Dear Darren Everything you describe seems spot on for that design. The inspiration to lay the fuel on the grate lengthwise was exactly what we taught users in UB. The blocking of the air at that time gets the fire going as a proper crossdraft burner, then gradually opens the under-air automatically.
If you use dry wood to get the system hot, it will probably burn the damp ash well. Can you see any smoke after, say, 10 minutes? Don't confuse steam condensing after exiting the top of the chimney. Steam is whote and disappears immediately. Regards Crispin _______________________________________________ Stoves mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: http://www.bioenergylists.org/
