Best Burn Ever

[tradergordo]

Pretty nice that on the first day we had teen temperatures I got the best burn ever out of my new stove. It was 73F in the bedroom when I got up for the morning, 19 outside. I guess that officially settles the question in my mind that the stove would be capable of heating my entire house all winter without having to use any backup heat source.

What I did that worked so well was stuff a giant UNSPLIT log into the stove on top of two big splits. It burned nice and hot for 8 hours before I threw more wood on in the morning. Temp actually hit 80 degrees in the bedroom at one point. I got the log from the local dump, no idea what species, it looked really dry despite being unsplit, had no bark, probably had been laying around for years. Wish I had more wood like that! I guess this goes to show me the joy of burning really dry wood (or even better, really dry unspit wood that isn't rotten, which seems pretty rare). The cold temps probably improved draft too, which I'm sure had something to do with it.

 

[Rhone]

And, don't forget the lower the air temp the better the stove burns. If you enjoyed 19F just wait until you get into the single digits and beyond.

 

[Jay H]

Cold air is denser too, increasing combustion with any oxygen eating fire, such as a wood stove, a gasoline automobile engine, etc. etc.

Jay

 

[DeanBrown3D]

And, don't forget the lower the air temp the better the stove burns. If you enjoyed 19F just wait until you get into the single digits and beyond.

Is that true? What's the reason for it? Cars are more efficient since the air is heated more and thus expand more in the cylinder, providing more force. But with a stove I'm not sure that's important!

 

[wg_bent]

And, don't forget the lower the air temp the better the stove burns. If you enjoyed 19F just wait until you get into the single digits and beyond.

Is that true? What's the reason for it? Cars are more efficient since the air is heated more and thus expand more in the cylinder, providing more force. But with a stove I'm not sure that's important!

I understand this engine efficiency, but CARS are NOT more efficient overall in the winter. Check your gas milage...it WILL go down in the winter.

 

[Sandor]

I always keep 6-7 inch rounds for overnight burns.

 

[precaud]

I understand this engine efficiency, but CARS are NOT more efficient overall in the winter. Check your gas milage...it WILL go down in the winter.

I think they should add EVEN MORE ethanol into the "winter mix". That'll help! ;-)

 

[par38lamp]

Colder air is more dense than hot air, therefore it has more O2. More O2 and fuel means more heat/power. That is why a forced induction (turbo/supercharged) engine produces more power that a naturally aspirated one does, for the same displacement. More air and fuel squeezed into the cylinder means more chemical energy converted into mechanical energy.

Internal combustion engines take air/fuel and explode it. The resulting expanding gases are what forces the piston down and creates power.

Sure, you do get a more dense charge of air in the winter in your car, but there are other factors at work, too. Winter gasoline formulations are more volatile for easier starting, but that means less energy per gallon, or so I believe.

 

[DeanBrown3D]

And, don't forget the lower the air temp the better the stove burns. If you enjoyed 19F just wait until you get into the single digits and beyond.

Is that true? What's the reason for it? Cars are more efficient since the air is heated more and thus expand more in the cylinder, providing more force. But with a stove I'm not sure that's important!

I understand this engine efficiency, but CARS are NOT more efficient overall in the winter. Check your gas milage...it WILL go down in the winter.

I'm sorry, you are right. What I meant to say was that cars are more powerful with cold air, although they are also less efficient.

 

[webbie]

With stoves, it is the increased draft of the chimney (the differential temp) which causes better performance in the cold - IMHO anyway.....

Yeah, sometimes you get a log that is "supercharged" - has more BTU's in it, or has great coaling qualities. We used to love what we called Ironwood - standing dead oak, usually 4 to 8 inches in diameter. It would make the chain saw spark when cutting, but no splitting is needed and it burns like a champ - and those coals...to die for!