# Timing issue...loading the stove when the stove isn't ready to be loaded



## Ansky (Oct 24, 2013)

It's 11:20pm, time for bed, and I wanted to load the stove for the overnight burn.  The problem is, the fire is really still going great from my last load.  Temp is actually a little too hot, 700* on my magnetic thermometer and the secondary burn is going crazy right now.   But there is definitely room for more wood.  In a few hours it will be out.  What to do?  I'll let it be tonight as it is not all that cold out (mid 30s).  But what about when it's winter and really cold out.  Would it be bad to reload at this point and risk he temp inside getting even hotter?


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## Sprinter (Oct 24, 2013)

Be very very careful.  If you add new wood on a large bed of hot coals you will risk a runaway situation and overfire.


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## lopiliberty (Oct 24, 2013)

Absolutely do not add more wood if the insert is at 700 degrees or you will have a runaway insert for sure.  Been there done that ONE time and learned from my mistake.  I loading 5 large splits in my stove at 10 tonight and it was at 450 with a huge pile of coals and it shot up to 760 in a matter of 6 minutes but has since came back to 550


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## Sprinter (Oct 24, 2013)

Actually, 700 is too much as it is IMO.  Even with lower temps, runaway is a big risk when you load up on a hot bed of coals.

Where are you placing your thermometer?  Measuring temps on an insert is always a problem and you may even be hotter than you think.


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## BrotherBart (Oct 24, 2013)

Never, ever load a stove when the stove top temp is over 400 degrees. As I say a few times here every year when you do that it will give you "pause to reflect" for an hour or more and scare the crap out of you.

When that new wood offgasses the temp is headed to the moon. And you will need to change underwear.


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## BrotherBart (Oct 24, 2013)

As a former member said the art of overnight wood burning is the coal bed. Before you load for the overnight burn you need the wood burned down to a coal bed and the stove top at 400 or less. Then you load the night burn and you, at least me, are going to spend an hour adjusting the primary air while it settles in before you go to bed.


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## BrotherBart (Oct 25, 2013)

When I screw up and have too much wood in the thing when I need to load it for bed it can be done. But it takes a lot of experience that I can't detail in a post and isn't guarantied anyway.

Practice. Practice.


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## rdust (Oct 25, 2013)

As others have said it's not fun to top off a hot stove full of wood.  I'd suggest resisting the urge as others have suggested.   

You'll learn the timing of it all rather quickly.  It will become second nature before long and you'll not only load the stove for your current situation but looking forward to the next burn.  If you only need a few hours of heat before your overnight load you'll learn to only load a few hours worth of wood.


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## Ansky (Oct 25, 2013)

Thanks for the responses.  I'm glad I didn't load up before bed.  I left it as it.  When I woke up, the stove was cold, and there was nothing but ash left.  But the house was still warm, 68 degrees.  Hopefully by winter, I'll get my timing down.  

Ok, now I'm going to divert on my own thread a little.  What if I did load up and had a run away situation?   Is there anything that can be done to help bring the temps down?  Fan on full blast?  Damper open or closed?  Open the door and throw in some wet paper towels? Thanks.


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## Beer Belly (Oct 25, 2013)

I had a runaway situation once after throwing in a bunch of shorties (short pieces).....buried the temp gauge.....just closed down the damper, and hung on.....scary to say the least


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## Beer Belly (Oct 25, 2013)

When you get older, there won't be a "final reload" for overnight burns....you'll be getting up in the middle of the night for a "nature call", and throw in a piece or two like I do


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## EatenByLimestone (Oct 25, 2013)

I load smaller loads during the day when I'm at home.  Experience tells me within an hour or two if I load the stove so full I'll be able to safely reload in x hours.  It varies by species, but small loads won't leave you hanging when it gets cold out.


