tips for burning in warmer weather

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ruserious2008

Member
Jan 24, 2011
160
NH
Hi all,
New to wood burning this year- using a Scandia stove that came with this house that I never used prior. Started burning in January when it was cold (I'm in NH btw).
Been burning some good wood (dry) I got from one source, some greener stuff I got from a not so good source:) and Eco bricks. NP getting it to the safe zone temp wise and heating my 3 rooms.
Now that its warmer outside (low 50's today) I'm not sure how to run this stove in this warmer weather. Running it in the safe zone for temp quickly gets the place well into the 80's and that's a waste of wood and its not comfortable. Burning a small for or say just one eco brick warms the place nicely into the lower 70's but the stove temp never gets to the safe burning zone. What's the best strategy for this situation? Crank it into the safe zone and open the widows (seems wasteful) or burn small and don't worry about it? Or should I not burn and go back to making boat payments for my oil guy:) Please say no to that one!
Thanks
 
Shoulder season burning can be a challenge. The ecobrick should burn clean enough that you don't need to worry as much about the safe zone. If you want to use wood, be sure it is dry. Green wood will just compound the problem. Use just a few smaller splits. Let it get hot and then let it go out.
 
Line the sides with some fire brick standing on end all the way to the back of the stove and run small hot short fires. It should radiate longer at a lower output.
A thought any how for your type of stove.
Cheers.
 
I find that splitting my splits into smaller pieces, maybe 2-3" instead of 4-6" sized splits allow me to have smaller hotter fires. And don't put out as much heat, as you won't need it when its 50 outside.
 
When it's in the 50s, I don't burn. I'd rather keep the wood for next year... especially if I'm short on wood. When it gets warm I think it's actually cheaper to run the furnace/boiler or even to cook a stew or something on the stove.

Matt
 
In the fifties I just turn on the oil filled radiators to keep the chill off. Two bucks a day worth of electricity beats the heck out of wasting wood.

If it has been a cold night but forecast for fifty or over during the day I fire a small three split load first thing in the morning and let it die out. The retained heat in the stove and the fireplace bricks hold the joint just fine. Then come sundown, light'er up. Trying to keep coals in a stove in warmer weather is a fool's errand that I had to learn the hard way.
 
north of 60 said:
Line the sides with some fire brick standing on end all the way to the back of the stove and run small hot short fires. It should radiate longer at a lower output.
A thought any how for your type of stove.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Interesting... Have you tried this? I like that idea. I'll be buying replacement bricks for my stove this summer, and may keep the old ones for just this purpose.
 
Like others mentioned, I burn smaller fires in the morning. Gets hot & burns up at a faster rate. Then let it go out. But
that's for frost at night & high is 50.
Being the LOW is 50s though, that's warm. That's our summer, :)
No fire, shorts & "T"shirt weather.

N-60's idea is worth a try.
 
Adabiviak said:
north of 60 said:
Line the sides with some fire brick standing on end all the way to the back of the stove and run small hot short fires. It should radiate longer at a lower output.
A thought any how for your type of stove.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Interesting... Have you tried this? I like that idea. I'll be buying replacement bricks for my stove this summer, and may keep the old ones for just this purpose.
Click to expand...

Allot of trappers, miner and hillbilly cabins around here. The Jotul knock off made by Scandia seems to have made its way here during its time. These stoves have had a known situation of having an overfire issues and cracking. An extra row of bricks
down them helps as a heat sink. Obviously now with the extra brick you have some extra mass to release that heat after the fire has burnt down. This was the oldtimers fix during their youngtimer lives up here. :)
 
I am still trying to get a handle on the warmer weather thing. Been reading the posts here and taking it all in and tryin like the dickens not to fill that stove up when its not that cold. I am a creature of habit, used to filling the mother up but I am getting there and utilizing the heat when the coals are burnin down instead of throwing more wood on immediately. Gotta conserve that wood....
 
Thanks all for the thoughts and tips. I'll focus on the eco bricks and also will try the firebrick idea as I have some in another stove I do not use so that's an easy experiment for me and it makes sense. I'll post back here in a few days with my thoughts on how it worked out
 
ruserious2008 said:
Thanks all for the thoughts and tips. I'll focus on the eco bricks and also will try the firebrick idea as I have some in another stove I do not use so that's an easy experiment for me and it makes sense. I'll post back here in a few days with my thoughts on how it worked out
Click to expand...

Feedback is always GREAT to share. Good or bad. We await....... ;-)
Cheers
 
When I know the temps will be going up later in the day and just need to take the chill out of the air I'll generally light a fire using my punks, chunks and uglies -- the wood that will not fill every nook and cranny in the firebox, will only do a partial load and if I have wood that is lower in BTUs (poplar, softwood, etc.) I'll use that wood . . . generally I only have to do one fire, maybe one reload . . . and then just let the heat radiate off the stove . . . good insulation and solar gain does the rest until the evening when I do another fire.
 
These are the days that having a rock pays. I can fill the Mansfield with what is essentially kindling, more or less smaller sticks and the like. She lights up nice, stack temp raises nice, then I can shut her down like I would with a "standard" load of wood and get good secondary burn. The Soapstone holds the heat and emits it gently for the morning hours. Let the fire go out and use the solar gain in the afternoon. Then as the sun is setting reload with some more kindling and some of the many chunks I have to get her back up to temp. Before bed, reload, shut down in stages and off to bed. Rinse, Lather , Repeat...

Shawn
 
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