AsylumResident
Feeling the Heat
Having my stove in the basement, when I get the basement to 80-81 the upstairs will usually sit at 72-75. I'm glad heat rises.
Different burning techniques
- Thread starter Woodsplitter67
- Start date
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AsylumResident
Feeling the Heat
So I did a thread on this.. check it out.. I posted on it like last week as an update.. let me know what you think
Last nigh my wife had me in gym shorts and a T shirt.. was 75 in the living room.. I broke out the ice cream.. was close to chugging ice
I know this will stir strong emotions from some but, why not burn without the cat? It's easier to control the secondary temps, you arent damaging your cat, and you get the same if not more burn time and heat results if not better from not having the cat in. Unless you are trying to burn really low like below 375 STT? This year Im burning larger pieces than I was last year and found the cat area temps arent swinging as significantly as well.
Hadn't been cold here until the last couple of nights so I wasn't burning at all. My technique the past 2 days has been light it and feed it small loads. I've not engaged the cat, just turned down the air. First night less than 1/2 load with air turned down and woke 8hrs later to small pile of coals that lit off small splits easily, 2nd night a repeat of the first except it was at least 9hrs. Heat pump might have kicked on but I doubt it as thermostat is in stove room and set at 65. I know I'm burning like a smoke dragon but with old well seasoned wood. Not worried about cleaning as I do my own and I have some work to do on the roof and I'll run the brush down in the next week or 2 to see how it looks. I'll burn with the cat when it's a little colder, just didn't feel like fooling with it for now.
This should be moved to a different thread.. like burning without a cat.. because thats EXACTLY the question your asking.. so.. maybe start your own with the question that you have.. the answers BTW have already been given to you.. by multiple people in various threads..
last night I.did a 3/4 load of wood in the stove. My stove has run continuously for days now, running with the air cut all the way back. I've started the cat each time with a lesser amount.of wood/coals in the box. Last night my cat was 950 degrees when I pit 3/4 of a box of wood in it. The splits were thicker. Woke up this morning and the cat temperature was 350. I just dropped some wood on it to go another round for today..
Last night the cat temperature rose to 1357 when I was there watching and it hung there for an hour
Looks like the stove will be getting a break over the weekend
This was what was in the stove this morning at 4.10am
![[Hearth.com] Different burning techniques](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/319/319858-0f41cd86e99ee34d09177ee6dce0646d.jpg?hash=Obi6TNP6Ii "[Hearth.com] Different burning techniques")
Last night the cat temperature rose to 1357 when I was there watching and it hung there for an hour
Looks like the stove will be getting a break over the weekend
This was what was in the stove this morning at 4.10am
I loaded mine last night at 630 cat around 1050. I cold start Tuesday and Wednesday cause i am in my office. Jammed it full and getting it cranking again now. Stove will run continuously now until I go back to work Tuesday then clean it out and repeat
![[Hearth.com] Different burning techniques](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/319/319859-9adf426611ef237ec16a724b9f982d98.jpg?hash=GwQsvoNiHZ "[Hearth.com] Different burning techniques")
So im pretty sure I made a mistake monday night loading the stove. I think this is why my stove peaked at almost 1600 degrees.
Normally I load with my thicker splits.. like 4x4 or 4x5 inch kind of stuff, square rectangle.. And pack the box super tight
My son hadn't brought in the wood for overnight burning, so I used the wood I normally burn during the day.. like pie shaped. Im thinking I didn't hae it a tight as I normally do. I think this my be the change the created the higher temperatures
Tuesday and Wednesday night Iv used the thicker wood and packed it tighter, I haven't filled the box all the way and the temperatures seem lower..
Ill see about posting pictures with the thicker splits
Normally I load with my thicker splits.. like 4x4 or 4x5 inch kind of stuff, square rectangle.. And pack the box super tight
My son hadn't brought in the wood for overnight burning, so I used the wood I normally burn during the day.. like pie shaped. Im thinking I didn't hae it a tight as I normally do. I think this my be the change the created the higher temperatures
Tuesday and Wednesday night Iv used the thicker wood and packed it tighter, I haven't filled the box all the way and the temperatures seem lower..
