A Progress Hybrid Long Burn

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Waulie

Minister of Fire
Aug 31, 2011
1,012
Nothern Lower Michigan
I usually don't try for super long burns, since I find 12 hour reloads to work perfect for me. However, since I was going to be home all day today, I decided to load it up and see what would happen.

I didn't take a picture of my load, but it included ash, hard maple, beech, and one ironwood split. The splits were all 16 to 17 inches. I loaded the stove full on hot coals at 7:30 last night. Since the stove can take 22 inch splits, I'd say I had it filled maybe 75% of capacity.

Here is a picture of the coals I had left at 1:00 this afternoon after 17.5 hours. This pic was just after I shoveled out some ashes so there were actually a few more coals than this. Stovetop was at 280.

CIMG4003.JPG View attachment 82526
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I actually opened the draft quite a bit after 14 hours to get some more heat out of the coals. Low was mid twenties last night, and a high around 30 today. House was at 68 degrees when I reloaded after 17.5 hours. The new load caught within 15 seconds of shutting the door.

I bet I could easily get 20 hour burns (meaning with useable heat not just coals) with longer splits. Of course, a 20 hour burn isn't as convenient for me as a 12 hour burn. So, I'm just going to stick with that. It is nice to know I can get a pretty darn long burn, if needed.

Draft setting for the night was just the tiniest bit above completely closed. The house did get up to 73 last night.
 
That's pretty good Waulie. I'm thinking you got pretty cold last night too? Much snow?

Even the Fireview does really well. Last night I put in a round of elm and 3 splits of ash. That was at 9:00 and we just put some wood in around 1:00 this afternoon. House just starting to cool some then but still in the 70's. So we could call this a 16 hour burn in the Fireview and I did not have it filled. It got hot in here during the night too and wife was not too happy about that one.
 
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We got about 3 inches of snow last night with another 4 or 5 on the way.

Well, if we were going some some manufacturers definition of "burn time", I'd guess the PH would be way into twenties. Woodstock is definitely conservative on the burn time ratings.
 
Nice burn! ::-)
 
Impressive....
 
We got about 3 inches of snow last night with another 4 or 5 on the way.

Well, if we were going some some manufacturers definition of "burn time", I'd guess the PH would be way into twenties. Woodstock is definitely conservative on the burn time ratings.

Better conservative than overstating!
 
Woodstock is definitely conservative on the burn time ratings.

We would call that, "leaving a lot on the table" and I wish more manufacturers would do it. Surely it would have been relightable with splits at 20 hours and for many of us, that is what burn time is all about.

So you used short splits but did you load to the roof?
 
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We would call that, "leaving a lot on the table" and I wish more manufacturers would do it. Surely it would have been relightable with splits at 20 hours and for many of us, that is what burn time is all about.

So you used short splits but did you load to the roof?

Yup. Short splits to maybe 2" below the baffle. I have some longer splits for next year. Everything I'm burning this year I cut to 16" +/- because I still wasn't sure what stove I was getting.

Also, I empty my ash once a week on Sundays so I could have put a little bit more in there with a cleaner stove.

The "burn time" thing is so tough because it's so different to everyone. I'm going with stovetop at 250+ unless it's below twenty degrees outside, then it's 300+. ;)
 
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In the interest of fairness, I should also add that the ironwood split I tucked in the bottom, back of the stove definitely helped the burn times out. Ironwood (hophornbeam) is the chit!
 
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Ironwood (hophornbeam) is the chit!

I thought that was a made up species to poke fun at my screen name. Ha!

Not even whiskey today. Kona Brewing Company, Longboard Island Lager. Quite dark.
 
Yup. Short splits to maybe 2" below the baffle. I have some longer splits for next year. Everything I'm burning this year I cut to 16" +/- because I still wasn't sure what stove I was getting.

Also, I empty my ash once a week on Sundays so I could have put a little bit more in there with a cleaner stove.

The "burn time" thing is so tough because it's so different to everyone. I'm going with stovetop at 250+ unless it's below twenty degrees outside, then it's 300+. ;)
Waulie: Thanks for the information! Been watching your threads. Really helping me know if the Progress is the right stove for me.
 
I thought that was a made up species to poke fun at my screen name. Ha!

Not even whiskey today. Kona Brewing Company, Longboard Island Lager. Quite dark.

You might be on to something! Hophighbeam sounds like a great IPA. ::-)

Labatt for me tonight. :(
 
Waulie: Thanks for the information! Been watching your threads. Really helping me know if the Progress is the right stove for me.

Glad it's helped! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Or, just start a thread asking Progress specific questions and I'm sure tons of folks will help you out.
 
What did the stove top temps peak at during this burn?
 
