You tell me how you push your stove.

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Augie

Feeling the Heat
Nov 8, 2012
468
North Of Canada
Cold temperatures in the Midwest and just getting to the east. So how do you push it when it gets really cold? I want to hear from these who have no problem teens or above, but what do you when it is single digits or less? I'm loading smaller splits and re-loading more often with more air.

What say you?
 
I push it hard. Every load get fired to this or above. It did the job last night in 5 degree OAT and 20mph winds
 

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The BK has a thermostat to control ouput, if it's really cold like it was in the teens this morning then I turn the stat up a scosh before bed. As a result, the stove eats more wood so I need to feed it more often.
 
We don't really have to push it...just load it with good dry stuff. I do reload sooner on a bigger coal bed though, to keep temps up in here.
 
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I have never pushed my liberty hard. It usually runs between 600 and 750 depending on how much wood I put in. Got down to 9 degrees last night with 30 MPH winds, loaded 5 splits in at 11 and at 5 this morning it was still 85 in the living room and stove was at 350 and that was with the air control open just a hair. Just put in 5 splits to get me through the evening and that is only the second load of the day aside from the 3 small splits I put in this morning to build a bigger coal bed and its 87 in here. This stove is amazing:eek:
 
For me, pushing involves managing the burn after the peak. I gradually open the air as the stovetop temp starts to drop. Eventually I start raking the coals so they are down to some manageable level, and then in goes another load. So not so much about shooting for a higher peak - more about minimizing the between-peak lows.

Our next day predicted to be above freezing is a week from today, so I expect we'll be chewing through the wood pile.
 
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I have never pushed my liberty hard. It usually runs between 600 and 750 depending on how much wood I put in. Got down to 9 degrees last night with 30 MPH winds, loaded 5 splits in at 11 and at 5 this morning it was still 85 in the living room and stove was at 350 and that was with the air control open just a hair. Just put in 5 splits to get me through the evening and that is only the second load of the day aside from the 3 small splits I put in this morning to build a bigger coal bed and its 87 in here. This stove is amazing:eek:
Pretty sure my furnace couldn't get my house that warm. I was real happy with 70 on the first floor in the morning.
 
Was cold last night. I set my alarm clock to wake me 3 hours after going to bed and refilled the box. I am loading more often but she's keeping up very nicely with the cold. Keep it full, and open the air a smidge until you have a superhot coal bed.
 
I light up the insert.
 
WTH? Only 9 posts, and I already forgot the question. Jeez, now it's ten. I type too slow.
Oh yeah, I decided to try not being too cold, so I've been running the stove up around 650-700 the last 2-3 days.
At night, I start losing the battle. Regroup in the morning and do it again.
I gotz work to do roun' heah.
 
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I have never pushed my liberty hard. It usually runs between 600 and 750 depending on how much wood I put in. Got down to 9 degrees last night with 30 MPH winds, loaded 5 splits in at 11 and at 5 this morning it was still 85 in the living room and stove was at 350 and that was with the air control open just a hair. Just put in 5 splits to get me through the evening and that is only the second load of the day aside from the 3 small splits I put in this morning to build a bigger coal bed and its 87 in here. This stove is amazing:eek:

I agree, I also have a Lopi Liberty 1750. It is in the basement and we have an open stairway to the kitchen area. Sunday we had a high temp. of 9 deg. with strong winds. The thermostat for our furnace is located upstairs in the living room and the furnace never ran all day or Sunday night. It did not come on until around 4:00 a.m.
 
I am reloading more often and on a hotter coal bed. It's too cold in here if I let the top go down to 300.

Even with the xxv on full bore and the Fireview cranking, the house just barely hits 65 downstairs (58-60 up). :(
 
I just run her as normal......I see some temperatures drop in the house (just 70 downstairs, 65 upstairs), but that is more than warm enough for us.
 
Load as normal when I got home from work 75 in the house yesterday, today with kids having sports havent been home to keep it going strong but im home now and shes cranking 5 degrees outside right now 67 in the house and climbing.
 
The 30 builds up a huge coal bed and neads to be emptied every day in the cold. We have bin keeping the house 70-80 depending on what stage the fire is in
 
When we get to this teens or single digits and zero and below wind chills I go from two loads a day to three. And don't get to sleep till ten in the morning because of that morning reload. My challenge in mild or really cold weather is having an invalid upstairs in this barn. Keeping the upstairs warm forces keeping it a tad too warm downstairs. The sixties up there are fine for sleeping weather but if you are inactive less than seventy ain't cutting it.
 
I forgot something. I do that.
I suggested to my lovely wife that we start up the direct vent heater in the laundry room to help keep the back of the house a bit warmer until this cold snap goes away.
Her reply......"we'll be fine".
Have I mentioned that I love my wife?:cool:
Then later, she suggested that we turn on the kitchen oven to do the warming. It's electric.
I politely declined to do that.;)
 
First I close all the curtains over my windows. Load up the stove and get her up 600. She will cruise around 550 -600 for about 2 hrs with the air closed. When she drops below 500 with the air wide open I choke her up with more wood. I have a 1300 soft house. At that pace with single digit temps I can keep the house up and down stairs around 70. If it is windy out, I struggle to keep it at that.

Typically, mid-20 temps I can run her at 450 - 500. And keep the house at 78
 
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We run it up to 600 when it it this cold, still slowly close down the air for it to coast at 500. When warmer, we get it up to 500 and close down the air and run it at 400. Course we are using more wood now and finding we have hit a drier section in our wood stack
 
All locust loads and a tad more air, switch to 8 hr burns from 12 when the single digits hit (like last night & tonight) the wind makes all the difference for needing the extra output for me. Wood use has increased but I just cant give up the 78-80 deg warmth.
Im looking at bigger humidifiers though, its drier than a popcorn fart in here.:)

Todd2
 
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Pack her full with oak, maple and ash, EW, at 10 pm instead of 8 pm, close the air a little less, wake up around 6:30 am with the house in the mid to low 60*s instead of ~ 70*. Supposed to get to -20* to -25* the next two nights...temps in the house might get a little lower so I'll get up at 5:30 am, throw in a few splits NS and burn full open...house will be in mid 60*s to 70* by the time the wife gets up and I'll have a manageable amount of coals so I can load for the day!
 
I was fine until the wind started, drafty old barn doesn't support my fire building skills. I find it harder to run the stove "low" on rainy damp but not real cold days than it is to get her crankin when its 12 degrees outside. I learned to keep the "good" wood in a separate pile just to throw the BTUs during the cold snaps. I tend to reload a few times more a day and with a bit more coals than usual but it's 76 in my living room and 68 upstairs, and the furnace isn't on so I'm happy ;)
 
Im looking at bigger humidifiers though, its drier than a popcorn fart in here.:)

I hear ya. It is 16 with wind chills in low singles. The stove is hanging in but the humidifiers are losing the race.
 
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