Being a relative newbie to wood burning I'm not sure I'm loading my stove correctly. I've tried many different variations of split placement with some working better than others. It seems like I need to have the wood situated just right in the small firebox of my stove to get a good burn.
The method that tends to work best is when I start off by parting the hot coals in the middle to creat an air channel. Then I put in two medium sized splits east west with about an inch of space between them. Next I dig through the wood to find two small splits and lay them diagonally across the top of the first too with maybe an inch between them. After this I'll crack the door for a few seconds, close it and leave air open all the way for a minute or two and them bring it down to about a 1/4 or less open. I'll usually get a little less than 2 hours of good burning out of it.
I've tried just kind of putting the splits in there on top of each other and filling up the box but I just don't get very good burns this way. I would love to get more wood in the stove so if there is a technique that works good for filling the firebox right up please let me know. Of course this little stove will only take so much but I know I can get more wood in there than I am now.
I'm burning red oak, maple and birch that has all been split on the smaller side (medium to me is probably small to most of you) and seasoned for 18 months. With the small splits and good airflow I am getting away with 18 months instead of 24+ pretty well.
The method that tends to work best is when I start off by parting the hot coals in the middle to creat an air channel. Then I put in two medium sized splits east west with about an inch of space between them. Next I dig through the wood to find two small splits and lay them diagonally across the top of the first too with maybe an inch between them. After this I'll crack the door for a few seconds, close it and leave air open all the way for a minute or two and them bring it down to about a 1/4 or less open. I'll usually get a little less than 2 hours of good burning out of it.
I've tried just kind of putting the splits in there on top of each other and filling up the box but I just don't get very good burns this way. I would love to get more wood in the stove so if there is a technique that works good for filling the firebox right up please let me know. Of course this little stove will only take so much but I know I can get more wood in there than I am now.
I'm burning red oak, maple and birch that has all been split on the smaller side (medium to me is probably small to most of you) and seasoned for 18 months. With the small splits and good airflow I am getting away with 18 months instead of 24+ pretty well.