Overnight Heating Questions

I get up once or twice a night and add more wood to mine. But I only add two or three splits at a time since I'm terrified of the heat getting out of control when I'm asleep. Plus, I need the furnace to kick on once in a while to keep some heat circulating in the basement. I'm curious what others do...

I'm not too worried if the house temps drop some during the night when I'm asleep and I know I can get the temps back up in the morning with a good hot fire. Usually the house temp only drop 3-5 degrees or less if both stoves are going. How's your temps when you get up in the morning? Maybe you need to work on your insulation and leaks? Also could be stove is a bit undersized for your size house?

Good subject. I'm very interested in the answers too.
In my case, I have a much older stove, and can't get those kinds of burns or heat......so far. I'm still working on that.
Recently though, I've been able to keep the house warm enough for up to about 5-6 hrs., if I load the stove with about 4-5 splits E/W.
The last 4 years I've had to get up in the middle of the night to reload, or wake in the morning to a cold house. I've been working this year, to get longer burns and it seems to be getting there. I'm happy to have the house in the mid 60's in the morning, with coals left in the stove to restart. Maybe this'll be a gooder year.

As the temps drop outside our house will get noticeably cooler (even cold according to some occupants ) overnight. However I see this variation in temperatures as simply part of life with a stove. We used to have our programmable thermostat drop the temp at night by 5-8 degrees anyway so it isn't all that different except that the stove takes longer to warm the whole house.

As to burning practices - I try to do a small hot load burned quick in the late afternoon/evening to warm up the house a bit more than 'normal' before the final load so that we have some buffer as the house loses heat. I then load up as full a load of the best wood I can, packed tight. I let it burn with the goal of setting the air so I'll just have enough coals to re-start in the morning. I have NO desire to get up and feed the stove in the middle of the night.

We have had the hall temp (I consider this to be our "core" house temperature as it is central, away from the stove, and changes slowest) fall to 58 in the mornings - the peak this temp gets is generally 68 in the evenings so that is quite a difference. If temperatures fall to single digits for more than a day then our stove simply can't keep up (at least not at the frequency I feed it) so we have to kick the central heat on to boost the temp up in the morning. This only happened once or twice last year so that's not too bad I figure.

I work at night, but I sleep at day.

I just load the stove when I get home from work and before I leave for work. Holds the house around 70-75* without trouble, though it hasn't gotten all that cold here yet. Coldest so far has only be -5*. Seems to heat well without using all that much wood. If it works out at is has so far should burn a cord in 2 months, so about 3 cords for the winter.

I am having the same problem, and am still experimenting with burn cycles and the like. I don't have a giant firebox (2.4 cubic feet in the HI300), and as a result seem to have problems getting much more than a cold stove with a few glowing goals in the morning, after about a 6 hour burn time. It's enough to get the fire going again with some kindling, but I have lost about 4-6 degrees off a comfortable 72 when we turned in for the night. As I have said before, my wood may be part of the problem as this is my first year heating with a stove.

That is why over-sizing a wood stove is usually a good idea. You need a bigger stove or more insulation.

To keep our house Warm overnight I pack the soapstone stove on the main floor with larger splits on a good hot coal bed and close down the air intake all the way after it's going good. I try and do this late as possible. It burns for about 6 hours and when I get up it's at about 200 on the top . This is not enough heat so the temp drops to about 64 or 65. I reload with small pieces to get it up to 400 again and reload . The wind takes it's toll on our house and drops the inside temps fast when it's below 20. We have the buck stove in the basement that helps raise house temps and makes the lower level comfortable. Tonight we are getting some low temps so we are going to try and get the house as warm as we can before bed time. So both stoves are going to be run . So far we haven't had the furnace on and we don't plan on using it . Eventualy I'd like to put the Phoenix in the basement and purchase a Mansfield for the main floor. I hope this gives some insight on how we operate . Keep warm. Pete

I let my boiler burn down to a good bed of coals in the evening. House temp is around 67-70. I load up with rounds adn then put one kroger bag of coal on top of the wood. The wood takes awhile to get going. The coal does not get cranking until the early morning hours. I wake up and the house is typically 71-74 with a nice hot bed of coals. I load at 9 Pm and then around 5:30 Am

This past weekend I bought one of those nifty infrared handheld temperature readers - forty bucks at the local big box home center. Great investment - I found a few places here and there where a little bit more weatherstripping helped a lot. Tightening up the house should be high on the list.

The other thing to think about is warm and cold can be a matter of some perception. My stove is in the basement where temps easily can reach the high seventies. When I walk upstairs, it's cold! But the temp is 68. Then I walk out into the garage, which is really cold (outside temps). Walk back into the house and that 68 feels awful warm, lol!

The Keystone isn't a monster, but that soapstone should give you some thermal transfer over time. It won't be rippin hot in the AM, but still should be at least warm to the touch. Often in the AM, the masonry surrounding my woodstove (hearth mount) is warmer than the stove itself.

