Full reload or few splis at a time?111

[kevinwburke]

Just bought a Jotul 500. Getting to know the stove and curious if after getting the stove cruising, do most add a few splits at a time or wait till the temp drops to say 200 or so and then just reload the stove?

Is there a "best way" to reload or does it vary by temp etc?

Thanks.

 

[begreen]

My wife likes to put in a few splits at time and is startled when I tell her my goal is 3 feedings per day. I usually do full feeds, let it burn down, rake coals forward and give them full air for about 30 minutes, then full feed again.

 

[kevinwburke]

Why do you rake the coals forward?

 

[rdust]

Why do you rake the coals forward?

Air enters from the front of the stove. I assume most stoves today work this way with the air wash used to keep the glass clean.

My wife usually loads three or four splits at a time, I like to load near full now that the cold weather is here.

 

[FISHBONZ]

What do you consider full? Should wood touch the top? How much clearance from the glass?

 

[Valhalla]

I stack so the fuel will easily settle by gravity. Away from the glass.
Never jam it in.

Always on a bed of coals at the front.

 

[snowtime]

The fact of the matter both ways work for different situations. If you find your stove is overheating the house during mild days then you can load less at a time to keep the heat down. Loading the stove fully works best for a long controlled burn and if it does not cook you out thats the way to go. The answer is depends on time of year and where you live.
If you load North South keep the ends back from the glass as they will cause your glass to blacken.

 

[jadm]

I tend to burn like BG does. If I start adding splits before load burns down it cools things down and coals build up pretty quickly. Burning a bunch of coals down from lots of smaller loads takes a long time and temp. in house can drop a lot....

If I have some really large coals after a full load of wood has burned down I will rake them forward and throw a small piece of pine on top of them and let it burn with air wide open until they have burned down before adding another full load.

I don't think there is a perfect way. You just have to do what you like to do. In time you will have your 'system' worked out as to what works best for you and your family.

 

[madrone]

Depends on the weather, and how long I'll be home. Either has advantages.

 

[oconnor]

If I want heat, full loads are the way to go for me, but when I want flames and that peaceful, easy feeling, a few sticks at a time, until I notice the house temp drop a tick on the thermometer, then load her up again.

After insulating and replacing the windows last year, and now that I have a dry wood supply, if I ran three full loads a day, it would be 26*C in here - to hot for me.

 

[highmark800]

This is what makes it fun, hearing how others are burning and then mess with your stove in several ways until you find what you and your stove like best. No way is the absolut correct or wrong way if you ask me, as no two stoves are installed in the same way.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

For over 50 years we have burned wood and have let the weather determine how to load. If we want a lot of heat, we load the stove. If we don't want much heat, we simply do not put as much wood in.

As far as when to add wood, we add when the house begins to cool off.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Why do you rake the coals forward?

Air enters from the front of the stove. I assume most stoves today work this way with the air wash used to keep the glass clean.

My wife usually loads three or four splits at a time, I like to load near full now that the cold weather is here.

What do you mean the cold weather is here?! Not so!

It will be some time yet before cold weather is hear although you might get a little taste of it later this week.

 

[logger]

Full loads when it's cold enough or for overnighters, 3-4 logs at a time if temps are down. If we have company, I like to show her off and add a new log or two every other hour.

 

[cycloxer]

Full loads for max heat most of the time. Like to cruise around 600. If temp drops to 500, I load her up again, pretty much to the top baffles. I have a smaller F 400 so I am getting pretty good at packing the firebox tight. Just have to watch the stove top temp spike once the full load gets rolling (don't ask me how I know this).

On warmer days (or if we overcook the temp in the house, lol, hey we all know it happens) I back it off and throw in only 1-2 logs and reduce the air way back, just to keep her burning.

With experience (& a little raking & stirring & door open techniques) you can figure out how to burn down your coals w/o a problem.

 

[lazeedan]

Until it gets cold I will just throw in a 3 small splits at a time and leave her alone for a few hours. Usually the coals are burned down next to nothing before I want more heat. Full loads this early (20's at night 30's during the day ) would cook me out!

 

[bcnu]

[ Full loads this early (20's at night 30's during the day ) would cook me out![/quote]

That's our temp range right now and I think it's way cold. So how low will it get there?

 

[quads]

For over 50 years we have burned wood and have let the weather determine how to load. If we want a lot of heat, we load the stove. If we don't want much heat, we simply do not put as much wood in.

As far as when to add wood, we add when the house begins to cool off.

Same way I do it here. 40 years of burning on my own after moving away from Dad's!

 

[lazeedan]

bcnu where are you located? It is pretty common to see sub zero temps. in Jan and Feb.

 

[rdust]

What do you mean the cold weather is here?! Not so!

It will be some time yet before cold weather is hear although you might get a little taste of it later this week.

Cold enough that I can load the stove and not have my family room in the 90's. My wife handles the stove during the day, I load it up decent at night(3 splits on the bottom, three on the top) since we won't be in the family room when the heat gets unbearable. When it gets sub zero cold if I can keep it in the 70's I'll be a happy camper.

 

[Valhalla]

Simple, is it not!
Want more heat in BTU per hour? Up to your stoves max output.
Just add more fuel per hour.

Ever calculate your average fuel burn in
pounds per hour or day?
Or simply in cords per month?
As the winter season moves in.

Keep warm.

 

['bert]

Why do you rake the coals forward?

Air enters from the front of the stove. I assume most stoves today work this way with the air wash used to keep the glass clean.

My wife usually loads three or four splits at a time, I like to load near full now that the cold weather is here.

What do you mean the cold weather is here?! Not so!

It will be some time yet before cold weather is hear although you might get a little taste of it later this week.

Pretty sure the cold is here NOW! -32 °C this morning, that's cool enough for my sorry old @$$

 

[KeepItNatural]

if it were -32 out here i'd have mine full as often as possible.

 

[bcnu]

it was -4C earlier this evening - don't even want to think about -32C. If it hits 17F tonight it will be our coldest in the past 9 years. We are 20 miles west of Portland, Oregon.

After reading all the posts I decided to do a full load this afternoon. Ran the Homestead soapastone up to 480 degrees - been keeping it closer to 400 by adding a couple of splits at a time. That load lasted about 4 hours - then I put in a couple of small splits when temp got to 300. Just put in another full load a bit ago and temp is now 520. I'll let it fire down awhile then put in a piece of oak along with some fir for the night.

 

[firefighterjake]

Just bought a Jotul 500. Getting to know the stove and curious if after getting the stove cruising, do most add a few splits at a time or wait till the temp drops to say 200 or so and then just reload the stove?

Is there a "best way" to reload or does it vary by temp etc?

Thanks.

Depends . . .

Almost always we'll wait until the stove is in the later-coaling stages . . . small to medium coals which are broken apart before reloading the stove. This tends to prevent excessive coaling (which can lead to a reduced firebox capacity) and allows us to let the fire do its thing (i.e. bring it up to temp, secondaries fire off, stove slowly cools down, releasing heat from the coals) while preserving wood.

Last year at the start of the burning we did the wrong thing and would add wood to the firebox way too soon -- usually while the wood was still in flames and still in round/split form. This resulted in quite a bit of heat, but also a lot of coaling . . . and it uses up more wood a lot quicker. About the only time I do this now is when I've first started the fire and the kindling has all burned up, freeing up some room in the firebox for that first fire . . . and if it's brutally cold and windy outside.