Taming the Squirrel

[Ange]

We're struggling to keep a happy temperature in the cabin at the mo - one minute we've got our coats on, then we load up the Squirrel and open it up and we start cooking (we're seriously contemplating keeping summer clothes on the boat in case we can't master this one!!)

 

Dave favours closing the bottom thingy (sorry - no technical terms from me I'm afraid) and using the top one cos he says it keeps the glass clearer. I tend to find the bottom one is more controllable.

 

We had a Rayburn in our first house and an open fire in the lounge so we're both happy with starting and maintaining fires, but this is very different to anything we've come across (and in the long run I think it'll be infinitely more controllable than the Rayburn which could never be shut down at will and used to go potty if there were strong winds!) I like the fact that if I shut both thingys the Squirrel dies within minutes - we just need to know how to fine tune it.

 

I was hoping for some advice from seasoned Squirrel users on the use of the top and bottom thingys. At the moment we seem to be moving from one extreme to the other all evening.

 

We're burning wood at the mo btw, in case it's relevant. We expect to use coal when it gets really cold to keep it burning overnight but I'm sure that'll be another thread!

 

Thanks folks

[saltysplash]

We're struggling to keep a happy temperature in the cabin at the mo - one minute we've got our coats on, then we load up the Squirrel and open it up and we start cooking (we're seriously contemplating keeping summer clothes on the boat in case we can't master this one!!)

 

Dave favours closing the bottom thingy (sorry - no technical terms from me I'm afraid) and using the top one cos he says it keeps the glass clearer. I tend to find the bottom one is more controllable.

 

We had a Rayburn in our first house and an open fire in the lounge so we're both happy with starting and maintaining fires, but this is very different to anything we've come across (and in the long run I think it'll be infinitely more controllable than the Rayburn which could never be shut down at will and used to go potty if there were strong winds!) I like the fact that if I shut both thingys the Squirrel dies within minutes - we just need to know how to fine tune it.

 

I was hoping for some advice from seasoned Squirrel users on the use of the top and bottom thingys. At the moment we seem to be moving from one extreme to the other all evening.

 

We're burning wood at the mo btw, in case it's relevant. We expect to use coal when it gets really cold to keep it burning overnight but I'm sure that'll be another thread!

 

Thanks folks

 

 

My mothod is, once the fuel has caught fire i shut the top vent then open it half a turn I then do the same to the bottom vent but open it three quarters of a turn,

 

less wood or coal in the fire will mean less heat

to keep in overnight, add more coal and adopt the above vent positions.

 

to increase heat just open the bottom vent more

[Ange]

Please substitute "vent" for "thingy" in my OP!

 

Thanks Salty

 

Edited to add I'm chuckling now cos "taming the squirrel" is now next door to "shooting squirrels" when I view new posts - wasn't intentional honest!

Edited November 3, 2009 by Ange

[luctor et emergo]

Roll it in mud, and bake for around three hours.

 

Serve with garlic mayonnaisse. Hmmmmm

 

[Chris Pink]

Dave favours closing the bottom thingy (sorry - no technical terms from me I'm afraid) and using the top one cos he says it keeps the glass clearer. I tend to find the bottom one is more controllable.

 

 

We're burning wood at the mo btw, in case it's relevant. We expect to use coal when it gets really cold to keep it burning overnight but I'm sure that'll be another thread!

 

You're almost there, if you can put it out by shutting the vents then there is a medium, you just have to find it. Wood is much less controllable than coal on a squirrel, you might try mixing coal in once the fire is going on wood, though you should still be able to control it to a large degree.

 

The top vent is to provide air to burn off the gases on top of the fire and should be open the minimum possible - it won't, in my experience, keep the door clean, you'll have to do that every day with a bit of newspaper.

 

Use the bottom vent to control the rate of burning. It only needs to be open a quarter of a turn or so.

 

It may be that your squirrel is too hot for the boat, mine was, I usually had a window open and t-shirt on when it was going. I miss this as my current Rayburn heats the whole boat more evenly but that toasty heat is more difficult to achieve.

 

And the next time someone asks 'is it cold in winter' you can just laugh at them.

