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[tinfoilhat2020]

What is a good differential setting during mild weather? Is it better to tighten the differential to 5° so the boiler fires more often? Or stretch it to 15° so when it does fire it burns hotter and longer?? I have my heatmor set right now at 175-185.

Thanks

[Roger2561]

I have the differential set at 10 minutes on my CB E-Classic 1400 and it works well in the warmer weather.  Roger

[CountryBoyJohn]

I recommend keeping the differential as wide as you can that will keep the fire lit.  Some of the conventional stoves need to tighten their differentials to 5 to keep the fire from going out.  If you don't have issues with it going out, 12-15 is ideal.

[hrc200x]

First winter last year on my heatmor 200. I started out using scrap wood ( unsplit birch and balsam) that had been laying around for probably 3 years. It was border line to use as it was almost rot. With in the first two weeks of running the flapper door stuck open from all the creosote built up on it, didn't loose any water, but it did get hotter than the normal cut off temp. Every week or two I'd take the fan out and make sure creosote wasn't getting built up on it, sometimes it would, sometimes not. Could tell when buildup was happening... when the light switch was turned off a "tink" could be heard as the fan shut off and the flapper closed. If that noise couldn't be heard it usually meant something was up.  I didn't mess with the differental until spring last year and brought it down to 5 hoping that more frequent firings would help keep the creosote scraped off the flapper and flapper hinge area. I think it did help. Its still set at 5 but when high temps are in the 20s F will put it back to 15.

[mlappin]

never messed much with my old one, figured if it was that much a problem better to let it go out instead of having it sweat itself to death.

[agriffinjd]

I recommend keeping the differential as wide as you can that will keep the fire lit.  Some of the conventional stoves need to tighten their differentials to 5 to keep the fire from going out.  If you don't have issues with it going out, 12-15 is ideal.

Why?  Does it burn less wood if it's a wider diff?

[CountryBoyJohn]

You'll get a hotter cleaner burn with a wider swing.  You could say that it'll burn less wood.  But, the primary reason is that it will keep your creosote down.

[hrc200x]

Having it burn less often makes less creosote? I have my diff at 5 still and temps today were in the high 30's. The flapper door stuck shut because it didn't come on enough times during the day. Got home, the fan was on, and just a whiff of smoke was coming out the stack, figured something was up, it appears that black liquid creosote ran down between the flapper and where the flapper rests, hardened up, even when the fan came on it couldn't push it open.