Finally loaded up N/S instead of E/W and...

[CountryBoy19]

I'm not so sure I like NS burning... I'll have to give it a few more tries.

The differences that I noticed

Good:
Easier to load
Fewer coals left this morning

Not so good:
It burned very hot and very fast


Normally my E/W load takes off pretty quickly and it burns moderately hot for a long time, leaving a large coal bed.

Last night my N/S fire took a long time to get going, but once it did, it burned very hot, very fast. The carpet 10 feet in front of the door was almost too warm to stand on. It got the house up to 80+ degrees. I'm not sure how long it lasted for sure because I went to bed, but there were a lot less coals this morning than there normally are. I'm not sure if this can be attributed to the burn style/available oxygen or if it was just because the load simply burned up faster leaving a smaller coal bed this morning.

Isn't this the opposite of what is supposed to happen with N/S burning?

I'm not completely ruling it out yet, as I'm sure it will have it's place. I just found it odd than many people say NS fires last a lot longer, but I had the opposite experience.

Thoughts?

 

[Jags]

Isn't this the opposite of what is supposed to happen with N/S burning?

Not really - If I burn N-S in my stove (designed as E-W) it will also burn hot (and fast). I have found that the real advantage to N-S is the ease of stacking the splits. Just slide them in.

 

[FireWalker]

Shorter hot fire I use NS load. Great for -20 nights or heating up a cold house.

Longer not so hot fire I use EW load. Great for regular winter heating.

I get a hot floor in front too!

 

[Trktrd]

I tried NS last night for the first time and really liked the results. It'd be a real pain to do all the time though, having a side loader.

 

[Boozie]

Be careful with E/W load so that log doesn't roll against your glass and break it. Less likely to happen with N/S.

 

[Chargerman]

It might depend where the air intakes are on different stoves. My air is fed from the front and my stove is front loading. With N/S burning the air, and flames, have a much easier time getting to the wood at the back of the stove. This creates a hotter and shorter burn for me. This method works the best in real cold temps. When I load E/W in more moderate(20-30F temps) the air does not get to the wood in the rear as easily and will not burn as hot but, it will last longer. Prior to loading E/W I will often use my shovel to make a trench in the ash bed from front to back. This helps get air to the wood in the back and helps getting the fire going faster.

 

[thewoodlands]

We like the n/s loading better then the e/w for two reasons, 1. We don't worry has much about the split rolling out and hitting the glass. 2. I think we get more splits in allowing for a longer burn time. With Sugar Maple loaded n/s (big splits on the bottom) we can get a 10 hour burn time.



Zap

 

[lukem]

I think mine burns the same in terms of speed and heat...but burns longer because I can just get more wood in when I load N/S.

If I load N/S I usually can fit in 14 - 15 medium/large splits. E/W probably closer to 10-11. Even when I load E/W I usually have a couple N/S to fill in the gap between the end of the splits and the "west" wall of the stove.

 

[oldspark]

I can still get 11 to 12 hour burns in my summit N/S with Oak.

 

[DanCorcoran]

CountryBoy19,

What stove do you have?

 

[ChillyGator]

I'll be damn if I'm gonna cut 8" firewood :ahhh:

 

[pgmr]

I tried NS last night for the first time and really liked the results. It'd be a real pain to do all the time though, having a side loader.

Does the N/S, E/W refer to the direction the wood is loaded through the door or is it, rather, the direction it is facing when looking at the front of the stove? On side loaders, like Trktrd uses, it's both at once.

 

[wood4free]

As I mentioned on another thread - I just bought a used 10†Delta Mitre Saw for $30 for the specific purpose of cutting some of my splits & logs from 18†- 20†down to half size for N/S loading as the depth of my firebox is only 14â€. Makes for much easier loading and eliminates the chance of a log rolling out of the stove when opening the door. I can cut through up to a 4†log with the 10†blade. A thicker log just requires turning the log over and making a second cut. Seems much easier than making shorter cuts with the chain saw.

 

[maxed_out]

love n-s loading! something we couldn't do with the defiant encore. the IR is pretty deep so no need to cut them down. Really long ones have to go e-w as the box is pretty wide.

 

[btuser]

My stove has a trapezoid firebox which makes it hard to really stuff a E/W load. I can fit a lot more wood into it when I load N/S. I rake all the coals forward, stuff it with my 18" splits, stack N/S, charr it to about 550F and then shut the air down. The fan is still blowing after 9-10 hours with coals for a few hours aftewards but no real heat. East west is even longer but I'd have to get lucky with the geometry.

