Small Firebox Survey 2 " Technique "

[Corriewf]

This is a survey for those with small fireboxes and their reloading techniques. How much wood do you put in and how do you work the air? How long does it take to get to temp and what temp is that?

I have a Vogelzang Colonial and it has a firebox around 1.7. I can fit about 3 medium splits in my box on a reload. I have found the opposite works for me on getting my stove up to temp. The faster I can shut down the air the faster the stove will get to temp. I normally will crack the door ( depending on coal bed ) to get a flame going. Once the wood is lit which is fast, I have the air open to halfway. The wood takes about 10 mins to get burning well and then I shut the air down to closed or almost closed. Once I shut down the air, the stove goes from 300 to 450 in about 20 minutes. The flames do die down after I close the air but as the temps rise the flames take off. On a very hot bed of coals, I can put wood on and leave the air almost closed from the beginning. As the wood starts to coal, I open up the air to half way to maintain at least 400 degrees. When the temps start to die off more, I open the air all the way. This keeps the stove up to temp, the coals nice and hot for the next load, and cleans off the glass.

 

[Todd]

Sounds like you got it figured out pretty good. You may find that different woods and weather conditions call for tweaking the air differently at times.

 

[sunglider]

Burning ash that has been seasoned since summer 2008, I do pretty much the same as you and get the same results. Although I don't usually open the air back up until there's nothing but coals.

 

[shawng111]

I agree, I have a small 1.5 cf stove and as soon as the flue is hot enough i start backing the air down and the temps start to climb from there.

 

[Corriewf]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

 

[Corriewf]

Burning ash that has been seasoned since summer 2008, I do pretty much the same as you and get the same results. Although I don't usually open the air back up until there's nothing but coals.

I'm burning oak so it's a bit different maybe. Looking forward to next year when I get a rainbow of, hickory, red oak, white oak, pine, silver maple, poplar, cherry, and walnut.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

I've always been puzzled by the idea that reducing the primary air makes the temp go up because it really doesn't work that way with my set-up for some reason. I might get a 50-degree rise if I hit it right, but with the lag time in a soapstone stove, I'm honestly not sure if the reduced air is raising the temp or it was headed that way anyway and reducing the primary air didn't have much to do with it.

I'm also always fascinated to read about people needing to keep the door open a crack to get the fire going. With my stove/flue set-up, it's exactly the opposite. It takes off much faster if the door is closed. I have very good draft in my chimney, so I'm thinking that having the door open is pulling in too much air and blowing out the fire before it can get started. Don't really know.

But once you get things burning in a small firebox, the fuel gets used up fast pretty much no matter what. So far, I've only been able to hit 500-550 consistently with very small splits (2 - 3 inches) of super-BTU wood, specifically Beech, Black Birch, and also with a small load of hophornbeam a neighbor gave me a while ago, and a bit of apple wood from a tree on my property I had to take down. A box stuffed with rock maple or oak, even small splits on a thick bed of hot coals, only gets me to 450 at best, and more often 350-400.

That's just the nature of a small firebox. There isn't enough stuff of any kind burning in there to get you to a higher temperature, nor keep it going for long. With a 1.2 firebox (gah!), I can't get more than about 90 minutes or so of peak temperature. Luckily, I work out of a home office so I'm home all day to keep reloading.

On the bright side, I only need about two cords of wood to get me comfortably through the winter. But I sure do need most of that to be the high-BTU beech and black birch, especially when the temperature dips down to the low single digits and below.

 

[shawng111]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

Yep, had the same problem with my stove, if i waited to get the stove up to temp the fuel supply was just about spent at that point and would start to drop pretty quickly, now i watch my flue temp first and get that hot so it has a good draft going, then i start to quickly close down the primary and the stove quickly starts heating up at this point and the fuel supply lasts me for about 3 hours before reloading. This has worked well for me and i can get my stove up to around 650 and idle it at 550-600 for at least a couple of hours with medium splits of oak.

