Shoulder Season Burning in a large"er" sized stove

[BrowningBAR]

The 30 will be going again shortly after a two day break.

Just got the tracking info on the parts and the Defiant parts will be in tomorrow. Not sure what to expect from the defiant with the new chimney location, how it will burn, and how the heat will move in that area.

 

[corey21]

This morning i had the bowls of hell look in my stove and it was 500 on top of stove.

Edit. Three splits of black gum.

 

[Waulie]

Maybe this should be a new thread, but I'm just wondering; what is shoulder season? To me, it's having temperatures that regularly mean letting the fire go out. If that is the case, my shoulder season is almost over! Anyone have a good definition? Is it just warmer temps, like 30s to 50s?

 

[BrowningBAR]

Maybe this should be a new thread, but I'm just wondering; what is shoulder season? To me, it's having temperatures that regularly mean letting the fire go out. If that is the case, my shoulder season is almost over! Anyone have a good definition? Is it just warmer temps, like 30s to 50s?

Shoulder season differs for everyone. But, for the most part, it is when you have inconsistently cold and mild weather that requires the need for heat to vary and a lot of cold starts take place. For my area, shoulder season is usually October through Mid-December and then March and April.

For our Alaska members, shoulder season is July. Everything else is Brutal.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I am really diggin' the 30. Super easy to use, really control-able as I do not worry about the temps creeping up on me once the air is closed down, the stove stays hot with just coals for a long time, and restarts are easy. It looks pretty good in the fireplace, better than I thought it would, which is a nice bonus.

I wasted some wood this morning on a cold start. House became a little too cool so I ran the stove hotter than I would have, and I am only running one stove right now. I've used 7 splits today, four of which were small and I'll end up with a 9-ish hour burn.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yesterday we twice put in a few lumber cut-offs and it got so hot in here I had to open the sliding door which is next to the stove. When I went to bed around 9:00 the fire was basically out. Our overnight low was 30 and the house was thankfully cooler but certainly not uncomfortable. I did light another fire with more lumber cut offs and just let that burn out. It is still warm in here. So basically we've heated 2 days with just a few cut offs and no splits at all in the stove. Not sure if we'll have to have an overnight fire at all.

So on the original post, this is how we get through shoulder season with our stove.

 

[corey21]

Yesterday we twice put in a few lumber cut-offs and it got so hot in here I had to open the sliding door which is next to the stove. When I went to bed around 9:00 the fire was basically out. Our overnight low was 30 and the house was thankfully cooler but certainly not uncomfortable. I did light another fire with more lumber cut offs and just let that burn out. It is still warm in here. So basically we've heated 2 days with just a few cut offs and no splits at all in the stove. Not sure if we'll have to have an overnight fire at all.

So on the original post, this is how we get through shoulder season with our stove.

No overnight fire for me it is still 78 in here from this morning fire.

My sliding glass door is open and im kind of sweating a bit.

Edit. it warmed back up to 78 after cooking dinner.

 

[Waulie]

I think I need more insulation! Well that, and I'm sure it's a bit cooler up my way. We've had a small fire going since last night since it's been in the 30s and 40s and very windy. I just came in from cutting and thought it was sweltering in here. It's only 72 though. I doubt I'll have too many more no fire days this year. In a couple weeks the big rock will probably be warm until spring.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I think I need more insulation! Well that, and I'm sure it's a bit cooler up my way. We've had a small fire going since last night since it's been in the 30s and 40s and very windy. I just came in from cutting and thought it was sweltering in here. It's only 72 though. I doubt I'll have too many more no fire days this year. In a couple weeks the big rock will probably be warm until spring.

I feel your pain...

 

[osagebow]

coupla splits of sass ,maple, and black birch so far. Warmed back up though.

 

[rideau]

Another BK is the bestest thread, huh? Look, I don't want to sound like a jerk because I really do want to understand the huge benefit here. But it sounds to me like the BK folks are doing little but wasting wood and (sometimes) saving the 5 minute effort of building another fire in this kind of weather. What does 6,000 btu accomplish? Really, that's about like me running a 1,500 watt space heater all day. Will that do anything? Not for me. I mean if you have a really small or very well insulated house and warm temps outside, then you might see something worthwhile. Me? I'd probably see 2 degrees tops burning at that rate and that would be right near the stove. What is the point? Why burn more wood than you need to burn?

