Talk to me a bit about your advice for setting up and maintaining an overnight burn.......
Thanks,
-Soupy1957
Thanks,
-Soupy1957
Overnight Burns
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1. Add as much wools to firebox as possible
2. Close air
3. Go to sleep
that's about the extent of it. Using large splits will help, and hardwood if you've got it.
2. Close air
3. Go to sleep
that's about the extent of it. Using large splits will help, and hardwood if you've got it.
soupy1957 said:
They keep you and your family warm when your overnight burn doesn't go as planned.
Not sure how "Overnight Burns" relates to The Gear forum but I'm sure there are lots of folk that will say a Fiskars or a Dolmar will give you longer overnight burns. If your wood lasts longer than four hours, you should seek immediate medical attention... oh, wait... wrong forum.
You might try searching The Hearth Room forum on this topic.
You might try searching The Hearth Room forum on this topic.
LLigetfa said:
Agreed, (for a change :cheese: ) and am moving this to the Hearth room (without mentioning.....)
Gooserider
Sorry about that...........didn't realize I was sticking it in the wrong forum topic section...........my "bad"
-Soupy1957
-Soupy1957
I'm down to coals by the morning no matter how much I can get in. But fatter the the wood the hotter the box is for me.
I like to work up a good 2" coal bed at least before loading up for an overnight burn. Once I have that, I rake out a nice, even coal bed. I load about 8-10 small to mid sized red and white oak splits running N/S. The smaller sizes let me do a little better at "jigsaw puzzling" the pieces together the way I want. If it's a really cold night, I leave less air space between the splits, for example. Then I push the door to but don't fully latch it. I let the splits take off and get engaged well, then I latch the door. Once they're engaged well, I close my bypass damper and immediately have very, very strong secondary combustion. Bowels of hell and all that. Then I adjust the primary air down by pushing it in about 1/3 of the full travel distance (some Travis stoves pull OUT to shut the air, so your method may vary here). I wait about 2-5 minutes, then I push the air control in a little further so that: standing above the stove and looking down at the ash lip, I can only see the "spring" portion of the rod protruding past the edge of the ash lip. Again, wait 2-5 minutes, and I push the rod in so that only the "spaced coils" of the spring are visible past the ash lip. Now the secondaries start to settle down a bit and lose the bowels of hell look. All splits are fully charred. Depending on the load, I make a few more minor adjustments. I hit my sweet spot with about 4 of the "spaced springs" showing past the edge of the ash lip. I cannot close my primary all the way. Within 2 minutes, I lose all secondary combustion. Eight hours later, I wake up and have enough coals to rake about about a 2" bed to restart.
Overnight burns have three components. Large splits of high btu fuel (oak, locust, hedge etc), reduced air to lessen the burn, and reduced flue opening to lessen the heat loss (up the chimney).
After reaching a cruising temp of +500 deg, I close all my intakes, damper down and let it go.
I however have an old pre epa insert.
I am still surprised in the morning when I open the doors and its all gone. I load with super large splits.
Probably the most important part of the equation is dry wood (20%mc)
After reaching a cruising temp of +500 deg, I close all my intakes, damper down and let it go.
I however have an old pre epa insert.
I am still surprised in the morning when I open the doors and its all gone. I load with super large splits.
Probably the most important part of the equation is dry wood (20%mc)
Hey Soupy-- The colder the weather is the hotter I burn before bed to get the house as warm as I can and at the same time build up coals. Just remember more coals=less splits so I don't get too crazy. About an hour before bed I get kinda picky with the splits by going with heavier splits and try my best to load the firebox yet give enough room for air to get through.
Then I open the air and wait for my pipe thermometer to hit 500-550°F and damper down to maintain that temp for about 15 minutes then shut the air down only allowing enough air to keep the firebox cooking. I can't remember the last time I used covers when sleeping and when I get up I jump right into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
Someone here posted a great idea of using some Aluminum Foil rolled up and gently wedged in the thermometer so you an see your night time high temp.
-Bob
Then I open the air and wait for my pipe thermometer to hit 500-550°F and damper down to maintain that temp for about 15 minutes then shut the air down only allowing enough air to keep the firebox cooking. I can't remember the last time I used covers when sleeping and when I get up I jump right into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
Someone here posted a great idea of using some Aluminum Foil rolled up and gently wedged in the thermometer so you an see your night time high temp.
-Bob
I use the aluminum foil which tells me if there was another spike in temp after my 2nd. ( last) adjustment to the air intake. Off to bed at this point.