 

[Corriewf]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

Yep, had the same problem with my stove, if i waited to get the stove up to temp the fuel supply was just about spent at that point and would start to drop pretty quickly, now i watch my flue temp first and get that hot so it has a good draft going, then i start to quickly close down the primary and the stove quickly starts heating up at this point and the fuel supply lasts me for about 3 hours before reloading. This has worked well for me and i can get my stove up to around 650 and idle it at 550-600 for at least a couple of hours with medium splits of oak.

You get up to 650? What stove do you have? I wish I could see 600 just once

 

[gyrfalcon]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

Yep, had the same problem with my stove, if i waited to get the stove up to temp the fuel supply was just about spent at that point and would start to drop pretty quickly, now i watch my flue temp first and get that hot so it has a good draft going, then i start to quickly close down the primary and the stove quickly starts heating up at this point and the fuel supply lasts me for about 3 hours before reloading. This has worked well for me and i can get my stove up to around 650 and idle it at 550-600 for at least a couple of hours with medium splits of oak.

What's your stove? It helps a lot with all these conversations if you can put it in your signature line. There are small stoves, and then there are really small stoves, like mine.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

"Poorly covered" isn't going to make a significant difference unless you're taking wood right off a wet stack and throwing it right in the stove. Water wet only penetrates a fraction of an inch into the wood, and it dries out in a few hours indoors, even less inside the stove. With a small firebox, you need every fraction to be on your side to get the best heat, but really, water-wet wood won't make that big a difference. At least I sure haven' t found that it does.

 

[Corriewf]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

I've always been puzzled by the idea that reducing the primary air makes the temp go up because it really doesn't work that way with my set-up for some reason. I might get a 50-degree rise if I hit it right, but with the lag time in a soapstone stove, I'm honestly not sure if the reduced air is raising the temp or it was headed that way anyway and reducing the primary air didn't have much to do with it.

I'm also always fascinated to read about people needing to keep the door open a crack to get the fire going. With my stove/flue set-up, it's exactly the opposite. It takes off much faster if the door is closed. I have very good draft in my chimney, so I'm thinking that having the door open is pulling in too much air and blowing out the fire before it can get started. Don't really know.

But once you get things burning in a small firebox, the fuel gets used up fast pretty much no matter what. So far, I've only been able to hit 500-550 consistently with very small splits (2 - 3 inches) of super-BTU wood, specifically Beech, Black Birch, and also with a small load of hophornbeam a neighbor gave me a while ago, and a bit of apple wood from a tree on my property I had to take down. A box stuffed with rock maple or oak, even small splits on a thick bed of hot coals, only gets me to 450 at best, and more often 350-400.

That's just the nature of a small firebox. There isn't enough stuff of any kind burning in there to get you to a higher temperature, nor keep it going for long. With a 1.2 firebox (gah!), I can't get more than about 90 minutes or so of peak temperature. Luckily, I work out of a home office so I'm home all day to keep reloading.

On the bright side, I only need about two cords of wood to get me comfortably through the winter. But I sure do need most of that to be the high-BTU beech and black birch, especially when the temperature dips down to the low single digits and below.

No way! My draft is WAYYY better than yours!!

* Wants a pissing contest *

No but in all seriousness, I think I have a great draft. I have never had a problem with smoke coming in the house when I open the door etc. I have a 5.5 inch liner though. That might make a difference. Most people have 6 inch liners. I crack the door for a minute or sometimes blow on the coals underneath the wood. I just want to get a flame going a little faster.

It's good to hear your results with oak because I thought something was wrong with my stove. I am looking forward to next year when I have different wood than oak.

Have you tried opening the air up as the flames die down for longer heat? I know it may sound like a pain in the butt, but you only have to do it twice in a burn cycle. It extends the 400+ degree time by another hour and half. I was getting only an hour and a half before as well.

 

[Corriewf]

Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

"Poorly covered" isn't going to make a significant difference unless you're taking wood right off a wet stack and throwing it right in the stove. Water wet only penetrates a fraction of an inch into the wood, and it dries out in a few hours indoors, even less inside the stove. With a small firebox, you need every fraction to be on your side to get the best heat, but really, water-wet wood won't make that big a difference. At least I sure haven' t found that it does.