I can see the advantage of the BKs as second stoves in our climate, or as primary stoves in the Pacific Northwest or similar climates. They clearly will burn long and low, which may be great for a climate that sits at 55 or so, where it is too damp and cloudy to be comfortable, but too warm to need 30,000 or more BTUs. In that case, a slow steady 6000 - 9000 BTUs would be great. Here, where we may go from 30 to 60 in a few hours during the shoulder season on a regular basis, we use less wood and keep our homes really comfortable just starting a very small fire each night to take the chill off the home. We put out way more heat during that short time, even when we set for a catalytic burn, and I know I need that heat when it is chilly enough for me to light a fire. The PH window stays crystal clear on a cat burn, and throws a lot of heat out the glass right away, and the Fireview does a pretty darn nice job too. If one has only one stove, I just don't see a tremendous advantage for a BK in the NE or MW. BKs own manual states that to get a lot of heat, which one can do, one has to load the stove really frequently. Not so with the Woodstock stoves. Twice a day loaded full produces a great deal of heat.

 

[Highbeam]

I can see the advantage of the BKs as second stoves in our climate, or as primary stoves in the Pacific Northwest or similar climates. They clearly will burn long and low, which may be great for a climate that sits at 55 or so, where it is too damp and cloudy to be comfortable, but too warm to need 30,000 or more BTUs. In that case, a slow steady 6000 - 9000 BTUs would be great. Here, where we may go from 30 to 60 in a few hours during the shoulder season on a regular basis, we use less wood and keep our homes really comfortable just starting a very small fire each night to take the chill off the home. We put out way more heat during that short time, even when we set for a catalytic burn, and I know I need that heat when it is chilly enough for me to light a fire. The PH window stays crystal clear on a cat burn, and throws a lot of heat out the glass right away, and the Fireview does a pretty darn nice job too. If one has only one stove, I just don't see a tremendous advantage for a BK in the NE or MW. BKs own manual states that to get a lot of heat, which one can do, one has to load the stove really frequently. Not so with the Woodstock stoves. Twice a day loaded full produces a great deal of heat.

We all know that the BK and the PH have the same size firebox and both are quite efficient. So you know that if both were to consume a full firebox load in the same time period that the same btus would be delivered to the space. The best part of any catalytic stove is the ability to burn low and slow or hot and fast depending on conditions. The BK can burn much lower and slower, but the PH would appear to be able to burn hotter and faster when lots of heat is needed.

 

[ScotO]

Insulation is AMAZING. Yeah, it sucks putting it in, but boy the difference it made in our house. Before we built our big addition (basically built an entire house on top of our old house), it was ALWAYS freezing cold in here (pre-woodstove era for us). Now, we don't even use the furnace(s). We use the Napoleon 1900 (and soon the Napoleon NZ3000) to heat the whole house (almost 2800 sq. ft.), and it does the job easily. I've never even had it running full-tilt yet!

as for building shoulder fires in a big stove, last night it was around 39 here late last evening, so we built a fire and I threw one split of locust, two splits of white oak, and a split of ash on. Woke up this morning and it was 84 degrees in the house! Even with a couple of windows open. So the key to building an early season fire is to use your thermostats (windows) to help regulate the heat. No need to really load the stove either (all the splits I put on last night were small). Heat in small cycles, and you'll be fine.

 

[rdust]

I can see the advantage of the BKs as second stoves in our climate, or as primary stoves in the Pacific Northwest or similar climates. They clearly will burn long and low, which may be great for a climate that sits at 55 or so, where it is too damp and cloudy to be comfortable, but too warm to need 30,000 or more BTUs. In that case, a slow steady 6000 - 9000 BTUs would be great. Here, where we may go from 30 to 60 in a few hours during the shoulder season on a regular basis, we use less wood and keep our homes really comfortable just starting a very small fire each night to take the chill off the home. We put out way more heat during that short time, even when we set for a catalytic burn, and I know I need that heat when it is chilly enough for me to light a fire. The PH window stays crystal clear on a cat burn, and throws a lot of heat out the glass right away, and the Fireview does a pretty darn nice job too. If one has only one stove, I just don't see a tremendous advantage for a BK in the NE or MW. BKs own manual states that to get a lot of heat, which one can do, one has to load the stove really frequently. Not so with the Woodstock stoves. Twice a day loaded full produces a great deal of heat.