[Odana]

I agree with Saltysplash more or less. Once I get the thing up to temperature (which generally involves leaving the bottom wide open and the top just a bit) I leave the top closed and the bottom vent open about 3/4 turn. With smokeless fuel, that keeps it in overnight and doesn't mean opening all the windows and doors! With wood you're likely to be a bit more in the extemes I guess - but experimenting around 0.5 to1.5 turns of the bottom vent should get you closer to a normal temperature.

[County4x4]

Burning wood I tend to have the ashpan vent just about closed and use the secondary air for control. Wood burns best on a bed of ash and Morso themselves recommend allowing a layer to build up above the grate - so that in itself will restrict any air coming from below the grate. Coal likes a bit of draft from below. The secondary air is important for burning off gases released from the fuel and cutting the amount of crap going up the chimney.

 

I think it's worth bearing in mind that a Squirrel will do its job and produce a fair bit of heat even when the firebox isn't full of dancing flames - ours generally has gentle flames for a while but then is just a red glow for much longer and that's running on just wood. Not so pretty to look at as a roaring fire but just as effective. It will also stay in overnight quite happily if we close the secondary air down to around half way when we go to bed.

 

Andy

[mikevye]

Always wondered what the top vent was for. Up until now I presumed it was a simple method of air purge to assist combustion fumes up the stack (seems logical) but now the forum disputes this. What is the correct definition on this one?

[sociable_hermit]

Dunno about the Squirrel specifically but in steam loco parlance secondary air (or 'top air') is used to burn the gases released from the coal cleanly and efficiently. When you put a fresh round of coal on, the fire is temporarily blacked out and produces lots of gas which, without additional oxygen across the top of the fire, doesn't burn properly. Black smoke is a sign of poor combustion. It seems strange that, when talking about stoves, the top air vent is marketed primarily as a way of keeping the glass clean rather than an efficiency measure. The glass stays clean because you're burning the fuel properly rather than coating the insides of the stove with partially burnt stuff.

 

Wood generally burns more fiercely (more heat, but doesn't last so long) and seems to burn more cleanly too. I guess top air is probably less useful when only burning wood.

Edited November 3, 2009 by sociable_hermit

[brown]

I agree with county, wood likes air from above and burns better in a bed of ash, coal air from below likes a rattle on the grill every now and then to keep it clear. Glass will keep cleaner with wood.

[g-man]

I agree with county, wood likes air from above and burns better in a bed of ash, coal air from below likes a rattle on the grill every now and then to keep it clear. Glass will keep cleaner with wood.

 

I'd agree with the first part but glass definetely keeps cleaner and there's less tar with smokeless coal.

[the grinch]

i always used to spread the ash over a fresh layer of coal before going to bed this slows the burn and the fire nearly always stayed in overnight. just a rake through in the morning a small amount of wood and some coal and away it went again

[Ange]

Thanks for all your input folks - it's definitely given us a better idea of how to use the two vents. Getting the temperature right is going to be trial and error.

 

I said earlier about how easy it is to shut the Squirrel down - tonight it astonished me with it's ability to come back. We try to keep it in the place where you have a bright red glow and the occasional flame - tonight we got chatting and forgot to keep an eye on it. It died. It had two good logs still there so it wasn't lack of fuel but when I opened the door there was nothing - not even embers. I thought we'd lost it but threw in a few bits from the bottom of the log bag, opened up the bottom door and hoped for the best. The eco-fan slowly died and nothing happened - nothing happened - went out for a smoke - still nothing - then whoosh it wakes up!!! Left bottom door open until eco-fan realised it was hot again, shut door and hopefully now have warmth till I decide to go to bed.

 

Tis a marvellous thing

[soldthehouse]

I'd agree with the first part but glass definetely keeps cleaner and there's less tar with smokeless coal.

Wood is definately sootier than coal and chimney will need sweeping more often with wood

[Smelly]

Bear in mind the Chestnut you're burning isn't renowned as good firewood. I haven't put it in a box, but living in a Conker wood for the best part of the year taught me that Chestnut is "all or nothing"; it's either blazing or trying to go out.

 

We've just got about 3 tonnes of Ash to compliment the Beech/Oak combo we've yet to split (yeah, I'm showing off!). I reckon we'll be toasty for the winter

[soldthehouse]

We're struggling to keep a happy temperature in the cabin at the mo - one minute we've got our coats on, then we load up the Squirrel and open it up and we start cooking (we're seriously contemplating keeping summer clothes on the boat in case we can't master this one!!)

