Coldest night in the Northeast so far = 2 year White Oak load

[stejus]

I've been waiting for this night to come to test out a cord of 2yr old White Oak. All I can say is Holy Sh*&! This has been the best burning wood I've thrown in this stove since owning it. I should say other things I've done may have influenced the burn. << I insulated the smoke shelf and damper recently.

10:00PM Sat night - Loaded stove full of White Oak. Outdoor Temp 28 Indoor temp at sitting level 70.
11:00PM Sat night - Stove air shut down to about 1/2" open. Turned blower on Auto Low

8:00AM Sun morn - Blower still blowing, Looked at rear of stove and a large coal burn. Outdoor temp 22, Indoor temp at sitting level 69.
9:00AM Sun morn - Moved coals forward and opened air
10:00AM Sun morn - Reload on large coal bed.

So, for all those with insert out there with a medium sized insert (mine is 2.3 cf), here's your answer to can an insert have an overnight burn with a good coal bed in the AM. This has been an 12 hour reload interval with a glowing coal bed.

I also feel with the White oak, I could extend the burn to 15 or more hours on a slow burn without the blower. This is a nice option if you need to load the stove and not return for several hours. The flip side to this is I could also burn it with more air acheiving a hotter burn with less time, like 8 hours.

Lesson learned - Insulate with a blockoff plate and use good hard wood and you'll achieve the results you want.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sounds good Stejus. Now save the rest of that oak until it gets cold outside! That won't be too long but usually we figure around Jan 10 the cold gets here and stays.

 

[stejus]

Sounds good Stejus. Now save the rest of that oak until it gets cold outside! That won't be too long but usually we figure around Jan 10 the cold gets here and stays.

Dennis, no shortage of the good stuff fortunatly (valuable lesson learned during first year). I also have a reserve cord of almost 3 yr red oak. It's just been a challenge loading the weekly wood rack on the covered porch. Some of this, some of that, from this pile vs that pile. Much easier once we get to the dead of winter!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

If you have too much of that, I'd take some off your hands!

 

[ScotO]

Stejus it was 15 degrees here last night in the central mountains of PA.....loaded the ol' Napoleon with some 2yr locust and white oak at 11:30 pm and at 6:00am this morning it was still 71* inside with a nice bed of red coals.....I love that locust and white oak!......

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Scotty, you are about where we were a day earlier. Not as cold last night. We do have some oak we will burn this winter but probably won't touch it for another month.

 

[ScotO]

Scotty, you are about where we were a day earlier. Not as cold last night. We do have some oak we will burn this winter but probably won't touch it for another month.

I hear ya there Dennis....just couldn' resist with that cold calm moonlit night to throw some good hardwood in the stove....I guess I am just gettin excited for one of my favorite times of the year, with Christmas and all.......looking forward (no kidding here) to some big snow.....I sure hope we get it soon

 

[Backwoods Savage]

My prediction has been for not as much snow this year. I would not be surprised if we saw lots of bare ground for most of the winter. Sure, we'll get some snowstorms but it shouldn't last too long. Of course, I can be very wrong too and as of late my weather predictions have not been the best. So, be prepared no matter what.

 

[ScotO]

I actually did a big job for a farmer this summer that landed in my lap 'by chance'......he had really large tree fall down on a windrow along his back field....I drive past that farm every day to and from work and after two weeks of that monster laying in the field I figured I would stop and ask him about it, all the while thinking it was a sugar maple (it was hard to tell from the road what kind of tree it was). Anyway I stopped in his place and introduced myself, told him I cut trees as a side job and asked if he wanted that downed tree out of the way. He replied " I will tell you the same thing I have told 5 or 6 guys the past two weeks, first come-first serve.....cut the tree and take the wood, leave the limbs and twigs in a pile and I will take care of that stuff .....". I said to him I would try and be up in a couple of days, me thinking it was maple, but he said "no that is a old locust and it's solid as a rock...". Needless to say I went home, got my big saws and my splitter and was back up at that farm within an hour..lol.. I ended up cutting 4 big locusts down on that windrow (all of them at least 150 to 200 yrs old), and I have 4 more to do this winter.....best wood i've ever burned, that stuff will be next years cold season wood.....I got lots of good white oak and locust from other jobs too, for this year....but that locust is hard on chains, all worth it in the end......

