At what temp do you reload?

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HollowHill

HollowHill

Minister of Fire
Oct 29, 2009
667
Central NY
As I sit here and wait for my stove to hopefully come down from 560 stove top temp, I'm thinking back about what I did to get here. I reloaded at about 390 - 400, which is higher than I usually reload at, but the coal bed was at a good level, not too deep. Filled her up pretty full, say 80 - 85%, with large and small splits (not too many small ones, tho). Windy, and gotten windier. So, I have glowing wood, and blow torch secondaries and dancing flames. My draft is very close to 0. I think the stove top temp has dropped ever so slightly to 555. Hoping it continues it's downward trend. My guess is that I shouldn't have reloaded at that temp, should have let it drop down to 350 or so. Especially with the strong winds. Stove top now at 550. Smells faintly of what I think is paint curing - hate that smell! Stove top now at 545. We won't discuss the heat pouring out the window...
 
Typically I reload at 400. I then getter going to 850 before I throttle it back. Tonight it is 12 degrees out right now and my last load wasn't even 1/2 gone but lasted 5hrs and I reloaded at 500 degrees stove top. Letting here go back to 800 again before I throttle down for the night.
 
You got your stove around the same time I did, but anyway, tonight with the wind howling, and wind chill in the single digits to low teens, tonight will be one of those nights when the stove gets down to around 350 or around 5 1/2 hours from now I will give it a reload, to keep the temps on the up & up rather than go down. When coals get too high-i rake forward and open the air all the way to cook them down faster. On a regular not as blustery day/night, I'll let the stove drop to 250- 300 before reloading.
 
It really depends on how windy it is and the outside temps. If it's super cold I ll reload at 400, but as mild as its been I let it cool down to 250 or so.
 
I like to reload when the cycle is complete rather than based on stove temp. Doesn't always work out that way though depending on schedule and how much heat is needed.
 
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I go by the coal bed as well as the stove temp. After a coal bed burn down the stove top could be down in the 300-350º range.
 
I too go by the coal bed. Sometimes I do look at the stove temperature but if the coal bed is down, wood goes in if needed. Most times during winter when we reload though it is probably between 350-400. Not cold outside then subtract probably 100 degrees from that.

With the way most of the winter has gone, I never hesitate to have the stove get cold and then restart from there. Never did I dream I'd start this many fires in one winter! Still, most times I can rake the ashes and stir up a few hot coals. Lay a couple pieces of kindling on that and it does not take long to get the stove hot.
 
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SolarAndWood said:
I like to reload when the cycle is complete rather than based on stove temp. Doesn't always work out that way though depending on schedule and how much heat is needed.
Click to expand...

pretty much my mode of operation...i've never used pipe or stove top temp to decide when i reload. when it burns down, i reload.....when i get ready for bed, i really try and load it, no matter what the temp. if it fits, i shut the door and close her down till morning.

cass
 
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Depends, usually 250-400. Prefer 250 because it usually means less coaling.
 
HollowHill said:
As I sit here and wait for my stove to hopefully come down from 560 stove top temp, I'm thinking back about what I did to get here. I reloaded at about 390 - 400, which is higher than I usually reload at, but the coal bed was at a good level, not too deep. Filled her up pretty full, say 80 - 85%, with large and small splits (not too many small ones, tho). Windy, and gotten windier. So, I have glowing wood, and blow torch secondaries and dancing flames. My draft is very close to 0. I think the stove top temp has dropped ever so slightly to 555. Hoping it continues it's downward trend. My guess is that I shouldn't have reloaded at that temp, should have let it drop down to 350 or so. Especially with the strong winds. Stove top now at 550. Smells faintly of what I think is paint curing - hate that smell! Stove top now at 545. We won't discuss the heat pouring out the window...
Click to expand...

We have the Lopi Liberty (basement install) we reload at 200 degrees, stovetop temp.

zap
 
I wouldn't worry about a 560 stove top HH. You're just getting it hot at that point! I usually reload around 250 to 300 but it really depends. I prefer to not load over 300 as it just feels like wasting wood. With the Progress, I have noticed the hotter you reload, the stronger the secondaries kick in and the hotter the stove will get (and the faster the wood vanishes). I have loaded at 400 and would now feel comfortable doing it again, but you definately want to close her down right away. It would have to be darn cold for it to make sense for me to do that again, though.

I've had the stove top to about 580 and my wife says she had it well over 600. It is true you could heat at barn at those temps!
 
It seems that you're thinking 560 degrees F is too hot for the stove top temperature. I am not familiar with your stove but that doesn't sound at all high to me. My non-cat steel stove is regularly hotter than that - in fact if I only get to 560 during a burn I don't consider that a hot burn. 800 degrees is too hot. 560 is normal for me.

I reload based on the burn cycle like others have said. When it is all coals it is ready to reload. I might reload when it is all red hot coals (when the house is cold or it is very cold outside) or I might wait until there are only a few red coals. If I reload on a thick bed of coals I definitely see stove temps spike up fast as you are seeing, and I start to accumulate too many coals, so I usually wait until the coal bed is partially burned away before I reload.
 
Burning an old VC Vigilant I watch flue temp and reload at 225-250 (stove top usually then about 350, using flue thermo on stove top).

Last night (14f) I loaded (actually little over half loaded - stove to big for this space) and got flue up to 425/stove top 725 before hitting the sack.

Littlalex
 
I too will usually wait for the bed of coals to be going down an hour or so from being done. Then toss in three or four splits and wait for take-off. The stove temperature is usually around 225-250F at the point I re load.
 
I'll load that sucker when I need to, dont care about stove top temp for the most part.
 
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Most of the time i reload when the stove gets down too 250-300. If the coal bed is real small i dont go by stove top temp.
 
wkpoor said:
Typically I reload at 400. I then getter going to 850 before I throttle it back. Tonight it is 12 degrees out right now and my last load wasn't even 1/2 gone but lasted 5hrs and I reloaded at 500 degrees stove top. Letting here go back to 800 again before I throttle down for the night.
Click to expand...

800??????
 
I bury the needle daily on the Elm. The way its constructed it doesn't harm a thing. Mfg says good to go and keep on heatin. If I had done that on the Magnolia it would have been trashed.
 
RORY12553 said:
wkpoor said:
Typically I reload at 400. I then getter going to 850 before I throttle it back. Tonight it is 12 degrees out right now and my last load wasn't even 1/2 gone but lasted 5hrs and I reloaded at 500 degrees stove top. Letting here go back to 800 again before I throttle down for the night.
Click to expand...

800??????
Click to expand...

Yeah I was inches from an overview tonight. Stove top was at 820. Manual says 840 is the max before any issues. 820 was too close for me. Fortunately I put the fan on high and the temps dropped dramatically within minutes. But yowser.
 
I wait till the flue temp is arround 250-300 and let it go to 400 before backing down the air . Just added two large white ash splits @1:15 its 4:00 now the wood is gone but flue them is still 400 and the face is 290 life is good
 
Coal bed with temps around 250.

If I try to load it with a large coal bed I start having issues getting ab to kick off since the chamber will get blocked with ashes.
Also if I have too big of a coal bed I am unable to vacuum the holes in the shoe brick, vacuuming this at least 1x a week ensures that it doesn't get plugged.
 
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