Jotul Rockland - How many loads do you go through a day?

[Jotul_Rockland]

Hi Guys,

I'm alarmed at the amount of wood that I used up in Nov/ Dec. I mostly burn with the air closed all the way maintaining good temperatures ( 400F - 650F). Fan set in low/medium.

I go through 5-6 loads of wood a day. That amounts to 40 splits a day on an average. I'm on track for burning 2 cords a month. Assuming that a cord approximately has 500 splits. Is this normal? Do you go through 5-6 loads a day? I follow the regular wood burning cycle. Load up the fire box all the way and wait to reload till all the wood burns to all coals.

I mostly use Maple ( 80%) / crab apple (20%) as firewood.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I am not home to run mine to the max, but I could see that happening. I think I get about 4 to 5 hours of a good burn then reload. I have never gauged how many splits per cord. Also how long are your splits? The Jotul likes 20 inch splits to maximize the box. Oak and Locust will take alot longer. Maple and Cherry go pretty fast for me. I would be curious how long most people get a goot burn in th 500 to 700 range. Also how big of house to you have? This has been a cold month so if you figure Jan and Feb being similiear 6 cords would not be out of the realm. I probably burn 4 cords a year but do not heat exclusively with the stove.

 

[NH_Wood]

Up till this week I've been running 3 loads per day. I can fit about 8-10 decent sized splits per load (fills the box with an inch or so space before the tubes). Right now, with highs in the teens and low 20's, and nights in singles or low teens, I need to start burning 4 loads per day to keep the temps in the house where we like it (very low 70's). At this point, I'm learning how to best burn down the coals so that I can reload earlier. Once the secondaries are just starting to die down and the coaling phase starts, I open up the primary air all the way to burn down the coals faster and reduce the speed that the stove top temp will drop. Still learning how to best do this. I have a few questions about this method, but will have to start another post to ask. Cheers!

 

[gpcollen1]

If you are cranking a good sized stove along in the winter, you will use a bunch of wood. You cannot really assume a cord = any number of splits b/c everyone splits wood to different sizes and they may be cut to different lengths. I suppose someone could count up how many pieces in a cord and use it as a relative measure but it still would not mean too much to me.

During the week, my stove gets about 4 loads. Morning, when we get home, one a bit later and then the last one for the night. On a Saturday or Sunday I use more wood of course b/c we are home to fill it during the day. If concerned about using too much wood you have a few solutions. you could get more dense wood than Maple - oak, hickory, locust for longer burn times. You can get that stove cranking in the AM and heat the house up and then really let it go for a longer burn than you have been. The temp may dip in the house but you will be conserving wood. I will often let my stove go just like I would when at work without the load up sometime midday. Last year I burned a ton of wood when home for 6 weeks after surgery. I would have saved so much wood if I had skipped a load and did not keep the house 74.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I've been very happy with the amount I've used so far. I am just now approaching 1 cord of poplar burned all season.

I'm actually quite shocked at how little I've burned. If it keeps it up this way I have a 10 year supply of wood outside (I thought it was only a 4-5 year supply).

 

[dannynelson77]

Why is your fan on low/medium? If you want that heat to go in your house put that fan on high! Sounds like you are burning at nice temps, but having the fan on low/medium means you are not getting enough heat in the house. More heat could very well result in less loads for you.......

 

[golfandwoodnut]

danny, I am not sure I agree with you on that one. Some say the high fan actually burns more wood and cools the stove. Also the noise is a nuisance. Finally we have found low to medium gets plenty of heat out and then let the ceiling fan circulate it. The heat is just going to rise anyway.

 

[dannynelson77]

Not sure I understand how a fan/blower burns more wood?? All it does is take the heat that is being generated in the firebox and blow it out into the room. Yes it will cool the firebox some because it is taking heat out of the firebox. If you are not taking the heat out of the firebox, its just going to waste up the chimney. Now dont get me wrong when I dont need that much heat I turn down my blower.....however I am assuming he needs the heat if he is running it 24/7. Get the house a little warmer with the fan on high.....then back it off longer and reload......repeat. But thats just what I do. Seems more logical. Unless you want to burn a ton of wood? Whatever floats your boat though.

 

[pugetsoundwa]

I expect to be burning more now that the temps are getting low, i have been lucky so far and only need 3 energy logs a day. We bought a splitter made for them so I can cut them in half and even cut them to 1 or 2 inches to be used as a fire starter for a fire. Isn't 650F a bit too hot? Normally we go up to 525F and then back it off so we won't over heat the stove.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hi Guys,

I'm alarmed at the amount of wood that I used up in Nov/ Dec. I mostly burn with the air closed all the way maintaining good temperatures ( 400F - 650F). Fan set in low/medium.

I go through 5-6 loads of wood a day. That amounts to 40 splits a day on an average. I'm on track for burning 2 cords a month. Assuming that a cord approximately has 500 splits. Is this normal? Do you go through 5-6 loads a day? I follow the regular wood burning cycle. Load up the fire box all the way and wait to reload till all the wood burns to all coals.

I mostly use Maple ( 80%) / crab apple (20%) as firewood.

Wow! That is a lot of wood. Is this soft maple or hard maple?

The only time we load our stove is at night before going to bed. Other times we don't burn a full load. For how much we use, the last 3 winters we have used almost exactly 3 cord each winter. I do not expect it to be a lot different this year.