 

[boatboy63]

I'll be damn if I'm gonna cut 8" firewood :ahhh:

Sorry, but couldn't help but to lol when I read your post and then saw your comment in your sig line about a 1 cubic foot stove. Can't you just load yours with 2 boxes of kitchen matches and it be full?

As for the question, with my Magnolia, we have been loading N-S. My complaint is that it seems to burn too hot. Am going to try it E-W and see how it does.

 

[snowtime]

NS burns a little faster [hotter] on the T6 but I can get so much more wood in the fire box that I get a much longer burn.

 

[WoodpileOCD]

My complaint is that it seems to burn too hot. Am going to try it E-W and see how it does.[/quote]

Damn.. what a problem to have huh? My stove has only been installed less than a week so I'm still trying to figure out the cat but have been loading N/S because it's a cavern in there 4.4 cu ft.

Chilly Gator, that's some 1 cube beast you have there.. 4 of em would fit in mine with room to spare.

 

[Boozie]

I'll be damn if I'm gonna cut 8" firewood :ahhh:

Sorry, but couldn't help but to lol when I read your post and then saw your comment in your sig line about a 1 cubic foot stove. Can't you just load yours with 2 boxes of kitchen matches and it be full?
.

Thanks for a good laugh. :lol:

 

[begreen]

My complaint is that it seems to burn too hot. Am going to try it E-W and see how it does.

Damn.. what a problem to have huh? My stove has only been installed less than a week so I'm still trying to figure out the cat but have been loading N/S because it's a cavern in there 4.4 cu ft.

Chilly Gator, that's some 1 cube beast you have there.. 4 of em would fit in mine with room to spare. [/quote]

If it is too hot, have you tried running it on smaller loads of wood? It should do fine on a half load.

 

[Hogwildz]

Hot is good!
If you want longer burn times with a lil less heat, put in as large as pcs of wood as you can, top off with smalls/mediums etc, enjoy!

 

[dafattkidd]

Does anyone else criss-cross at times? For over nights I'm a NS guy, but for daily quick hot fires I criss-cross them to allow air in between. This is especially helpful if I'm burning wood that is not so seasoned.

 

[bogydave]

Sometime I have some long pieces that don't fit N/S, so I save them for the E/W day burns.

N/S for cold long night burns, easy in & hold lots. A row of little/med splits on the coals, then the big stuff, then stuff it full with
what I can pound in to fill in the spaces. Usually get 14 to 16 hour burn when around zero.

E/W for small day burns when it's warmer, all near the front on bed of coals. 3 splits burns longer E/W & not as hot.

Warm nights like now, 1/2 load N/S, but maybe tomorrow I'll try an E/W since it's been warm here last few days (30°f last night) & house was 74 this AM.

I mix it up on colder day burns depending on how long before I load for the night burn; 2 or 3 N/S on the bottom with 1 or 2 big split E/W & get all day burn & empty enough at
night to get in a full load.

Never tried the criss/cross yet. May play with that one & see how it works. I don't have trouble getting a hot burn N/S when needed though, I've
yet to be wide open for more than 15 min, unless I'm burning down a bed of coals.

 

[bogydave]

I'm not so sure I like NS burning... I'll have to give it a few more tries.

The differences that I noticed

Good:
Easier to load
Fewer coals left this morning

Not so good:
It burned very hot and very fast


Normally my E/W load takes off pretty quickly and it burns moderately hot for a long time, leaving a large coal bed.

Last night my N/S fire took a long time to get going, but once it did, it burned very hot, very fast. The carpet 10 feet in front of the door was almost too warm to stand on. It got the house up to 80+ degrees. I'm not sure how long it lasted for sure because I went to bed, but there were a lot less coals this morning than there normally are. I'm not sure if this can be attributed to the burn style/available oxygen or if it was just because the load simply burned up faster leaving a smaller coal bed this morning.

Isn't this the opposite of what is supposed to happen with N/S burning?

I'm not completely ruling it out yet, as I'm sure it will have it's place. I just found it odd than many people say NS fires last a lot longer, but I had the opposite experience.

Thoughts?

Can't you crank down some on the inlet air & burn a little cooler?

 

[nate379]

When I first got the stove I loaded E-W. Not sure why, I think maybe in the book or the video that is how it shows.

Anyhow I found it was hard to load and it wouldn't hold nearly as much wood. Since those first couple weeks I have loaded it NS and not looked back. Now if I was just tossing in a log or two every couple hrs I guess it wouldn't matter, but I normally try to fit as much wood in the stove as possible.