How to light a stove and get it to operating temperature full. 

😆 way too kind, thanks a lot. The channel is literally pointless without you guys though! Thanks a lot.

I agree…..hands down!!

No worries, this is part of a whole (how to use a stove) series. I’m hoping they’ll be useful.

Excellent, glad to hear it is working well!

@@TheTortoise could you make a video about keeping right temperature, overheating and overloading the stove? And when close the air vents? Thanks 👍🏻

@@rafalmarciniuk5815 it’s tricky because every stove is different, but I will have a think about what I can potentially standardise.

@@TheTortoise thank you

It all depends on what stove you have. Some stoves are better suited to smokeless fuel use and others are wood focused. Do you happen to know the name of it, or can find it on any paperwork?

Yea regardless of size of stove you aim for the same temperature. 240° is what I aim for when lighting and I tend to control it down to around 150°C. Running at 240°C is really hot, so is verging on wasteful with regard to fuel consumption. You’re also likely to wear parts a bit quicker.

Yea you’re right, though in stoves there are a number of advantages to light using the top down method. The main one is all about creating draw in the chimney and reducing emissions during lighting (which is when most emissions are created).

There is a knack to everything. If you're just running hot for a few hours in the evening then yes you will use more fuel. This is the time that the stove and room are getting unto temperature, once you've got that done, you can then control the stove down and increase fuel economy and burn time. It's a bit like the difference in fuel economy in a car between motorway miles and going to and from the shops. As you spend time with it, you will start finding ways to improve fuel economy and get it to work the best way for you. Hope you enjoy it!

The primary issue is that this stove is a multi-fuel stove. You could allow the ash to fill the tray and keep it there, as this will slow burning down (as it will work more like a woodburning stove). It doesn’t sound like you’re doing anything terrible at all. Just have in mind (where multifuel stoves are concerned) “a clean stove is a greedy stove”.

I have reviewed a Woodpecker. It may be worth watching that video as it does show what I used to light the stove.

Opening the air vents will allow more air and a faster burn. Depending on the stove and chimney, this can either create loads of heat in the room, or just increase flue temperature. Generally you want to get a stove to operating temperature and then close the vents to a level that maintains it. This will prevent you from wasting fuel and over firing the appliance, and it will also prevent excess air dragging heat up the chimney as it rushes through.

Thank you made massive difference just need keep practicing, shut both vents nearly off slowed the burn and kept the thermometer at 400 perfect 👌

Excellent, glad to hear it!

It sounds like the stove isn’t hot enough. Where is the thermometer? You always get some visible smoke, and white smoke sounds pretty good.

@TheTortoise thanks for responding. The thermometer is on the pipe from the registration plate to the stove. Maybe 5 inches from stove up the pipe.

@@OlduselessGamer23 very strange. At that temperature I would be expecting the black to be gone from the bricks in literally a few minutes. It sounds like wet fuel?

Tha ks again for response, after another burn for an hour back in bricks did go. Bricks clean now 😃 Still a little bit of what is white smoke but not like a steam train, and not constant. The fuel I used was kiln dried and even checked with a moisture meter. (All good there) maybe it's been my incompetence as a new user. 🤦‍♂️ thank you for responding it's most appreciated. Still watching your video over and over to drum this stuff in my head. Keep em coming . Thanks again.

@@OlduselessGamer23 ha, thanks for watching! Not sure why it didn’t go before, but it sounds like things are doing what they should now (could have been a bedding in anomaly). Definitely let me know if you need anything else.

I have a couple multi-fuel stoves coming soon, I Will definitely go deeper into smokeless fuel use with those (could be a Woodwarm).

I would very much expect this was due to a lack of fuel. How hot do you get it when it first lights?

@@TheTortoise just gets above 300, would you recommend going higher before turning down?

Definitely. I would get stove a bit higher and then watch it for a bit. Once you’ve worked out how it wants to run you’ll do it automatically, but my guess is you’re either not putting enough fuel in or you’re shutting it down too far. Rather than shutting the vent, ideally you need to adjust it slightly to get the desired result. Just closing it on a stove as controllable as yours will essentially always result the stove cooling down, blackening the glass and going out. Perhaps get it to 350° and then shut it down half as much as you currently are. Then through trial and error you should work out what suits you and your stove.

Thanks for the help! Appreciate it @@TheTortoise 🙏

No, this is definitely not the case, sadly!

Yep that sounds normal. When you close the door and close the vents you’ll hopefully find that the flames are a little more wavy. But the chimney essentially acts as a big hoover, so flames, smoke, and some heat are always being sucked up the chimney.

Out of interest which stove have you got, because any advice on this would vary hugely from stove to stove.

@@TheTortoise Hunter Herald Allure 5

Okay. Well you’ve got a good stove for control, so we should get somewhere. The key thing to start with is a hot fire and dry fuel, assuming you’ve got that, then the next thing is learning your chimney. If you’ve got a strong draw then you may find that with a hot fire you need to close it fully. If that’s too far then I would nudge it open very slightly. I generally want it to have slightly more air than I initially think as the stove will settle over 5 min or so. I can then assess it after that point, it could be you’re adjusting it too quickly so it’s never settling in the right place. The other most common issue is the stove is not hot enough so you’re killing the fire before there is enough heat to maintain it. I hope this helps, but let me know if I’m barking up the wrong tree.

@@TheTortoise that’s great advice I think the best thing for me to do is test this out and see. I think we do have a really good draw on the chimney and that could be part of the reason as well as my own impatience! I will try what you’ve advised and let you know! Thanks for the reply and advice as always

Any time! Let me know.

This is just normal slate with an oil finish. You can polish slate thought, that’ll get a nice sheen if that’s what you’re after.

@@TheTortoise I think I have black limestone but it’s dull and my installer said I could use tyre grease or something but wondered if you knew a way!

Best idea is to polish it. Which essentially means using a sander with 60-80grit to flatten the stone. Then step up the grits to 240, and finally a slate oil and you should be golden. Or if you prefer a more riven look, then just use a slate oil, which is all I’ve done on mine.

What do you mean by that, sorry?

@@TheTortoise I’ve recently purchased a cast iron multi burner and I was told not to stack it up with wood when I first light it.

@@shaunjones7234 yes, stoves do need bedding in: What the Pro's do with a new stove. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bCGXmu6V5ks.html But once it’s all set up, there is no issue with filling your stove appropriately as long as you keep it within operating temperatures.

I will have to have a look.

Haha, thanks a lot!

Sorry, I’m rubbish at this internet lark: thetortoise.net/products/the-tortoise-stove-thermometer

thetortoise.net/products/the-tortoise-stove-thermometer Here it is