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Now that is sweet Scotty.

 

[stejus]

Scotty, it's always a great score when you can get it, especially nice hard wood. Thanks to mother nature we have had a lot a tree damage around the area. Lot's to pick from along the road sides which I'm up to around 3 cords this past month and going to get the 4 cord this week. I'm happy mother nature is holding off the snow until I finish!

 

[ScotO]

Scotty, it's always a great score when you can get it, especially nice hard wood. Thanks to mother nature we have had a lot a tree damage around the area. Lot's to pick from along the road sides which I'm up to around 3 cords this past month and going to get the 4 cord this week. I'm happy mother nature is holding off the snow until I finish!

Yessir Stejus that is probably the only positive thing about the tree damage we had this fall....glad yer gettin some wood out of it.....if you get that stuff cut split and stacked you should be good for next year!

 

[stejus]

Scotty, it's always a great score when you can get it, especially nice hard wood. Thanks to mother nature we have had a lot a tree damage around the area. Lot's to pick from along the road sides which I'm up to around 3 cords this past month and going to get the 4 cord this week. I'm happy mother nature is holding off the snow until I finish!

Yessir Stejus that is probably the only positive thing about the tree damage we had this fall....glad yer gettin some wood out of it.....if you get that stuff cut split and stacked you should be good for next year!

Scotty, I've learned so much from this forum I'm already working on my 2013/2014 supply because it's easy picking and the weather is so nice for this time of the year. Here's where I am as of today. By next weekend I should be done (ha ha, famous last words).

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/85154/

 

[remkel]

If you have too much of that, I'd take some off your hands!

+1- I work in central MA and would be happy to swing by to relieve you of some of that
Actually, I will have a triaxle dump in your driveway when you get home

 

[WoodpileOCD]

Scotty, you are about where we were a day earlier. Not as cold last night. We do have some oak we will burn this winter but probably won't touch it for another month.

I hear ya there Dennis....just couldn' resist with that cold calm moonlit night to throw some good hardwood in the stove....I guess I am just gettin excited for one of my favorite times of the year, with Christmas and all.......looking forward (no kidding here) to some big snow.....I sure hope we get it soon

Yea, kinda like breaking out that special bottle of champagne on just the right occasion.. Aren't we a weird lot.

 

[egclassic]

I've been waiting for this night to come to test out a cord of 2yr old White Oak. All I can say is Holy Sh*&! This has been the best burning wood I've thrown in this stove since owning it. I should say other things I've done may have influenced the burn. << I insulated the smoke shelf and damper recently.

10:00PM Sat night - Loaded stove full of White Oak. Outdoor Temp 28 Indoor temp at sitting level 70.
11:00PM Sat night - Stove air shut down to about 1/2" open. Turned blower on Auto Low

8:00AM Sun morn - Blower still blowing, Looked at rear of stove and a large coal burn. Outdoor temp 22, Indoor temp at sitting level 69.
9:00AM Sun morn - Moved coals forward and opened air
10:00AM Sun morn - Reload on large coal bed.

So, for all those with insert out there with a medium sized insert (mine is 2.3 cf), here's your answer to can an insert have an overnight burn with a good coal bed in the AM. This has been an 12 hour reload interval with a glowing coal bed.

I also feel with the White oak, I could extend the burn to 15 or more hours on a slow burn without the blower. This is a nice option if you need to load the stove and not return for several hours. The flip side to this is I could also burn it with more air acheiving a hotter burn with less time, like 8 hours.

Lesson learned - Insulate with a blockoff plate and use good hard wood and you'll achieve the results you want.

