How tight do you load the stove?

[Bootlegger]

Filled to the baffles? Nothing other than that your stove now has a lot of fuel in it and if you don't pay attention you risk running it too hot. If you watch your stove temps, it is not a big deal. I fill my Jotul right up to the baffles all the time.

So the instructions are to avoid overfiring the stove? I thought it might have something to do with how well the secondary burn tubes would work. If it is filled to the tubes, right to the top, there would be less combustion space for burning the secondary gas and hence you would lose BTUs up the flue.

 

[cycloxer]

Yeah I suppose if you really pack it in around the baffle holes and block them you will impede its efficiency. All of these stoves will burn the most efficient at 50-75% full firebox w/ roughly 50% air. You get the most efficient burn and the most Btu's for your wood.

 

[Bootlegger]

Yeah I suppose if you really pack it in around the baffle holes and block them you will impede its efficiency. All of these stoves will burn the most efficient at 50-75% full firebox w/ roughly 50% air. You get the most efficient burn and the most Btu's for your wood.

Right, that is what I'm saying. By only loading to the top of the bricks the firebox is 2/3 full. Of course I go a little over that to get one last piece in, but I try to leave an open space at the top for the secondary burn to fire off.

 

[FireWalker]

I filled my stove full this morning! It's going to be cold today and I don't want my wife to have to worry about adding wood. At 6am, I raked a big pile of coals to the middle and then put 1 7" rounds NS on both sides tight to the wall, 2 big oak splits in the middle on top of the coals, then 2 more small splits on top of the each of the rounds and that is it until 6pm. The rounds on the sides won't get going until afternoon as the fire will burn from the middle out to each side.

 

[Bootlegger]

I filled my stove full this morning! It's going to be cold today and I don't want my wife to have to worry about adding wood. At 6am, I raked a big pile of coals to the middle and then put 1 7" rounds NS on both sides tight to the wall, 2 big oak splits in the middle on top of the coals, then 2 more small splits on top of the each of the rounds and that is it until 6pm. The rounds on the sides won't get going until afternoon as the fire will burn from the middle out to each side.

I did something similar with big square pieces stacked on the outsides and smaller triangle and moon shaped splits in the middle. The inside out burn works great. In the evening/morning I shovel the ash out of the middle then pull in the coals from the outside.

 

[firefighterjake]

Yeah I suppose if you really pack it in around the baffle holes and block them you will impede its efficiency. All of these stoves will burn the most efficient at 50-75% full firebox w/ roughly 50% air. You get the most efficient burn and the most Btu's for your wood.

Uh, I don't know about that.

My cleanest, hottest and longest burns are done typically with the firebox about 75% full . . . but the air is closed all the way down on my Oslo. Once I have the stove top temp hot enough to sustain a secondary combustion everything is shiny.

 

[potter]

Yeah I suppose if you really pack it in around the baffle holes and block them you will impede its efficiency. All of these stoves will burn the most efficient at 50-75% full firebox w/ roughly 50% air. You get the most efficient burn and the most Btu's for your wood.

Uh, I don't know about that.

My cleanest, hottest and longest burns are done typically with the firebox about 75% full . . . but the air is closed all the way down on my Oslo. Once I have the stove top temp hot enough to sustain a secondary combustion everything is shiny.

What he said. If I left the air control at 50% I would over fire.

 

[cycloxer]

I can't speak for the F 500 Oslo, but the F 400 Castine is rated for nominal efficiency at 40% air open. (It's in the Euro manual.) I have the same problem with the Castine. If I put a good load of dry wood in there, I have to back off the air to almost nothing once it gets going. As the load burns through, I can crank up the air to keep the stove temps up around 600. I guess that is just how Jotul rates the stove. It is probably the exact point at which the stove works most efficiently, but in practicality you can't keep it there.

 

[potter]

Take your word for it, but I'm not sure how they can say a set number without taking into account individual chimneys, draft etc.. As I said mine is still climbing at 50%.
That's where I generally set it once I've reached 450 to cruise to 575-600. Then shut down.

 

[thewoodlands]

My Englander came with instructions not to load any wood above the firebricks, this is about 2/3 full. What happens if I load it up to the baffles and secondary burn pipes?

About 6 - 7 splits all different sizes, tonight more going to -25 with the wind chill.

zap

 

[firefighterjake]

Take your word for it, but I'm not sure how they can say a set number without taking into account individual chimneys, draft etc.. As I said mine is still climbing at 50%.
That's where I generally set it once I've reached 450 to cruise to 575-600. Then shut down.

Have to agree . . . but then again . . . I cannot also say that setting my air control to all the way closed is the best for everyone . . . for some folks doing so would kill the fire and cause it to smolder . . . as Potter said it seems like coming up with a set number would not account for some individual circumstances . . . and just like Potter if I kept my air control at the half way setting I would see the temp continue to rise in both the stack and the firebox . . . good for the firebox temp (until it reaches the overfire point), but not so great for the flue as that would be heat going up and outside. As mentioned, perhaps it is different with the Castine.

 

[cycloxer]

I'm not sure how they can say a set number without taking into account individual chimneys, draft etc.

I'm guessing they tested it in a lab under ideal conditions and that is where it burned 'most efficiently'. I don't know if any of it is even relevant as nobody is burning in a lab...maybe why they left this info out of the USA manual.

My Castine burns the same way. If I left the lever at 1/2 open, I'd hit 800 degrees. Don't ask me how I know this ;^)

 

[LLigetfa]

My stove air supply lever has a peel-n-stick label with four gradient marks. The lever travels well beyond both ends of the label. If I were to add gradient marks to the entire range of travel, I would have twelve marks. When the lever is in the middle of its travel, it shows only 1/4 open on the label, not 1/2 open as it actually is.

The wife forever wants to open it up to #12 to get more heat faster, thinking that it works like the gas burners on the cooktop. On my stove, the heat output is not linear to the lever position. Anything more than half open actually puts out less heat, not more. The amount of air supplied increases beyond 1/2 open but it puts the stove out of the sweet spot sending more heat up the flue.

The control is attached to a thermostatic bi-metal coil so the actual air setting depends on stove temp, outside air (OAK) temp, inside air temp, and blower speed. It is a weird confluence of factors that control the burn. That is just one more reason why I added a direct control to the doghouse zipper air.

 

[Bootlegger]

On my stove, the heat output is not linear to the lever position. Anything more than half open actually puts out less heat, not more.

I've noticed this too. My secondary burn really cranks on and stays on when it's about 1/4 open. The knob I push and pull has no marks on it so I've learned to push it in all the way then pull back an inch to get maximum burn time.

 

[FireWalker]

If I left my stove loaded with the air on 50% you would feel the heat at your house in MA. No doubt the chimney would be clean.