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## eclecticcottage (Oct 25, 2013)

We have had the same problem, you come home from work and want to load the stove, but if you do, it won't make it all the way to the AM if it's really cold out but it won't be burned down enough to reload before bed.  DH pushes it a bit with reloading when I think it's not really ready yet.  He's still used to having less than seasoned wood (which will react differently than the 9-14% MC we've got now).

I'll not comment on the overfire/run away as I'm not 100% sure.  I know what we'd do but I don't want to give advice..we're not seasoned (pun intended) enough of wood burners yet.  I can say if you search the forums you will find advice on handling it!


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## Holiday (Oct 25, 2013)

Air all the way closed and if you know where the secondary air comes block or partially block that for a while. That should take care of it. Fan on would help move the heat away also.


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## Sprinter (Oct 25, 2013)

I don't know if I'd have the guts to try it or not in the heat of things, but one school of thought is to open the door fully, thus flushing the firebox heat up the chimney so it calms down more like an open fireplace.  It's counter intuitive, but it also would bypass the secondary burning which is contributing to much of the heat.  I wish some testing facility would try this sometime.

Meanwhile, directing a fan onto the stove top would help cool the stove itself, as Holiday suggested.


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## eclecticcottage (Oct 25, 2013)

Sprinter said:


> I don't know if I'd have the guts to try it or not in the heat of things, but one school of thought is to open the door fully, thus flushing the firebox heat up the chimney so it calms down more like an open fireplace.  It's counter intuitive, but it also would bypass the secondary burning which is contributing to much of the heat.


 
I've read this many times.  Also the wet newspapers/green wood idea as well as cold ashes.

I can tell you that the few times we've tried to operate our stove with the door open and a screen on, it didn't get very high top temps nor burn very well, so the opening the door idea probably does work.

I also think that you would need to be very careful in doing so to be sure no firey logs might roll out (especially if you load e/w with a front loading door) or sparks go a flyin past the hearth pad.


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## firefighterjake (Oct 25, 2013)

Random thoughts . . .

As other folks have said . . . RESIST the temptation to add more wood on a fire already going along at a good clip. I have made that mistake not once, but twice (slow learner here!) . . . I did the early reload thinking I would go to bed and everything would be OK with plenty of coals in the morning -- instead I ended up having to stay up much later and was scrambling around trying to keep the temps within the safe zone of the flue and stove. It was not a fun, relaxing experience.

It really is all about the timing . . . and figuring how much of a load and when to reload. It takes a bit of experimenting to get things right, but eventually you should be able to get it so that you're doing a reload about an hour before bed time . . . which gives you enough time to reload and get everything safely cruising along before hitting the sack . . . and then in the morning you should be able to wake up to a warm stove and some coals to get everything going again.


Runaway fires . . . what I did both times was to use some aluminum foil to partially block the secondary air. Be forewarned though . . . you really need to know this location before time since the last thing you want to do is be crawling around and feeling around for the entry on a very, very hot stove. You should also know that while this will slow up the fire, you may get some very strange effects in your stove. I had super slow-mo flames and incredible secondaries that were almost beyond description which I am guessing is due to the high heat and semi-starved air condition.

I also monitored the air control . . . directing as much heat into the chimney as possible without dangerously overheating the chimney. For a while I kept going back and forth between letting the stove get a bit warm and letting the chimney cool and then letting the chimney get warm and letting the stove cool. I had a fan positioned a few feet away pointed directly at the stove in an effort to cool the stove off as quickly as possible.


Take my word for it . . . this is not a fun, relaxing night in front of the fire.


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## Jags (Oct 25, 2013)

A few shovel fulls of powdery ash will also semi smother the fire and help get the temp in control.


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## Backwoods Savage (Oct 25, 2013)

Right, some ashes or even if you want to keep a small bucket of sand handy. You'll have to clean out the stove later but it removes the problem fast.

