Economical Burn

I'm a new owner of a woodburning insert and I'm totally obsessed. I have a Pacific Energy Summit and I am burning wood that I had spent the past year splitting and seasoning. I've been reading on this website trying to get some good ideas on how to make and sustain a good fire.

I have a lot of questions, but I will start with this one. What is the best way to make the logs last the longest? What I've been doing is getting the fire started with the kindling. Then when it's down to hot embers I add bigger logs, let them catch fire and char, then slowly turn down the damper until I get a secondary burn where the flames come in from the top. Then I just let it burn like this and it stays in the "burn zone" temperature (according to my magnetic thermometer) for a while, but it eventually dips down into the "creosote" temps pretty soon. I feel like I am burning a lot of wood, but maybe that's what I should expect. I wanted to know what's the most efficient way to burn the logs and greatly appreciate any advice you can offer.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks for all the advice. My wood is a mixture of sizes, but mostly smaller thin pieces that I made when I got a little carried away after I discovered my love for splitting wood. I have a bunch of larger splits that I will have for next year. The wood may not be ready, even though it's been stacked and covered properly for a year. However, it's mostly red oak, which I understand can take a long time to get really dry. Either way, it's still burning nicely and I think that the burns are extending with practice.

Begreen, I will try your technique. I haven't been fully filling the firebox except for the overnight burns. I seem to get a really nice coal bed that lasts for a while and seems like a clean burn.

One thing I keep reading about is the "runaway burn" that everyone seems to be afraid of. What is that? It sounds scary and I don't want to have that happen. Is that the same thing as an "over fire"? I keep reading about ways to avoid a chimney fire, but how do you know if you have one?

Thanks, guys!

I've been trying to get the secondary burn effect with the gasses burning up from the top, which seems to happen when I turn the air control down. Maybe I'm not scared enough, but I like the way that looks and seems to heat up the oven nicely. I have a magnetic thermometer that I keep on the faceplate directly above the oven glass door which guides me to keep it in the 300-600 range. To get it in that range, after establishing a coal bed, I lay some splits N/S or E/W (I haven't really paid much attention - whatever fits (some are really long and only fit EW)), keep the air control opened fully for a few minutes until they catch fire and char, then I turn it down to 50% and usually see the secondary burn at that point. Then the temp rises and after a few more minutes I turn the air control all the way down.

Interestingly enough, I just got an infrared laser thermometer today and I think that I've been getting temps 100-200 degrees hotter than the magnetic thermometer says. Which one should I go by? Is it the temperature of the glass or the temp of the inside firebox or the temp of the metal outside (measured by the magnetic thermometer) that matters?

I guess I don't know if what I'm thinking is a normal "secondary burn" is really the "opening of the gates of hell". Thanks.

Thanks Grisu. I have been measuring the temperature with the magnetic thermometer in the spot you suggested I check with the IR thermometer. When I compare the 2 thermometer readings at that spot, they're both pretty similar. So, are the "ideal burning temps" the temperature inside where the flames are, or the temperature of the metal on the outside of the firebox?

I definitely have a PE Summit insert and you're correct that it is longer than it is wide. I guess what I meant to say about the very long pieces that I put them in along the diagonal when they were too long to be NS.