Question about Spring/Fall Wood Burning

[Longknife]

I've been burning wood most of my life, but have been at it seriously the last 6-7 years where I've heated a split-ranch house (1800 sq/ft per level) exclusively with my wood stove. So I think I can run a pretty decent fire, however I have a question about low intensity burning during the spring and fall.

We've had a fairly early spring thaw this year, and with that comes ground water and my sump pump running. This has a very noticeable cooling effect in my basement (presumably uninsulated slab), so I tend to burn more wood in the spring then I might otherwise. My house is otherwise pretty well insulated (R26ish walls, triple pane windows, lots of attic insulation). With passive solar, I might otherwise be able to let the fire go out during the day, however I usually fill the box up in the morning like normal (or a little less) and then basically just keep it going in the evening at a minimum before another 75-100% firebox fill burn overnight.

My question is: Is it more wood efficient to fill the firebox and let it run just above the "clean" burn threshold when just trying to maintain a fire, or is it better to more frequently feed it a low number of splits/rounds? This time of year my wood selection is a little more limited than in the fall and I'm sometimes stuck with some big splits, or some less than optimally seasoned wood (approx. 15-20% MC). When just throwing in a few to maintain some heat output, I'll usually leave the air wide open to keep a decent burn and there's no worry of an over-fire. I feel like I'm constantly feeding it with this method though, and if I'm not careful, I'll be stuck with few coals for a subsequent load. Would I be better just filling it up, letting it come up to temp and then slowing it down as much as possible?

It's an older See-Fire model (close to 30 years) rated at 70k BTU that seems to burn pretty good given it's age.

 

[Poindexter]

I think both of your approaches are valid. It's an area where a fellow just has to work out his own salvation.

Even as a catalytic stove owner i face the same question in the shoulders. Do i run a partial load hot and clean today, or should i run a full load lowest possible setting?

My BK ashford 30 is agruably on of the five or ten "best" stoves ever made and i still have this problem

I look at the three W's, wood, weather and wife.

What species have i got and how dry is it? This is a non issue in the autumn shoulder, my the MC in my stacks tends to creep up in the spring shoulder. Melting snow makes for very humid air, especially near ground level.

Any fool can google up a forecast by zipcode. Do you own a barometer? When was the last time you looked at it. What about your bones? Does your body believe the wx, or are your bones telling you that fool on TV is high on drugs, again?

If you guess wrong and the house is too hot, how much trouble will you be in? If you guess wrong and the house is too cold how much trouble will you be in? Some girls loke to snuggle enthusiasically under blankets when the house is cold, others prefer to parade around in their 'good nightie' when the house is warm.

FWIW my fuel is consistent, my spouse is predictable and my weatherman hasn't been sober in 11 years. 2 out of 3 ain't bad.