Another PH shoulder season fire...

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And then there are people like me that are looking to oversize and have a low burn for oct, nov, dec, march, and April. While only needing higher burns for parts of jan/feb.

I do admit I'm a rather small market of potential buyers.

Of course, your low burn would consist of about 100,000 btus or so. :eek:
 
Of course, your low burn would consist of about 100,000 btus or so. :eek:
Well, yeah, I would have three low burns going. It would add up I suppose. :)
 
Last winter was a weird one for sure. Not sure where you are in Michigan, but I figured about one month of super long burns would be useful out of 8 months of burning (7/8). As I posted, I've been having a small fire a night but even if I had the ability to burn for 20+ hours, I wouldn't. There is no need and it would be wasting wood. Part of early October and part of late March, early April I could see.

I'll be able to use the low type burns for October, November, April and March. Last season I tried to burn my softer hardwoods(silver maple, cherry, black walnut) during the warm weather and was getting 18 hour burn times with highs in the low 40's. I really don't have much shoulder wood this season so I'll probably get to see how it burns with highs in the low 40's with oak and ash.
 
So what qualifies as 'massive' - i.e. what diameter can be loaded? Your theory seems sound though. I also wonder what the true maximum length is - 22" is recommended max, but I'm guessing there is a bit of wiggle room on either end there...
I actually just this afternoon measured from the east wall of the firebox to the door (which means slightly beyond the firebox): 24 inches. So, angled and not too big 24 inches, but 22 is really the max for reasonable loading.

You can get a 10 x 12 inch log in I think. But the firebox isn't deep and the door isn't high, so if you have a log that big in there, it might be hard to get a full load in the firebox.
 
Well, my goal / reason for changing to PH from FV isn't to increase burn times - although an increase won't be a bad thing. A driving factor for me is to be able to get more heat out during the times I need it. I simply can't feed the FV enough wood and burn it fast enough to heat my house (over 2400 sqft) enough to keep the wife happy when it stays cold outside. True, I could burn oil to make up the difference but...

Anyway, my point here is that I'm not looking for the larger firebox to make this into a "Fireview with a larger gas tank" rather I'm looking forward to being able to blast out some serious heat when I want it and still have the ability to burn lower at times. This isn't a BK - although I have on several occasions given serious consideration to a BK as it is an awesome stove, I also like the appearance and other characteristics of the PH.

I'll be thrilled honestly if during the cold part of the winter I can load 2x a day and be done with it (approx 12hr cycle) - I expect that given the family wants it warmer now than ever (yes you folks did warn me about this a couple years ago), I may well have to go for more loads to keep the heat flowing. I know I'll be burning more wood - marginal efficiency gain over the FV won't be THAT much better eh? I'm budgeting 15-30% increase and hoping for the best. FV limited me somewhat in that front - can only pack so much into the stove and burn it down so fast.

Let us hear from you once you've been burning for a while. You may be surprised...get a lot more heat from the PH with the same amount of wood. I didn't use more wood switching from Fireview to PH.
 
You will find stoves of similar firebox size will perform in a similar fashion when a higher heat demand is needed. Only so many BTUs in a stick of wood.

I do think low burn times are important, the shoulder season type weather makes up months of the burning season.(October, November, March and April) Last winter I could almost consider the whole season a shoulder season!

People keep saying that there are only so many BTUs in a piece of wood, and that therefore firebox size determines heat output, because heat output will be directly realted to amount of wood loaded. .

The two don't follow -- it just isn't so. If I burn exactly the same amount of and species of wood in my PH as in my Fireview, I get very significantly more heat out of the PH...it is simply more efficient and, I surmise, loses less heat up the chimney. It has a much bigger window and a slanted back, which forces more heat to be radiated out the front very quickly.
 
People keep saying that there are only so many BTUs in a piece of wood, and that therefore firebox size determines heat output, because heat output will be directly realted to amount of wood loaded. .

The two don't follow -- it just isn't so. If I burn exactly the same amount of and species of wood in my PH as in my Fireview, I get very significantly more heat out of the PH...it is simply more efficient and, I surmise, loses less heat up the chimney. It has a much bigger window and a slanted back, which forces more heat to be radiated out the front very quickly.


No where did I say every stove with the same size firebox will produce exactly the same heat. I said stoves with similar sized fireboxes will perform *similar* to each other. Post by users here can confirm this time and time again. Some stoves are obviously more efficient in transferring/releasing heat back into the room. In the real world I feel a stove rated at 75% vs 80% isn't going to mean squat.
 
No where did I say every stove with the same size firebox will produce exactly the same heat. I said stoves with similar sized fireboxes will perform *similar* to each other. Post by users here can confirm this time and time again. Some stoves are obviously more efficient in transferring/releasing heat back into the room. In the real world I feel a stove rated at 75% vs 80% isn't going to mean squat.

I believe the Fireview is rated 72 or 73, the PH 80 or 81 ...there is a big difference in efficiency in the real word, and in theory 72 to 80 is over a 10 % increase in efficiency.
 
