blacklocst
ArboristSite Guru
Split it small and good will to all. I too have an EPA stove and it puts out much much more betterer heat when I take the splits and split in two or three.
No need for that in my traditional, old style (that worked for 200 years), smoke dragon firebox... I just toss it in and forget about it.I find white oak to be one of those woods that is better burnt in the day when you are around so you can fiddle with air settings as the wood wants.
Of course there is... everything in life is a trade-off. Comfort and convenience are sometimes one-'n'-the-same, sometimes they're not. Yeah, it's a real convenience to have a sparkling clean chimney all the time, but I ain't gonna' trade comfort for it... besides, being able to load the box, slam the door and forget it is one hell of a lot more convenient for me than a spotless chimney‼Always some tradeoff with one system wanting one thing and another part of it wanting something else.
As well you should be... after all, you payed good money for them.Some of us are very pleased with them.
Well now... that there says more than all my words combined.....it does work as advertised.
Good luck... I tried it... the problem is in the primary air (the door airwash), not so much the secondary... it comes in the top of the firebox. That's a stupid place for primary air... but necessary to protect the stupid glass door and pass EPA certification. I even disconnected the secondary from the primary to control them separately, modified them so I could completely shut down either/or. It was a huge friggin' waste of my time... just like the stove itself....I plan on installing a device to control the secondary air so not ready to give up yet...
How big is the firebox in the Summit?Its as if spidy has crawled into my head and has been operating my Summit for the last 3 years.
How ever they can and do work very well for some people but the stoves seem to be picky, many with smaller houses and in a warmer climate then I have never even see the problems I do.
My old stove had a 4.25 cubic foot fire box and it put out so much more heat then the Summit that I cant even begin describe the difference.
As spidy said no hassle burning, high heat output when I needed it and no problem with overnight fires.
With dry wood and good burning practices can burn fairly clean.
But with all that I plan on installing a device to control the secondary air so not ready to give up yet but this very cold winter has me wondering.
I will try and not make a long story longer.OK, so 4.25 cu. ft. stove with a secondary combustion system might be expected to have an increased output when the secondary burn is active, and otherwise behave like a traditional box of that size. Of course that depends on how it is designed and what kind of air controls it has. The smaller one is not going to hold as much fuel.
I was given a large dose of Kool Aid and figured the Summit would work well as the Nashua was very rarely loaded full.
LOL - You'll do fine here, after all 'ol Spider is still here stirring up trouble! Can't wait until you two gang up.I will try and not make a long story longer.
Nashua was just a simple baffled stove but the heated air blew through the hollow baffle so a ton of heat came off the fan blown air. Just 2 screw type air inlets on the door.
Installed the stove when the house was under construction in 1980 and that stove heated the house when it was no where near as tight as it is now and did it well.
As spidey says no fuss, put wood in and set the air controls so the flue temps stayed in line and you are done until next load.
I was given a large dose of Kool Aid and figured the Summit would work well as the Nashua was very rarely loaded full.
Now you sorrta know why they got tired of me on Hearth.
I doubt there is one, but that was the point I was making. Oldspark was comparing the performance of a smaller secondary combustion stove to a larger stove. It's important to compare apples to apples and there are several ways to look at the "size" of a stove, such as theoretical max BTU output or fuel capacity (size of firebox).Chris-PA
What EPA certified wood stove has a 4¼³ft. firebox??
The main point I've been trying to make is that these experiences are not the universal "truth" for everyone. These stoves may not work for you, but they do for others.Thanks spidey, I have been thinking about buying a Nashua N18 because it has a 6 inch flue, other wise its a smaller version of my N 24.
I know some people don't want to hear it but you speak the truth and some times the truth hurts.
Live and learn I guess.
A lot of the oak I've had recently, both white and red, has been from fairly large trees that uprooted and fell over. They were trees on the edges of fields and had a lot of branches, leaving me with many large diameter rounds with knots and crotches. Those got noodled into square chunks - drying was highly variable as the grain really goes every which way. They've mostly been drying for a couple years, but I've been stacking those next next to the stove for a day or so and they burn much better that way.The main prob with white oak ( and red ) is the high moisture content when green. It is notoriously hard to get it completely seasoned, and you may never get it down to the moisture content of other woods if you live in a damp climate without taking extra effort. Like others, I've had white oak that has been cut for many years sizzle away upon entering the stove. Not one of my favorites just for that reason, but btus are btus so it's hard to just pass it up completely.
I have had a bit better results cutting it into shorter lengths, making "short straws" for mother nature to suck on, but no hard data. Thinking of doing a side by side comparison of short vs long piece seasoning next chance I get.
The main point I've been trying to make is that these experiences are not the universal "truth" for everyone. These stoves may not work for you, but they do for others.
Very good point, had a guy tell me once I was the only person who ever had a old stove that burnt clean and worked well.I'll concede that...
Yet, at the same time, I have to wonder how many of these "satisfied" people actually used a well-made, quality pre-EPA stove for any meaningful length of time (no doubt some have).... I mean, after all, the EPA regulations are 25 years old‼
Exactly what are these people comparing their satisfaction against??
*
Here in Iowa where it is very windy I can get it below 20% in two full long summers.The main prob with white oak ( and red ) is the high moisture content when green. It is notoriously hard to get it completely seasoned, and you may never get it down to the moisture content of other woods if you live in a damp climate without taking extra effort. Like others, I've had white oak that has been cut for many years sizzle away upon entering the stove. Not one of my favorites just for that reason, but btus are btus so it's hard to just pass it up completely.
Also from a seller's standpoint, white oak tends to grow fungus on the ends of the splits. That makes it appear 'rotted' when in reality it's fine.
I have had a bit better results cutting it into shorter lengths, making "short straws" for mother nature to suck on, but no hard data. Thinking of doing a side by side comparison of short vs long piece seasoning next chance I get.
Enter your email address to join: