Thinking of filling my stove tonight for the first time..??

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WarmNToasty

New Member
Feb 28, 2012
28
Canada
I wondered why I wasnt' getting an overnight burn with coals in the morning with my two pieces of wood I put in before bed... LOL
Now I see some pictures on here of loading for the night... ;/
My manual does say not to load over the firebricks but even not doing that i'm going to be putting a lot more wood in it than my usual two pieces..
I'm a bit scared...
I have some really hot coals right now... it's 9.20pm...
Should I do it,,? What do I do with the main air intake can I leave it out a little? I never push it all the way in usually have it 1/4 the way out is how it goes best....
Will my house overheat?? It's already really hot and I have a window open..... however with the small pieces I have in now with the coals my flue is only just over 400.... I bought a big stove so as not to over fire it, but it's too much stove really for my house (two storey 450 sq feet per floor).....
Have blower set to go OFF at 3.30am (as my usual two logs go out by then.. LOL)... so
Thoughts......
 
Don't load over the top of the firebrick and don't use the blower.
 
what would be the reason not to use the blower? I use it to channel the heat upstairs as the staircase is directly opposite the stove....
 
900 hundred sq. feet is gonna get really hot if you load that sucker up. That heat will find its way. Do you have a stove top thermometer for that stove. If you just have one stuck on the flue pipe take it off and put it in the center of the stove top for this exercise to make sure you don't overfire the sucker.
 
No I only have one with a probe so it wont work for the stove top.. should I maybe just double my usual 2 logs to 4 and see how that goes? They arnt' huge it's only black spruce.
 
Yeah. Best to practice overnight loading on a weekend day when you are home to get the hang of it and know what the stove is gonna do throughout the burn.
 
Ok, glad I waited... I'd be in a right panic now with a load of wood in my firebox..
I'll put 4 in, the temp has dropped actually with the window open it's freezing outside.. so it's a balmy 75 in the living room.

So the reason for shutting the blower down would be it would make the house too hot?
 
Yeah. Even though it is freezing outside, give something I do sometimes a try. Crack a window downstairs just a little and do the same in the far room upstairs. Pulls the heat right up there and keeps the room with the stove from being a sauna.
 
Sound good! Thank you... will try that tonight.. Not a big deal for me as I'm used to it going down to 60, I'll put the furnace on as it will wake me if it kicks in (at 60) so I know to run round shutting windows incase it's a fail.. haha
 
Ok 15 to 20 minutes ago, I put 4 logs on hot coals, closed window downstairs to a crack it was about an inch and a half before. Turned off blower... Opened bathroom window upstairs 1/2 inch.
Living room temp has dropped 2 degrees to 73, upstairs feels unusually nice... Perhaps this is working..
Logs are burning well thinking of adding a 5th?? Tired... it's -15 Cel out which is about 5 degrees F.. very cold night...
72 now...
 
At those temps it would be good to close the windows before you go to bed. Don't want you turning into an icicle after the stove burns down. After the upstairs is warmed up the whole place should hold temp fairly well.
 
Ok i was going to sleep in the living room anyway just incase it went out, my kids wouldn't appreciate waking up freezing finding the windows open.. LOL....
 
I have done it with a full stove load at down around those temps. Upstairs was fine all night but downstairs the next morning was a whole cold nother story.
 
Yeah, go ahead and lead 'er up but like Brother Bart says do it during the day when you can keep an eye on it. I bet your stove is meant to burn full loads without a problem, but you will want to keep an eye on it and figure out how to adjust the air during the burn.
 
WarmNToasty said:
Logs are burning well thinking of adding a 5th??

I wouldn't suggest adding to a hot fire.

Do a full load during a DAY when you're home and up to watch it, rather than staying up all night watching it.
 
Or stay up all night with a 5th. Just not of wood. :cheese:
 
When we start getting warm and cold days like it's been it's really tough to figure out how much wood is needed in the stove. One day it might be 35* during the day but then 5* at night, but then the next day it's only 30* at night.
With my setup 2-3 logs is all that I need when it's 30* while at 5* I can generally load the stove full and not overheat the place.

I refuse to wake up to a cold house though so the thermostats are all set at 65* Not exactly comfy but at least no frost on the bedsheets.
 
I got up at 3am to check it and all the wood was gone and very few useless coals... I'm trying again today during the day like was suggested.... (I had added a 5th too as I didnt' see the suggestion not to until now)
It's cold outside again but my problem (not really a problem but a blessing as I don't normally need a fire in the day) is the sun comes through from 8am to 2pm and warms the house up to 69... I'll do the fire anyway I can open the windows/doors etc during the day without intruder worries..
 
Well I started it cold around 8.30, loaded 9 pieces on it wasn't sure it would burn just lots of smoke, left air fully open.. Went and took a shower, noticed it was going very well, shut air to 1/4 now it's 10.15 and apart from 2 pieces i'd say it's all coals now.. :/
I have pushed the main air thing almost all the way in now.. I did pick some really 'light' pieces of wood, now I have all the coals back if I reload it I guess I'll just keep that air vent almost closed I'm reluctant to close it all the way incase I have some green wood and it smothers and dies slowly...
 
You'll eventually find what works best for you. Sometimes you just gota try the trial and error method.

When we aren't burning 24/7 and outside temps are just a few degrees below freezing, or warmer, we'll usually start a fire in the evening and get the stove nice and hot before loading it up again for the night, let it get going good and closing the draft and head to bed. The stove room gets like a sauna during the night but it's OK because we're usually not in there. Even after the fire goes out the warm room continues to act like a heat sink on through the morning and with the sun's help the house stay plenty warm until the evening and then we do it all over again.

What part of Canada you from?
 
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