I would say load it for a hot fire and let it peak out and cruise high in the late afternoon. In the early evening to mid evening, stuff it for your overnight. Your earlier hi-temp load will have gotten your room/house temps up enough for the slower burning "stuffed" load to be able to maintain the room temps until morning.

Woodstoves are all about managing the burn cycles. I will say that even with the best planning, I'm still leaning on the propane furnace in the morning hours when the digital thermometers kick the target temp from 58 to 68. That being said, once I load out my morning "hot" fire, that furnace is quickly squelched in all but the coldest of temperatures.

leeave96 said:

Lots of posts on 24/7 burning, long burn times, 8-12 burns with coals left over to re-kindle the fire - but...

Not much heat coming off the stove after an overnight burn.

How do you HEAT your home during the overnight hours vs having a minimal slow burn that gives hot coals in the morning, but not much heat output and a cooler living space.

Are there any stoves that can crank out the heat for 8 plus hours or are you getting up in the middle of the night to reload your stove after a 4 hr-ish burn?

My Woodstock Keystone has a small fire box, so significant heat for an extended overnight burn is not possible, but I can get meaningful heat from the stove for 3-4 hours as the outdoor temps drop into the low 20's and lower before I need to reload the firebox.

Just courious as to others overnight heating routine/stove experience.

Thanks!
Bill

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Bill the Keystone is a bit smaller stove so it is difficult to get much for long burn times. Still, the Fireview is not all that big of a firebox either.

The big keys to overnight burns are heat loss, stove size and naturally the fuel. Heat loss is one anyone can tackle. Stove size is whatever you have and learn how to make the best out of it. Fuel is another thing altogether and there are so many variables that it is very difficult to completely comprehend. For example, most know oak is one of the very best fuels but not everyone has access to oak. Same goes for locust or hickory or many others. Some folks burn only cottonwood while others burn only pine. Some also only burn popple.

I like a mix of wood but at present we are burning mainly ash simply because all the trees are dead or dieing. Ash indeed is an excellent firewood but still will not hold a fire as long as oak will. We also burn a fair amount of soft maple but that is a poor wood for holding a fire overnight. Elm is another one we can burn a lot of and have had excellent results. Cherry is another.

Now we can look at all the types of wood but then we also have to realize not everyone burns the wood the same because most folks do not have the extended seasoning time. If everyone could burn 3 year old wood life would become much easier and they would stay much warmer! But that is not possible in all cases and some still are not convinced.

Now that we have wood, it must be split. But how do we split it? I don't mean by hand or with hydraulics but by size. Or do we leave some of the wood in rounds which dry much slower than a split? And when we split, how big or how small should we split the wood. Of course many have to split very small simply because they need it to dry the fastest. But we also know that the larger pieces of wood will hold a fire the longest, so size can mean a lot.

We usually load our stove for overnight burns by placing a round or a large split in the bottom rear of the firebox. In the front goes a soft maple. The rest is filled with ash, elm or cherry or a combination. It seems to work for us.

But back to the splitting. When I split wood I like to split so we have plenty of square pieces or rectangles. Naturally these make great end pieces for building your wood stacks. But the also make excellent pieces of wood for stocking the stove as they are easy to stack in tightly. We try to not put any pieces that have any knots or odd shapes because we want the wood stacked in the firebox fairly tight. This gives the longest burn times. However, during spring and fall we aren't so fussy and will put almost anything in because we don't want a full night's burn. The stove will still be 250-300 in the mornings then. But during mid-winter, I like to keep that stove above the 450 mark for sure.

I hope this helps a little bit.

Quite an interesting thread, and day for me.
I've been loading E/W mostly, thinking that would give me longer burns, but have thought of trying the N/S route.
Well, I did that this afternoon. Put 4 med. splits in on a decent coal bed, then another 3 on top of those.......all N/S.
That was at about 1:30-1:40. Two hours go by, and the wood has just begun to look like it's burning down. Stove is cruising at about 500, with the flue about 300.
3hours, then 4 hours, and finally the wood is starting to break down, but still giving some flame and the stove has actually gone up to a little over 550. This is all with almost no air.
So, 5 hours later, the stove was still at about 500, and mostly coals, and the house temp was starting to drop very slowly, but was still around 70.
I'm shocked. NEVER has this stove behaved this way.
Last year, if I had put in that much wood,....well, let's just say "to da moon, Alice, to da moon".
I've been getting the wood burned to coals in about 2 hours before this, maybe a hair longer.
I'll be doing this again for the overnighter. I think I'd be happy with a 4 hr. burn and the house at mid 60's in the morning. Temps outside are due to dip to 8 tonite.
Man, if this thing had 2ndary, I wouldn't know how to act.

Leaky Waders said:

I am having the same problem, and am still experimenting with burn cycles and the like. I don't have a giant firebox (2.4 cubic feet in the HI300), and as a result seem to have problems getting much more than a cold stove with a few glowing goals in the morning, after about a 6 hour burn time. It's enough to get the fire going again with some kindling, but I have lost about 4-6 degrees off a comfortable 72 when we turned in for the night. As I have said before, my wood may be part of the problem as this is my first year heating with a stove.