Ill see about posting pictures with the thicker splits
I usually run it about 90% closed. But last night was cold and cold when I got home so I ran it at 50% trying to get more heat. Probably should have woke up an hour earlier. This didn't burn as long as it normally does at 50%
The cat temp here was about 260. Normally when I wake up the next morning with air cut its 400+. So 40% more air took a few hours off the burn for sure
I may try this when it gets colder this winter. I normally cut my air all the way, but when it gets down like 10 degrees at night the house is a little chilly.
I might try it during the day to see how the stove reacts first..
Seemed fine but I didn't watch what cat tempsndid obviously. But glass was clean. If I had timed it better it would have been perfect.
I was in a weird spot last night where the stove was ready to be loaded or I'd have to wait another hour and I wanted to go to bed.
The cold starts when I'm in the office are a pain. I need to figure out a method for those days. I dont really want to pack the stove before I go and leave a full stove burning with nobody home for 8 hours
AsylumResident
Feeling the Heat
This is where I am at. I need to find a way to keep the stove burning while I'm at work and no one is home. I suppose I should phrase that differently; I need to find a way to feel comfortable with the leaving the stove burning during the day when we're not home. I know I can get the burn time out of it, and I have done it a few times while I'm work but I have the fear in the back of my head it might take off on me again and I can't respond to it as quick as I would need to. Eventually I think I'll be back to that point. I need to spend more time burning it consistently to build that comfort back again. Based on how things have been going the past week, I think I've narrowed it down as to what lead to the run away. I want to run for awhile with that in mind and see how it goes.
My go to right now is to load it early and let it burn for a few hours while I'm home before I leave. Then just turn the air down and let it ride. Then when I get home I use the coals to get it going again. I know I can get a 10 hour burn if I pack it before I leave. Just something about doing it I don't trust
AsylumResident
Feeling the Heat
Of course it could have been any number of things but I have kept a small separation between the wood and the back of the stove when I load up and I have only used good solid wood. Since I have done that, I have consistently seen lower cat temps in my burns doing everything else the same. This weekend while I'm home I plan to do some full loads continuing this way.
This is exactly what we do.. I load the stove up at like 5am and get it back up to temperature.. burn glass off ect... Around 6am I load the.stove up.for the day, probably 3/4 of the stove. Last year I burned at half way.. this year it may be 1/3 air.. we let it burn down/offgass.. around 8am.. my wife leaves for work and cuts the.air all the way back. When I get home. there are still enough coals in the box to get the next load going.. I feel comfortable doing this..
dmccoole
Member
For a few weeks around the beginning of November I was using a lot of smalls and the stove temps were way up there and felt out of control at times. For the past 2 weeks, I've gone back to med/large splits and the stove is back to running "normal". Certainly got me nervous for a few weeks. I've followed woodsplitter67 load process for 2 years now and never had an issue until this season. I only put in 3/4 load last night(9pm), house started at 73, and my oil heat kicked on this morning at 67. It was a chilly 19 outside. I had still had some big chunks of coal, opened the bypass and air and got it hot quickly, burned off the glass and then loaded it up about 3/4 for the day, closed the bypass, got the cat to 1000, STT was around 600 and turned the air down to 50% and then down to 25% an hour later.
First time the oil heat came on this season! So I turned my oil heat down to 64 and I'll be sure to put a full load in tonight! Though it's going to be in the 50s tomorrow.
First time the oil heat came on this season! So I turned my oil heat down to 64 and I'll be sure to put a full load in tonight! Though it's going to be in the 50s tomorrow.
Its the beginning of the burning season.. I think iv made this mistake.. I was doing a fire here and there.. now the stoves been running since Monday AM .. I think I need to load thicker.. when the stoves loaded more than 1/2 way
I think that im getting way to much surface area catching sometimes with the bigger loads
I have been having some good results running low air settings the past week. I have avoided Cat temps > 1550 (typical is 1000 - 1400) and back puffing. Thanks @Woodsplitter67 !
Question: After an overnight burn with low air (10-30% open) what is the process for reload?
Assume Cat temps of 300 - 500, STT 300-350, some coals in the firebox but not a thick bed.
Do you:
Question: After an overnight burn with low air (10-30% open) what is the process for reload?
Assume Cat temps of 300 - 500, STT 300-350, some coals in the firebox but not a thick bed.
Do you:
- Open the air (with bypass closed) to get the coal bed hot and then reload?
- Add a few splits (with bypass open?) to bring the STT up, then engage the cat to bring it up to 1000 and then reload?
