Show Your Night Load

[fvhowler]

Appreciate the insight on stove loads with photos. My stove is empty tonight as temps have moderated in NC. Colder by th weekend.

 

[KMW]

All of my reloads look the same. Only thing that varies is tstat setting based on outside temp to keep the house comfortable. Burn time on a load like this will vary from 8-10 hrs if it’s real cold to 20-24 hours if it’s mild out.

 

[begreen]

I'm running the stove anything 50 and under now with the new cost of electricity. My usual limit is 40 for the heat pump but can't justify the cost when I have wood right here, even with the solar.

Yes, I would be too in MA or CT. Our electricity is cheaper and the heat pump is a good one. Add that we are now buying our wood and it makes good economic sense.

 

[Caw]

Yes, I would be too in MA or CT. Our electricity is cheaper and the heat pump is a good one. Add that we are now buying our wood and it makes good economic sense.

Fair enough. I'm happy to run my heat pump it's the perfect complement to the solar I'm just not paying $0.42 / kWh when I don't have to. National Grid can pound sand.

I'm currently trying to cram a winter's worth of wood prep into like 2 weeks here before my arm procedure. Buying wood sounds so nice right now lol. But I love the work and the $ savings.

 

[Ashful]

@Ashful
These splits look to me on a small side, no. I normally fit 6 splits in mine and get 22h. You advertise much longer burn times.. but with these small splits? Just asking😜

My split size varies quite a bit with the size of the round I'm splitting it from, how rushed or tired I am, and even my mood. I don't have any standard size. Back when I was really testing these stoves for max burn time (i.e. 30 - 36 hours in 2015/16), I was splitting a lot of ridiculously huge stuff, so making a lot of square/rectangular splits, rather than the wedge shapes I posted last night. Like this:



A good eye will catch that the first pic is white oak, the second appears to be ash, and the third appears to be red oak, although all were taking within a few weeks of each other in spring 2015.

You can pack a lot more wood into a stove, when they're square, and you can play better Tetris. But honestly, for the 12 hours I run on the one stove, and the 24 hours I run on the other, any wedge-shaped bits work just fine.

That is the same stove.

I have two Ashford 30.1's, purchased at the same time.

Yes same 2 pics lol. Probably by accident.

Not an accident! I usually load both stoves at the same time in the evening.

You're right, it was an accident. See below.

 

[Diabel]

I like the second pic @Ashful !

 

[Ashful]

I like the second pic @Ashful !

hah... well, chit. I just went back to look at the second photo, to see to what you were referring, and realized the post last night was a mistake! I took a photo of each stove, but had to take a second of the one stove, because the flash failed to work. I see now that I posted two pics of the same stove/load (with and without flash), rather than one of each! The hazards of working on a phone screen.

The rights to edit that post have timed out, so I'll just re-post last night's (correct) photos here:



The only way I can keep them straight is the floor in one firebox has been replaced with brick, whereas the other was replaced with stone. Both were originally stone, but rebuilt maybe more than once, in the last 250 years.

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

Hi, what's your max burntime with your stove? The website says 6 hours.

Tom, The concern that I have with this question is the definition of 'burn time'. What is your definition of burn time?
I can pack the stove at 7:00pm and still have coals to start a fire at 6:00am. I have to stir them up and rake a pile to one side with fresh air to get them glowing.
I started a fire this morning at 8:00am. Packed full; draft is .04"WC; STT is 570F; Flue is 660F. I will monitor it and note when the SST drops to 400F.

 

[Diabel]

@Ashful
I was referring to your noodling art!😝😝

 

[Ashful]

@Ashful
I was referring to your noodling art!😝😝

Oh, yeah! I used to just about kill myself trying to roll silly 1000+ lb. rounds onto the footplate of the splitter, set vertically. One day I realized it's easier to just noodle most stuff over 24" diameter into 6" - 8" thick slabs, and then either walk those (corner to corner) onto the footplate of the splitter, or even lift them onto the beam set horizontally. Makes those nice uniform square splits, esp. if you manage to noodle mostly-parallel to the grain.

Biggest single rounds I ever brought home weighed about 1400 lb. each. White oak, 49" diameter x 20" length, at 63 lb/ft3.

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

Hi, what's your max burntime with your stove? The website says 6 hours.

I started a fire this morning at 8:00am. Packed full; draft is .04"WC; STT is 570F; Flue is 660F. I will monitor it and note when the SST drops to 400F.

Here are a few photos.

After 4.5 hours; one with flash; other without flash to see red flames/coals. SST near 400F.
Also after 6 hours. Still more heat in this stove. STT about 400 F.
Remember, every fire is different. Variables include how much wood was used; size of splits; placement of splits; how hot fire was run at beginning and adjustments made throughout burn period; outside temperature; wind direction and speed; etc.

