burn rate

[jjmelt]

Hey guys
I'm a first time burner so I'm learning alot. And appricate all the help.
I've been burning 24/7 for a while now and it seems like I'm burning more wood then a month ago. I would say I'm using 25- 30 logs a day. Getting maybe 6 hours of burn timeMost of it is red oak. I was told it was all seasoned. If it wasn't wouldn't not burn as well thus burn longer?
Fire gets nice and hot. Keeps house nice and warm. So far I have saved 70% off the oil bill. Unfortunitly at $2 per gallon its not a big $ savings. But this has been a good time to learn.
I have a 30NC from England stove works. The Home Depot special.
I have the air all the way down and the logs pretty much glow as the burn not really much of a flame when its closed down. Is there another source of air coming in that I can close also?

thanks

 

[Corey]

Well, the England is a good stove, congrats on that. 30 logs a day seems like a lot, though it may depend on your local weather and how much insulation and space you're trying to heat. Even figuring an (low) average of 5 pounds per log, that's 150 pounds of wood. At approximately 7,000 btu per pound and that's about a million btu/day up the stack, burning at 60% efficiency that would be 600,000 btu/day to your home. Putting that in terms of oil - about 5.5-6 gallons/day or 165-180 gallons a month.

You say you were 'told' the wood was seasoned. If you bought it from a 'wood guy' chances are it's not. If the wood isn't gray with radial cracks in the end and some of the bark falling off, most probably not seasoned. You may also look at the ends for any hissing, steam or foam...another sure sign of non-seasoned wood. With well seasoned wood, the stove should burn with lively flames dancing in the firebox and additional fire from the secondary air tubes at the top.

 

[jjmelt]

Thanks for info. So I guess im not doing to bad. The wood doesn't appear to be hissing but it is not grat and most of the bark is still on.
I wouldn't think the temp or size or insulation would have much to do with how its burning. It would have a lot to do with how the room feels. I would think the stove is making so many BTU no matter what how I save them is something else. Wouldn't the stove make the same btu's in the summer?
btw your calculations are pretty close thats about the oil I have saved.
thanks

 

[Backwoods Savage]

jjmelt, with red oak, it needs two summers to season good. Yes, you can burn it sooner but you will not get the maximum amount of heat from it because it takes a lot of energy to remove the remaining moisture once it is in the stove. That means that you are putting a lot of heat up the chimney instead of in the house.

Because you are new and because of what you are burning, I would highly suggest you keep a close watch on the chimney. Look inside that thing as soon as you possibly can and then check it at least once per month. If it is dirty, clean it and don't put it off. You'll no doubt find the worst spot is at or very near the top of the chimney. If you have a screen on the cap, that no doubt will plug up and then you'll lose draft and the stove won't want to burn right.

You don't need a chimney fire for sure, so keep checking it all through the winter.

 

[jjmelt]

I couldn't afford a new liner so I just run some single wall flue pipe all the way up. I hope to replace it this summer. Do you think that pipe will be a problem till the summer?

 

[savageactor7]

I’ve been burning 24/7 for a while now and it seems like I’m burning more wood then a month ago. I would say I’m using 25- 30 logs a day.

Just say'en since it got colder we're burning more wood than we did in Nov/Dec. and with over 30 years of burning I'd have to say that's SOP for us. Yeah there's a lot of boring reasons why this is so...but in the final analysis, that's just the way it is with a non cat stove.

As for a 6hr burn I would say if your talking about usable heat then be happy with that number. Sure stoves will hold coals for 10-12 hrs. That can be of great importance if your away at work and have them to restart a fire quickly. But coals alone will not heat your house ...that requires more wood.

You can't be cheap with wood if you want to be happy with a wood stove. And jjmelt it sounds to me like you're feeding the stove based on the family's requirement to be warm...just as God intended. Good for you.