Well, it rained here so much in Nov that it broke the record for Nov in all time records. One more inch of snow and we break the top ten records for snowiest winter. The wood does dry but I cant help but think that it does get a little moisture in it. I have had some sizzle in a few pieces of wood that were seasoned for 3 years. There just hasnt been enough time inbetween rain/snow for the stuff to dry.

 

[gyrfalcon]

No way! My draft is WAYYY better than yours!!

* Wants a pissing contest *

No but in all seriousness, I think I have a great draft. I have never had a problem with smoke coming in the house when I open the door etc. I have a 5.5 inch liner though. That might make a difference. Most people have 6 inch liners. I crack the door for a minute or sometimes blow on the coals underneath the wood. I just want to get a flame going a little faster.

It's good to hear your results with oak because I thought something was wrong with my stove. I am looking forward to next year when I have different wood than oak.

Have you tried opening the air up as the flames die down for longer heat? I know it may sound like a pain in the butt, but you only have to do it twice in a burn cycle. It extends the 400+ degree time by another hour and half. I was getting only an hour and a half before as well.

Nyah-nyah! Mine's better 'n yours!

Have you had a look at this BTU chart for different woods? http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm It's pretty illuminating if you know what kind of wood you're burning and what your results have been. I've never had white oak, only red, so I've been slightly mystified by the wide-eyed adoration the wood seems to have. Maybe that's mostly folks in areas that don't have the higher-BTU stuff, or maybe it behaves differently in large splits than it does in the small ones I have to use. But a neighbor of mine with a much bigger VC stove insists his supplier give him only red oak. I smile and keep my mouth shut since I use the same wood guy and covet his beech and black birch for myself. I'm happy to let the neighbor take all the oak this guy can cut.

I will say that red oak, at least in small splits, burns very well when it's still pretty unseasoned, something I can't say even for rock maple.

Yes, I do try to open the air when the stove gets down to coals, and you're right, it does extend the heat (and reduce charcoaling, too). But still, with a 1.2 firebox, it's just not going to produce significant heat for very long even with a full load.

What's your stove, please? These comparisons are useless without knowing what the main player in the drama is.

I'm no flue/chimney expert, but yes, I would expect your slightly smaller flue diameter would make a difference. But it does seem that each stove/flue combination gives different results. I'm just lucky in the way mine has worked out.

 

[Corriewf]

No way! My draft is WAYYY better than yours!!

* Wants a pissing contest *

No but in all seriousness, I think I have a great draft. I have never had a problem with smoke coming in the house when I open the door etc. I have a 5.5 inch liner though. That might make a difference. Most people have 6 inch liners. I crack the door for a minute or sometimes blow on the coals underneath the wood. I just want to get a flame going a little faster.

It's good to hear your results with oak because I thought something was wrong with my stove. I am looking forward to next year when I have different wood than oak.

Have you tried opening the air up as the flames die down for longer heat? I know it may sound like a pain in the butt, but you only have to do it twice in a burn cycle. It extends the 400+ degree time by another hour and half. I was getting only an hour and a half before as well.

Nyah-nyah! Mine's better 'n yours!

Have you had a look at this BTU chart for different woods? http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm It's pretty illuminating if you know what kind of wood you're burning and what your results have been. I've never had white oak, only red, so I've been slightly mystified by the wide-eyed adoration the wood seems to have. Maybe that's mostly folks in areas that don't have the higher-BTU stuff, or maybe it behaves differently in large splits than it does in the small ones I have to use. But a neighbor of mine with a much bigger VC stove insists his supplier give him only red oak. I smile and keep my mouth shut since I use the same wood guy and covet his beech and black birch for myself. I'm happy to let the neighbor take all the oak this guy can cut.

I will say that red oak, at least in small splits, burns very well when it's still pretty unseasoned, something I can't say even for rock maple.

Yes, I do try to open the air when the stove gets down to coals, and you're right, it does extend the heat (and reduce charcoaling, too). But still, with a 1.2 firebox, it's just not going to produce significant heat for very long even with a full load.

What's your stove, please? These comparisons are useless without knowing what the main player in the drama is.