I have the same stove and I have been enjoying overnight burns also.
I usually load her up at around 8:30 pm, get her cruising and its off to bed by 9:30-10:00. Wake up about 5:00am to a lot of hot coals.
I load her up again before heading off to work(leave by 5:30) and usually by the time I get home at 3:30, there are still some hot coals and the blower is still blowing.
Last night here, it got down to 18*, coldest night so far.
I have about a cord of red oak and 1/2 a cord of osage that I'm saving for Jan-Feb, but for now I have been burning some ash, cherry and maple. My cousin owns a fencing company and when they deliver his materials, they leave behind the 4X4 oak boards they use to set the material on. I cut these up to 16-18" pieces and add a few to each load.
I still hope to install a block off plate, but I will probably have to wait until spring now.

 

[stejus]

If you have too much of that, I'd take some off your hands!

+1- I work in central MA and would be happy to swing by to relieve you of some of that
Actually, I will have a triaxle dump in your driveway when you get home

Oh no... now I have to plug in the web cam that points to the pile!

 

[stejus]

I have the same stove and I have been enjoying overnight burns also.
I usually load her up at around 8:30 pm, get her cruising and its off to bed by 9:30-10:00. Wake up about 5:00am to a lot of hot coals.
I load her up again before heading off to work(leave by 5:30) and usually by the time I get home at 3:30, there are still some hot coals and the blower is still blowing.
Last night here, it got down to 18*, coldest night so far.
I have about a cord of red oak and 1/2 a cord of osage that I'm saving for Jan-Feb, but for now I have been burning some ash, cherry and maple. My cousin owns a fencing company and when they deliver his materials, they leave behind the 4X4 oak boards they use to set the material on. I cut these up to 16-18" pieces and add a few to each load.
I still hope to install a block off plate, but I will probably have to wait until spring now.

When you do, your HI300 will seem like a whole new stove. The cast surround and brick hearth get extremly hot now that I have the block off. I also have a small gap around the whole surround as it doesn't sit flush with the brick hearth. The heat pours out of this gap and the stove also holds the heat longer. All good! Maybe if we get a warm spell you can do it. The way I did it took about 1 hour in total.

 

[WoodpileOCD]

I will vouch for the block off plate too. My brick chimney on the inside above the stove gets to 120-130* and radiates heat for hours. No more house air getting sucked up and out of the house either.

Knowing what I do now, I would highly recommend doing it now and enjoying the extra heat the rest of THIS winter. Be sure to stuff some Roxul up in there before you do the block off plate.

I have a LOT of Roxul left over. If you want enough to do your smokebox, let me know and if you'll pay the shipping, I'll box up some and send it. I had to buy a huge package of it and only ended up using 2 bats I think. UPS and PO are getting expensive but might still be a good bit cheaper. I think I paid about $35 for it from Lowes online. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[ScotO]

Scotty, you are about where we were a day earlier. Not as cold last night. We do have some oak we will burn this winter but probably won't touch it for another month.

I hear ya there Dennis....just couldn' resist with that cold calm moonlit night to throw some good hardwood in the stove....I guess I am just gettin excited for one of my favorite times of the year, with Christmas and all.......looking forward (no kidding here) to some big snow.....I sure hope we get it soon

Yea, kinda like breaking out that special bottle of champagne on just the right occasion.. Aren't we a weird lot.

Rusty that is putting it lightly to say the least.....lol....yes we are....

 

[WoodpileOCD]

Yea Scotty I can picture it now.

After a nice candle light dinner and a little wine you both snuggle down on the couch. The moonlight is streaming in through the windows and it is cold and clear out. Calling her over to the window to look at the beautiful romantic scene, you come up behind and put your arms around her and whisper in her ear. "Honey, its such a perfect cold moonlit night, lets break out some of our 4 year old oak and really make this old Napoleon rock."

 

[ScotO]

Yea Scotty I can picture it now.

After a nice candle light dinner and a little wine you both snuggle down on the couch. The moonlight is streaming in through the windows and it is cold and clear out. Calling her over to the window to look at the beautiful romantic scene, you come up behind and put your arms around her and whisper in her ear. "Honey, its such a perfect cold moonlit night, lets break out some of our 4 year old oak and really make this old Napoleon rock."

wow you read my mind.....LOL!!