What's your "overnight" stove temp?

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TTigano

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Jan 19, 2012
129
Southeastern, Ma
I am a second year burner. This year I am attempting to heat the house using the woodstove. We have a Hampton HI300 insert. I obtained about 5 cord of hardwood that was supposedly "seasoned" last year about this time. I soon learned that not all wood is equal. Since I couldn't burn the wood we had purchased last year, I ended up getting wood here and there in order to burn and use the stove. That as well as the occasional pack of bio bricks. Anyway, I took that wood and stacked it in single rows so it would dry faster. It is a mix of hardwoods to include ash, oak and maple. I have been doing farely well keeping the stove temps to within normal operating range with the occasional hot side. Sorry to rant on.. My question is this.... I will load the stove up at about 11:30 p.m. when I get home from work... I rake the hot red coals forward and pack the stove EW with a larger split in the back. I leave the air wide open while the stove gets up to temp... i usually start closing the air down in 1/4 increments when it hits 450-500..... I get the stove temp most of the time to max out right before it reads "overfire" on my rutland thermometer. Air closed and fan on high when we go to bed so the air moves around.... I wake up around 6:00 with the fan still on and the house a tad chilly... (66), and the stove top temp is about 150. I would think that it should be a little higher but I'm just curios as to what others are seeing.
 
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That is a good result with that fan on high. Without a fan blowing on my free stander in the fireplace I get up to stove top temps around 250 or so.
 
I am a second year burner. This year I am attempting to heat the house using the woodstove. We have a Hampton HI300 insert. I obtained about 5 cord of hardwood that was supposedly "seasoned" last year about this time. I soon learned that not all wood is equal. Since I couldn't burn the wood we had purchased last year, I ended up getting wood here and there in order to burn and use the stove. That as well as the occasional pack of bio bricks. Anyway, I took that wood and stacked it in single rows so it would dry faster. It is a mix of hardwoods to include ash, oak and maple. I have been doing farely well keeping the stove temps to within normal operating range with the occasional hot side. Sorry to rant on.. My question is this.... I will load the stove up at about 11:30 p.m. when I get home from work... I rake the hot red coals forward and pack the stove EW with a larger split in the back. I leave the air wide open while the stove gets up to temp... i usually start closing the air down in 1/4 increments when it hits 450-500..... I get the stove temp most of the time to max out right before it reads "overfire" on my rutland thermometer. Air closed and fan on high when we go to bed so the air moves around.... I wake up around 6:00 with the fan still on and the house a tad chilly... (66), and the stove top temp is about 150. I would think that it should be a little higher but I'm just curios as to what others are seeing.

I'm a second year burner as well. I have a bigger stove, so I guess the comparison isn't really the same. But in my Progress Hybrid, I can easily get a 10-12 hour "burn," meaning that when I wake up the stove is still around 300 or slightly hotter (as measured on top of the soapstone). But one thing I have noticed is that if I run the stove up too hot before I cut the air down, the wood won't always last all night. Again, I know the Hampton has a smaller firebox, but maybe you should try cutting the air back before it gets too hot. The Progresss is a hybrid stove (so it has a cat), but I generally cut back the air all the way after my stovetop temperature is about 260-290 degrees. If I let the stove get above 300 with a full load of wood, even if I cut the air down to zero, the stove will generally take off to 450-550 and will burn the wood up much faster.
 
The OP has an insert with the fan running on high cooling the stove. No comparison can be made with a free standing PH. Well, unless you aim a fan at it all night.
 
I have an insert as well. Sounds like you're doing well. Try keeping the fan on low. I bet you won't see too much of a difference in the heat in the room by 6:00am, but you will see a higher stove top temp.
 
I am a second year burner. This year I am attempting to heat the house using the woodstove. We have a Hampton HI300 insert. I obtained about 5 cord of hardwood that was supposedly "seasoned" last year about this time. I soon learned that not all wood is equal. Since I couldn't burn the wood we had purchased last year, I ended up getting wood here and there in order to burn and use the stove. That as well as the occasional pack of bio bricks. Anyway, I took that wood and stacked it in single rows so it would dry faster. It is a mix of hardwoods to include ash, oak and maple. I have been doing farely well keeping the stove temps to within normal operating range with the occasional hot side. Sorry to rant on.. My question is this.... I will load the stove up at about 11:30 p.m. when I get home from work... I rake the hot red coals forward and pack the stove EW with a larger split in the back. I leave the air wide open while the stove gets up to temp... i usually start closing the air down in 1/4 increments when it hits 450-500..... I get the stove temp most of the time to max out right before it reads "overfire" on my rutland thermometer. Air closed and fan on high when we go to bed so the air moves around.... I wake up around 6:00 with the fan still on and the house a tad chilly... (66), and the stove top temp is about 150. I would think that it should be a little higher but I'm just curios as to what others are seeing.
Sounds like my Avalon Ranier to a T....except our house will still be at 70* inside.... 30* outside
 
I have a cat stove so I cant answer the temp question but I leave the fan on low, your gonna burn through a lot quicker the higher the fan,I actually keep my fan on low all the time, it seems to move the air around enough on low but why keep it on high while your sleeping.
 