 

[TomMcDonald]

Here are a few photos.

After 4.5 hours; one with flash; other without flash to see red flames/coals. SST near 400F.
Also after 6 hours. Still more heat in this stove. STT about 400 F.
Remember, every fire is different. Variables include how much wood was used; size of splits; placement of splits; how hot fire was run at beginning and adjustments made throughout burn period; outside temperature; wind direction and speed; etc.

View attachment 307553 View attachment 307555 View attachment 307557

Very impressive. Thanks for following up.

 

[davo1028]

Does anyone run mixed NS/EW loads? I've found for my Drolet 1400i (very similar to OPs 1500i) that I get a nice long, controllable burn with good mid to high heat output with this method. Pictured here with three medium hickory splits on the bottom and five maple splits on top. This kept the furnace off for 8 or 9 hours from a cold start (that's how I've been measuring my burn length recently).

 

[Vg3200p]

Ash mostly with some silver maple rounds

 

[BillBurns]

I put wood in every direction as long as it fits.

 

[dafattkidd]

Almost every cold start I have a combination of EW and NS.

 

[Ashful]

@Ashful
These splits look to me on a small side, no. I normally fit 6 splits in mine and get 22h. You advertise much longer burn times.. but with these small splits? Just asking😜

Okay, well it's been 27 hours since I loaded and posted those photos last night (post # 41). Just went to reload both stoves, and one still has about 15% (edit: must've been more than that) by volume of last night's load remaining. I'm sure it's much less by weight, but I ain't weighing it. Gonna run on high an hour to burn it down before loading, since I have to work late tonight, anyway.



Update: mark 28.5 hours, with last 90 minutes at wide-open throttle. Cat still well into active.



Finally raked coals forward to reload, and found the damn thing is still something like 20% full by volume, from yesterday's load. As others pointed out, that load wasn't exactly stuffed to the gills, showing how long these stoves really can go when you take time to really pack them. Here's what's left after 27 hours on a lower burn + additional 1.5 hours wide open = 28.5 hours total:



I'd guess this load would've gone around 30 - 33 hours active cat, if I had left it alone, but I wanted to load before going to bed.

 

[Vg3200p]

@Ashful that is insane burn times. Like 2.5 to 3x what I can get out of a 3.2 cuft box

 

[Diabel]

Okay, well it's been 27 hours since I loaded and posted those photos last night (post # 41). Just went to reload both stoves, and one still has about 15% (edit: must've been more than that) by volume of last night's load remaining. I'm sure it's much less by weight, but I ain't weighing it. Gonna run on high an hour to burn it down before loading, since I have to work late tonight, anyway.

View attachment 307599

Update: mark 28.5 hours, with last 90 minutes at wide-open throttle. Cat still well into active.

View attachment 307607

Finally raked coals forward to reload, and found the damn thing is still something like 20% full by volume, from yesterday's load. As others pointed out, that load wasn't exactly stuffed to the gills, showing how long these stoves really can go when you take time to really pack them. Here's what's left after 27 hours on a lower burn + additional 1.5 hours wide open = 28.5 hours total:

View attachment 307606

I'd guess this load would've gone around 30 - 33 hours active cat, if I had left it alone, but I wanted to load before going to bed.

That is very impressive @Ashful. I have not really tested my stove this year. Burning a lot of odd pieces that have accumulated over the years. Also, hemlock produces zero coals, once the splits break down then that is it, cat drops off steel box looses momentum fast and there is nothing left for relight. Shown here is the amazing power in hardwood btu. Even if it is ash.
Remember the days of 6-10 h reloads😜.

 

[Ashful]

@Ashful that is insane burn times. Like 2.5 to 3x what I can get out of a 3.2 cuft box

Gotta love BK! It was in the 50F's pretty much all day, which is when we can really let these stoves show off their max burn times. When the temp drops back down 20F, then I'll be running it harder to get more heat, and seeing shorter burns. But I do love the ability to cover an ~8x range of outputs and burn rates, for various weather conditions, with the turn of a knob.

 

[NickW]

Just loaded ash, sugar maple and birch on so-so coals for the overnight. 15 minutes later over 800 flue temp.

 

[Enplater]

Looks familiar NickW. I have black birch, oak and black locust in this load.

 

[joop]

Does anyone run mixed NS/EW loads? I've found for my Drolet 1400i (very similar to OPs 1500i) that I get a nice long, controllable burn with good mid to high heat output with this method. Pictured here with three medium hickory splits on the bottom and five maple splits on top. This kept the furnace off for 8 or 9 hours from a cold start (that's how I've been measuring my burn length recently).

View attachment 307595View attachment 307596

i tried it on mine 4.5 cu but found although burn was long thermo disc would not get triggered for fan