I'm no flue/chimney expert, but yes, I would expect your slightly smaller flue diameter would make a difference. But it does seem that each stove/flue combination gives different results. I'm just lucky in the way mine has worked out.

I have a Vogelzang Colonial which was listed at 1.3 cubic but I measured 1.7ish. I have burned some poplar in this stove a couple times and actually liked it quite a bit! I was able to get the stove up to temp a lot faster than with the oak. Honestly the poplar didnt seem to burn THAT short compared to teh oak either. I think I actually would like to give pine a shot as well. Oak takes soo long to season.

 

[shawng111]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

Yep, had the same problem with my stove, if i waited to get the stove up to temp the fuel supply was just about spent at that point and would start to drop pretty quickly, now i watch my flue temp first and get that hot so it has a good draft going, then i start to quickly close down the primary and the stove quickly starts heating up at this point and the fuel supply lasts me for about 3 hours before reloading. This has worked well for me and i can get my stove up to around 650 and idle it at 550-600 for at least a couple of hours with medium splits of oak.

You get up to 650? What stove do you have? I wish I could see 600 just once

Sorry about that, Its a Drolet Savannah, it actually has gone higher than that, once over 700, closer to 750 actually, freaked out a bit but turned the blower on high and she started to cool down to a more modest level, that was with a good coal bed and nice dry oak mind you. Also have an outside air kit hooked up as well

 

[Corriewf]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

Yep, had the same problem with my stove, if i waited to get the stove up to temp the fuel supply was just about spent at that point and would start to drop pretty quickly, now i watch my flue temp first and get that hot so it has a good draft going, then i start to quickly close down the primary and the stove quickly starts heating up at this point and the fuel supply lasts me for about 3 hours before reloading. This has worked well for me and i can get my stove up to around 650 and idle it at 550-600 for at least a couple of hours with medium splits of oak.

You get up to 650? What stove do you have? I wish I could see 600 just once

Sorry about that, Its a Drolet Savannah, it actually has gone higher than that, once over 700, closer to 750 actually, freaked out a bit but turned the blower on high and she started to cool down to a more modest level, that was with a good coal bed and nice dry oak mind you. Also have an outside air kit hooked up as well

Ahh looks like you have about 2 cubic feet of firebox there. That isn't bad.

Width: 20.25"
Depth: 11.25"
Height: 10.75"

I think the OAKs help out quite a bit with fresh air as well. I wish I could get a OAK for this colonial.

 

[Mainely Saws]

My stove is a Hampton H300 & has a 1.7 cubic foot firebox . I have a tall ( about 38 ft) inside 8" masonry chimney & my wood is mixed but seasoned for a year under a big porch with 3 empty sides that lets plenty of air through for drying . I usually burn about 3 to 5 say 4" splits at a time & if I leave the air inlet open it will easily climb to over 700 degree's measured at about 14" above the the stove on the flu pipe .Before it gets that hot I close the air inlet about half way, sometimes more & the temp usually settles in at 400 to 500 degree's . I try not to close it to much because I want a robust fire & as such I don't get very long burn times , maybe about 4 hours before I need to add wood or the coals will die out & I'll need to rekindle . I do get a good secondary burn . If I close down the air inlet to much it will kill the fire so I try to close it just enough to were after a few minutes the flames die down & then recover . As the burning cycle gets closer to the end I reverse the process & open up the air inlet to kick out a little bit more heat & reduce the amount of unburnt coals . I will say that I have a small problem with smoke spillage if I use the front door & don't know why, so I use the side loading door without any problem . This setup heats my 1000 sq ft. space without any problem but I do wish I had some longer burn times , at least in the colder part of the Winter. Right now the day time temps are in the upper 30's & the overnight lows are in the 20's so a longer burn time at 400 degree's would be to much for me .

 

[shawng111]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

Yep, had the same problem with my stove, if i waited to get the stove up to temp the fuel supply was just about spent at that point and would start to drop pretty quickly, now i watch my flue temp first and get that hot so it has a good draft going, then i start to quickly close down the primary and the stove quickly starts heating up at this point and the fuel supply lasts me for about 3 hours before reloading. This has worked well for me and i can get my stove up to around 650 and idle it at 550-600 for at least a couple of hours with medium splits of oak.