I have a cat stove so I cant answer the temp question but I leave the fan on low, your gonna burn through a lot quicker the higher the fan,I actually keep my fan on low all the time, it seems to move the air around enough on low but why keep it on high while your sleeping.

Im taking it as your saying you will burn through your wood faster if the fan is on high, why is that?
 
I get the stove temp most of the time to max out right before it reads "overfire" on my rutland thermometer
From what I understand, the Burn Zone, from about 300 to 550 on the rutland thermometer, is intended to be read on the flue pipe, not on the top of the stove,Am I right or wrong ? The stove top will be about 100 to 150 hotter than the pipe
 
Im taking it as your saying you will burn through your wood faster if the fan is on high, why is that?
Yes why? ! cuz If I need my fire box to burn hotter I turn my blower off
 
Im taking it as your saying you will burn through your wood faster if the fan is on high, why is that?
Some kind of fancy science!
Thermodynamics!

In this case heat will transfer faster to a colder object..in this case if the box surrounding the fire is cooled by a fan the heat from the fire will transfer to the box faster.
Temp differential thing.

That's what I have been told anyways.
To me it seems there maybe some efficiency gains with a fan but I don't see how the wood burns any faster if no more air is added to the fire..everything else being equal.
 
My overnight stove temp is about 550, I try not to waste btu's by running it up higher than that. When I get to 500 I started cutting back the air control. If the temp inside the stove is twice the outside (roughly), and smoke needs a 1000 degrees to combust, I think you will extract more energy from your fuel if you burn a little over 500. Try running your fan on low, maybe your fire will be a little hotter and more efficient?
 
Each fire i have i would like to have it in 500 to 600 range may need to take it up a tad when the nights are real cold.
 
From what I understand, the Burn Zone, from about 300 to 550 on the rutland thermometer, is intended to be read on the flue pipe, not on the top of the stove,Am I right or wrong ? The stove top will be about 100 to 150 hotter than the pipe

The burn zone on a rutland thermometer is a compromise between desired stove pipe temps and stove top temps. After owning 3, I can say for certain that I am not impressed with them. 1 of the group will read consistently (not accurately) but with the help of the IR thermometer it can be used now that I know when it reads 550 that's actually about 675.

Here are the scales that I think are most reasonable for stove pipe and stove top respectively.

chimgard.jpg
INFERNO.jpg


As to the original poster, it sounds like you are doing it right and have the right sized unit. I'd expect the house to be a bit chilly once it's morning and time for a reload. A wood stove isn't a furnace and one simply shouldn't expect the temps to hold rock steady at X all the time. So long as the morning load you throw in gets temps up to your comfort zone for the day, I'd say you are spot on.

pen
 
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The burn zone on a rutland thermometer is a compromise between desired stove pipe temps and stove top temps. After owning 3, I can say for certain that I am not impressed with them. 1 of the group will read consistently (not accurately) but with the help of the IR thermometer it can be used now that I know when it reads 550 that's actually about 675.

Here are the scales that I think are most reasonable for stove pipe and stove top respectively.

chimgard.jpg
INFERNO.jpg


As to the original poster, it sounds like you are doing it right and have the right sized unit. I'd expect the house to be a bit chilly once it's morning and time for a reload. A wood stove isn't a furnace and one simply shouldn't expect the temps to hold rock steady at X all the time. So long as the morning load you throw in gets temps up to your comfort zone for the day, I'd say you are spot on.

pen

Sorry about off topic but I need to ask
So, according to the Chimgard, if i'm at 225 or 250 at the pipe, I am running hot enough ???, reading with my IR thermometer
I thought it needed be 300 or better. IDK :confused:
 
That is a good result with that fan on high. Without a fan blowing on my free stander in the fireplace I get up to stove top temps around 250 or so.

+1
I get similar results on my freestanding, no blower, catalytic stove. Typically routine is a to pack a full load around 8pm... regulate the air to get it hot (stovetop 500-600) and bring the stove room up to 75F or so, then when I go to bed between 10-11pm I shut the air down to about 10% (will drop stove top to 300-350). At 7am I will have stove top in the 200-275 range and just enough coals to start a new load.
 
I am on my 3rd year burning with a Hampton HI-300. Sounds to me like you are doing fine. But I would agree that the fan on low is the way to go, especially for overnight. I never use the high setting. I think the low setting helps the firebox stay at higher temperatures, longer, steadier which translates to more complete and efficient secondary combustion.

If I load the stove at 11:30pm, and have it cruising along by midnight with the fan on low, I will still be around 300F or more by 6am. I'm guessing I wouldn't be down to 150 until about 8-10am. I don't think I am sacrificing any heat by running the fan on low. I think the overall result is better.

