Hot loading - is it bad?

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

i think it really depends largely on the stove, fuel and draft. different in every situation. my hearthstone was reloaded while she was still pretty hot. takes too much heat to heat it back up! my BK heats up much quicker because its a steel stove for the most part.

For my medium flush insert if I want to keep my room warm, I must keep feeding it, I have no insulation and many windows with very cold temps and whipping wind, so for me I need to keep it going, back locust and red oak really shows off a difference in heat output, when I go up to bed, I'm done burning for the night, I just shovel it all out in the morning and start all over, I don't think there is one answer for all either.....

 

[Kosmik]

I'm learning with some dry wood in my mix, and some not so dry, I have to be careful.
Got into trouble when had two charred pieces that wouldn't take without door open (a little wet), so I added two (presumably dry) pieces, well things got going in a hurry. Those charring ofgassing and the new ones offgassing all together, stove was already hot from a full day of operation.

But I've had wetter pieces go in the same situation and keep killing the fire, so it never takes off nuclear.
Othertimes I have to have a good half the floor covered with coals to get going.

It can happen, and with the reburn EPA stoves, it seems to be a common concern.
I think it is more a question of HOW hot?

 

[MofoG23]

I've found that after a big load, tossing a couple smaller splits on top of the coals helps keep the temps up and burn the coals down...keep in mind the air needs to be open for a quick hot fire. Using this method, my room temps rarely drop off much...

 

[Ehouse]

If you have access to Ash or Locust, leave a lot of 4-6" rounds (depending on your firebox) unsplit. Both season pretty fast and dead locust can usually be had anywhere there's a stand. Load with one small split on the bottom as a starter and go all rounds over that. With no edges for the fire to bite, everything slows down considerably. Some say rounds won't season but with these two woods at least I've never had a problem. Even the Locust ignites well.

 

[BobUrban]

BBart said it best -Coal management strategies happen when it is this cold "continuously." There are limitations to what a box with a fire in it can do and those limitations get tested in this weather.

Like many others have said/learned - in a warm house I can keep the temps up with just a few small splits every hour or so while burning down the coals. In the AM when the temps in here have plummeted I need to get er' loaded and to get back to 75 degrees. The next project in heat management is improving the insulation in this shack. Tighter, better insulated homes will see less coal build up all other things being equal. This is due to longer, more evenly spaced reloads while retaining a sock free environment!

 

[Heaterhunter]

I can load my PE Summit hot, and still control the fire, but as others have said, you will build up coals and will need to burn it down at some point. Right now is when I'm needing to load hot because I don't have the luxury of letting the stove burn down ash, I need maximum heat output. Have you tried raking your coals forward to help them burn down faster?

+1, my first year with the PE Super. I love it but wish I had a bigger model because I need max heat output. I have been raking coals forward but recently started raking evenly because overall stove temp seems to drop less versus raking them forward where air enters(prob because of surface area of coals exposed). I do think raking the coals forward gets rid of them quicker, but it seems to be a trade off with overall stove temp during the coal burn down process if that makes any sense... As far as loading it with a good burn in progress I have been putting only a few sticks on and turning air down. If I'm going to pack it with a good burn going I turn my air all the way down and still see temps in the 6-7 hundred range initially in the stack and then an hour later on the stove top. Is this considered and overfire??? It's been said and I believe that each situation is different depending on draft and probably stove design. Compared to my VC Vigilant this stove has been miserly with the wood and much more of a space heater, very user friendly with little to no creosote build up.

 

[Sodbuster]

+1, my first year with the PE Super. I love it but wish I had a bigger model because I need max heat output. I have been raking coals forward but recently started raking evenly because overall stove temp seems to drop less versus raking them forward where air enters(prob because of surface area of coals exposed). I do think raking the coals forward gets rid of them quicker, but it seems to be a trade off with overall stove temp during the coal burn down process if that makes any sense... As far as loading it with a good burn in progress I have been putting only a few sticks on and turning air down. If I'm going to pack it with a good burn going I turn my air all the way down and still see temps in the 6-7 hundred range initially in the stack and then an hour later on the stove top. Is this considered and overfire??? It's been said and I believe that each situation is different depending on draft and probably stove design. Compared to my VC Vigilant this stove has been miserly with the wood and much more of a space heater, very user friendly with little to no creosote build up.

That sounds perfect Heaterhunter, that's what my summit does as well, definitely not overfire. It really throws the heat when the stovetop is in the mid 600's

 

[ailanthus]

I reload 'hot' at 400-450° all the time in this weather. A 400° stove just won't keep the house warm while the coals burn down. Like brotherbart and others have said, coal management becomes a big challenge, but I've never had problems with over firing in my smallish non-cat stove.

 

[Sodbuster]

I reload 'hot' at 400-450° all the time in this weather. A 400° stove just won't keep the house warm while the coals burn down. Like brotherbart and others have said, coal management becomes a big challenge, but I've never had problems with over firing in my smallish non-cat stove.

So do you shovel out the excess coals or burn them down with a split?

 

[ailanthus]

So do you shovel out the excess coals or burn them down with a split?

I usually let them burn down with some small splits, although I have shoveled out the coals a time or two.

 

[DuckDog]

Loading a hot stove is unavoidable for me. My work schedule dictates when I load. I routinely load in the morning before work at 400-450. Just have to be careful and not leave it unattended for more than 5-10 minutes. I never fully open the draft on these reloads. Typically 1/2-1/4 open.

 

[firefighterjake]

I would have posted my thoughts on this topic . . . but BrotherBart pretty much wrote out all you need to know and all that I would have written.

 

[USMC80]

I reload 'hot' at 400-450° all the time in this weather. A 400° stove just won't keep the house warm while the coals burn down. Like brotherbart and others have said, coal management becomes a big challenge, but I've never had problems with over firing in my smallish non-cat stove.

same here