?? How do you burn. ??

[Occo370]

His might seem like a stupid question but how do u burn. I had. Fire the other night. My room where the stove is bakes. The bedrooms on the other side I the house float ariund 70 which us perfect. So my question is. Do u continually pack the stove every 6 8 hours as it burns down Or. Pack only when your goal temp drops.

 

[shawneyboy]

I have a Hearthstone Mansfield soapstone stove, which changes the way to burn, I run the stove in cycles. Heat her up(500) , cool her down a smidge (250-300 or so ), heat her up again. The stone retains and radiates heat differently then a metal stove. So how you burn with all else being equal, will be different depending on the stove you have. But now you know how I burn my Mansfield.

 

[North of 60]

So my question is. Do u continually pack the stove every 6 8 hours as it burns down.

I still have half a load left in that time unless it is -30 out.
I set my t-stat on low in the shoulder season after a full load in the early am and repeat the following day until it gets cold. -5 and colder it will become a morning ,evening routine and I will adjust my T-stat from there.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I have a Hearthstone Mansfield soapstone stove, which changes the way to burn, I run the stove in cycles. Heat her up(500) , cool her down a smidge (250-300 or so ), heat her up again. The stone retains and radiates heat differently then a metal stove. So how you burn with all else being equal, will be different depending on the stove you have. But now you know how I burn my Mansfield.

It's not really "different" per se. It's "slower" to heat up and "slower" to cool off. In the industry we call this "thermal ballast".

 

[NH_Wood]

I have a Hearthstone Mansfield soapstone stove, which changes the way to burn, I run the stove in cycles. Heat her up(500) , cool her down a smidge (250-300 or so ), heat her up again. The stone retains and radiates heat differently then a metal stove. So how you burn with all else being equal, will be different depending on the stove you have. But now you know how I burn my Mansfield.

It's not really "different" per se. It's "slower" to heat up and "slower" to cool off. In the industry we call this "thermal ballast".

Yep - that's what I call 'different' and, I think, is what Shawneyboy was trying to say. I burn my Mansfield a little different. Yes, I build a fire and get the stone to about 500-550, but then let the stove cool to 150 or 200 - then reload on the coals. If for some reason I seemed to be losing decent coals before hitting that lower temp, I reload a little earlier. But....haven't burned in really cold weather yet for extended time, so things might change. If the house temp drops too much during the cool down, I'll have to think about reloading closer to where Shawneyboy does. Cheers!

 

[Occo370]

Ok I have. An earthstove 1003c. I get good overnight burns but am trying to maximize my burns as much as possible. So I'm looking to the " seasoned " burners for any advice.

 

[Heem]

I keep it cranking. if it gets too hot I'll start some fans to move some heat into the kitchen and bathroom

 

[savageactor7]

Most of the time we only burn 3 logs in diff stages, just throw on a split on at a time. But we always burn wide open. Another thing this is shoulder season for most of us so it's tricky to burn and be comfortable.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

His might seem like a stupid question but how do u burn. I had. Fire the other night. My room where the stove is bakes. The bedrooms on the other side I the house float ariund 70 which us perfect. So my question is. Do u continually pack the stove every 6 8 hours as it burns down Or. Pack only when your goal temp drops.

Occo, how we burn depends solely upon the weather. We certainly would never even think about loading the stove up during this time of the year. It will probably be December before we burn full loads. Now it is usually 2-3 splits maximum and when the house cools and not when the stove cools that determines when we put the next wood in.

 

[Occo370]

So I guess I need a thermometer for my stove ( not just the cat thermometer ) and see where the seethe spot is loading in a log or two when I have an established fire. I am concerned I wasted too much wood last year

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I guess everyones situation can be different. In the shoulder season I usually just build a fire after dinner and burn maple, or sassafrass (my lower BTU wood). I sometimes try out some other wood like my Oak or locust to see how good it is burning as an experiment for the main heating season. I usually load up the stove with 3 big splits and let it get down to coals and then even let the coals go down some before I reload, try to not mess with it too much, even though it is tempting In the main heating season just keep repeating. In the mornings I rarely actually have a fire going unless I got up during the night, but some coals are in there. Rake them forward and push the ashes back. The coals heat up and I can throw in some logs in short order. The wood burner is not my sole source of heat but it is a great supplement and a great ambiance maker. We kind of miss it when it is not going. They are space heaters so alot depends on the size of your house and the weather and your needs. I know Backwoods Savage heats strictly with his stove so his needs are much different than mine. You will learn what is best for you over time.