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You should get more out of that stove and you probably found the issue (wood not perfect). I can get 10 hours overnight and still have the blower going when I come down to reload. Lay 3 large splits and then stuff smaller splits or rounds until you can't fit anymore in there. Close it down to 1/2" before fully closed. Red or White Oak and Black Birch is what I use all season long. Make sure you season your wood 18 to 24 months.

Last night after loading the stove (10:00PM) room temp was 80 and upstairs hallway 68. This morning (7:00AM) the stove room temp was 66 and upstairs 63. It was 18 degrees outside this morning with 30 mph wind.

I have a large enough firebox(3.9cf) that overnight burns and meaningful heat in the morning are not an issue. With my cat stove I can dial it down using smaller loads filled E-W when the temps are moderate. When it is sub zero I fill it with large loads N-W and let it crank for a while and then dial it back for the overnight. I rarely have our 2300 sq. ft. house drop below 70 degrees once the 24/7 burning starts. The temps are fairly consistent throughout the house by using small fans pointing back to the stove area. Five degree temperature differentials are typical from the warmest to coldest areas of the house.

Before my thermostat failed I could easily get an overnight burn with steady temps.. Now, I am struggling to keep it warm.. My stove is NOT designed to be ran by hand and it shows.. I can burn a load of oak in 4 or 5 hours with little heat actually making it into the upstairs, before I would burn that same load in 10 or more hours and easily heat the upstairs.. I will be VERY happy when my thermo shows up (hopefully by friday)..

BTW, Blaze king customer support is worth every penny I paid for the stove.. Outstanding to say the least.. I just wish they were closer!


Jason

Not trying to hijack a thread, but is the flue thermometer different than the one for the top of the stove? Im new to wood burning as well.

I also have a small box 1.8 cu ft I believe...so an over night burn is prob out of the question for me, correct?

I think I need a lot more insulation than I realized. The stove does a good job, but unfortunately I haven't been able to train the dogs to load it while I sleep or while I am at work. My baby didn't keep me up at night so I am sure not getting up for night stove feedings!

Our stove is undersized for our home, and a smallish stove anyways, so once temps get below 20F out, a early morning reload is a must to wake up to a warm house. I try to have a good reload 10ish, air down around 30%, then 3am or so, reload, house will be warm at 730 when the dogs get me up..

If it's warmish out ie: above 25-30, I can shut the air way down and still have an easy restart in the morning..

First off, man am I jealous of anyone that gets more than 6 hours of sleep a night! lol

I typically load the stove at 10:30-11pm, wait for proper ignition on the logs then shut the Super 27 down to it's lowest setting. When I get up in the morning at 5am it is only slightly cooler in the house with typically a huge bed of coals. Within 20-30 minutes of adding wood and opening the draft the house*** is back to a toasty 22-25*C (72-77*F). Temps have been moderate so far this season with only a couple nights in the -15*C (5*F) range.
I am actually left with more coals than I want right now. It makes it hard to re load properly for the day while my wife and I work. The plus side is soon it will be colder and I will still be able to open the draft a little more yet still have a no kindling re light in the morning.

house*** disclaimer. We have a 1300sq' bungalow. The S27 heats most of it. 2 bedrooms and the bathroom still use auxilary baseboards when it is really cold out. Those 2 bedrooms and the bathroom also do not get the 22-25* temps either.

Everyone has given good information. Size of stove, and kind and type of wood used for overnight burns are important to each application. My stove is small, so I have learned how to get the max out of it when I need it and how to still keep a fire going during the day without over heating everyone. I load mine full of hard wood at night, around 11 pm. I will burn a mix of stuff during the day and cycle the stove. But at night the hard wood will put out the most heat, longer and will leave the most coals in the morning at 5 am, when I load it again. I usually only loose 3-4 degrees in the house. If it's really cold, sometimes 5-6 degrees. By the time the wife and kids get up, the stove is running hot again and the house is warm. Loosing a little bit during the night is not really a bother. I usually sleep better when it's cooler anyway.

I would say if I had to get up every 3-4 hours to load the stove, I would try some of the suggestions in this post. Try and tighten up your house, and try a larger stove. Maybe add a second stove just for burning over night. Does anyone have that set up? I look up some of the locations where you guys are from, and some of the temps are just down right freezing cold ! hahaha

Personally, I'd far, far rather deal with a cold house in the morning than wrench myself awake and stumble downstairs to try to reload competently in the middle of the night. My second floor bedrooms are unheated anyway, and they're actually a bit warmer overnight since I switched from central heating to the woodstove. But still my bedroom is very cold in winter, as I like it, and strumbling downstairs in the morning to a main room in the low 50s seems warm. It only takes a little while before I can get the stove cranking again, so it's all uphill and warming from there.

I'm certainly understoved and would be happier if it weren't quite so cold in the AM, but I find I cope just fine. I have my oil boiler set to come on at 45, but things only get that cold overnight, even with my puny stove, in the worst mid-winter weather.

I think if you're going to heat with wood, you really have to adjust your expectations about heating consistency.