Last season I tried to burn my softer hardwoods(silver maple, cherry, black walnut) during the warm weather and was getting 18 hour burn times with highs in the low 40's.

I get highs in the 40s into early November and in March. I could definitely get 14+ hour burn times if I wanted, but you didn't answer one of my questions. This is important. How/when do you load your stove if you're running an 18 hour burn cycle? Don't you work and sleep? I mean, really, you're talking about putting wood in the stove twice a day regardless, aren't you?
 
I get highs in the 40s into early November and in March. I could definitely get 14+ hour burn times if I wanted, but you didn't answer one of my questions. This is important. How/when do you load your stove if you're running an 18 hour burn cycle? Don't you work and sleep? I mean, really, you're talking about putting wood in the stove twice a day regardless, aren't you?
I'll touch on this. I work from home. My need is based on comfort. I found that I hate waking up and having to load the stove first thing in the morning with a house that is less warm than I desire. If you have the option for 18+ hour burns, I like to know that I can either go to bed without cramming the stove full one last time or I can wake up and not have to think about loading a stove.

It's the flexibility of the day to day cycles that I crave.
 
I'll touch on this. I work from home. My need is based on comfort. I found that I hate waking up and having to load the stove first thing in the morning with a house that is less warm than I desire. If you have the option for 18+ hour burns, I like to know that I can either go to bed without cramming the stove full one last time or I can wake up and not have to think about loading a stove.

It's the flexibility of the day to day cycles that I crave.

That's cool, but you probably represent 0.3% of wood burners. Most people do not work at home. People with normal schedules would find an 18 hour burn cycle to be basically impossible. If you're going to put wood in the stove more than once a day, it's much easier to do when you're actually home and awake. ;)

Edit: What you crave and what some other very vocal folks on here seem to think is the most important thing with a wood stove simply does not match how the vast majority of users will use their stove. I absolutely could not manage an 18 hour burn cycle and can't imagine how anyone with a nornal schedule could. So, maybe burning forever at a really low output just doesn't work for me, and probably wouldn't work for most people. Maybe, just maybe, this is not realistically the most important thing to most burners. Something to consider...
 
That's cool, but you probably represent 0.3% of wood burners. Most people do not work at home. People with normal schedules would find an 18 hour burn cycle to be basically impossible. If you're going to put wood in the stove more than once a day, it's much easier to do when you're actually home and awake. ;)

Edit: What you crave and what some other very vocal folks on here seem to think is the most important thing with a wood stove simply does not match how the vast majority of users will use their stove. I absolutely could not manage an 18 hour burn cycle and can't imagine how anyone with a nornal schedule could. So, maybe burning forever at a really low output just doesn't work for me, and probably wouldn't work for most people. Maybe, just maybe, this is not realistically the most important thing to most burners. Something to consider...

I am speaking personally and how I like to operate a stove. And I think you are taking the mention of an 18 hour burn cycle too literal. Whether you are talking about 12, 16, 18, 24, or 30+ hour burns, it is an option, not something that needs to be stuck to. If you are stuck at work, or you have to pick up the kids, or you have a dinner to go to after a long day, it is nice to know that the house will be warm when you return and that your personal schedule is not ruled be when the stove stops producing heat.

Also, as the winter drags on, you really get tired of loading the wood burning beasts. The longer the burn, the more you get to enjoy the heat and the stove without fiddling with wood or the stove.

There are many on here that are looking for consistent 12+ hour burns. Whether it is a low burn or a high burn. At this point it appears that the Progress will provide this on a regular basis. Which is nice.

But, I do think you are underestimating the flexibility that a low burn provides during many portions of the burning months and the market that looks for this. Being in the SE PA area, the length of shoulder season can vary greatly. Usually our fist taste of legitimate cold is in mid-to late December and a lasting snow storm usually doesn't happen until January. Which means the majority of the cold months the highs are 35-42 degrees with overnight lows in the low 20s to low 30s.
 
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I get highs in the 40s into early November and in March. I could definitely get 14+ hour burn times if I wanted, but you didn't answer one of my questions. This is important. How/when do you load your stove if you're running an 18 hour burn cycle? Don't you work and sleep? I mean, really, you're talking about putting wood in the stove twice a day regardless, aren't you?


You're 100% correct an 18 hour schedule for loading the stove doesn't fit the day to day well. I find the weekends are the times where I really try to stretch out the burn times since I'm around the house. When I can't get 22-24 hours between loads anymore I try to load in 12 hour stretches since it fits my life better. That doesn't mean it isn't nice to have the extra capacity when it's needed/wanted. On the days where I have to leave early for work or come home late it's nice to know the first thing I'm not doing when I come in the door is loading the stove.
 
