Burn times

To me, coals in the stove represent an active stove, if for no other reason than it hasn't cooled down much yet, and you can start getting more heat out of it by just throwing in a few chunks of wood. If the stove is out, however, getting warm from it is going to take some work and some time, and I never have any of that to spare in the morning. So I think a stove containing coals is worth a lot more than a dead one.

thats my idea eric, if i can open the damper rake the coals and load up and go thats what i want, i dont want to build 2 fires every day, house stays 70+ until in the below zero here in the pocono's

That's my definition of burn time too. If I have to do more than rake the coals and load up, the burn time has expired! It may not be throwing much heat at that point, but to me burn time and heat time are not always the same. Might not be heating, but I would still consider it to be "burning".

this bed of coals is typical after 6-8 hours on a medium/low setting.
earth stove 2800ht
burning mainly bur oak