A lot of people ask how to keep a stove from overheating the house with a non-cat stove in milder weather. This will depend on the stove, but the basics start with less fuel. Here's what I did this morning.
With a morning temperature of 44ºF at 7am I was on the fence about starting a fire. It's a sunny day and I knew that temps will be rising and the sun will be warming the house in a few hours. Interior temp was still at 65º sleep setting on the heat pump. I had some gnarly pieces of wood that I wanted to burn up so I decided to start a fire. The question is how large. If I filled the T6 the house would be up to 80+ by noontime. Instead I loaded 6 medium-sized (3-4") splits N/S with a decent gap between them to fit some newspaper balls and a little kindling. The wood is wild cherry. 6 medium splits is about 1/3d the capacity of the firebox. The fire caught quickly and by 300º probe flue temp I was able to reduce the air by 50%. Stove top temp at that time was around 190º. I let the fire regain strength and in about 7 more minutes the flue temp had risen to 375º, stovetop temp was approaching 300º. With secondary combustion started I set the air to 75% closed and left the stove to do it's thing for the rest of the morning. The fire will burn out to ashes at some point in the afternoon.
At 10:30am the outside temp had risen to 51º, indoor temp is at 69º and sun is streaming now through the windows. The stovetop temp is 430º, flue temp is 300º and the fire is in the coaling stage. As outdoor temps in crease the stove temp will decline. This keeps the house at a comfortable temperature with a clean burning morning fire.
With a morning temperature of 44ºF at 7am I was on the fence about starting a fire. It's a sunny day and I knew that temps will be rising and the sun will be warming the house in a few hours. Interior temp was still at 65º sleep setting on the heat pump. I had some gnarly pieces of wood that I wanted to burn up so I decided to start a fire. The question is how large. If I filled the T6 the house would be up to 80+ by noontime. Instead I loaded 6 medium-sized (3-4") splits N/S with a decent gap between them to fit some newspaper balls and a little kindling. The wood is wild cherry. 6 medium splits is about 1/3d the capacity of the firebox. The fire caught quickly and by 300º probe flue temp I was able to reduce the air by 50%. Stove top temp at that time was around 190º. I let the fire regain strength and in about 7 more minutes the flue temp had risen to 375º, stovetop temp was approaching 300º. With secondary combustion started I set the air to 75% closed and left the stove to do it's thing for the rest of the morning. The fire will burn out to ashes at some point in the afternoon.
At 10:30am the outside temp had risen to 51º, indoor temp is at 69º and sun is streaming now through the windows. The stovetop temp is 430º, flue temp is 300º and the fire is in the coaling stage. As outdoor temps in crease the stove temp will decline. This keeps the house at a comfortable temperature with a clean burning morning fire.
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All told, I need to get about seven cords a year, give or take, to feed my stove plus three in-law stoves. I'm ahead several years, but I need to get them ahead as well so I can start taking dead Oaks when they first die, before the sapwood punks, and feeding them into the rotation. I'm scrounging ready-to-burn wood for them now, Red Elm, Red Mulberry, and some branches from long-dead Oaks with sapwood rotted off. But I'll be hackin' and crackin' Oak all summer. 
At least they handle some of the splitting and stacking...
