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Can a stove be too hot?


robtheplod

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Odd question I know, but we lit our Bubble stove the other day. The wind was fairly strong so it seemed to draw quite intensely even though all vents were closed - the heat coming out was crazy and it was difficult to keep the room temp from going to silly levels. It got me thinking, it was much hotter than the last time - is there a point whereby its dangerous, or is it hotter the better?  I notice on some of the stove fans you can get have temp gauges and have a 'too hot' on them which is partly the reason for the question..... :)

Edited by robtheplod
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Yes, the stove can be too hot. The first thing to fell the problem will be thd fire gratr, which can eventually be burned until it does not support the coals.

If the stove is properly installed with adequate air spaces and protection for timber against pyrolysis then it should not affect its surroundings.  If badly installed a fire may result.

 

A stove with back boiler may boil if the radiators etc are not large enough, and if not stopped before the water boils away subsequently damage the boiler.

 

My Squirrel was once  well filled with Excel and the bottom door accidentally left open.  It got hot enough to melt all the soldered joints up to 3 ft from the stove and filled the engine ole with steam.  Once it cooled down all was well,!

N

 

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4 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Thanks!!

 

If its running too hot, how can it be tamed (cooled) if the vents are closed?

Dump a shovel full of old ash on top of the coals

 

Had a stove glowing cherry red once and it survived,  I would not recommend it though,

hiding the melted candles on the mantle before the other half came home from work was difficult enough, explaining a badly warped stove would have been almost impossible  :)

Edited by tree monkey
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20 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

and repair/replace all your door seals?  The air must be getting in somewhere.  You need to have the capability of shutting down your stove by closing all the vents.

thanks I will check these, although they are new - possibly not fitted correctly?

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5 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

thanks I will check these, although they are new - possibly not fitted correctly?

Maybe, if your concerned throw some damp rags in close the fire down and seal the top of the flue somehow, I use a small plate, if it smokes past the door seals there may be a problem.

I suggest opening the boat doors before trying ;)

 

There will be some smoke leakage I'm sure just not loads

Edited by tree monkey
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High winds do effect the stove, they always burn hotter in high winds. However closing all vents will stop the fire eventualy and damp it down quickly if the instalation is good and no gaps letting air in somewhere? Do not assume its been fitted correctly unless you did it yourself, I have seen far more fitted incorre ctly than corre ctly over the years.

Buy a smoke a couple of smoke pellets and light them, once with stove in running position and another with all vents closed and look for any leaking smoke.

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1 hour ago, system 4-50 said:

You need to have the capability of shutting down your stove by closing all the vents.

That's what I thought, until we got a new (Little Wenlock) stove and found we couldn't even shut it down low enough to stay lit overnight, let alone control it in a high wind. I called their helpline ... apparently it's a deliberate feature so that you can't close it low enough to make smoke when burning wood, in order to meet some smokeless standard. I reckoned it was a safety hazard and as we only burn wood I blocked the offending inlet port with fire rope.

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1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

smoke a couple of smoke pellets and light them, once with stove in running position and another with all vents closed and look for any leaking smoke.

 

I wouldn't recommend smoking smoke pellets. Likely to do more than just make your head spin! ?

Edited by cuthound
To remove a letter masquerading as a space
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I’ve got two Stovax magnetic stove thermometers, one on the flue immediately above the stove, and the other half way up the flue. I can tell at a glance if things are getting too hot.

 

I also have a digital CO monitor at standing head height in the lounge which has a temperature reading as well as CO. Often gets up to 30C, which is a bit too hot when standing up. Much cooler when sitting down.

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6 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

I’ve got two Stovax magnetic stove thermometers, one on the flue immediately above the stove, and the other half way up the flue. I can tell at a glance if things are getting too hot.

 

I also have a digital CO monitor at standing head height in the lounge which has a temperature reading as well as CO. Often gets up to 30C, which is a bit too hot when standing up. Much cooler when sitting down.

 

I thought that the main purpose of an Eco Fan was to indicate how hot the stove is !  When it gets too cold to sleep in the back cabin and I sleep on the dinette I position the fan so that I can see it from under my douvet. I know that if it"s turning in the early morning I can have a lie in . (bladder permitting )?

 

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5 minutes ago, Slim said:

 

I thought that the main purpose of an Eco Fan was to indicate how hot the stove is !  When it gets too cold to sleep in the back cabin and I sleep on the dinette I position the fan so that I can see it from under my douvet. I know that if it"s turning in the early morning I can have a lie in . (bladder permitting )?