You get up to 650? What stove do you have? I wish I could see 600 just once

Sorry about that, Its a Drolet Savannah, it actually has gone higher than that, once over 700, closer to 750 actually, freaked out a bit but turned the blower on high and she started to cool down to a more modest level, that was with a good coal bed and nice dry oak mind you. Also have an outside air kit hooked up as well

Ahh looks like you have about 2 cubic feet of firebox there. That isn't bad.

Width: 20.25"
Depth: 11.25"
Height: 10.75"

I think the OAKs help out quite a bit with fresh air as well. I wish I could get a OAK for this colonial.

That's weird, they list that stove as having a 1.5cf firebox, never thought to run the numbers. The OAK seems to really help my stove, that and i just like knowing that its not using air that i already heated.

 

[Corriewf]

Well something that has puzzled me is often I see that people open their air up until they get the stove up to temp and then shut it down. I have tried that method and may get to 400 but my fuel is spent by that time.

I have found that full, I can keep over 400 for over 3 hours IF I open the air to half way once it starts to dip to 400 and then to full way when it dips again. Most of what I get is 450 peak temps. I remember hitting 500 a few times but that was rare. Wood is very seasoned, but has been poorly covered this year. Plan to build a wood shed this spring. I get about a week supply on the front porch. : - /

Anyway, please tell me if your method is different. I would like to hear it and experiment as well. I'm like a girl in college, just want to experiment.

Yep, had the same problem with my stove, if i waited to get the stove up to temp the fuel supply was just about spent at that point and would start to drop pretty quickly, now i watch my flue temp first and get that hot so it has a good draft going, then i start to quickly close down the primary and the stove quickly starts heating up at this point and the fuel supply lasts me for about 3 hours before reloading. This has worked well for me and i can get my stove up to around 650 and idle it at 550-600 for at least a couple of hours with medium splits of oak.

You get up to 650? What stove do you have? I wish I could see 600 just once

Sorry about that, Its a Drolet Savannah, it actually has gone higher than that, once over 700, closer to 750 actually, freaked out a bit but turned the blower on high and she started to cool down to a more modest level, that was with a good coal bed and nice dry oak mind you. Also have an outside air kit hooked up as well

Ahh looks like you have about 2 cubic feet of firebox there. That isn't bad.

Width: 20.25"
Depth: 11.25"
Height: 10.75"

I think the OAKs help out quite a bit with fresh air as well. I wish I could get a OAK for this colonial.

That's weird, they list that stove as having a 1.5cf firebox, never thought to run the numbers. The OAK seems to really help my stove, that and i just like knowing that its not using air that i already heated.

You should measure it though. It could be more or less of what they said it is. I wish I could run an OAK on my stove. Where does the oak run to for air? I have never seen one before.

 

[shawng111]

I ran my OAK from the back of my stove with 3'' galvanized flue pipe, holesaw through the wall and outside, pretty simple really, painted it with hi-temp flat black to match the stove, did'nt need to use hi-temp paint as it draws cold air but i had it and it looks good, cured it with a heat gun, some of the others use flexable tubing as that works well too

 

[DBoon]

I’ve been working to understand how to get the slowest, longest burn out of a small stove. I’ve found that 2 medium splits, a large split and a small split of hard maple works best. The large split is about 5”-6” on a side, the medium about 4” on a side, and the small whatever I can fit in after these other three splits. The pieces I use for this are squared off when I split them, so I can get a lot of wood in pretty tightly. The two medium pieces go in the back, the large and small one in the front. Before loading, I’ll scoop the coals forward and put a small V in the coals to let just a little bit of primary air get to the back pieces.

Then, after I load the stove, I keep a very close eye on the stove top temperature. Before it gets much past 400 degrees F, I start turning the primary air down. If it gets above 500 degrees F, I shut it down for a minute or so to cool it down until it just dies out, then I give it a quarter more air. The whole idea is to keep it right about at 500 degrees F but burning cleanly. At some point, I can get it stabilized at just a little over 500 degrees F with the primary turned all the way down and a good secondary burn. It will gradually inch up over 500 degrees, but perhaps only gets to 560 degrees F or so.