Waulie,

How much floor space are you heating? It seems like Flamestead's huge 3500 sq ft house and Hollowhill's extremely drafty farmhouse cut down the burn times quite a bit, even with their dampers closed. I never got 17.5 hrs with a stovetop of 280, that's amazing.

But I don't have any ironwood ;hm.
 
What did the stove top temps peak at during this burn?

It peaked at about 550. After engaging the cat, it ran up to 500 pretty fast, sat between 500 and 520 for a while then peaked up a bit more. It didn't stay above 520 for very long, but seemed to like the 500 range for a long time. It was just over 500 when I went to bed at midnight and about 380 when I woke up at 7:00.
 
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Waulie,

How much floor space are you heating? It seems like Flamestead's huge 3500 sq ft house and Hollowhill's extremely drafty farmhouse cut down the burn times quite a bit, even with their dampers closed. I never got 17.5 hrs with a stovetop of 280, that's amazing.

But I don't have any ironwood ;hm.

Should I go by the tax man or the appraiser? My house is around 1,700 square-feet, but with cathedral ceilings everywhere I figure I'm heating the equivalent of about 2,200 square-feet in volume. My insulation is decent but I do have some drafts.

I think Flamestead's and Hollowhill's burn time "problem" is not their homes but their drafts. They both have very tall, insulated, interior chimneys. It's ok in the long run because they need the heat! I don't think they'd be warm running a 17 hour burn.

I've never had 17.5 hours before either. I did have one 17 hour burn last year but I can't remember what the temp was at that point. I really never try for super long burns though. Yes, the ironwood helps no question. When I woke up, that split was pretty solid. When I turned up the draft after 14 hours, I got small lazy flames again burning over the ironwood.
 
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I think what I'm burning is affecting burn times as well. I think it's mainly maple and the like. Not the really good woods like oak and ironwood. I think I've achieved critical mass (3 yr supply) this year and will be able to handle oak in the future. For now, it's still not seasoned enough and gives me more trouble than help. Wish I could spot it better. I also think you're right about the tall interior insulated chimneys. Probably more of an effect than the draftiness. Still congrats on the long burn, you give the rest of us something to aim for!
 
I think what I'm burning is affecting burn times as well. I think it's mainly maple and the like. Not the really good woods like oak and ironwood. I think I've achieved critical mass (3 yr supply) this year and will be able to handle oak in the future. For now, it's still not seasoned enough and gives me more trouble than help. Wish I could spot it better. I also think you're right about the tall interior insulated chimneys. Probably more of an effect than the draftiness. Still congrats on the long burn, you give the rest of us something to aim for!
Aren't you also heating a really large, drafty, old house?

Fact is, you will have a harder time heating the home at lower temps than most people. You will always have shorter burn times than most as your reload temps will be higher and you will need to burn at a higher peak temp for longer periods of time.
 
I think what I'm burning is affecting burn times as well. I think it's mainly maple and the like. Not the really good woods like oak and ironwood. I think I've achieved critical mass (3 yr supply) this year and will be able to handle oak in the future. For now, it's still not seasoned enough and gives me more trouble than help. Wish I could spot it better. I also think you're right about the tall interior insulated chimneys. Probably more of an effect than the draftiness. Still congrats on the long burn, you give the rest of us something to aim for!

Like BB said, I wouldn't let your burn times bother you too much. The fact is that you just need a ton of heat! Certainly better wood will help both with heat and burn times, but actually I'm pretty impressed by your and Flamestead's results being able to heat those spaces with one stove.
 
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Nice burn Waulie. Did you start out burning it hot then shut the air down or just go right to low burn right off the bat? I bet you'll do even better next year with those longer splits.
 
Nice burn Waulie. Did you start out burning it hot then shut the air down or just go right to low burn right off the bat? I bet you'll do even better next year with those longer splits.

Same as always really. I shut the draft to about 50% open after the wood was flaming well. As the thermo on the exterior of the flue (10" above stovetop) approached 300, I notched it down a bit more. When the thermo hit 340 I closed the bypass. I let it burn for a bit, then notched it all the way down to it's final resting place. The secondaries shot off for a good while, but they were actually pretty mild. I didn't pay too close attention, but the stove had no flames at all after a couple hours.
 
Same as always really. I shut the draft to about 50% open after the wood was flaming well. As the thermo on the exterior of the flue (10" above stovetop) approached 300, I notched it down a bit more. When the thermo hit 340 I closed the bypass. I let it burn for a bit, then notched it all the way down to it's final resting place. The secondaries shot off for a good while, but they were actually pretty mild. I didn't pay too close attention, but the stove had no flames at all after a couple hours.

So in the end do you shut the air all the way down to it's max?
 
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