I have a Castine and wondered how full do you load yours for overnight and what size splits do you use?
Kevin
Kevin
Castine Reloading Question
- Thread starter Kevin Dolan
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I loaded ours pretty full, within a few inches of the secondary rack and trying to fit the splits so that there were few voids. This would be using a mix of splits in the 4-8" range.
As full as I can, and still be able to get the door latched! I've held the logs back with a poker while I slammed it shut. I don't like to have splits touching the glass, but for an overnight burn it sometimes can't be avoided. Just be careful that you don't crank the door latch down with a protruding edge, as you WILL crack your glass. Keep some clearance for the secondaries, but I've found that as the wood burns and the wood settles, that is not crucial. For overnight, the bigger the split, the better, but there is a trade off. If you are (as you should be) loading on top of a bed of good coals, the larger chunks might give you a longer burn, on a strict wood mass comparison,,,but, you can't fit as many as thinner splits. Probably it is a case of 1/2 dozen of one, six of another, you know? It is a real art to get the Castine as full as it can be. On some nights, my eyes are bigger than my firebox and I can't get the door to close. Soo....I'm left fighting off sleep, waiting for enough to burn to allow me to get it closed and go to bed.
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