Elite 36/44 burning efficiently question

[Ehavs]

For all you Elite 36 owners out there I was wondering what your methods for burning efficiently are. I understand that each setup in a home may be different but was wondering how you set up the wood in your fireplace when starting a new burn cycle (do a few pieces at a time, or really load her up) and how you control the damper when doing so.

Myself I really haven't figured out yet the most efficient way. As I burn it through out the day some days I will throw 2 to 3 larger logs on and knock the damper down to about half way and get about an hour to an hour and 15 minute burn before reloading. Other days I will throw on 4 to 5 and get a little bit more burn time.

At night will load that sucker up get that cat ignited and then knock the damper down low but not all the way and get at best 4 hours.

Feel like I should be be getting better burn times. Anyways curious as to how you burn wood throughout the day.

 

[Isaiah53]

I have the 44 Elite, but I suspect the performance is similar to the 36. I do not have much experience at wood burning and still learning, but here is my experience.

Most of the wood on my property has been standing dead for years, and is smaller diameter softwood that is very dry (12-13% MC due to the humidity and elevation). It is very light weight and small logs and splits burn very hot and fast. Even with my Blaze King Ashford 30 on low, I will typically only get about 12 hours with this wood. About 5-6 hours is probably the best I have done on the FPX, but honestly four hours would be more typical with a modest load. I have found that I can get a longer burn using large diameter un-split logs (10-14") on a good bed of hot coals and smaller logs. I will do this if we are going to be away from the house for most of the day, but anything more than 6 hours and it will usually be cold when we get back home. Normally I just add 2-3 logs or splits every few hours during the day to keep a small fire going with the air turned down to maybe 25-35% of full air. I raise it to full air after loading for a few minutes to get the wood burning and then lower the air back down to normal. Anything lower than this usually results in black doors and it is not easy to remove. It is just not worth it to me with so much dead wood available all around me that needs to be removed anyway. At night I will load the box up as much as possible, get the fire going well and then turn it down to the same level of air, much like you describe.

I have found that I can successfully turn the air completely down if I first run it on full air for an extended period of time to get the firebox very hot. It will go down to only glowing hot coals and stay hot enough to keep the doors clear, but I am not sure how much longer of burn time you actually get. I have not had enough practice at doing this to really say. My wife really hates it when I blacken the doors experimenting with low air settings, so I am reluctant to do this and leave it un-attended. I am also considering removing the grate to see if that helps.

It is also a difficult box shape to really load up with wood. You need a lot of different size pieces to take full advantage of the large firebox. The practical size of the box is not as large as it might seem.

I have not heard of anyone getting really long burn times on one of these units. Four hours is probably not that unusual if you are burning soft woods.

 

[Richie]

I have the 44 Elite, but I suspect the performance is similar to the 36. I do not have much experience at wood burning and still learning, but here is my experience.

Most of the wood on my property has been standing dead for years, and is smaller diameter softwood that is very dry (12-13% MC due to the humidity and elevation). It is very light weight and small logs and splits burn very hot and fast. Even with my Blaze King Ashford 30 on low, I will typically only get about 12 hours with this wood. About 5-6 hours is probably the best I have done on the FPX, but honestly four hours would be more typical with a modest load. I have found that I can get a longer burn using large diameter un-split logs (10-14") on a good bed of hot coals and smaller logs. I will do this if we are going to be away from the house for most of the day, but anything more than 6 hours and it will usually be cold when we get back home. Normally I just add 2-3 logs or splits every few hours during the day to keep a small fire going with the air turned down to maybe 25-35% of full air. I raise it to full air after loading for a few minutes to get the wood burning and then lower the air back down to normal. Anything lower than this usually results in black doors and it is not easy to remove. It is just not worth it to me with so much dead wood available all around me that needs to be removed anyway. At night I will load the box up as much as possible, get the fire going well and then turn it down to the same level of air, much like you describe.

I have found that I can successfully turn the air completely down if I first run it on full air for an extended period of time to get the firebox very hot. It will go down to only glowing hot coals and stay hot enough to keep the doors clear, but I am not sure how much longer of burn time you actually get. I have not had enough practice at doing this to really say. My wife really hates it when I blacken the doors experimenting with low air settings, so I am reluctant to do this and leave it un-attended. I am also considering removing the grate to see if that helps.

It is also a difficult box shape to really load up with wood. You need a lot of different size pieces to take full advantage of the large firebox. The practical size of the box is not as large as it might seem.

I have not heard of anyone getting really long burn times on one of these units. Four hours is probably not that unusual if you are burning soft woods.

What kink of wood are you burning? I put 4 huge black locust logs on that were about 25' long by about 8 inches and achieved a 10 hour burn in single digit weather. I imagine the selection of wood in Colorado is pretty much pine. What other options are there in your area?

 

[Isaiah53]

What kink of wood are you burning? I put 4 huge black locust logs on that were about 25' long by about 8 inches and achieved a 10 hour burn in single digit weather. I imagine the selection of wood in Colorado is pretty much pine. What other options are there in your area?

Yes, it is mostly pine and all of it is softwood (pine, spruce and fir). It all tends to be very dry and light from standing dead for several years. I am amazed at how light it is when I carry it into the house. There is a small amount of Aspen that seems to be heavier, but it is generally not very large in diameter. You have to buy hardwood if you want it here. One of my neighbors buys it from a supplier in Nebraska for $250-300 a chord. Not worth it for me currently, when I have so much dead wood on my property that I need to clean up for wildfire mitigation. I have enough on my own property to last several years, and you can harvest deadwood from the surrounding national forest for a very modest price after that, so it is not a major concern for me at the moment.

I know my experience with burn times is not representative for most other areas of the country. I was only commenting to the OP that there may not be anything significantly wrong with a 4 hour burn time on a 36 Elite if the wood is soft. Most of the other reviews I have read seem to be about 5-6 hours on the 44 Elite. I am glad to hear you can get 10 hours. That is the certainly the best I have heard. I agree with you that using a load of long, large diameter hardwood gives the longest burns. Occasionally, I come across an uprooted stump that will fit in the firebox. These are much denser and heavier wood than the trunks, and last a lot longer.

 

[Richie]

You can get more wood into the 44 north south. It will accept up to 16" splits. I can get about a 100 pounds of wood in there. I don't measure when I cut so it is a bit random. Seems like it depends what kind of mood I am in. 250-300 is not bad for "imported oak". If you ever do get a chance to burn oak, you will be amazed with the results and burn times provided that they are not split to small. If you got free wood in your back yard that is dead, I understand the logic of not wanting to buy.