firefighterjake said:
Sounds like me ! Thats about how I do it, cept I rake coals center front to back (zipper method).
Shawn
Proper way to burn all night?
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Sounds like me ! Thats about how I do it, cept I rake coals center front to back (zipper method).
Shawn
Nordic, I like to tell people to watch an open fire; one you might build at a campground. You will find there that one log or split by itself won't burn. Two do a bit better but for a good fire you need 3. With 3 logs they burn nicely and give you a bed of coals. The wood burning stove is not a whole lot different except you can get by with 2 and sometimes even one. However, for an overnight burn you had best be putting in 3 or more.
I like to do similar to Todd in that a round or a large split in the bottom rear works nice. In the bottom front I'll usually put a faster burning wood like soft maple. From there I'll simply load up with good long burning wood. And as BB stated, this is best done on top of a good bed of coals.
On the draft and the 20%-80% thing......don't believe it. That might be a good figure to start with but each stove and each installation can be different the same as each type of wood can be different and for sure how dry that wood is will have much to do with it. Here is a good example: On the Fireview we read where most set the draft at about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 and it burns nicely. We have a Fireview and about .75 is our best point on the draft. On top of this, our chimney is too short so we should not be getting enough draft but it works beautifully.
So do what BB recommends and take a weekend or two to practice with the stove. It will pay great dividends.
I like to do similar to Todd in that a round or a large split in the bottom rear works nice. In the bottom front I'll usually put a faster burning wood like soft maple. From there I'll simply load up with good long burning wood. And as BB stated, this is best done on top of a good bed of coals.
On the draft and the 20%-80% thing......don't believe it. That might be a good figure to start with but each stove and each installation can be different the same as each type of wood can be different and for sure how dry that wood is will have much to do with it. Here is a good example: On the Fireview we read where most set the draft at about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 and it burns nicely. We have a Fireview and about .75 is our best point on the draft. On top of this, our chimney is too short so we should not be getting enough draft but it works beautifully.
So do what BB recommends and take a weekend or two to practice with the stove. It will pay great dividends.
Good advice above.
I use the technique described above to get my longest and most efficent burns.
When I get home from work, I build up my evening fire, empty ashes if needed; moving in a circuit between starting dinner, feeding dog, and building fire. If I need to empty ashes, I do it then, and select wood that will give me a quick, hot fire. This is usually when I do the recommended `run-up' fire--get the temps up so that the stove and chimney is cleaned up. As I'm doing this, I am sorting through the wood I have inside for the `overnighters'--dense pieces that are fairly regular in shape, even rectangular.
At bedtime, I rake the coals forward, and stack my wood with the largest piece in the bottom back, and a wedge on the bottom front `capping' the coals, so that they have to burn through that piece before the rest can ignite. I then stack the rest of the wood between and on top of these, almost like books stacked together, without much airspace between. I shut the stove down, sometimes close the damper a bit, and I have a nice overnight fire.
If the dog decides she needs to go outside about 2-3 a.m., I 've learned to wander downstairs and enjoy the light show: sheets of blue flame dancing between the logs. I realized that my most efficient burns are acheived this way--the `fill-it-and-forget-it' method. In the morning, I essentially repeat that same process (minus feeding the dod and making dinner).
One other part of my system that makes this work for me is that I am working with room-temperature wood. I have a small wood rack that I made using Stack-it-Brackets and 2x4's, which holds about a half-a-week's worth of firewood. I load this far enough in advance that my wood has had time to warm up and lose any surface moisture before it hits the stove. It's a controversial practice here on the forums, but works for me. I deal with severe cold, and do this to avoid thermal shocks for the stove as well as get my most efficient burns.
You'll find your own systems--just be observant and willing to try different things until you get the hang of it.
I use the technique described above to get my longest and most efficent burns.
When I get home from work, I build up my evening fire, empty ashes if needed; moving in a circuit between starting dinner, feeding dog, and building fire. If I need to empty ashes, I do it then, and select wood that will give me a quick, hot fire. This is usually when I do the recommended `run-up' fire--get the temps up so that the stove and chimney is cleaned up. As I'm doing this, I am sorting through the wood I have inside for the `overnighters'--dense pieces that are fairly regular in shape, even rectangular.
At bedtime, I rake the coals forward, and stack my wood with the largest piece in the bottom back, and a wedge on the bottom front `capping' the coals, so that they have to burn through that piece before the rest can ignite. I then stack the rest of the wood between and on top of these, almost like books stacked together, without much airspace between. I shut the stove down, sometimes close the damper a bit, and I have a nice overnight fire.
If the dog decides she needs to go outside about 2-3 a.m., I 've learned to wander downstairs and enjoy the light show: sheets of blue flame dancing between the logs. I realized that my most efficient burns are acheived this way--the `fill-it-and-forget-it' method. In the morning, I essentially repeat that same process (minus feeding the dod and making dinner).
One other part of my system that makes this work for me is that I am working with room-temperature wood. I have a small wood rack that I made using Stack-it-Brackets and 2x4's, which holds about a half-a-week's worth of firewood. I load this far enough in advance that my wood has had time to warm up and lose any surface moisture before it hits the stove. It's a controversial practice here on the forums, but works for me. I deal with severe cold, and do this to avoid thermal shocks for the stove as well as get my most efficient burns.
You'll find your own systems--just be observant and willing to try different things until you get the hang of it.
:lol:snowleopard said:
I try to be on my best behavior here in the Hearth Room snow.......I do have some really good suggestions to the title of the thread.. :coolsmirk: ...but wont say....(BB will get mad >:-( especially if he is Mr Crabbypants at the time)....so you guys can use your imagination.. %-P
GAMMA RAY said:
Perhaps, perhaps. I'm a bit busy today. Off for a bracing jolly good walk in some sturdy shoes, and then to read some improving literature in front of an applewood fire in the study.
Like Backwoods said, I can't get a good burn on one split. It takes three to get a good burn, which limits the largest useful split size I can use in my stove. Otherwise I do it like most everyone has said - get a bed of coals, load up with dense wood (here we have tons of oak, so that is usually the overnight choice), get a good burn going and then throttle back the air. My stove is too small to actually burn all night, but the procedure above gets me the longest possible burn.
Well last winter I loaded the stove 2x a day. Once before leaving for work at around 9PM and once when I get home, around 8-9AM I spread the coals out so the wood I'm loading will sit flat. Course with the Blaze King a 12-14hr burn isn't anything special.
Empty ashes when stove is getting full, usually every 3-4 weeks or so.
Empty ashes when stove is getting full, usually every 3-4 weeks or so.
So wait what is this?
You have to load up the stove at night and in the morning?
I seem to remember something about that........ ;-P
You have to load up the stove at night and in the morning?
I seem to remember something about that........ ;-P
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