As for these two concerns, thing will be come sort of second nature quite quickly. You'll be putting wood in the stove as needed rather than simply filling the thing every time. Most times, we never fill our stove until way into December simply because it is not that cold outside yet so the temperature does not have to be raised that much. At this time of the year we load usually 2 or 3 splits, depending upon the size of the coal bed. That is, we put wood in the stove in the morning and then just before we go to bed or somewhere near that schedule.


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## rudysmallfry (Oct 25, 2013)

Ahh, the runaway fire. I've done a few of those in the hopes of not having to get out of bed to reload. It's not worth it. All you can do is shut the air down, damper if you have one, sit there with a can of ashes, a fire extinguisher and hold your breath as you watch the thermometer climb. Even once you're out of the woods, you still don't sleep because you keep getting up to check on it. So much fun. I adhere to the <400 rule now, even less if it's wicked cold out and creating more draft.


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## dyerkutn (Oct 25, 2013)

Where do you keep the thermometer in order to monitor the temp. I have one that says use for stovepipe. I have it about 18 inches above the stove. Does it make a different how close to the stove you situate it? 

Also, I have noticed that if I start the fire with paper and thin scraps to get it going, the temperature can shoot up above 500 even though it is just starting up. What about that?


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## BCC_Burner (Oct 25, 2013)

Under 400 degrees at all times?  Glad I went with a plate steel stove.  My NC-30 cruises between 550 and 700 on the stove top.  It hovers around 400 or so when there are just coals in there.


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## Sprinter (Oct 25, 2013)

dyerkutn said:


> Where do you keep the thermometer in order to monitor the temp. I have one that says use for stovepipe. I have it about 18 inches above the stove. Does it make a different how close to the stove you situate it?
> 
> Also, I have noticed that if I start the fire with paper and thin scraps to get it going, the temperature can shoot up above 500 even though it is just starting up. What about that?


A flue thermometer should be placed as per the manufacturer's directions.  That's where it was designed and calibrated to be used.

Sure, flue gas temps can be 500 or 600 easily early on.  They will go down as you turn down the air control and let the secondaries do more burning.

This thread, though, is about stove top temps.


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## eclecticcottage (Oct 25, 2013)

BCC_Burner said:


> Under 400 degrees at all times?  Glad I went with a plate steel stove.  My NC-30 cruises between 550 and 700 on the stove top.  It hovers around 400 or so when there are just coals in there.



Just for reloads.  Mine cruises around 600-650.


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## BCC_Burner (Oct 25, 2013)

Makes much more sense.  All has become clear.


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## dyerkutn (Oct 25, 2013)

Sprinter said:


> This thread, though, is about stove top temps.


Oh thanks--I did not notice that---I see there are a whole bunch of old threads on measuring flu temps--I will read through those.


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## Sprinter (Oct 25, 2013)

Not a problem.  Hope I didn't offend.  Just wanted to point out the difference.


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## DianeB (Oct 25, 2013)

Ansky said:


> Thanks for the responses.  I'm glad I didn't load up before bed.  I left it as it.  When I woke up, the stove was cold, and there was nothing but ash left.  But the house was still warm, 68 degrees.  Hopefully by winter, I'll get my timing down.
> 
> Ok, now I'm going to divert on my own thread a little.  What if I did load up and had a run away situation?   Is there anything that can be done to help bring the temps down?  Fan on full blast?  Damper open or closed?  Open the door and throw in some wet paper towels? Thanks.


With the Castine, I can push a balled up wad of aluminum foi in the underneath air intake - have not had to do it yet, but I have learned where the intake is and I have the balled up foil that has been tested ready to go. I have heard of some that use a large magnet to cover the intake, but I would not know where to find one of those.


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## Dix (Oct 25, 2013)

My first run away was a fright. I had the dog/cat carriers ready, while posting on here every 5 minutes.

BB & BG got me through it, thankfully. Pegged at 1000 on the thermo on the upper right hand corner of the face of the PE.

