Loading for an overnight burn?

As much as it can hold, of course you probably don't need that much right now. BUT when it gets cold load it to the gills.

Every stove/install burns/runs different so you'll probably need to tailor it to your life style.

Vermont castings resolute 1975 version with top load. Gotta love top loaders. We pack it and keep juggling it down. We often get the last piece in and the top load won't quite close without a little pushing or even watching it until it burns just enough to see it close. Can't get in anymore than that.

The resolute is very small and we almost always have a few coals in the am. Load it at 0930 and wake around 0700. We almost always need paper and kindling to get it going again.

I look forward to an upgrade with a larger box.

Not familar with the F600. Seen one at the local Hearth Shop. I would imagine that if you wanted to load it 2 times a day (Around 4:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.), that you will have to put a fairly large load in and choke it back. I can have pretty good coals after 16 hrs in the 30. But I wouldnt want to start fires like that every day.

After 12 hrs, there is a good bed of coals and is easy enough to start back up. I have been doing a lot of expeirmenting the last couple weeks. Burning a lot of wood that I dont have to, but learning more about this heater everyday.

2 loads a day is possible, but they may not be the hottest if you choke it back.

3 loads is what I have been doing. I have a small fire when I get home and burn it fairly fast and hot (Get the house up to temp), then make sure I have the Night load in around 9, so I can go to bed at 10. I too wake up between 4:00-5:00a.m.. Load it up at 4:00 and then the cycles repeats when I get home. works pretty well. Although I am still burning mainly pine and a little Silver maple. Saving the Silver, Sugar, and Ash for the Colder weather.

Like stated above, depends on your application. What temp you want to sustain and how much wood you want to burn.

I made the mistake of loading my stove 2x yesterday and it was 85* when I got up this morning. Been in the 30s during the day and 20s at night. Going back to once a day. Have no trouble getting a fire going with the embers with 1 load per day.

NordicSplitter said:

I guess my question on this subject is a simple one....."How Much?"....I get home around 4pm. Take care of some things and usually have a fire going by 5pm. I hit the hay around 9 or so...(4:15am comes early!)..How much should I stuff the stove with to wake up to a bed of coals? 50% or more of the stove's capacity? That Jotul F600 can hold alot. Thoughts please.....

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Well, been playing with my new F600 here too- i usually start a small fire around 6:00 pm to get a good bed of coals going, pull all the coals to the front, and load her to the hilt when I am getting ready for bed around 10-10:30. I also try to find a couple larger pieces to place at the back of the stove. Also, the longer the logs, the longer the burn. Leaving too much space in the firebox can result in shorter burns.

I have not been loading in the morning, but once the cold season really sets in, it appears i will have plenty of coals to get her roaring in the morning.

Only thing to remember is to leave 1 inch clearance at the glass so the airwash can get by- and so the glass will not get damaged

Good luck

NATE379 said:

I made the mistake of loading my stove 2x yesterday and it was 85* when I got up this morning. Been in the 30s during the day and 20s at night. Going back to once a day. Have no trouble getting a fire going with the embers with 1 load per day.

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Gotta love the bk on the warmer days. i love the trick solar taught me last year after like 12 hours rake the coals and take the t stat and crank it almost all the way off and come back like 12 hours later crank it up and a half hour later glowing red hot coals again.

Maybe use some really big splits. Sometimes that helps.

NATE379 said:

I made the mistake of loading my stove 2x yesterday and it was 85* when I got up this morning. Been in the 30s during the day and 20s at night. Going back to once a day. Have no trouble getting a fire going with the embers with 1 load per day.

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Been there, done that....I used to run everyone out of the den until I learned the various nuances of our stove.

Doesn't take much this time of the year.

Interesting post, thanks! I finished with the chimney reline yesterday, shoulda bought the pulling cone! Now if I can get people over to help move the F600 into place, I can start learning like you are. Getting anxious! Good luck with your 600.

Depends . . . this time of year I do a lot of fresh loads . . . morning and night or just one per day. Trying for a long overnight burn or even reloading more than once would make the place way too hot . . . better in my opinion to have to deal with just starting a new fire from scratch when needed and letting the residual heat from the cast iron radiate and keep the house warm.

Come winter time . . . load 'er up with your good stuff . . . I like one large split or round in the back and small to medium splits in the front . . . it helps to have a nice bed of coals.

You will achieve longer overnight burns with larger splits of wood.
Of course the hard woods also last longer than soft woods. Large hard woods = long burns.
I have started mixing hard with some soft as all hard woods, especially oak for me, leaves too many coals, and in the dead cold nights, I don't want to wait a few more hours for coals to burn down, they won't heat enough here.
A mix has worked very well for me, the soft stuff is all ash and the hard wood leaves a nice amount of coals to reload and have it take off nicely.