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Just had an Aga little wenlock classic SE stove fitted. I get a lot of draw and the burn time of a good seasoned log is about 30mins rather than the hour I'd hope for. The SE model limits the adjustment on the air wash/secondary air vent but I hear you can fiddle with some bolts and washers in the assembly to get it to close further. Does anyone know details of how to do this?
No idea I'm afraid, but all logs are not equal. A softwood log will burn away quicker than a hardwood log - I have some eucalyptus that has been cut about 6 years and a single log will easily last 3 hours!
Size also matters - smaller the log the quicker it goes.
I would be wary of closing the vents more than the manufacturer intended - are you in a smokeless zone?
Edit: just checked and I presume you are. Stoves for smokeless zones are adpated so that they cannot be shut down as much as a normal stove in order to reduce smoke. If you change the settings you will, effectively, be breaking the law (... I expect there is one).
I was loading it with the biggest logs that would fit in, with hard wood. Funnily enough I don't live in a smokeless zone, just have an SE stove.
30 mins is pretty quick. Do you have a thermometer on the stove, if so what temp is it getting to?
Quick search on the Green Living forum [url= http://thegreenlivingforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=107311 ]revealed this[/url] which will save me much typing!
Once the stove is hot (400f) can you close the vents down so that you get a 'lazy' flame floating around the firebox, or does the flame seem quite brisk? If its the latter then it's worth checking your door seal - open door, put piece of paper between door and stove, close door fully - ideally the paper should be hard to move. If it slides around easily your door may need adjusting.
Any stove with a small firebox will need feeding more often than a bigger stove.
I'm not entirely sure why you'd get a stove for a smokeless zone when you're not in one - not ideal.
What was the wood? There are lots of different "hardwood" which people often use for anything that isn't pine. If you're getting 30 minutes out of birch that's normal, beach or oak burn well for about an hour but glow on for another hour before you need to reload.
Perhaps I'll try some different types of hard wood. The door seal is good but with the secondary air vent as closed as it will go I still have a vigorous burning flame, but the SE doesn't let you close it much. Perhaps too much draw. I'll see what it does for a bit then call in the hetas man.