with temps around -7* tonight and wind chill around -23* I brought out the big guns from the wood shed, big chunks of locust and oak. I will attempt keep the badly insulateted house around 70*. The the battle commence.
Bring out the big guns.
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I have oak and locust too but opted for osage orange for tonight. We're at about -6F with the wind. This is my first full load ever of osage orange and it is living up to its reputation.
Osagebndr
Minister of Fire
Is your stove glowing yet Clyde? That's mean stuff. I broke out the hickory and red/ white oak and locust
3 year oak, and some 1 year cherry.
Brought in some pine incase I have to quickly burn down a chunky coal bed.
Looking at -6 - 10 F here in Icey Hollow.
Brought in some pine incase I have to quickly burn down a chunky coal bed.
Looking at -6 - 10 F here in Icey Hollow.
D8Chumley
Minister of Fire
Just got home from work about 15 min ago. Sadly the wife didn't keep up with the stove, nice bed of coals but the hickory pile in front of the stove is about where I left it and the furnace is running. I threw 2 splits in and hope to get the stove from 225 back where it should be until I fall asleep. Weatherbug app says its 6, real feel -9. Brrrr stay warm!
Oak, ash, and beech: re-loaded at 145 when the baby woke up, geothermal furnace still ran all night. Doing our best, need new windows downstairs! Wind chill is -23!
Beer Belly
Minister of Fire
![[Hearth.com] Bring out the big guns.](/talk/data/attachments/149/149922-fa89d2dcfe316123d998ec903a0a5d70.jpg?hash=8qUVlvZKEy)
7acres
Minister of Fire
Picked through the splits for just seasoned hickory for us last night. Did the trick. No supplemental heat source needed. Brought in a bunch of seasoned sweetgum splits to cook off the chunky coal bed today. In-laws came over last evening for dinner specifically to enjoy the wood stove. It's like having a small Sun in the middle of our house. Love it! Turns Winter into a bit of a sport.
Scooter422
Burning Hunk
Flamestead
Feeling the Heat
Negative teens overnight here. Bigger splits for the overnight, but find smaller diameter splits and more frequent loading work well in this weather during the day (less coals, less time spent in the tail of the burn cycle).
D8Chumley
Minister of Fire
Plow Boy
Feeling the Heat
It's in the teens here. Had to run the heat pump in the addition last night. Got up twice to load the stove. Nothing left this morning but warm coal bed. Temp was in the low sixties in the room the stove is in. Is this normal? I changed both gaskets this year due to air leaks. I'm wondering if I got them all. We're burning red oak right now. Any suggestions
Fred Wright
Minister of Fire
Got down to 14° last night, living room temp was 78°. I dozed off in my chair after supper. The SheWolf went to bed and the fire got low. Woke up around 4:00 AM, got it stoked up again.
Forecast is for temps in the low teens until Sunday. I rustled through the stacks this morning, loaded in plenty of red oak for the duration.
Forecast is for temps in the low teens until Sunday. I rustled through the stacks this morning, loaded in plenty of red oak for the duration.
I shoulda had the li'l lady toss on a couple of hold-over splits...I just got back and it's 64 in here! 
This will not stand! No more Mr. Nice Guy. Just loaded 4 big splits; 2 White Oak, one Pignut and one BL. Flame On!! 
Wait a minute, WTH?? I just looked at the forecast....near zero again Friday night! That's it, I'm putting the blower back on the stove today. That should be fun, on a hot stove.
This will not stand! No more Mr. Nice Guy. Just loaded 4 big splits; 2 White Oak, one Pignut and one BL. Flame On!! Wait a minute, WTH?? I just looked at the forecast....near zero again Friday night! That's it, I'm putting the blower back on the stove today. That should be fun, on a hot stove.
Cooler outdoor temperatures lead to a stronger draft from your chimney. If you closed the air down the same way you would for a milder day, you'd actually be getting more draw and airflow through the stove than you would expect.
I find that on really cold nights like the one we just had, I can shut the air all the way down (as much as an EPA stove will go anyway), and still get a really strong burn with big secondaries, and I'll have nothing but a handful of coals in the morning.
With a 2 cu.ft. firebox and Red Oak, you should be able to get an overnight burn, or close, not reloading twice. Can you describe you SOP for reloading and cruising the stove?
Yessir. I've got the air closed all the way on a 16', rear-vented stack, and have had a 650 stove top for the last 2 hrs.
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Plow Boy
Feeling the Heat
I open the air supply,open the door and stack as much wood as I can get in the stove then I shut the door and close the air supply down
I have an f3. It has a 1.17 sqft firebox. Your description of a coal bed sounds right. I can get a long burn but the temp will not be 500* for 6 hrs. If I wanted to keep a high stove top temp for an extended period of time would have to reload 2-3 times a night. I reload once a night during cold nights. By the time I reload the stove top temp is only 250* - 300*.
Do you have a damper on your flu? That can help reduce the draft and extend a burn a bit longer.
Plow Boy
Feeling the Heat
Last night was definitely a big gun night. Tapped into my private stash. I thought about all the animals outside though. My next door neighbor has about 60 barn cats. I'm guessing some didn't make it.
I took the dog with me to the horsebarn and she stopped about 3/4 of the way and laid down in the snow. She was holding a foot up. That is a first for her, she follows me everywhere when I snowshoe. Never acted as if the cold hurt her feet before.
I took the dog with me to the horsebarn and she stopped about 3/4 of the way and laid down in the snow. She was holding a foot up. That is a first for her, she follows me everywhere when I snowshoe. Never acted as if the cold hurt her feet before.
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