 

[firefighterjake]

Shoulder season: When cold light a fire using wood from my chunks, punks and uglies pile which means the firebox will not be tightly packed with my primo BTU wood . . . get the stove/flue temps up to the Goldilocks Zone, start cutting back the air . . . let stove do its thing. If the weather forecast calls for temps warming up nicely to the upper 50s, 60s, etc. let the fire go out . . . if the temps are going to stay lower for a bit I will do another reload and then re-evaluate.

Winter: Light a fire and get things cooking . . . when the fire enters the coaling stage and the coals are about the size of softballs or so . .. add more wood, get the stove up to temp in the Goldilocks zone and then cut back the air and enjoy the show . . . several hours later rinse, wash and repeat.

Moving the heat . . . This time of year . . . heck . . . anytime of the year . . . try positioning a fan in a room adjacent to the room with the stove . . . have the fan blowing towards the stove . . . it will set up an air current to help disperse the heat to the rest of the home and will help even out the temps in the home . . . room with the stove will still be hotter, but there will be less of a dramatic shift in the temps when moving from room to room.

 

[Occo370]

I had 2 ceiling fans installed in the stove room. About 400sqft. Will the act the same as pointing a fan at the stove

 

[CodyWayne718]

So my question is. Do u continually pack the stove every 6 8 hours as it burns down.

I still have half a load left in that time unless it is -30 out.
I set my t-stat on low in the shoulder season after a full load in the early am and repeat the following day until it gets cold. -5 and colder it will become a morning ,evening routine and I will adjust my T-stat from there.

This is me not jackin this thread. North of 60, thanks for making me want a BlazeKing stove with your half load after 8 hours. I'm jealous!

 

[lfunk11]

my first year and its been difficult to keep the house at a decent temp. It has gotten 80+ many times so I guess thats a good thing when it actually gets frigid outside. I know for sure I will burrn less wood next year once I get used to using the stove. I am happy that the heat does circulate through our house really well so that has been a welcomed outcome.

 

[firefighterjake]

I had 2 ceiling fans installed in the stove room. About 400sqft. Will the act the same as pointing a fan at the stove

They may help . . . depending on the height of the ceiling . . . but next time try using the fan on the floor . . . and see if that doesn't help move some of the heat out of the room.

 

[chumby]

Shoulder seasons we typically start a fire and add wood to it once after most of the initial firing has burned; I believe one of the woodburner's books I read refers to this as a bloom of heat. Once it gets low teens/single digits we typically will run it near wide open with ok wood while keeping the temperature in the flue thermometer in the 300 to 550 range. When the outside thermometer is reading in the negatives I either keep the stove loaded with the ok wood (ash) or am burning dry oak (or beech or rock maple). A few years ago accidentally got the house in the 90s when it was maybe single digits outside.

 

[ckarotka]

I run two stoves in a medium to large closed ranch home. nc13 in the front and a 0.9cuft Quad in the back. This year is really neat because I replaced an old buck insert w/o a liner for the Quad with a liner...BIG difference.

Shoulder season so far: Cold house in the morning I fire up the 13 for 1.5 loads
Cold house at night I fire up the quad because the back of the house doesn't get the sun like the front.

The reason for firing up the 13 in the morning even though the sun is coming up is, I worked for the last 24hrs and there has been no heat source in the house in my absence. House is 62 when I get home around 7AM. Come the cold temps and the furnace get used when I'm at work. My wife prefers not to operate the stove, I don't want to force her then she'll hate it and make a mistake. When she's ready she'll let me know.

When it gets cold I "plan" on running the the 13 load after load if it's really cold @550-600 (this worked well last year) during the day and stove #2 only if I need to at night. I my need/want to run the quad after dinner for 1-2 loads (short burn time).

I like the versatility of having the two stoves especially the quad in the hearth because it throws a softer heat for the main (TV) room and no more loud fan to deal with. That's what drove the buck out, plus I replaced the Quad for the 13 last Jan and it got jealous sitting in the sun room not being used.

I don't know how much I will need to burn in the Quad, but I imagine it will be a lot since it won't be loud and finally has the proper set up and good draw. The old Buck was a solid great stove but required an 8" liner that wouldn't fit + if I wanted to replace it with the Quad it needed a 6" liner. I didn't want to purchase 2 liners in two years.

The bigger question is did I plan enough wood for two stoves? Even if one is part time. Last year my fuel was sub par and I've learned a lot since then on how to operate the stoves, this year it's prime. Hopefully that makes up the difference.