Definition of a Burn Time

[WoodMan33]

I am still fairly new to wood burning and please forgive me if this has been covered before, but what is the true definition of a burn time with a wood stove?

 

[begreen]

This is very often just a marketing term. There is no clear definition. If you search on burn time you will find many discussion similar to this one.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/advertised-max-burn-times-likelihood-of-achieving-it.101680/

A more helpful metric would be the period of meaningful heat. That would be something like the time between a stove top being at a set temp like 250F and returning to that temp at the end of the burn cycle. Marketing often call it the time between lighting the fire and having a few hot coals left over for restarting a fire. Considering all the variables that go into wood burning it is rough number at best.

 

[Seanm]

This is very often just a marketing term. There is no clear definition. If you search on burn time you will find many discussion similar to this one.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/advertised-max-burn-times-likelihood-of-achieving-it.101680/

A more helpful metric would be the period of meaningful heat. That would be something like the time between a stove top being at a set temp like 250F and returning to that temp at the end of the burn cycle. Marketing often call it the time between lighting the fire and having a few hot coals left over for restarting a fire. Considering all the variables that go into wood burning it is rough number at best.

Good explanation. I was surprised that around 11 am this morning there were a few coals burning in my stove even though my last load was at 10 pm the night before and it was a half load of lodgepole pine. Just for fun I used the IR on the stove top near the collar and noticed it was 75F, hardly meaningful heat but if it was done for marketing would they use this to say it was true burn time?

 

[begreen]

For sure some would, but not all.

 

[WoodMan33]

I always thought it was the time from when you first started the fire until there was no decent flames burning or the combustion process going on. I never thought if there were coals left it was part of the burn time. Always learn something from this site.

 

[begreen]

Flames are only the initial part of the burn. A good coal bed can burn for many hours and put off a lot of heat.

 

[WoodMan33]

Yes so true. Ill pay more attention to see what kind of burn times i am getting. Of course I would bet that hardwood compared to softwood extends that burn time also because of the density difference.

 

[Seanm]

Yes so true. Ill pay more attention to see what kind of burn times i am getting. Of course I would bet that hardwood compared to softwood extends that burn time also because of the density difference.

Huge!

 

[WoodMan33]

Appreciate the information and all the help. Interesting to see if the burn time lives up to what the Manufacturer claims. I doubt but you don't know until you try.

 

[begreen]

Yes so true. Ill pay more attention to see what kind of burn times i am getting. Of course I would bet that hardwood compared to softwood extends that burn time also because of the density difference.

I'm mostly a softwood burner too. This side of the Cascades hardwood is not easy to find and pricey. I've been lucky enough to scrounge some good hardwood, but it doesn't show up all that often.

 

[WoodMan33]

Same here also. Alder, Big Leaf Maple make up most of my firewood. Have a little Apple, Pear, and Cherry for hardwood.

 

[jharkin]

I always thought it was the time from when you first started the fire until there was no decent flames burning

By that metric, burn time for many of us catayltic stove owners is about 30 minutes per load

 

[PapaDave]

It's the point where if you touch the stove, you'll burn your finger/hand/other protuberance, to the point where this no longer occurs.
This is all very subjective, due to varying pain thresholds of folks.
All seriousness aside, I'm of the opinion that it begins when I can feel enough heat from the stove to matter (approx. 300), to the point where there isn't enough heat to matter (kind of the same temp).
Again, this varies due to outside temps and comfort levels required at different times of the day.
How's that for a definitive response.
If I were to go by flameage only, it'd be about 2.5 hours on a full load of Oak. Maybe 3. Old stove, so I don't count.
I like begreen's initial response.

 

[Slow1]

"Burn time" like beauty most certainly is in they eye of the beholder.

As a reference point (i.e. comparing stoves for purchase) it is useless since an authoritative and objective "Standard" definition doesn't exist.

It is a fun debate though every time it comes up here. I've seen some really good (and some less so) attempts to define the term.

 

[WoodMan33]

I think they should have the definition of a Burn Time- In the eyes of the beholder. There just seems to be a lot of grey area if different people have different ideas of what its supposed to mean.

 

[Augie]

I look at it this way, I load my stove about 2x per day unless it is in the teens or less outside. So My Burn time is Roughly 12hrs most of the year and then 8hrs on those really cold days where I am running the stove as hot as possible.

 

[Dave A.]

It's the point where if you touch the stove, you'll burn your finger/hand/other protuberance, to the point where this no longer occurs.

+1

I like that. So burn time is the amount of time the stove will burn you if you touch it.

 

[rideau]

I thin Augie's definition may be the best and simplest. Burning 24/7, how often do you load your stove? A seven hour or a six hour or an eleven hour burn time may boil down to having to load two or three times. Which one it is with a particular stove is what tells us what we need to know.

 

[rdust]

I thin Augie's definition may be the best and simplest. Burning 24/7, how often do you load your stove? A seven hour or a six hour or an eleven hour burn time may boil down to having to load two or three times. Which one it is with a particular stove is what tells us what we need to know.

That that only means something for Augie's environment, it doesn't tell me how that stove is going to perform in my environment or yours if I was shopping for a stove.

Unless some type of standard is put in place it doesn't mean much when comparing stoves. Heck the EPA has tests in place for Emissions and BTU output and most people can't get on board with those.

 

[Augie]

That that only means something for Augie's environment, it doesn't tell me how that stove is going to perform in my environment or yours if I was shopping for a stove. Unless some type of standard is put in place it doesn't mean much when comparing stoves. Heck the EPA has tests in place for Emissions and BTU output and most people can't get on board with those.

Exactly, no two identical stoves will preform identically unless you control all of the variables, wood, sq ft of heated space, insulation, wood species, wood Moisture Content, elevation. You will never have uniformity so any standard is bunk. IMHO