Coal bed at about 400, loaded it with rounds to stuff the box, as it was a wicked cold night. 10 minutes later, I'm at 650F , 15 minutes it's at 750 & climbing 

Never, ever load at 400F or more. Not worth it. Be cold in the morning. Save your sanity for other issues 

That being said, waiting for my coal bed on the PE to hit 350F, then reload for the night.

You'll get it, it's a game


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## fire_man (Oct 25, 2013)

eclecticcottage said:


> We have had the same problem, you come home from work and want to load the stove, but if you do, it won't make it all the way to the AM if it's really cold out but it won't be burned down enough to reload before bed.



Here is how I handle this one: When you get home from work, throw in just a few splits of lower BTU wood like soft maple  and open up the draft  to burn it down fast. It throws lots of heat while you need it and burns nicely down to coals and is ready for the  the full evening load.

This stuff about a runaway fire is a little foreign to me, with the Fireview and Progress I can have a 400F stove and even throw in bone dry Cottonwood with no problem - it damps right down. But with a non-cat stove there is more air even when it's fully damped down.


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## jharkin (Oct 25, 2013)

Same thing happens to catalytic stoves. I once threw an extra split on a big load with a very active cat. Got the scare of my life, cat temperature off the scale . not good. Don't do it.


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## begreen (Oct 25, 2013)

Yes. When you get an major explosion of wood gas in a stove equipped and ready to burn it off, things will get exciting for a bit. The main thing here is to remain calm if it happens. And don't repeat that exercise.


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## fire_man (Oct 28, 2013)

I'm not suggesting everybody load a hot stove, but I can tell you I have done it numerous times with absolutely no problem, and I checked with Woodstock and they saw no problem. It seems these stoves simply have sufficient air control.


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## HollowHill (Oct 28, 2013)

fire_man said:


> I'm not suggesting everybody load a hot stove, but I can tell you I have done it numerous times with absolutely no problem, and I checked with Woodstock and they saw no problem. It seems these stoves simply have sufficient air control.


Well, Tony, I have the Progress and have had it climb up to the upper 600s thanks to the cat eating too much smoke.  The more you damp it down, the higher it goes.  Sweating bullets, literally and figuratively...  How do you control things in that situation?


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## Backwoods Savage (Oct 28, 2013)

HollowHill said:


> Well, Tony, I have the Progress and have had it climb up to the upper 600s thanks to the cat eating too much smoke.  The more you damp it down, the higher it goes.  Sweating bullets, literally and figuratively...  How do you control things in that situation?



Well, I'm not speaking for Tony for sure but I think you know my thoughts on this one. 600 degrees is a long ways from making me nervous. And yes, when you get the high temperatures, that stove top can get hot. You might remember the story about when I found my wife standing at the stove opening and closing the bypass because the stove top wanted to go over 700. I found she had closed the draft. So I simply went over and opened it to 1 (25% open) and the stove top did as expected; it cooled down and did not go over that 700 mark. So many times on these stoves it is good to give more air rather than less.


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## fire_man (Oct 28, 2013)

Hollow, 

Believe it or not the way to control a cat stove that is climbing past 600 due to an engorged cat is to open up the draft! It seems counter intuitive, but it works, The idea is to speed the smoke travel so it does not have as much time contacting the cat. You can even try opening the bypass, but I usually just open up the draft about 1/4 to 1/3 for a while, and the temp drops.


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## Backwoods Savage (Oct 28, 2013)

Hey Tony, I didn't realize you were on line. Good advice.


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## fire_man (Oct 28, 2013)

Dennis, I learned from the best!


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## Backwoods Savage (Oct 28, 2013)

fire_man said:


> Dennis, I learned from the best!



And of course you are talking about one Tom Morrissey! He will appreciate that.


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## Sprinter (Oct 28, 2013)

Backwoods Savage said:


> And of course you are talking about one Tom Morrissey! He will appreciate that.


No, Dennis.  I think he means you... And rightfully so.


