I got my wood stove installed (to code) a few weeks ago and have been using
it. It has an intake air damper which I need to learn to use but could use a
little help with. Also how much wood to put in and when. I have a
temperature gauge on the stove pipe.

My past experience has been with a fireplace, but I have never used a wood
stove before. I'm learning that a wood stove is an entirely different
creature!

My wood stove is a 450 pound model capable of heating a 2000 sq. ft. home.
It has thick iron and is lined with thick fire bricks inside.

Starting with a cold wood stove, it takes about 45 minutes of burning before
it puts out any heat. (Takes that long for it to heat up the bricks and the
thick iron and to then heat the room.) I've got this part figured out for
the evenings for this time of year - where it will be in the 70's outside
during the day, then 40's or 30's in early morning. I look at my combination
indoor/outdoor thermometer and see the outside temperature dropping into the
40's, then when it gets to be about 69 degrees inside (about 10:00 PM), I'll
build a small fire, let it get going, put on a big log, then draft it down
about half way and leave it for the evening.

The problems I'm having are in the morning when it is chilly in the house.
Because it is cold, I build a larger fire. And it seems to not burn too well
until the wood stove gets heated up real good - so I add more wood to get
more fire. Then after about 45 minutes, the stove pipe temperature is about
450 degrees and I have a "raging inferno" on my hands!

At this point the area around the stove gets exceptionally hot, and the rest
of the house is cold. Seems to me I can reduce the heat at this point by
drafting down with the intake air damper?

And the amount of concentrated heat in the area of the wood stove concerns
me. Seems to me it could get too hot if I'm not careful. (I'm watching it
like a hawk for now.)

So I got the idea of using fans to distribute the heat to the rest of the
house and keep the area around the wood stove from getting too hot.

So this all seems to be a timing thing... A lot of wood in the stove when it
is cold will not put out much heat, but the same amount of wood in the stove
when it is hot (up to operating temperature) creates a "raging inferno" and
too much heat.

Questions...

In the morning, how much wood should I use, what size wood to use, and when
should I add more wood?

Should I do certain things (with damper) when the stove pipe temperature
gauge reaches a certain temperature?

Should I turn on fans after a certain amount of time after building a fire
to keep the area around the wood stove from getting too hot? (and distribute
the heat to the rest of the house?)

Should I put a temperature gauge on the wall nearby so I can keep an eye on
how hot the walls nearby are getting. Then if getting too hot, draft down
and/or turn on fan?

Then there is the problem of creosote buildup. 450 degrees is right in the
middle of the suggested "burning range" on the stove pipe thermometer. Yet
if I burn too long at this temperature, it gets too hot in the area of the
wood stove. Should I damper it down just a little when it gets that hot? Or
just burn it at that temperature for a little bit then damper it down a lot
and not worry about keeping it in the "burning range"?