 

I used to do that, but at high speed, mine makes an irritating rattle, so I’ve stopped giving it a push to get it going. Can’t be bothered fixing it, and am definitely not buying a new one :) 

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29 minutes ago, Slim said:

 

I thought that the main purpose of an Eco Fan was to indicate how hot the stove is !  When it gets too cold to sleep in the back cabin and I sleep on the dinette I position the fan so that I can see it from under my douvet. I know that if it"s turning in the early morning I can have a lie in . (bladder permitting )?

 

You are either young or lucky :unsure:

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Another support from me for the flue temp gauge- ideal for the backcabin stove when on my own, just a glance down and if the temp starts dropping, just knock it out of gear and nip down to bung on more fuel. Hate to be cold!!

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  • 2 months later...
On 06/11/2019 at 13:11, robtheplod said:

Odd question I know, but we lit our Bubble stove the other day. The wind was fairly strong so it seemed to draw quite intensely even though all vents were closed - the heat coming out was crazy and it was difficult to keep the room temp from going to silly levels. It got me thinking, it was much hotter than the last time - is there a point whereby its dangerous, or is it hotter the better?  I notice on some of the stove fans you can get have temp gauges and have a 'too hot' on them which is partly the reason for the question..... :)

Looking back at this, I wonder if your dropped baffle plate was contributing to the problem. 

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On 06/11/2019 at 15:20, mrsmelly said:

However closing all vents will stop the fire eventualy and damp it down quickly if the instalation is good and no gaps letting air in somewhere?

 

I think the evidence tells us the OP does have a gap letting in air somewhere. On my Boatman stove it will actually go out if I close all the vents fully and properly as the coals are completely starved of air.

 

 

 

On 06/11/2019 at 15:20, mrsmelly said:

Buy a smoke a couple of smoke pellets and light them, once with stove in running position and another with all vents closed and look for any leaking smoke.

 

I can't imagine this working as the pull of the flue will be sucking in air through unidentified gap, not letting smoke out. For your plan to work, the chimney needs capping first. THEN smoke will come gobbing out (technical term) through even the slightest gaps!!

 

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35 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I think the evidence tells us the OP does have a gap letting in air somewhere. On my Boatman stove it will actually go out if I close all the vents fully and properly as the coals are completely starved of air.

 

 

 

 

I can't imagine this working as the pull of the flue will be sucking in air through unidentified gap, not letting smoke out. For your plan to work, the chimney needs capping first. THEN smoke will come gobbing out (technical term) through even the slightest gaps!!

 

My boatman stove dies very quickly when the air vent is fully closed.

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On 06/11/2019 at 17:34, Richard10002 said:

I used to do that, but at high speed, mine makes an irritating rattle, so I’ve stopped giving it a push to get it going. Can’t be bothered fixing it, and am definitely not buying a new one :) 

They are only £15.99 at Aldi, Stove fan that is. We have one It doesn't rattle.

 

17 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I think the evidence tells us the OP does have a gap letting in air somewhere. On my Boatman stove it will actually go out if I close all the vents fully and properly as the coals are completely starved of air.

 

 

 

 

I can't imagine this working as the pull of the flue will be sucking in air through unidentified gap, not letting smoke out. For your plan to work, the chimney needs capping first. THEN smoke will come gobbing out (technical term) through even the slightest gaps!!

 

We have a villager stove, if it is shut it will go out by morning, open too much sweating buckets in the back, and burnt out by morning, fine line, however I haven't ever see the stove glow red, though hot enough to open all doors in winter.

 

As for gobbing. I am not a plumber, not used google, I am using assumption/ logic (tin hat on), put a cap on flue/chimney, close all vents, light the smoke pellet, put the smoke pellet in stove, shut door, stand back and look for smoke coming out ?

 

It may be worth getting a candle, close up the stove, leave the Flue/chimney in place, and open. Go around the stove with the candle, the flame of the candle will be drawn towards the draft. Go around all the joints, start at the bottom.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Just my opinion you understand, this is what I would do.

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Excessive draw on a flue is often controlled with a draught diverter flap in the flue. They are balanced so that they are closed when the draw is normal but will swing open if the draught up the flue is excessive.

I would be concerned about fitting one on a short flue in a boat as potentially if incorrectly adjusted they could spill products of combustion into the boat.

They are mostly fitted on long oil and gas fired boiler flues to prevent excessive draw leading to incorrect combustion or outage of the burner.  

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