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## Elusive (Oct 28, 2013)

Beer Belly said:


> When you get older, there won't be a "final reload" for overnight burns....you'll be getting up in the middle of the night for a "nature call", and throw in a piece or two like I do



When you throw in a piece or two in the middle of the night, do you just leave the air closed down? I'm assuming you aren't going to stay awake and mess with air adjustments in the middle of the night.  I'm still trying to learn some of the tricks. Thanks


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## rdust (Oct 28, 2013)

Elusive said:


> When you throw in a piece or two in the middle of the night, do you just leave the air closed down? I'm assuming you aren't going to stay awake and mess with air adjustments in the middle of the night.  I'm still trying to learn some of the tricks. Thanks



You shouldn't need to reload that Summit during the night, should easily burn through without needing wood.  That's one of the stoves that I'd still like to test drive in my home.


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## BrotherBart (Oct 28, 2013)

I have never added wood after setting up the night load and going to bed in my life.


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## Elusive (Oct 28, 2013)

rdust said:


> You shouldn't need to reload that Summit during the night, should easily burn through without needing wood.  That's one of the stoves that I'd still like to test drive in my home.



You're right, I shouldn't ever have to.   I was just wanting to know how he goes about it, and how it works out.


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## fire_man (Oct 29, 2013)

Sprinter said:


> No, Dennis.  I think he means you... And rightfully so.


 
Yup, I meant Dennis. Tom Morrissey is also tops, but I got this tip from Backwoods.


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## Beer Belly (Oct 29, 2013)

Elusive said:


> When you throw in a piece or two in the middle of the night, do you just leave the air closed down? I'm assuming you aren't going to stay awake and mess with air adjustments in the middle of the night.  I'm still trying to learn some of the tricks. Thanks


 I stay with it for about 15 minutes.....gotta walk the dog too....he's a senior also


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## HollowHill (Oct 29, 2013)

And that is what I did, and it worked!  But it sure seemed like the wrong thing to do, but I did remember your wife's story Backwoods and clenched my teeth and turned it up.


Backwoods Savage said:


> Well, I'm not speaking for Tony for sure but I think you know my thoughts on this one. 600 degrees is a long ways from making me nervous. And yes, when you get the high temperatures, that stove top can get hot. You might remember the story about when I found my wife standing at the stove opening and closing the bypass because the stove top wanted to go over 700. I found she had closed the draft. So I simply went over and opened it to 1 (25% open) and the stove top did as expected; it cooled down and did not go over that 700 mark. So many times on these stoves it is good to give more air rather than less.



Now that you mention it, that is how I got the temp down.  Thanks for the reminder   Trust me, you'll only have to mention it a couple hundred more times before it sticks...


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## acesneights1 (Nov 30, 2013)

Wow, this was a good read. I have never known any of this. Just loaded the stove before bed and usually reload around 2-3 am when I get up to hit the head. Mine will be out in the morning if I don't reload. I don't hve a thermometer on mine anywhere. Where should I be measuring temps from ? I have a raytek laser thermometer.


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## acesneights1 (Nov 30, 2013)

What are ideal burn temps ?
I just shot mine. My stove is at about 420f and the flue pipe is about 250.


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## Backwoods Savage (Nov 30, 2013)

Ideal burn temperatures is whatever is required to heat the home. That can be regulated a lot just by the wood that you put in the stove. Not only the type of wood but the quantity. If little heat is needed, there certainly is no need to fill the stove. This morning was a good example. When we got up the sun was shining brightly and a warm, mid-30's day forecast. I put in 3 small splits of ash. That was good until around 5:00 when I added some. Now I wish I'd waited as it is hot in here.


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## Dix (Nov 30, 2013)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Ideal burn temperatures is whatever is required to heat the home. That can be regulated a lot just by the wood that you put in the stove. Not only the type of wood but the quantity. If little heat is needed, there certainly is no need to fill the stove. This morning was a good example. When we got up the sun was shining brightly and a warm, mid-30's day forecast. I put in 3 small splits of ash. That was good until around 5:00 when I added some. Now I wish I'd waited as it is hot in here.



