# How do you keep the woodstove from being TOO hot?



## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Woodstoves WORK for heat!
We do have a back up electric heat system. It is set so that it will come on at 50 degrees. It is 25 degrees outside today, and it is 70 degrees in the house! I am HOT! How do I keep it from being too hot with the wood stove on? Probably a dumb question to those of you who have been heating with wood for years, but this is our first year so I am not sure if there are things that can be done to keep it from getting overly hot in here or not.

Any suggestions?

Cindyc.


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## ginnie5 (Jul 15, 2003)

open the front door!


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## mamita (May 19, 2008)

I hear ya! soooo...my daily plan goes like this. I wake up at 4..hub leaves for work at 6 AM. I let the furnace run two times to take the chill off..then the thermostat gets turned down to 55. when it gets to 57 in here...or better when it is around 3 PM, I light the stove. then it is just right around dinner...warm for watching a bit of tv....and I tell hub ...NO MORE wood at 10, so I'm not roasting. lol I love it warm and cozy, but no way do I want it 80 in here! our house is toasty all night....til that first furnace thingie the next day. when it's a cold weekend...and hub's started the woodstove early...welllll....I go outside, A LOT.  I let him start the stove on weekends early, but I let it die out and relight around 6PM. I do NOT like it HOT. altho...I'm quite spoiled this year with the heat.


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## kitaye (Sep 19, 2005)

damp it back as far as possible then place a fan in the door from another, hopefully cooler room, and blow the cooler air into where you need it. The other option is the open a window in the room with the wood stove just a crack to let some cooler air in.


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

Usually if it gets too hot, I'm letting too much air into the stove. Easiest way to cool off the room is to use a fan to blow the air into or out of other cooler rooms. But make sure you're getting a good seal when you close the door(s) - you might want to check to make sure the gasket is not loose or twisted, and that your air control lever(s) is/are closed.

It's been in the 70's here, so we haven't run the woodstove or fireplace insert this week, but we're getting the cold front this weekend so we'll probably crank them back up.

Dawn


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

You can also try using greener wood that won't burn so hot.....you use less and it burns longer


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

Too much oxygen is getting in. Close the air intakes as you would to hold it for an overnight burn. More air = hotter fire.


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## River (Jun 25, 2003)

Our approach has always been to leave the damper 100% open and only put in enough wood to keep the house as warm as we want it. When it is warm outside, we feed small amounts frequently. If it is cold and windy, we'll load the stove up good and keep it pretty full.

We do use the draft control at night and if we're gone for an extended period. But when we're home, we let the fire have all the air it needs.

We've been heating with wood for 18 years, so we're almost novices! :bowtie:

River


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

cindy-e said:


> Woodstoves WORK for heat!
> We do have a back up electric heat system. It is set so that it will come on at 50 degrees. It is 25 degrees outside today, and it is 70 degrees in the house! I am HOT! How do I keep it from being too hot with the wood stove on? Probably a dumb question to those of you who have been heating with wood for years, but this is our first year so I am not sure if there are things that can be done to keep it from getting overly hot in here or not.
> 
> Any suggestions?
> ...


I generally just open a winder, I know, thats pretty low teck, but it works fer me.


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## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

There should be something that controls the air to the stove. Decrease the amount of air it gets.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Build smaller fires. You dont have to fill it up before you light it. And get an oven thermometer to place on top of the stove so you can learn to regulate the temperature the way you want it


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

I'm trying the air intake thing first. Will let you know how it goes. 

The wood we have may be part of the problem. It has been sitting a long time, and is REALLY dry. But we have to use it up before we invest in more. I will look into green wood next time though *Jill*

I should say that the person that designed this did a GREAT job, because what they did was they put the wood stove in a corner with a large brick wall behind and under it. It is a tremendous amount of thermal mass and it just radiates heat back out into the room. I love it. Not too sure how to manage it yet, but I love it. That said, I am sure it is a contributing factor. We have huge glass windows in here, and a sliding glass door, and it is still toasty.

Cindyc.


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## no1cowboy (May 2, 2004)

jill.costello said:


> You can also try using greener wood that won't burn so hot.....you use less and it burns longer


green wood will cause creosote buildup and chimney fires if your not careful.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Open a window, letting in some fresh air is nice even in cold weather. I have a window behind the stove that I usually keep open during the day and close at night. It keeps the air in the house from getting stale.


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

Like River said - Don't put so much wood in! And let it burn down to coals before you add another block or two. You will soon catch on as to how much and how often to add wood to get the amount of heat you want. Another option is coal, it burns slower and gives good heat.
If you're using green wood you should have the chimney cleaned every year to be safe, even if you burn dry wood the chimney should be checked and cleaned every year.


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

Irrelevant now, but isn't the size of the stove something that should be considered when contemplating a wood burning stove purchase? I read the specs of stoves to show that generally the smaller the stove the shorter the period of time they hold a fire which makes sense. Therefore I assume there needs to be a balance of space and size and burn time.


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

I will second the caution on using green wood. It leads, quickly, to creosote build up and chimney fire potential. Even if you don't end up with a chimney fire, you will have to clean out your chimney/stovepipe waaay more often, and that's not the most fun job to have. Also, creosote can drip out of your stove pipe and onto the stove, floor, walls, etc. Just a mess!


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## Jesus Saves (May 31, 2005)

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, I haven't read them all, but what type of wood are you using. Some wood burns hotter than others.

Locust or Hedge or Hickory burns really hot
Oak is hot
Hard Maple is moderate 

If you don't want it really hot use
Soft maple
wild cherry
I'm sure their are others, I just can't remember. lol


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## js2743 (Dec 4, 2006)

open the door for about 5 mins then when it gets hot again same thing lol.


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Add thermal mass around the wood stove. Then the stove burns hot, heats up the thermal mass which slows down the heating of the house so you don't over heat. The thermal mass (we use stone & concrete) then slowly releases the stored heat to the house. Works like a charm.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org


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## wolfhavyn (Apr 30, 2006)

Speaking of wood...cedar burns hot and fast and Dogwood burns so hot that I've heard of it cracking some stoves.


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## NorthCountryWd (Oct 17, 2008)

Closing the damper has the same effect as burning green wood...creosote. Your best bet is the smaller fire. Getting the hang of each stove takes some getting used to.


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