Best Practices for Jotul 118?

[underwhere]

I moved into a house with an older Jotul 118.

I've done a bunch of reading but am a bit confused as to what best practices are for running this thing and I have never owned a wood stove before.

I'll list out what I am doing. Could someone critique my methods?

I read differing opinions on whether to pack the thing full, where to place the wood (front or back), how to do an overnight burn etc.

I am also concerned about overnight burns creating creosote.

Starting:
I use 4 logs pulled near the door and a fire starter underneath them. I leave an air channel.
I leave the vent all the way open.
To get the stove up to temp I usually leave this first fire going with the vent all the way open.
It'll burn for probably 2 hours or so.

Reloading:
Pull all the coals towards the front of the stove
I pack this thing pretty full with probably 6 logs (all near the front)
I leave the air vent open for about 20 minutes for all logs to catch
I turn the vent down to a very small slit

Overnight:
I do the same as my typical reload but time it so that I am down to ashes when it's time to go to bed.

Temperature:
I have a thermal gun and I monitor the temperature of the top of the stove as well as the flue pipe.

The top of the stove probably maxes out at around 600. I keep it between 200 and 400 usually.
The flue temps (exterior) go from about about 150 to 450.

 

[begreen]

Sounds good to me. But watch the low end temps. Try to keep that flue above 200F surface temps unless it's late in the burn and the fire is coals burning down.