Using the above method, I’ve had good coals 11-12 hours after initial loading.

If I let the burn get away from me early, the stove top will get up to 650 to 700 degrees F and the burn will be much, much faster.

The wood I am using for this is very dry hard rock maple - dry enough that the bark has fallen off the splits and rounds. Wood this hard and dry makes a huge difference in being able to really fine tune the stove to do what you want. BUT, it's also a lot easier for it to really take off. There was one night I thought I had it settled in just right, and it just kept going hotter and hotter on me - I turned the blower on high for 30 minutes to cool it down to <700 degrees F.

 

[Corriewf]

I’ve been working to understand how to get the slowest, longest burn out of a small stove. I’ve found that 2 medium splits, a large split and a small split of hard maple works best. The large split is about 5”-6” on a side, the medium about 4” on a side, and the small whatever I can fit in after these other three splits. The pieces I use for this are squared off when I split them, so I can get a lot of wood in pretty tightly. The two medium pieces go in the back, the large and small one in the front. Before loading, I’ll scoop the coals forward and put a small V in the coals to let just a little bit of primary air get to the back pieces.

Then, after I load the stove, I keep a very close eye on the stove top temperature. Before it gets much past 400 degrees F, I start turning the primary air down. If it gets above 500 degrees F, I shut it down for a minute or so to cool it down until it just dies out, then I give it a quarter more air. The whole idea is to keep it right about at 500 degrees F but burning cleanly. At some point, I can get it stabilized at just a little over 500 degrees F with the primary turned all the way down and a good secondary burn. It will gradually inch up over 500 degrees, but perhaps only gets to 560 degrees F or so.

Using the above method, I’ve had good coals 11-12 hours after initial loading.

If I let the burn get away from me early, the stove top will get up to 650 to 700 degrees F and the burn will be much, much faster.

The wood I am using for this is very dry hard rock maple - dry enough that the bark has fallen off the splits and rounds. Wood this hard and dry makes a huge difference in being able to really fine tune the stove to do what you want. BUT, it's also a lot easier for it to really take off. There was one night I thought I had it settled in just right, and it just kept going hotter and hotter on the me - I turned the blower on high for 30 minutes to cool it down to <700 degrees F.

Out of curiosity, that Lopi Answer have the bypass? So basically what you try and do is block the air coming in through the boot. The air that cant be shut down? I tried to do this last night and that air get like a torch. It eventually burns a hole right through whatever I put in front of it.

 

[Lighting Up]

I just installed the Avalon Pendelton yesterday but have been burning for 15 years. It has a 1.7 ci box so far I'm still curing the box but have it up to 500 degrees. Being a new install I keep the air open all they way when loading but I 'm only putting in 2 small logs because of the curing of the paint. Once it reaches the last highest degree I shut the air down to almost closed it will stay there for about a hour then drop...my furnace has not turned on all day and it's 70 degrees in my house, I can't wait to load it up and see the total burn time.

 

[DBoon]

Out of curiosity, that Lopi Answer have the bypass? So basically what you try and do is block the air coming in through the boot. The air that cant be shut down? I tried to do this last night and that air get like a torch. It eventually burns a hole right through whatever I put in front of it.

Hi Corriewf, the Answer does not have a bypass like the largest Lopi stove. The air I am restricting is the primary air - the only one that I have control over. I do try to restrict the amount of primary air that can reach the back logs to just a minimal amount - I want that wood to get hot and burn a bit, but I want it to smolder slowly while the logs in front burn hotter. The secondary combustion will consume the smoke created.

When I reload the stove, it is usually around 350 degrees F stovetop. For ~10 minutes after re-load, the stovetop temperature will be constant or maybe drop slightly even as the wood is catching. I watch the stovetop temperature closely during this time. When it starts to rise above 400 degrees F, I begin to slowly restrict the primary air to slow the rise in temperature.

Hope that helps. PM me if you have any questions.