24 /7 Burning for the next 3 months ...hopefully.

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Just trying to set-up my system so that i can burn 27 /7 for the the next few months and i am looking for any advice.

My set-up is an Australian stove (Nectre Mega) it has a large 2.9 Cubic feet firebox.

Both my wife and i work full time and will be out of the house for about 9 hours on week days.

I have done a few overnight burns and they seem to work well with plenty of coals left in the morning after 8 hours. Does anybody else have a similar situation where the stove is left for 9 hours a day and over night?

 

[tomahawk]

Mine goes 24/7 from about October to May. The type of wood you have for those long burns is really the key. Not sure what you have for choices down there but dry, seasoned hardwood is the best. What are your options for firewood?

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

thanks for that - i have hardwood - probably equivalent to your oak. The majority i will be burning this year will be Mountain Ash and Messmata which has a density similar to Oak.
Is your house left during the day?



Type kg/m3
Mountain Ash 673
White Cypress Pine 673
Elm, Wych 690
Beech 700
Afrormosia 710
Ash, European 710
Meranti, dark red 710
Messmata 721
Keruing 740
Madrone 740
Oak, American Red 740
Oak, English Brown 740
Teak, Burma 740
Dogwood 750
Holly 750
Oak, American White 770

 

[tomahawk]

We work evenings most the time so when I get up in the morning I push around the coals and get it going again, then load it up around noon. I'm back about 9, so I again push around the coals and the load it for the night around 11. Rinse and repeat for about the next 9 months. Not much oak for me around here, so I use a lot of maple and birch for my night burns, alder for the times when I'm home. It's what I have on my property, it's free, so I make it work. I've found that if I let it go out when I leave that it takes too long for the house to heat up again. It uses more wood this way but my house is always warm and comfortable and the wife is happier. Win-win in my book.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

There are many people who are away for 9 hours or more and get along just fine. Then there are the folks who heat totally with wood, like us and we have no problem at all. Overnight burns are no problem and we typically get 12 hours. On the very coldest nights then we figure 9-10 hours is about it but it really depends a lot on the type of wood you burn. fwiw, our firebox is only around 2 cu ft.

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Well i have started - i lit the fire fire last night i managed to get it nice and hot before i went to bed and turned it down to minimum at 10:30 pm. I got up this morning at 7:15 am - the stove top was still in the red and there was plenty of coals to relight.

Left it running on full while i had a shower and got my Breakfast. Tried to squeeze a couple of small pieces in at the top and turned it down to minimum at 8:00 am. I will see what its like when i get home around 5pm - 9 hrs.

I have a decent amount of wood - but the longest any has been seasoned has been 15 months. It seems OK in the big fire but struggles in the smaller fire downstairs which would suggest its not quite dry enough. I did a MM test and that was ~ 18% (fresh split) but the wood i am using now is a pit punky - but i want to get rid of it to make some room so i can get to the good stuff.

 

[downeast]

Try varying split sizes, and stacking some whole log butts for longer, slow burns. Like Savage and other 24/7, whole house burners wood heating from ambient outdoor temperatures in colder climates,
the split species and size make up the routine for heating. Smaller splits and lower BTU wood for fast fires, thicker and higher BTU content wood for colder conditions
and longer lasting fires. We save the high BTU wood like oak for winter days in the singles and below 0 with high winds. Both stoves will keep the home comfortable in those conditions for +/- 12 hours.

No science, just simple T & E that easily comes with time.

Hey, is it true that your water drains counter-clockwise Down Under ?

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Hey, is it true that your water drains counter-clockwise Down Under ?

Yes it does - its the first thing i checked when i moved down here from the UK -

What difference to the longevity of a fire is the out side temp? Am i missing something - if you set it on the lowest air setting then the wood would burn the same no matter what the temp is outside? or do you have to turn the fire up to maintain a steady inside temp?

It doesn't get much below 40 here (even during the night) i have never had a frost on the car windscreen although we do get a flutter of snow at least once a year due to how high we are.