 

Dave favours closing the bottom thingy (sorry - no technical terms from me I'm afraid) and using the top one cos he says it keeps the glass clearer. I tend to find the bottom one is more controllable.

 

We had a Rayburn in our first house and an open fire in the lounge so we're both happy with starting and maintaining fires, but this is very different to anything we've come across (and in the long run I think it'll be infinitely more controllable than the Rayburn which could never be shut down at will and used to go potty if there were strong winds!) I like the fact that if I shut both thingys the Squirrel dies within minutes - we just need to know how to fine tune it.

 

I was hoping for some advice from seasoned Squirrel users on the use of the top and bottom thingys. At the moment we seem to be moving from one extreme to the other all evening.

 

We're burning wood at the mo btw, in case it's relevant. We expect to use coal when it gets really cold to keep it burning overnight but I'm sure that'll be another thread!

 

Thanks folks

Does anyone burn "seaoned squirrels" if so how long do they take to dry and how do they burn

[Ange]

Does anyone burn "seaoned squirrels" if so how long do they take to dry and how do they burn

 

oooh! I think Phylis's idea of squirrel kebabs is more appealing than the idea of the smell of burning squirrel rather than woodsmoke filling my cabin!

[Albion]

Thanks for all your input folks - it's definitely given us a better idea of how to use the two vents. Getting the temperature right is going to be trial and error.

 

I said earlier about how easy it is to shut the Squirrel down - tonight it astonished me with it's ability to come back. We try to keep it in the place where you have a bright red glow and the occasional flame - tonight we got chatting and forgot to keep an eye on it. It died. It had two good logs still there so it wasn't lack of fuel but when I opened the door there was nothing - not even embers. I thought we'd lost it but threw in a few bits from the bottom of the log bag, opened up the bottom door and hoped for the best. The eco-fan slowly died and nothing happened - nothing happened - went out for a smoke - still nothing - then whoosh it wakes up!!! Left bottom door open until eco-fan realised it was hot again, shut door and hopefully now have warmth till I decide to go to bed.

 

Tis a marvellous thing

 

I can't give advice on burning wood as I used to try to avoid wood because of the tar build up in, and running out of, the chimney. When you come to start using coal there are some sloping, cast iron, side cheek accessories that you can buy for the Squirrel that reduce the grate area slightly. This helps to keep the heat under control a bit if it is too hot. You can just buy two extra side fire bricks and use those to double the fire brick thickness; that works also. The setting of the vents does, in my experience, depend heavily on what brand of coal/briquettes that you're burning. Generally though about half a turn on the upper vent and one to one and a half turns on the lower seems to work.

Roger

[mikevye]

Just been fortunate enough to have a bag of seasoned ash given to me. Light fire, few nobs of coal, when well established one ash log on top the heat is awesome!

[rgreg]

I can't give advice on burning wood as I used to try to avoid wood because of the tar build up in, and running out of, the chimney. When you come to start using coal there are some sloping, cast iron, side cheek accessories that you can buy for the Squirrel that reduce the grate area slightly. This helps to keep the heat under control a bit if it is too hot. You can just buy two extra side fire bricks and use those to double the fire brick thickness; that works also. The setting of the vents does, in my experience, depend heavily on what brand of coal/briquettes that you're burning. Generally though about half a turn on the upper vent and one to one and a half turns on the lower seems to work.

Roger

I bought some of these sloping inserts (named coal inserts) this summer and they are excellent in reducing volume in the fire as well as providing a "funnel" for riddling ash. Cost £25 which is a lot for 2 lumps of metal but benefits well worth it- I'll probably leave them in all winter as still loads of heat and burns all night easily (top vent shut and bottom open quarter turn)

[SimonRNABO]

Hi there - thanks for eveyone's comments on this one - I installed a new Squirrel this summer and I'm just getting to know it. Just worked through the thread and intertesting to hear other people's ideas. My personal tips based on using one for a couple of months:

 

- I've found that a bit fine tuning/experimenting with both the top and bottom vents gives a huge amount of control burning both wood and homefire.

 

- The stove seems very draft sensitive too - on a windy day you can close it right down and it still glows well.

 

I'm finding the squirrell much more control-able than my old beat up Torgem, but it's taking a bit of patience and getting-used-to to get the best out of it.

