What Is In Your Stove Right Now?

[30WCF]

all kindling in those photos!

I have been using smaller splits this year tho...
I realize that brings burn times down,
but this Panadero doesn't like more than 2.5KGs of fuel at a load
and I get much more even burn thru the fuel with smaller splits and a good mix of oak/ash/chestnut/fruitwood/hazel/holly which burn slower than elm and beech. I use the elm and the beech to keep the other species burning well.

I would much rather burn larger, say 6" splits but my stove is too small. You can see the overfiring I did last year as the baffle is melted and sagging like a half pipe

here's a pic of the sizes I'm burning this year; essentially splitting once the median diameter my wood vendor is delivering
2-4 inch/ 16" long...little pieces of hazel for good measure
View attachment 321676

We need to get you turned onto upside down fire cold starts.

 

[thewoodlands]

The outside temp bottomed out at 28.7 this morning, the basement started out at 68 and the temps up here were 67 & 68. I did shut the wood stove fan off last night when the basement temp hit 77.

This morning another load of pine was eaten up by the Liberty.

 

[ctreitzell]

We need to get you turned onto upside down fire cold starts.

I’m such a newbie to the methods and terminology on this forum 🙃

 

[ctreitzell]

Just successfully restarted a choked ember load. I shut the air intake down around 1200…that smoulder heated the salon like the Provence gas heater on 2.

I pre heated the flue before opening the intake; bang, drawing straight away and a new load of Ash/Elm/Beech without incident :-D

 

[bigealta]

Here is a pretty foolproof set up for Top Down (Upside Down).
I've posted this a bunch of times but still get people not knowing what it is or how to do it well.

 

[zmender]

slept 2hrs and got up to just enough embers to have kept the flue warm
put on some ash/beech/oak
...
ooh, hr later and that load isn't gonna go for very long so put on more oak and ash...

How often you wake up to reload, sounds like you are always trying to reload man haha

 

[Pinesmoke]

Still toasty. 35 outside and I just added a half load of pine to burn down some embers.

This is the first time I've burned this girl for over 2 days straight. She has a nice cruise.

 

[ctreitzell]

How often you wake up to reload, sounds like you are always trying to reload man haha

too right! I been setting my alarm for every 2 or 3 hrs🤦‍♂️

if I can get a good handle on restarted choked embers...wood will last longer...it will act more like the gas stove is running with air intake closed...I'll get more sleep...I'll be running the hair dryer more 🙄
so I should get a better one (hair dryer)

if I could load a stove up with a lot more fuel...I'd be loading less...and doggone it! right now money is tight...we've had a terrible tenant turnover in our best property and the holiday timing has the property still empty...so pinchin' pennies is my current state of being...so I'm gettin less sleep...it's not a big deal, actually

 

[ctreitzell]

Here is a pretty foolproof set up for Top Down (Upside Down).
I've posted this a bunch of times but still get people not knowing what it is or how to do it well.

this is great, but I cannot try this with current install

the Panadero would melt in front of my face with this much fuel in it

I look forward to having a better install

 

[Wildflush]

Dang, what a kafuffle for cold starts! I photo-doc'd it last night
maybe this isn't the best thread to post in...or is it the perfect one?

Here goes...

Prep. prep and more prep!

My dec cold start box was depleted so I dug out some coveted apple cut green...been drying outside for about 5 years; boxed up in 2022...nice, bone dry stuff (Liz helping out)
View attachment 321659

I took down several small hollies; neighboring farmer tore up some roots which yielded some Holly attrition. I cut this and collected in sept 2023...but this stuff was bone dry when it hit the box...Holly twigs are my latest cold start best friend
View attachment 321660

here's what I gathered for this cold start (from left to right):
-beech chips and a round from this year's delivery and a little round of elm (yeah, a bit of white fluffy mold);
-apple from the plastic tubs;
-poplar splits that have been curing for 5 years; they been wet while curing, but dry now- just split;
-holly twigs bone dry
any less than this and it ain't gonna burn- (really I should have doubled holly twigs)
View attachment 321661

Oh man time to build it
I always start in the corner; probably not the best for beating up on the stove, but in the corner always works for me. I first prop up some flat, big chips on the walls in a corner and then put a chunk of something that will burn in the corner (the coals are cold and extinguished from yesterday; if there was any heat in those, I would have been smoked out in a couple minutes):
View attachment 321662

Next I added poplar and then holly twigs; poplar might look wet, but it is dry!
View attachment 321663

Strategically place some more substantial apple branches
View attachment 321664

that's not quite enough, best get some more substantial fuel on there:
View attachment 321665

Time to pre heat the flue (for me and my horizontal run :-/
I do that outside and didn't film that...hopefully y'all don't need to do that!
Gotta make sure the air intake is full open, I usually light a candle and get some shish kebab skewers ready to light this with

I do the same lots of sticks on my property and pinecones for quick starts.

 

[all night moe]

the Panadero would melt in front of my face with this much fuel in it

I'd be looking for a Jotul, on your side of the pond.
It'll work lovely with the new clean out T your getting.

 

[Wildflush]

Here is a pretty foolproof set up for Top Down (Upside Down).
I've posted this a bunch of times but still get people not knowing what it is or how to do it well.