Sometimes it's hard to judge, Dennis. We both know its trial and error, and depending upon of the cold front comes in as expected


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## acesneights1 (Nov 30, 2013)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Ideal burn temperatures is whatever is required to heat the home. That can be regulated a lot just by the wood that you put in the stove. Not only the type of wood but the quantity. If little heat is needed, there certainly is no need to fill the stove. This morning was a good example. When we got up the sun was shining brightly and a warm, mid-30's day forecast. I put in 3 small splits of ash. That was good until around 5:00 when I added some. Now I wish I'd waited as it is hot in here.


Wow...all day on 3 pieces of wood ?
I burn about a wheel barrel and a half a day(24hrs)
I have to load mine about every 2-3 hours to keep it burning well. If I load it to the top and choke it down it will go about 4-6 hrs depending...


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## Dix (Nov 30, 2013)

acesneights1 said:


> Wow...all day on 3 pieces of wood ?
> I burn about a wheel barrel and a half a day(24hrs)
> I have to load mine about every 2-3 hours to keep it burning well. If I load it to the top and choke it down it will go about 4-6 hrs depending...



How big is the firebox in that stove??


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## Backwoods Savage (Nov 30, 2013)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> Sometimes it's hard to judge, Dennis. We both know its trial and error, and depending upon of the cold front comes in as expected



Hence, the need to pay attention to the forecast. Actually, we never depend upon one source. We use mainly NOAA and accuweather. One strange thing we have noticed over the years is that sometimes NOAA is much more accurate and then suddenly it will turn the other way around. Also, accuweather has gone the way of mass media. That is, they try to blow things out of proportion; make big headlines. It is all bull. Why not just tell it like it is? Like just a short time ago we read that dangerous cold was coming our way. Dangerous? I think not. After all, there are many who live with these temperatures year after year so it is not a danger to them.

In the end we hope for more trial than error.


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## Backwoods Savage (Nov 30, 2013)

acesneights1 said:


> Wow...all day on 3 pieces of wood ?
> I burn about a wheel barrel and a half a day(24hrs)
> I have to load mine about every 2-3 hours to keep it burning well. If I load it to the top and choke it down it will go about 4-6 hrs depending...



Something does not sound right here. 2-3 hour burn is crazy for sure. Either that stove is super small or some other problem. I'm not that familiar with your particular stove but Jotul makes good stoves for sure. 

Yes, we can put 3 or medium or small splits in the stove and reach 600 degrees or more and it holds heat for many hours. This was not always the case as the stove we had before the Woodstock Fireview we burned at least 6 full cord of wood and were always cold in the winter. I hate wearing outdoor clothing in the house. We put the Fireview in and cut our wood needs in half immediately. In addition, we no longer close off any of the house in the winter but we used to. 

We may go to bed tonight without putting any more wood in. The temperature in here is down to 86 right now! I put in 3 splits about 3 1/2 hours ago. It may hold all night. Probably won't have much for coals in the morning but that is not a problem.


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## Dix (Nov 30, 2013)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Hence, the need to pay attention to the forecast. Actually, we never depend upon one source. We use mainly NOAA and accuweather. One strange thing we have noticed over the years is that sometimes NOAA is much more accurate and then suddenly it will turn the other way around. Also, accuweather has gone the way of mass media. That is, they try to blow things out of proportion; make big headlines. It is all bull. Why not just tell it like it is? Like just a short time ago we read that dangerous cold was coming our way. Dangerous? I think not. After all, there are many who live with these temperatures year after year so it is not a danger to them.
> 
> In the end we hope for more trial than error.




Absolutely pay attention to the forecast. But we've all had evenings where we light off because the temp is gonna drop, and whammo, it doesn't and you've got the windows open  (that was my point, I should have clarified better !! )


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## Dix (Nov 30, 2013)

acesneights1 said:


> Wow...all day on 3 pieces of wood ?
> I burn about a wheel barrel and a half a day(24hrs)
> I have to load mine about every 2-3 hours to keep it burning well. If I load it to the top and choke it down it will go about 4-6 hrs depending...