I think our friends in Alaska would disagree with your assessment of the BKs ability to heat a home in the cold climates. The BK stoves are the stove of choice in Alaska. I like how some people seem to think that since the stove can burn forever on low with low output it can't heat a house when it's cold. When it's cold(teens) here I've never had to load more than twice a day.

This isn't the right thread for this conversation so I'll end it here.

 

[rideau]

COLD here (30 below) I think you'd have to load more than twice a day...and from their manual so does BK.

 

[rdust]

COLD here (30 below) I think you'd have to load more than twice a day...and from their manual so does BK.

I'm not sure why you're trying to turn this into a PH vs BK p*****g match. I'm sure you realize the BK princess has just about the same size firebox as the PH and they're real similar in efficiency. I'm not sure how or why you think the PH is far superior to the BK stoves in total heat output.

Start another thread if you'd like to continue down this path so we discontinue polluting this one. The BK stoves have been around for years and are proven. You're the new kids on the block who seem like they're trying to prove something.

 

[rideau]

I'm not sure why you're trying to turn this into a PH vs BK p*****g match. I'm sure you realize the BK princess has just about the same size firebox as the PH and they're real similar in efficiency. I'm not sure how or why you think the PH is far superior to the BK stoves in total heat output.

Start another thread if you'd like to continue down this path so we discontinue polluting this one. The BK stoves have been around for years and are proven. You're the new kids on the block who seem like they're trying to prove something.

no intention of upsetting anyone....

 

[Beetle-Kill]

rideau- don't sweat it, we BK owners get bashed so often about the looks of our stoves, we get defensive on occasion.
I love the looks of the PH, miss my old Timberline from Jan.-feb., and wouldn't trade the BKK for the world.

edit- yeah, I drop below -30 in a normal winter also.

 

[Dustin]

Back on track.. Again!? Tonight, I'm at a training conference staying in a small cabin.

It has a pre fab fireplace with a "kind of" blower.

Shoulder season fire here. This thing sucks! Can't even heat the place up. I miss my stove! Good thing I go home in three days.

Tonight's drink.. Coors original (yeah I'm cheap)

 

[barn burner]

Insulation is AMAZING. Yeah, it sucks putting it in, but boy the difference it made in our house. Before we built our big addition (basically built an entire house on top of our old house), it was ALWAYS freezing cold in here (pre-woodstove era for us). Now, we don't even use the furnace(s). We use the Napoleon 1900 (and soon the Napoleon NZ3000) to heat the whole house (almost 2800 sq. ft.), and it does the job easily. I've never even had it running full-tilt yet!

as for building shoulder fires in a big stove, last night it was around 39 here late last evening, so we built a fire and I threw one split of locust, two splits of white oak, and a split of ash on. Woke up this morning and it was 84 degrees in the house! Even with a couple of windows open. So the key to building an early season fire is to use your thermostats (windows) to help regulate the heat. No need to really load the stove either (all the splits I put on last night were small). Heat in small cycles, and you'll be fine.

Yep, the windowstats will work wonders. The frontdoorastat does well too!

 

[Waulie]

Back on track.. Again!? Tonight, I'm at a training conference staying in a small cabin.

It has a pre fab fireplace with a "kind of" blower.

Shoulder season fire here. This thing sucks! Can't even heat the place up. I miss my stove! Good thing I go home in three days.

Tonight's drink.. Coors original (yeah I'm cheap)

That's funny. A bunch of my family went to a cottage for vacation last weekend. It had a fireplace with a kind of blower too. The fire looked nice but I could have heated my house for two weeks with how much wood I threw on that thing trying to get a couple degrees out of it. Yikes!