I am heating the middle floor and upstairs of a three-level house built into the side of a hill. The Hampton is in a living room with a cathedral ceiling and floor to ceiling windows (nice view, but major heat loss). The living room will stay around 70F all night, but the extremities of the house will get chilly. I do not have a good setup for air circulation, and the area I am trying to heat is too large for the Hampton, realistically.

-Jim
 
I am a second year burner. This year I am attempting to heat the house using the woodstove. We have a Hampton HI300 insert. I obtained about 5 cord of hardwood that was supposedly "seasoned" last year about this time. I soon learned that not all wood is equal. Since I couldn't burn the wood we had purchased last year, I ended up getting wood here and there in order to burn and use the stove. That as well as the occasional pack of bio bricks. Anyway, I took that wood and stacked it in single rows so it would dry faster. It is a mix of hardwoods to include ash, oak and maple. I have been doing farely well keeping the stove temps to within normal operating range with the occasional hot side. Sorry to rant on.. My question is this.... I will load the stove up at about 11:30 p.m. when I get home from work... I rake the hot red coals forward and pack the stove EW with a larger split in the back. I leave the air wide open while the stove gets up to temp... i usually start closing the air down in 1/4 increments when it hits 450-500..... I get the stove temp most of the time to max out right before it reads "overfire" on my rutland thermometer. Air closed and fan on high when we go to bed so the air moves around.... I wake up around 6:00 with the fan still on and the house a tad chilly... (66), and the stove top temp is about 150. I would think that it should be a little higher but I'm just curios as to what others are seeing.

I'm just wondering why you wait until 450-500 before turning the draft down? Then it appears you take it up to the point of overfire? Something just does not sound right. With this, it is no wonder the wood burns so fast. Seems you could turn that draft down sooner and turn it down a lot more without getting it that hot.
 
I'm just wondering why you wait until 450-500 before turning the draft down? Then it appears you take it up to the point of overfire? Something just does not sound right. With this, it is no wonder the wood burns so fast. Seems you could turn that draft down sooner and turn it down a lot more without getting it that hot.
I agree. When loading on a bed of hot coals (around 300F) my HI300 really tends to take off. I'm usually turning down the draft to 1/2 as soon as the new splits catch fire good, and then I close it down gradually from there. For me, the halfway closed point is where I can just start to hear that I am having an impact on the airflow rate. That being said, when reloading onto a moderate bed of coals, my temps tend to peak around 700-750 on the glass according to IR thermometer. Pretty hot. The Rutland thermometer on the firebox (which I just got) tends to read cooler.
-Jim
 
Yes why? ! cuz If I need my fire box to burn hotter I turn my blower off
What makes you think the fire cares if the blower is on or off...just curious.
You are not changing the air coming in to the fire just because the blower is on.
Actually because of thermodynamics you will have better heat transfer to the metal around the stove if the blower is on which means less heat going up the flue.
Is it a huge difference..probably not.
All that said I hardly ever run my blowers..I like peace and quite and the stove heats my 2500sq.ft. house fine without them.

The only time a blower may effect the fire in the stove is when the stove has a bi metal thermostat and the blower cools that..making it open.
 
I appreciate everyones replies... Sorry I haven't had a chance to chime in sooner. I will try to keep the fan speed on low and turn the air down sooner. I also have a horrible floor plan as well as poor circulation through out the house... Maybe thats why I had the fan running on high..
 
I will run the fan on high when I want heat quick, but once I've reached a satisfactory room temp I turn it down to low. I know nothing about thermal dynamics, but I do know that I get better burn times with the fan on low and best burn times with the fan off. Whatever scientific theory you want to apply to that feel free.
 
I will run the fan on high when I want heat quick, but once I've reached a satisfactory room temp I turn it down to low. I know nothing about thermal dynamics, but I do know that I get better burn times with the fan on low and best burn times with the fan off. Whatever scientific theory you want to apply to that feel free.
You must have a magic stove if the rate of burn changes just because the fan is on or off!
Maybe you have a gasket leak and air is blowing in to your stove when the fan is on?
Does your Osbourn have a bi-metal thermostat?
 
Some kind of fancy science!
Thermodynamics!

In this case heat will transfer faster to a colder object..in this case if the box surrounding the fire is cooled by a fan the heat from the fire will transfer to the box faster.
Temp differential thing.

That's what I have been told anyways.
To me it seems there maybe some efficiency gains with a fan but I don't see how the wood burns any faster if no more air is added to the fire..everything else being equal.
Good point, I have a tstat so more air is added, I shouldnt have applied how my stove runs to his stove.
 
What makes you think the fire cares if the blower is on or off...just curious.

Well ! I would think, if I were starting a new fire, and I wanted the fire box to get hot , it would take longer to get it hot, if I am pulling heat away from it with a blower.
But maybe I'm wrong
 
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