How big is this wheel barrow?


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## acesneights1 (Nov 30, 2013)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> How big is the firebox in that stove??


Not sure. Its a Jotul Oslo F500


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## acesneights1 (Nov 30, 2013)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:


> How big is this wheel barrow?


Typical Jackson masonry wheel barrel


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## acesneights1 (Nov 30, 2013)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Something does not sound right here. 2-3 hour burn is crazy for sure. Either that stove is super small or some other problem. I'm not that familiar with your particular stove but Jotul makes good stoves for sure.
> 
> Yes, we can put 3 or medium or small splits in the stove and reach 600 degrees or more and it holds heat for many hours. This was not always the case as the stove we had before the Woodstock Fireview we burned at least 6 full cord of wood and were always cold in the winter. I hate wearing outdoor clothing in the house. We put the Fireview in and cut our wood needs in half immediately. In addition, we no longer close off any of the house in the winter but we used to.
> 
> We may go to bed tonight without putting any more wood in. The temperature in here is down to 86 right now! I put in 3 splits about 3 1/2 hours ago. It may hold all night. Probably won't have much for coals in the morning but that is not a problem.


I burn about 4-6 cord depending on how brutal the winter is and that is burning the stove 24/7


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## acesneights1 (Nov 30, 2013)

It is a 70,000 btu. heats 2000 sq ft according to manual. Did not see a size of firebox. I think it's roughly 2cu/ft


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## EatenByLimestone (Nov 30, 2013)

The Englander 30 is rated at 75K and has a 3.5cu ft firebox.  I don't know how much I'd trust btu ratings though.  The amount of btus that a stove puts out is directly related to the density of the wood you put in it.  If you load with poplar you aren't going to be putting the btus out that you would if you loaded with oak.


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## acesneights1 (Nov 30, 2013)

I burn mostly red oak. A little maple here and there but 85% red oak seasoned about 1 yr.It has been down for over 2 but split and stacked for 1.


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## EatenByLimestone (Nov 30, 2013)

But what was the EPA or manufacturer burning when they figured out what number to put on the brochure?


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## BrotherBart (Nov 30, 2013)

EatenByLimestone said:


> The Englander 30 is rated at 75K and has a 3.5cu ft firebox.  I don't know how much I'd trust btu ratings though.  The amount of btus that a stove puts out is directly related to the density of the wood you put in it.  If you load with poplar you aren't going to be putting the btus out that you would if you loaded with oak.



I think the 30 can and just did it. Too big of a night load and at 840 stove top on the charring run it was probably putting out 75K+ easy for forty minutes. I have a winter tan now.


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## EatenByLimestone (Nov 30, 2013)

I've never hoped so much that somebody has tan lines...  There's no reason to scare the neighbors now...


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## BrotherBart (Nov 30, 2013)

Folks need to remember that those max BTU on cordwood numbers are with somebody standing there stoking the thing like a steam locomotive. You can do it with a load but it ain't gonna hold there for a long time.


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## BrotherBart (Nov 30, 2013)

EatenByLimestone said:


> I've never hoped so much that somebody has tan lines...  There's no reason to scare the neighbors now...



Do you think I need to follow the old advice to have a hot fire in the morning to keep the chimney clean?


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## EatenByLimestone (Nov 30, 2013)

That old advice gets followed in my house by accident every once in a while.  I figure it happens with everybody.  My nose usually tells me a few minutes before the smoke detector goes off.


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## rideau (Nov 30, 2013)

I think I'd get a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach if I saw 840 on my stovetop.....


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## Jags (Dec 2, 2013)

rideau said:


> I think I'd get a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach if I saw 840 on my stovetop.....



Meh - it puts me into action, but I don't sweat it.


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