Basically what I do. Two kiln dry lumber scraps for sleepers N/S than 2 larger splits E/W and two smaller diagonal splits across them. Kindling, sticks pinecone and a piece of fatwood if needed. Sometimes I add cut offs on each end. When it gets going I will add a split or BioBrick across the top. STT usually gets to 550-650 depending on number of pieces.

 

[ctreitzell]

I'd be looking for a Jotul, on your side of the pond.
It'll work lovely with the new clean out T your getting.

thanks! I will look at Jotul for sure...any others?

 

[bigealta]

Yes there are Many variations on the top down set ups. Thinking that would be good for a new youtube. "The Many ways to set up top down starts"

 

[thewoodlands]

The liberty was asking for some different type of firewood so I loaded it up with ash while watching The Jets vs. The Wild in hockey, Jets 2 Wild 0 at the end of the first period.

 

[ctreitzell]

Ha! Looking at the Jotul fr site in English…it’s translating bois (wood) into “drink” !
Hilarious 🤣

 

[all night moe]

thanks! I will look at Jotul for sure...any others?

I'm not privy on all the European stoves. The Jotuls here have a good following.

 

[zmender]

@ctreitzell how big is your firebox man? how's your seal? 2, 3 hour reloads are crazy, even papa bears could hold fire for the night.

 

[30WCF]

this is great, but I cannot try this with current install

the Panadero would melt in front of my face with this much fuel in it

I look forward to having a better install

You can do the same thing in a smaller scale. What you get with a top down is less smoke, faster established draft, and a less fussy start with fewer steps.
I have a smaller box than bigealta, so mine has to be smaller, but you don’t have to stuff the box.
With what you see here, I don’t touch the stove for 3-4 hrs after I close the door.
If I remember, the original version of this video was the first 1&1/2 hrs of the fire before I sped it up to a few minutes.

Better Top Down

 

[begreen]

thanks! I will look at Jotul for sure...any others?

What do local or regional stove shops sell?

Dovre, Jotul make good cast iron stoves but I am sure there are good stoves by other countries besides Scandinavia. What are popular French stoves? Franco-Belge? Also look at Polish, Czech, German, Slovakian, stoves. There are many choices in Europe not sold here. Seek out European sites that discuss options available there.

 

[ctreitzell]

What do local or regional stove shops sell?

Dovre, Jotul make good cast iron stoves but I am sure there are good stoves by other countries besides Scandinavia. What are popular French stoves? Franco-Belge? Also look at Polish, Czech, German, Slovakian, stoves. There are many choices in Europe not sold here. Seek out European sites that discuss options available there.

Invicta is the first that comes to mind

hmmm, typically we avoid french manufacture for anything not food, shoes, kitchen stuff or wheelbarrows

Norwegian totally makes sense...I expect French woodburning appliances to be somewhat akin to spanish

a research endeavor to be undertaken!

 

[Wildflush]

You can do the same thing in a smaller scale. What you get is less smoke, faster established draft, and a less fussy start with fewer steps.
I have a smaller box than bigealta, so mine has to be smaller, but you don’t have to stuff the box.
With what you see here, I don’t touch the stove for 3-4 hrs after I close the door.
If I remember, the original version of this video was the first 1-1/2 hrs of the fire before I sped it up to a few minutes.

Better Top Down

Good video. I only have a 1.6 box and find “less is more” at times especially during my cold starts. Some smaller splits getting up to temp quickly. I crack the door for a few minutes to help establish draft.

 

[ctreitzell]

@ctreitzell how big is your firebox man? how's your seal? 2, 3 hour reloads are crazy, even papa bears could hold fire for the night.

400x300x300

or 18" x 12" x 12"

2592 cubic inches; although the baffle cuts across the box

seal is a year old, top window seal has started leaking a tiny bit, needs a new firetape

the issue is how much fuel this Panadero Delice/ Dover is rated to take per load

last year I was filling with 8-10" logs and getting 4 hr burns
and that melted the baffle

If you saw how Panadero prescribes to load, 🙄
last year I watched this; these boxes are twice the width of mine


this years version is no better


add logs without them touching?...hmmmm🤨

I wrote the huge comment to the second video...I've learned a lot here since then

as @begreen has kindly explained to me, my 40 foot tall, 4" flue is the other issue in the equation...

I could choke the fire every night and restart the choked embers with airflow each day...yet that's a lot of heating the flue with a hairdryer

 

[begreen]

Invicta is the first that comes to mind

hmmm, typically we avoid french manufacture for anything not food, shoes, kitchen stuff or wheelbarrows

Norwegian totally makes sense...I expect French woodburning appliances to be somewhat akin to spanish

a research endeavor to be undertaken!

The main thing is that Europeans heat differently than folks here. Most use the stove as an area heater and not a 24/7 burner. And they run smaller in size as room heaters instead of whole house stoves, most are in the 4-8kW range. The other problem is that the trend over there is toward modern, stylish units rather than practical steel boxes that are meant to run 24/7. There are probably some American stoves sold there, but they could be hard to find. I see the Hergom Manchester is sold there which is a big stove.

FWIW, the French are perfectly capable of making very good stoves, cars, etc. Godin stoves have a good reputation. Franco-Belge is a very good forge and brand. FWIW, I leased a Peugeot 406 many years back and liked it so much that I wanted to take it home with me.

 

[bigealta]

Interesting, no response from the company to your long comment. It's a really nice looking stove but if it doesn't hold up than it's junk. I'd get a tried and true solid stove from a well established company.