Encore NC overnight burn times?

[heffergm]

I'm curious what kind of overnight burn times other Encore NC owners are getting. I'm measuring from the time I fill the box to when I wake and find enough coals left to start a fire. I'm seeing about 7 hours at te moment.... I reloaded last night at 10, got up and 5 and managed to rekindle the fire from coals with the help of some trusty pine kindling.

I haven't quite cracked how to best load the box and I tend to end up with logs facing every which way. I'm betting I can get another hour out of it, but was wondering what others have seen.

 

[Northern NH Mike]

With one season's experience I can reliably get eight hours overnight; plus or minus and hour. That is from loading until mixing up the coals and ash the next morning and restarting. Depending upon how tight I pack it I can get usable coals ten hours after loading, but the heat output is negligible. I load E-W with 18" maple splits and try to fill the space(s) on the end(s) with some smaller stuff, but am never really successful get a "tight" pack. I typically rake the coals up front, char the load with the damper open and then shut it down (gradually if I have the patience) until it gets shut 100% before I go off to bed. If I get up in the middle of the night I might throw one or two splits in to extend the burn, but I'm pretty lazy and once I get in the bed I don't like to get out until morning.

 

[Northern NH Mike]

Paying more attention to how I loaded and turned the air down last night I was able to get a 10 hour burn with plenty of coals left over to restart easily this morning. Used large splits of maple arranged so that it was like one giant log. The outside temps were between 5 and 12 degrees so there was a good draft, but no need to adjust the stack damper. Keep experimenting with how tightly you load, what type of wood you're using and the temps outside. A 10 or even 11 hour burn is possible with this stove.