Fan speed wood stove cooking gets easier when you can remember what actually worked. A dial position alone leaves out half the meal: which pot was on the Hillrein Zhengtu, how much wood was burning, and whether the soup was gently bubbling or boiling too hard. A short heat log turns those details into a useful starting point for the next cook.
You do not need to watch a stopwatch while stirring. Choose a familiar dish and note the main transitions when it is safe to do so, or write them down after cooking. Keep your attention on the stove during operation.
Fan speed wood stove cooking: record four things together
Use one line for each meaningful cooking stage. Record the cookware and food amount, the working fuel load, the approximate fan setting, and the result in the pot. Add a brief note about wind or a changed lid position if either affected the cook.
- Pot and food: identify the pot, roughly how full it was, and whether the lid was on.
- Fuel: note whether the chamber held a fuller burning load or only one to two short pieces. Use dry wood around 10 cm long that fits properly.
- Fan: record an approximate setting. If your control has no percentage scale, describe its position without pretending it is a calibrated measurement.
- Result: describe the food response, such as a gentle simmer, vigorous bubbling, or slow recovery after adding ingredients.
This is a cooking record, not a performance test. A setting without its fuel load and pot condition is difficult to interpret later.
Keep startup separate from the cooking notes
Begin with dry kindling and a modest first load. Leave air spaces, support ignition with low-to-medium fan, let the chamber heat, and increase airflow gradually after the fire establishes. Startup and refueling can still produce visible smoke. Record an unusually slow start separately so it does not get mistaken for poor simmering performance.
Zhengtu is a fan-assisted wood stove with annular oxygen intake around the burn zone. Gasification combustion improves once the chamber is hot. A cold start and an established cooking fire are different conditions, even when the knob points to the same place.
Try the log with a familiar soup
For an established simmer, the usual Zhengtu starting point is about 20% fan and one to two short dry pieces. Watch the soup and adjust to its actual needs. A fuller load left over from bringing the pot to a boil can continue delivering more heat than that low setting suggests.
A sample note might read: Usual soup pot, lid partly open, small working wood load, approximately 20% fan; gentle bubbling after the boil settled. This is an example of what to record, not a measured result or a promise for every pot. If you open the lid fully or add water, give that change its own note.
When using a small wood stove for soup, the useful outcome is a repeatable simmer in your cookware. For a wok meal, the corresponding starting pattern is a fuller wood load and about 80% fan for strong cooking heat. Keep those two modes distinct in the notebook.
Read the result without chasing flame height
On Zhengtu, increasing fan can make the visible flame lower while heat under the pot becomes stronger. The annular air supply is one reason flame height is an unreliable heat gauge. Write down how the pot responds rather than rating the fire by how dramatic it looks.
Using 100% fan is possible but consumes wood faster. If approximately 80% gave the wok the heat it needed, a taller flame or a higher number does not make the meal more successful. Practical wood stove fire control means matching heat to the dish.
Use yesterday's note as a starting point
Repeat the same dish in the same pot before drawing conclusions. If today's wood is different or the cooking position is windier, record that and expect adjustments. Do not turn one successful meal into a rigid setting for every recipe.
The Hillrein Zhengtu stove is built for sustained real-meal cooking. A few clear notes help you use that capability with less guessing. Cook outdoors in a suitable location, follow the operating instructions, and supervise the fire through shutdown; keeping a log should never distract from tending the meal.