Stove/Wood/Heat management

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Matthew

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Apr 2, 2007
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I'm loving my stove. 1989 Dutchwest Sequoia. Only problem is: I think it is too big for my house. I've stopped running the thing during the day just so the house can cool down. Once I'm home from work I light her up and the house goes from 70 to 78 in good time. I'll load it again at night and do a slow burn, then we're off to a house which is way to hot again at 81 degrees, at which point the thing won't get anymore wood until I come home from work (which saves the wife from having to operate the stove).

So my question is, are there any tricks that would help my wife and I keep the home at a constant temperature? It would be really great if we could set up a way to keep the temp anywhere between 73-75.
 
Can you burn smaller loads with the wood stacked very tightly and still have some coals for the am? How tall and what diam is your chimney? Do you have a flue damper?
 
I'm a total noob, since I haven't even finished installing my stove, let alone started burning it, but... from the research I've done, the two things I would try would be:

#1 adjust the size of the load that you burn. Adjusting the size of the load will give you some control over the heat output.

#2 experiment with the type of wood you burn. Lots of these guys like to burn certain types of wood in certain situations in order to get more control over the heat output of their stoves.


I'm sure somebody else will expound on this... they'll also tell you if I'm off base.

-SF
 
jpl1nh said:
Can you burn smaller loads with the wood stacked very tightly and still have some coals for the am? How tall and what diam is your chimney? Do you have a flue damper?
Click to expand...

Just eyeballing the thing the chimney is pipe 6" x 15', no damper on flue.

I haven't tried smaller loads overnight, all I've tried is decreasing the air intake, but that only goes so far.

Basically it would be nice to burn 24/7, but after trying that I would come home to a 90 degree house. I was thinking I was walking into a sauna. I'm still learning, though, so maybe I'll eventually work these things out myself.

One bright side, too hot sure is better than living in a 65 degree house like I used to.
 
Sequoia is a huge fireplace/stove. I'd try shorter but thicker splits packed tightly as Jpl1nh suggested.

Damn, thats one hell of a heater!
 
Your overheating of the house is one problem I have too.It is the lesser of two evils. I would rather have a warmer house versus having a cooler house that I can't get warm enough. Smaller pieces of wood, longer burn intervals. Think about it this way, you will be burning less wood, and less time fooling with the stove. I understand your complaints though, my house gets warm real fast and can get too hot, but with smaller pieces, and longer burn intervals should help out.
 
nothing wrong with fresh air. we like a nice warm house but a cool to cold bedroom so we sleep with the windows open a bit if we kept all the windows closed up we would also be in a sauna and we only burn about 3 cord a season
 
Simple fix. Cut your wood shorter and keep putting it into the stove the same as you have. You just won't get as much heat with the shorter wood.

Hint: The soapstone stoves will give a more even heat and the heat lasts a long time. We just put one in this year and are amazed at how long they take to cool down. They just keep giving heat even after the fire is out.
 
Backwoods,

The Sequoia stove (actually it is listed as a fireplace) is a huge behemoth and weights about 725#s, very efficient and beautiful too. The fire box is over 4 cubic feet and takes 2 ft logs. Installed with a good hearth mass and it will keep any large home quite toasty for a very long time.

Happy New Year!
 
Jim Walsh said:
Backwoods,

The Sequoia stove (actually it is listed as a fireplace) is a huge behemoth and weights about 725#s, very efficient and beautiful too. The fire box is over 4 cubic feet and takes 2 ft logs. Installed with a good hearth mass and it will keep any large home quite toasty for a very long time.

Happy New Year!
Click to expand...

The Dutchwest FA455 Sequoia is a free standing wood stove that isn't made anymore.
 

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Pretty nice stove: burn smaller loads would be about it....as others have said.....
 
cmonSTART said:
Same here. I've learned to build smaller fires during the day when I want a more even temperature. Boy will this thing heat up the house quick!
Click to expand...

Have you posted pictures yet?
 
cmonSTART said:
No, I'm a slacker.
Click to expand...
LOL.. "I'm a slacker" and "I heat my house with wood" aren't congruant statements. The world needs more "slackers" like you!
 
Wish I had an "overheating stove" problem but it's just the opposite. I've come to realize I'll be "supplementing" my furnace instead of not using it. Should have done more research before buying. The real cold days are tough but I'll be cutting heating cost anyway and that's what I set out to do
 
Oooooops... got it mixed up with the VC Sequoia

91.png
 
Where are you located / burning this monster heating stove??

Just wondering if that would be an issue if it was 10 deg out with 20 mph winds - like it should be coming soon up here in the northeast! That is when the stove really pays off.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Brother Bart is correct I have the stove pictured in his post (except mine has the primary air control on the side loading door). I've moved to longer burn times, and now I just let the stove sit between burns until the house cools down. For now I'm cycling between 70 and 80 degrees and I only start the stove up once the inside temperature is near the 70 mark, or when I'm puting on a long burn for overnight. I'm getting better at running the stove. Like the poster above said, maybe this won't be a problem when it really gets cold out (although it still did a good job at 9).
 
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