75%?!

[Todd]

Isn't there a way of stacking your wood differently in the stove so that it burns slower. Instead of front to back, side to side.

Yes, rake the coals forward and pack the splits in tight side to side. This keeps less air from circulating through the whole fire box so you get a front to back slow burn.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It is simply a matter of controlling the draft. For example: on our stove we have a setting from 1 to 4 on the draft lever. Naturally it gets opened to 4 just a minute before we open the firebox door. It also gets left on 4 until the wood has caught; that is, the wood will be charred pretty well. We then dial down the draft anywhere from 1 to 2 for just a few more minutes before then setting it anywhere from .25 to .50 and at that time we also engage the cat. It will then be many, many hours before any change in draft setting but we do begin opening the draft as the fire gets weaker. This tends to burn off some of the coals.

The only time one would worry much about an overfire would be those who burn pallet wood or something similar. For dry wood, all the wood we will burn this coming winter is from 6 to 7 years since cutting and splitting. Yes, it is very dry and yes, it will give us some very good fires without any worry about putting in anything to cut down on creosote. With the good dry wood we just don't get the creosote. And yes, we do get some of the very dry fly ash which is easy to clean off.

Good luck.

 

[LLigetfa]

It is simply a matter of controlling the draft...

Sometimes easier said than done. In my former home, I had a taller stainless chimney that went up the centre of the house and had too much draft. Combined with an OAK and RSF made too large a notch in the butterfly to meet EPA standard, the stove had a propensity to run away on large overnight loads. I had to choke down the doghouse air and select wood with more moisture to control the burn. The downside of choking the doghouse and not so dry wood was severe coaling.

My current home has a shorter chimney and I suspect may have a smaller notch in the butterfly (same model stove only 5 years newer). On this one I modified the doghouse air (more and less, adjustable) and can burn really dry wood.

Back in my youth, I spent a Winter in a trappers cabin that we heated with a barrel stove. It would run away through the night and I'd wake up to the roar and the heat of the stove glowing red and the pipe orange. There was no controlling the draft.