I agree with you Waulie, no sense in this weather to waste wood by filling up the fire box. A short hot fire is all that's needed to stay comfy right now. I don't have a lot of experience with my BK yet but so far it seems very controllable and I have many different options on how it's going to heat the house. Most likely I'll just keep her burning low and slow all year to keep my finished 1000 sq ft basement warm and burn my Woodstock on the main floor as needed. If I didn't have the WS I'm sure I'd be filling the BK stove just like any other similar sized stove out there to keep up in the dead of Winter.
 
Let us hear from you once you've been burning for a while. You may be surprised...get a lot more heat from the PH with the same amount of wood. I didn't use more wood switching from Fireview to PH.

Don't worry - I'm not one to keep too quiet :) Although it is hard to really normalize for everything, I do have my data collected for the last three years of the FV (daily records of number of splits vs HDD) so it will be interesting. I didn't keep interior temps beyond the first year though.

I'm not going to be upset either way if I have to burn a bit more wood as I'm pretty happy with the burn rate and if I have to burn more wood to get more heat who am I to complain? However, I will be rather disappointed if I can't achieve a 12hr burn cycle for the vast majority of the heating season as this is important to me. Our schedule seems to be getting more challenging each year as the kids are growing and having to plan around stove loads just won't work for us very well. We really enjoy the stove and wood heat - everyone looks forward to it each fall and is disappointed in the spring when we stop so we look at it as a pleasure of the season, but as the head of the stove loading guild I'm looking to minimize the schedule hassle.
 
I agree with you Waulie, no sense in this weather to waste wood by filling up the fire box. A short hot fire is all that's needed to stay comfy right now. I don't have a lot of experience with my BK yet but so far it seems very controllable and I have many different options on how it's going to heat the house. Most likely I'll just keep her burning low and slow all year to keep my finished 1000 sq ft basement warm and burn my Woodstock on the main floor as needed. If I didn't have the WS I'm sure I'd be filling the BK stove just like any other similar sized stove out there to keep up in the dead of Winter.

I really think you have the perfect setup for the BK. As you said, you can probably enjoy really long burn times pretty much all winter with that stove since you have the Keystone to supplement as needed. That is sweet!
 
However, I will be rather disappointed if I can't achieve a 12hr burn cycle for the vast majority of the heating season as this is important to me.

I don't think you'll have problems with 12 hour cycles unless you live in a huge drafty barn.
 
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I think the only way for the PH to get those BK type burns your going to have to tinker with the combustion air from the dog house or baffle. My BK has only one source of combustion air and it all comes down the air wash plate. Less air in means longer burns.

Todd: I'm surprised you haven't already started tinkering with the BK air supply to extend those measily 24 hour burn times!
 
Todd: I'm surprised you haven't already started tinkering with the BK air supply to extend those measily 24 hour burn times!
Well, he already got at least one 33 hour burn out of the Princess. I think Todd will have a hard time finding ways to tinker with that stove that will improve upon a 33 hour burn. ;lol
 
I like large spilts in the PH. In the dead of winter, I'm using maybe three 8 to 9 inchers and filling in from there. This does help control the secondaries.

That's kind of what I was thinking by "massive" - 8 to 9 inchers measured at the bark edges.
 
Well, he already got at least one 33 hour burn out of the Princess. I think Todd will have a hard time finding ways to tinker with that stove that will improve upon a 33 hour burn. ;lol

There will be no tinkering with this stove. It does everything I want it to.
 
I've been using my overnight fires to cook my winter squashes and pumpkins, so I can puree and freeze them. My smaller cast aluminum roasting pan fits perfectly on the central element, if put on a slight slant. Put two butternut squash in, cover and leave. End of burn, squash is soft, easy to remove seeds and scrape out squash.
Cooked scrambled eggs with summer squash, sunnyside up eggs, and oatmeal cereal this morning.
It's an overcast moist day, so I'm keeping a small fire going, burning my maple bark. Will probably make a chicken casserole or turkey casserole and cook it on the stove tonight....
Steamed broccoli [for freezing] on the stove last evening, prior to putting the squash on....
The stove has three elements and I have, at times, used all three elements. The three elements are three different temperatures, and the closed soapstone top is yet another temp, add a piece of soapstone above the top and you have a fifth temperature. You can really cook anything, including things you normally have to do in a double boiler (simply put those on the two layers of soapstone).

I'll probably start a thread about cooking on this stove, and encourage members to post recipes...

On a less nice note, had a tick attached to me this afternoon...first since the late spring. Hardly have been in the woods...just the very edge, sweats on tight at the ankle...tick attached to chest. Ugh. Time to cut the dog's fur again....A wash and a spin and there is a nice warm hat and mittens....
 
I'll probably start a thread about cooking on this stove, and encourage members to post recipes...

Please do, rideau. I haven't cook on mine yet as I have only had night fires, but I'm excited and would love some tips/recipes.
 
I'll probably start a thread about cooking on this stove, and encourage members to post recipes...

Looking forward to this Thread, Rideau!

Sorry about the tick bite, good you caught it early. We have EEE and West Nile Virus as well as Ticks around here.
 
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