some you plug-in, some you plug-in with battery backup. Check with your local big-box and/or fleet store... even your farm supply store should have something used in livestock confinements. I'm bettin' less than 50 bucks will get you something workable. Heck, even a heat sensor designed to turn on a fan, but wired into a beeper, buzzer or even your door bell would work.

With that said, yeah, I've done the same thing... and more than once. Always tell myself to not let it happen again, but I'm only human. The biggest danger is when I'm overly tired or (hate to say it) been drinkin' too much. I open'er up to get things a-heatin' and then fall asleep before shuttin' it back down. Heck, I started a chimney fire that way once... scared the holy-livin'-crap out'a me. So what I've gone to doin' when the danger is the highest (like when I'm tired or been drinkin')... I just don't walk away from it until I shut it back down. I have a chair right there by the furnace; not an easy chair, but a hard, straight-backed thing. I open a beer, sit there drinkin' it, flip through a magazine and wait. I figure when it's hot enough that I'm gettin' a bit uncomfortable it's time to shut'er down. I figure worst case... even if'n I pass-out in that chair... I'll land on the concrete and wake-up‼

 

[flotek]

Scary stuff this was one of reasons I'm glad I got a wood furnace that automatically shuts the inlet air off if the sensor hits over 160 degrees in jacket around it and goes into slow burn mode

 

[unclemoustache]

Wow - I really don't know what to say, except that if you're concerned about this, get a Lopi Leyden. It doesn't make much difference if you leave it open or not, it burns about the same, only a bit faster if it's all open. Hate that thing.
Wish I had the money to get something decent, but I guess there is a positive side to this piece of junk after all.

 

[haveawoody]

2 things,
1. Anyone that thinks elm is crappy firewood this is pretty good proof it's not.
2. Do you have a blower attached to your woodstove? can't imagine a stove getting that hot with a blower fan going.

 

[haveawoody]

Whitespider,

LOL so your temperature alarm is concrete.

 

[Bushmans]

I've had mine pretty hot. I'll get it going and leave the damper and air control knobs wide open. I'll be upstairs watching tv and can smell the "HOT" coming through the exhaust fan that dumps hot air upstairs. I shoot downstairs and close it down. Flue temps right above the damper are around 600. Only takes a minute or so to reduce them but it still raises the heart rate!

 

[blades]

Stove can get that hot even with blower on. I have on several occasions had 700+ degrees with the blower at max on the nc30. I get a bit paranoid at that point due to an over fire many years ago on a different stove. Stove itself was not glowing but the double wall flue to the ceiling was a dull faint red- in a mobile home- one of those brown shorts episodes.

 

[greendohn]

I've had it happen when I was running an old insert. The good wife just couldn't ever figure it out, when the blower tubes are red hot, with blower running, you are doing something wrong!!
1) if there is a good bed of coals, DON'T touch the air inlets,,the stove will catch up after loading it.
2) NEVER walk away from the stove if you have opened the air intake, EVER, until you have shut them back down to "cruise" mode.
State farm Insurance bought my OWB after the good wife over fired the insert. I was in the garage when she comes running out in a panic. I had just cleaned the flu 3 weeks earlier so I'm gonna' say sparks caught the tar around the flashing on fire? I dunno. When I came into the house the stove was glowing red hot, the blower had shut down, ?too hot? and my house was on fire!!
Both air inlets were wide open,,I coulda' killed her that nite!!
The check State farm paid me for damages covered my OWB and we no longer burn wood in the house..
Stay safe.

 

[brenndatomu]

Wow - I really don't know what to say, except that if you're concerned about this, get a Lopi Leyden. It doesn't make much difference if you leave it open or not, it burns about the same, only a bit faster if it's all open. Hate that thing.
Wish I had the money to get something decent, but I guess there is a positive side to this piece of junk after all.

Huh! I wondered what you had, (jus cuz of its apparent healthy appetite (sp?) I don't think I've ever seen you post what kind of wood gobbler you have.

+1 on the windup kitchen timer...