Does anyone know if there is a relationship between the external temperature and the amount of creosote build up? it hardly gets a mention over here maybe due to ignorance but i was wondering if the temperature doesn't get low enough then the gasses might not solidify into creosote. Our set-up (standard in Australia) is a triple lined galvanised flue. It has to be double on the inside but everything else, including through walls and ceilings has to be triple.

 

[lazeedan]

The colder it is outside the stronger your draft will be. So with the same air settings you will still have more air pulled through the stove.

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

ahhh - that explains it.

We don't have any adjustment in our flue its always open. We have a top baffle plate which restricts the air flow and directs the gasses to the top of fire but we cant restrict the actual flue. I think i have read on here that your stoves have more control over them.

 

[jdp1152]

The colder it is outside the stronger your draft will be. So with the same air settings you will still have more air pulled through the stove.

Not to mention you tend to open up the air a tad more to compensate for the added home heat loss

 

[Woody Stover]

Weather we are there or not, the stove is loaded and usually isn't touched for ten to twelve hours, apart from a couple of early air adjustments when getting the stove to the cruising state.

the stove top was still in the red

I hope you mean the the red enamel paint was still intact, and not that the steel was glowing red...

Left it running on full while i had a shower and got my Breakfast.

You are scaring me now, Auzzie...

18% (fresh split) but the wood i am using now is a pit punky

Punky wood will absorb water if it's not covered from rain, and may not burn as readily...

 

[downeast]

Yes it does - its the first thing i checked when i moved down here from the UK -

What difference to the longevity of a fire is the out side temp? Am i missing something - if you set it on the lowest air setting then the wood would burn the same no matter what the temp is outside? or do you have to turn the fire up to maintain a steady inside temp?

It doesn't get much below 40 here (even during the night) i have never had a frost on the car windscreen although we do get a flutter of snow at least once a year due to how high we are.

Does anyone know if there is a relationship between the external temperature and the amount of creosote build up? it hardly gets a mention over here maybe due to ignorance but i was wondering if the temperature doesn't get low enough then the gasses might not solidify into creosote. Our set-up (standard in Australia) is a triple lined galvanised flue. It has to be double on the inside but everything else, including through walls and ceilings has to be triple.

Myth affirmed Auz..thx. I should have looked when in Kiwiland.

The "longevity" of the stove load is dependent on draft/external temps, wind, and internal air flow. Again, the size of the splits has much to do with the 'speed' of the burn

Also in the art of burning is the delta of the temp gain needed. Most woodburners here need only to heat "up from" a central furnace or electric baseboard thermostat set at ~ 55-65 ( don't make us convert..yet to ! ).
In the wing of our place where there is no plumbing and insulated from the other wing with water pipes, the temps will drop to outside ambient temperatures in +/- 24 hours.
Returning from a few days' winter trip here, the space can be down to 10 . The Jotul Oslo there will take a few hours to get the space up to the 60's . It will often need 3-4 full loads at open primary air
to heat the air, walls, floor, ceiling, furniture, electronics, bookcases, etc...to be comfortable for the daily cocktail.

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

I hope you mean the the red enamel paint was still intact, and not that the steel was glowing red...

Sorry my mistake the colour of the thermometer is white and the temp was 400.

Got home last night at 5:15 pm so the fire was left for over 9 hrs and i came home to a warm house with plenty of coals. The window looks a little 'coloured' but a quick hot fire soon sorted that. Not sure how much wood i will use but it takes 2 full armful's to fill her up but it is still better than trying to light the fire every day. Just means i need more wood

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Also in the art of burning is the delta of the temp gain needed. Most woodburners here need only to heat "up from" a central furnace or electric baseboard thermostat set at ~ 55-65 ( don't make us convert..yet to ! ).

That makes sense - i am trying to limit my central heating by using the wood stove as much as i can. i am struggling with a draughty not very well insulated house. I have looked into double glazing and it would cost over $20,000 to install . Wood is 'free' as i scrounge all mine and it only takes up all my time collecting it . If i wanted to buy some it would cost a minimum of $500 / cord (and that is cheap compared to some.)