Your burn time also depends on your house's ability to hold the heat. If your house is in the high 70s you can leave the stove cruise with a 200-250 degree stovetop for many hours as the burn cycle progresses through the coaling stage. But if your getting cold already you must reload and let er rip sooner. xmas week last year was mostly 1 load days for me.I installed mine this spring so I have little personal experience with it but from everyone I talked to you can expect more like 12-14 hours of real burn time. Of coarse the phrase 'burn time' is very subjective so take it for what you will. From what I understand its most commonly considered the amount of time you can go between loads without having to relight the fire.