Loading the Firebox Question

Loading the wood stove is exactly what you think it is.

Each day/ each season, there are different conditions. Weather plays a big part in how "hot" you want things to get, whilst still trying to make sure that you are building "hot" fires so as not to promote unnecessary creosote buildup.

Saying that we want a "hot" fire, doesn't necessarily mean that you have to load up the stove, all day, every day, ......especially considering what kind of conditions (climatically speaking) you have on any given day.

You will often hear the term "loading up the stove" associated with overnight burns, in which case, you are trying to keep the fire and heat going for as long as reasonably possible, given your stove, and needs.

Let's face it.........you can only "load up the stove" so much, depending on the stove you are using. (I did look at an online example of the stove you stated that you have, and it is very similar to mine in many respects). You do what you can, to "load" it, and taking into account what your needs are.

-Soupy1957

Sometimes loading the firebox just means putting some wood in. Most times though, yes, it means loading or filling it.

Not only can one use how much wood they put into the stove for heat output but you can also use different types of wood depending upon how much heat you want or how long you want the fire to last.

Firebox is just the part of the stove where the fire is contained. The term makes alot more sense in a new EPA stove with secondary cumbustion manifods, afterburners, catalytic converters and the like than it does in an older stove that is more likely a big empty metal box.

As Savage has mentioned, loading the stove can mean different things to different people at different times for different conditions. Your wood selection will vary for the conditions and what you want out of the stove. In the mornings I fill the thing about halfway, maybe a bit more with mostly small stuff...the smaller the bits of wood, the more surface area there is to burn (because fire only burns on the outside of the wood that is exposed to air) and I get a very hot fire very quickly. During the day if its warmer I might only throw in a peice or two of medium sized bits to keep it going enough that I won't need to relight it and maintain enough heat inside to keep the boiler from coming on. At night I'll stuff in the biggest peices I can fit through the door and then fill around those with the biggest pieces I can fit into those spaces...the idea being to maximize the number of cubic inches of wood in there while minimizing the surface area of that wood, which gives you your maximum burn time for overnight.

I am a little less scientific than most. No moisture meter, stove top thermometer, heat sensor gun. I have dry mixed firewood that I know burns well, in a variety of sizes, then it's all up to my wife and I to keep it consistant... load at will and realize the cold to come if you do not get it right!

I think a lot of people stuff as much wood into the firebox as they can. I do the same once in a while, but usually after I put in what I intended to be a big load I look through the window and see places where I could have fit more wood. Oh, well, I can always burn that wood next time. A full firebox will give you a longer burn, but since I don't do it very often I am not sure how to set the draft for a long but clean burn. Most days my largest loads are no more than 50% full, if you add up the open spaces between and above the wood.

I load full in the morning and for the overnight burn, I load a partial load around 6ish most nights.

Here is an example of a pretty typical "full" load for me.

Nice load....

A lot depends upon the configuration of your firebox. I try to maximize the volume of wood in an overnight burn. That usually involves N/S splits on the sides and E/W splits in the middle.

rdust said:

I load full in the morning and for the overnight burn, I load a partial load around 6ish most nights.

Here is an example of a pretty typical "full" load for me.

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RDust-- Bro- It looks like you would have problems with ash and coals coming out the front when open the door. Do you? How big is your firebox, and how long do you get between reloads?

RNLA said:

I am a little less scientific than most. No moisture meter, stove top thermometer, heat sensor gun. I have dry mixed firewood that I know burns well, in a variety of sizes, then it's all up to my wife and I to keep it consistant... load at will and realize the cold to come if you do not get it right!

Click to expand...

Same here, good post. But i do have a stove top thermo. just so i know when she starts to get hungry.

wood-fan-atic said:

RDust-- Bro- It looks like you would have problems with ash and coals coming out the front when open the door. Do you? How big is your firebox, and how long do you get between reloads?

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One of my cons(listed in the pro's/con's thread) on this stove is the depth below the door. I will sometimes get ash out after a load but never coals. Usually when I crack the door the rush of air will blow the ash into the stove and away from the opening. By the time I open the door all the coals are in the back half of the stove. It's a medium sized stove the firebox is 2.2 cubic feet according to the manufacture, it's 18x18x9 or 10 inches of usable height. During the week I load full around 7am, for the 10pm overnight and a partial load to get me from 6pm-10pm before I load for the overnight. Weekend is a little different since I'm around to feed the stove if I need.

Srbenda said:

As an update, I have been saving the biggest, thickest logs for overnights, and last night, I got a 5.5 hour burn before the blower fan kicked off.
Much better than what I was getting!

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What model buck do you have? What kind of wood are you burning? How long has it been split and stacked?