All my wood goes in E/W. I separate the coals from the ashes, shoving the ashes to the back and the coals to the front. I put the largest split in the back onto the ashes and then another large split on top of it. I put medium size splits in the middle, jigsaw style for the least airspace and then load up the front with smaller stuff on top of the coals.
I give it lots of air to get charred and then close it right down for the night. It burns slowly front-to-back and top-down. In the morning, I dig the largest split out of its ashen grave from the bottom/back, which is one huge red coal and break it up a bit to spread around. This makes a good base for a nice quick hot fire in the morning.
I can go 8 to 10 hours on the overnight load but if it's really cold out, with the stove turned all the way down, it cannot keep the house up to temp. My goal is to have the most coals in the morning, not to have the warmest house while we sleep. My RSF has a bi-metal thermostatic control so if it's really cold, it will give the fire more air resulting in fewer coals come morning, hence the 2 hour variation. The wife wants it to be 74 when she gets up and I cannot get there fast enough with wood heat alone so the furnace thermostat is programmed to help get it there.
I give it lots of air to get charred and then close it right down for the night. It burns slowly front-to-back and top-down. In the morning, I dig the largest split out of its ashen grave from the bottom/back, which is one huge red coal and break it up a bit to spread around. This makes a good base for a nice quick hot fire in the morning.
I can go 8 to 10 hours on the overnight load but if it's really cold out, with the stove turned all the way down, it cannot keep the house up to temp. My goal is to have the most coals in the morning, not to have the warmest house while we sleep. My RSF has a bi-metal thermostatic control so if it's really cold, it will give the fire more air resulting in fewer coals come morning, hence the 2 hour variation. The wife wants it to be 74 when she gets up and I cannot get there fast enough with wood heat alone so the furnace thermostat is programmed to help get it there.
soupy1957 said:
No biggy... It takes a while to get the hang of where things should go on any board... I find moving threads is probably the largest part of the mod job, and it's not a hard task, as I have a "magic button" that makes it pretty easy, and nobody gets mad at me when I do it... :coolsmile:
Gooserider
How I end up with a nice bed of coals in the morning for an "over-night" fire.
1. Usually the fire has been going all day or at least all evening. This is good . . . it means the stove is up to temp and cruising along nicely . . . more important, it means there is an inch or two of ash in the firebox which will help preserve the heat and coals.
2. About a half hour or so before I turn into bed . . . and I try to time the load of the wood so it works out this way (which means figuring out when to load the stove or when to wait a bit longer so you are at the coaling stage a half hour before bed) . . . I open the draft and load up the stove. I generally look for larger splits or rounds . . . preferring the better hardwood that I have . . . and at this point I am loading up the stove a bit more than I normally do. I usually leave 1-3 inches space at the top of the stove . . . figure there's no real need to bash my burner tubes and baffle.
3. Once the wood is charred and the temps on the flue and stove top are good I begin shutting down the air incrementally . . . eventually getting to the point where I am able to shut the air down to completely "closed" (of course with these stoves there is no such thing as air-tight and being completely closed.) I monitor the fire and temp for a bit more, watch the secondaries, get a drink, go to the bathroom and then head to bed.
4. Sometimes I may wake up in middle of the night . . . and I take advantage of that and reload the stove . . . although most nights I sleep right through and wake up 6-8 hours later to find coals in the stove. Reload and away we go!
1. Usually the fire has been going all day or at least all evening. This is good . . . it means the stove is up to temp and cruising along nicely . . . more important, it means there is an inch or two of ash in the firebox which will help preserve the heat and coals.
2. About a half hour or so before I turn into bed . . . and I try to time the load of the wood so it works out this way (which means figuring out when to load the stove or when to wait a bit longer so you are at the coaling stage a half hour before bed) . . . I open the draft and load up the stove. I generally look for larger splits or rounds . . . preferring the better hardwood that I have . . . and at this point I am loading up the stove a bit more than I normally do. I usually leave 1-3 inches space at the top of the stove . . . figure there's no real need to bash my burner tubes and baffle.
3. Once the wood is charred and the temps on the flue and stove top are good I begin shutting down the air incrementally . . . eventually getting to the point where I am able to shut the air down to completely "closed" (of course with these stoves there is no such thing as air-tight and being completely closed.) I monitor the fire and temp for a bit more, watch the secondaries, get a drink, go to the bathroom and then head to bed.
4. Sometimes I may wake up in middle of the night . . . and I take advantage of that and reload the stove . . . although most nights I sleep right through and wake up 6-8 hours later to find coals in the stove. Reload and away we go!
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