 

Interested to hear about the coal inserts. I saw this in the optional extras list but didn't go for it when i bought the stove - I've wondered about getting some. Anyone else using them and what do you think?

 

S

[Mukiwa]

Hi there - thanks for eveyone's comments on this one - I installed a new Squirrel this summer and I'm just getting to know it. Just worked through the thread and intertesting to hear other people's ideas. My personal tips based on using one for a couple of months:

 

- I've found that a bit fine tuning/experimenting with both the top and bottom vents gives a huge amount of control burning both wood and homefire.

 

- The stove seems very draft sensitive too - on a windy day you can close it right down and it still glows well.

 

I'm finding the squirrell much more control-able than my old beat up Torgem, but it's taking a bit of patience and getting-used-to to get the best out of it.

 

Interested to hear about the coal inserts. I saw this in the optional extras list but didn't go for it when i bought the stove - I've wondered about getting some. Anyone else using them and what do you think?

 

S

 

We bought a new Squirrel last year and shortly after had the coal inserts fitted. They work very well if you are burning coal as it keeps more of the coal over the riddle. If you burn logs then the reduced space can make it difficult to to get a decent load in. We mainly burn coal and for us it has been a good move.

[bottle]

After posts by Albion and rgreg, I bought the coal inserts, from Midland Chandlers £25.

 

They do exactly what it says on the tin.

 

They reduce the size of the fire and also it seems more controllable, we have the Squirrel 'cleanheat' it has only one control wheel, bottom front and a secondary air inlet at the back.

 

We do not run it 24hrs (yet) but it is lit about 4 or 5 o'clock with kindling and Taybrite (about 12 lumps, a guess) when going well it is topped up with again about 12 lumps, given a few minutes to get going then the front wheel is shut to about ¼ turn open. On retiring approxiamately 10 o'clock it is shut completely but rear vent open.

7 o'clock next morning the fire is still warm and red embers can be awoken by opening front wheel but we let it go out.

[johnjo]

Burning wood I tend to have the ashpan vent just about closed and use the secondary air for control. Wood burns best on a bed of ash and Morso themselves recommend allowing a layer to build up above the grate - so that in itself will restrict any air coming from below the grate. Coal likes a bit of draft from below. The secondary air is important for burning off gases released from the fuel and cutting the amount of crap going up the chimney.

 

I think it's worth bearing in mind that a Squirrel will do its job and produce a fair bit of heat even when the firebox isn't full of dancing flames - ours generally has gentle flames for a while but then is just a red glow for much longer and that's running on just wood. Not so pretty to look at as a roaring fire but just as effective. It will also stay in overnight quite happily if we close the secondary air down to around half way when we go to bed.

 

Andy

 

I agree with the above, just remember to empty the ashpan regularily, especially when burning coal.

 

Best way we've found to keep it in overnight is sawdust [very] liberally applied to whatever you're burning, with the top and bottom almost closed and the ashpan empty.

Edited November 7, 2009 by johnjo

[Lesd]

After posts by Albion and rgreg, I bought the coal inserts, from Midland Chandlers £25.

 

They do exactly what it says on the tin.

 

They reduce the size of the fire and also it seems more controllable, we have the Squirrel 'cleanheat' it has only one control wheel, bottom front and a secondary air inlet at the back.

 

We do not run it 24hrs (yet) but it is lit about 4 or 5 o'clock with kindling and Taybrite (about 12 lumps, a guess) when going well it is topped up with again about 12 lumps, given a few minutes to get going then the front wheel is shut to about ¼ turn open. On retiring approxiamately 10 o'clock it is shut completely but rear vent open.

7 o'clock next morning the fire is still warm and red embers can be awoken by opening front wheel but we let it go out.

 

 

Hi Keith,

We have the clean burn version too. We tend to leave the lever at the bottom mid position virtually all the time and control the stove with the single bottom vent wheel. These settings also produce a clean glass. The only difference Ive found from your experiences is that I need to keep that wheel open by one complete revolution overnight or the coal has goes out by morning. Maybe the mid position lever affects it or maybe my flue isnt producing as much draught. This is with Taybright.

 

I was thinking of trying firebricks up the side as Ive found when coat falls to the side it sometimes doent burn right down to ash. Sounds like its probably worth a try.

 

Les