Show me your load

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Diabel

Minister of Fire
Jan 11, 2008
3,858
Ottawa, ON
I put this in at 2:00pm today. Will have to reload sometime tomorrow. C73DD219-5E7A-43BA-81F7-8205B80C5EA7.jpeg
 
I'd like to see how you light a load like that unless it's a reload on a very hot coal bed!
 
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I'd like to see how you light a load like that unless it's a reload on a very hot coal bed!
I use this as fire starter. It works well
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I'd like to see how you light a load like that unless it's a reload on a very hot coal bed!

The princess, shown(?), has a 6” deep belly below the bottom of the loading door frame. Plenty of room for many layers of criss crossed kindling under what you can see. Just shoot down there with a torch or ignite a little chunk of fire starter with a long lighter.
 
I'd like to see how you light a load like that unless it's a reload on a very hot coal bed!
If the wood is dry that would be a relatively easy light with a chunk of supercedar ignited in the lower left void.
 
wood alcohol
The OP just said to show it, nothing about burning.
 
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Another point for using wood that maybe isn't the highest BTU, and a crotch piece that, in the dead of winter, would prevent fuller loading.
An additional point available if you change the title to 'show me your crotch load.' :oops:
Species guess, Ash and Maple?
Plenty of room for many layers of criss crossed kindling under what you can see. Just shoot down there with a torch or ignite a little chunk of fire starter with a long lighter.
Looks like there's something crossways but it doesn't appear to be kindling..
If the wood is dry that would be a relatively easy light with a chunk of supercedar ignited in the lower left void.
Or top-down with a couple chunks in the gaps in the top of the load if the wood is really dry. Add a kindling stick as needed but it looks like maybe not.
 
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I hope this is what your talking about. All joking aside I love this idea. I will post a chart tonight how this burn went(internal temp and flue temp). Filled it 7am will refill 8pm tonight.
 
I hope this is what your talking about
Heheh, I hope so too. Oh, look, it's a hybrid load (in a couple different ways.) ;) N-S and E-W. Did you have some wood cut to a different length for a different stove, and you're trying to fill a bigger box now?
I went out to a Hickory stack this AM. At 12 hrs. I had a split remnant left, about 3" in diameter and a foot long, put that in front and loaded Pignut behind it. On that coaled split, I tossed in a Pine kindling stick and a few small Red Oak wedges to kick off the load. That Pignut half-round on top had a knotty branch stub sticking out, or I could've gotten another small split in front of it..
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That is
If the wood is dry that would be a relatively easy light with a chunk of supercedar ignited in the lower left void.
precisely what I do as for cold starts. The higher up I can find such a void the better. Closer to the cat.
 
That was 17h burn. Very dry big chunk of hemlock, couple of splits of maple and some basswood to fill the voids. Air set to 2:00pm with fans on min.
 

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That was 17h burn. Very dry big chunk of hemlock, couple of splits of maple and some basswood to fill the voids. Air set to 2:00pm with fans on min.
I typed in Ottawa and realized it's dang cold there, below zero out, you guys got it rough there. Then I typed in my place, hey wait a minute, also below zero. It's raining here turning to light snow.
 
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This isn't today... but I tried a stoveful of bamboo a couple months ago! It's mostly air, but it was a fun way to warm up the stove. (If you want to try this, first don't bother, and second you have to puncture every segment of the bamboo or it will explode in your stove.)

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I'd like to see how you light a load like that unless it's a reload on a very hot coal bed!
Do it all the time half a super cedar in that little hole ,done. Works on my king all the time.
 
Do it all the time half a super cedar in that little hole ,done. Works on my king all the time.
Yes, it works great with the Princess. Sucks with the VC, no idea why. With the VC I have to use lots of paper, small kindling followed by splits. Luckily I do not do many cold starts with the VC.
 
Yes, it works great with the Princess. Sucks with the VC, no idea why. With the VC I have to use lots of paper, small kindling followed by splits. Luckily I do not do many cold starts with the VC.
My VC is the same way. Like an old diesel, takes a while to get it going but when its warmed up, runs like a beast.
 
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Yes, it works great with the Princess. Sucks with the VC, no idea why. With the VC I have to use lots of paper, small kindling followed by splits. Luckily I do not do many cold starts with the VC.
My cookstove is like this. I've tried a few top down starts with mixed results, could have been the wood quality on the smokey starts. What works best is leaving a propane torch in the firebox for a bit followed by a kindling fire and then finally I can put real firewood in. Perhaps next year when I have even better seasoned wood and more experience the cooker will go smoother.

Do you have an exterior chimney? Once my cooker goes cold I think the exterior chimney becomes an intake for my interior chimney even when it's not burning.