In the morning at 6:00am I have not been able to get more than some small glowing embers (less than 90F) after "loading" the insert at around 10:00pm the night before. Is this the best it can do or am I doing something wrong? I hesitate to really load the stove with splits at night as I am concerned that it could overheat especially when I'm sleeping.
How to Pack the Osburn 1800 for an Overnight Burn -It's going to get COLD!
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That sounds pretty typical. It's not a big stove and I've found max 5 hours to be more realistic. Keeping the blower on low or even off overnight will extend what is usually a 3 or 4 hr. burn for me. Packing it full can be daunting for sure, especially when you're new at it, so try it during the day or earlier in the evening when you can be there to note what it does and adjust the air accordingly. Normally when I do overnights I'll load a few splits, get them going then add the rest. When she hits 350 I knock the air to half, then at about 400 to almost all the way down. Then I hover around like a ninny to make sure it won't go nuclear :red: So far so good and the house is still standing when I get up in the morning.
Thanks for confirming Kate. On another post you may recall my panic attackes when I fired the stove up to 500F. Since my owners manual did not have it, I had contacted Osburn about a "max" temp that the insert can handle and they responded with "burning between 300-500F is acceptable". At 500F my knees are knocking and I am fixed on watching for the stat needle to drop. So letting that happen while I'm in dream land is a no no for me. Maybe I'll get braver as time goes on. At least I know that I'm not too far off course with what I'm doing. I'll try your method and see how I do. Once I have the house up to temp at night it's a bummer to wake up and feel that cool stove. If I had known all these wood burning issues before I bought the 1800 I may have gone with a larger hearth stove rather than an insert. Live and learn.
Never thought of it that way, but you're right. I try to save my squared splits for overnight. I pack them in as tight as possible and this method gives me the longest burns. If I must use curved logs or anything with a protrusion, they always go on top.crazy_dan said:brink. Did you ever play that game Tetris? If so then open the door to the stove grab a bunch of wood and play the virtual reality game of Tetris we call loading the stove. Just pack it as tight and as full as you can.
Hey,
yup your going to run a little short in the mornings due to it's size.
here, about an hour or so before bedtime, we stock it up nice and hot with
small "DRY" splits NS. keep the air open, fan on low, watch it for a half hour.
rake hot remains to the front and sneak one large hole in the very back, WE,
more small to medium splits NS in front, jam it full. blower on low,
watch it for another half hour, secondary burn throwing amazing heat,
dampner down to halfway, raise the fan to less then medium and go to bed.
6-7 hours later, cold morning, awake to red hot ember coal bed, rake around,
turning embers over and creating a flate bed all throughout, then throw several
small DRY splits in facing NS, close the door, have air wide open, takes to flames
by the time I can count to 10, stock it up, add more smaller splits and get that
secondary burn coming from the airtubes, damnper down from wide open to 3/4 closed,
an hour or so later, larger splits and begin to find that 1/2 air open, with fan pretty
much running at about 80% to get that heat out into the living room.
I work in C. degrees (European) and we like it hot!
I'm the one with all the wooden structure around my Osburn. (recall other thread?)
we reach 27.5C in the living room and 23.5 down the hallway.
don't be afraid to get it running nice and hot, you'll know a runaway, when you see one and
when the handle is too hot to the touch, other then that, the airtubes should be glowing red
with flames coming out of it, don't let anything scare you, just run it, it's meant to get nice and hot.
not running it hot enough is more of a problem then running it too hot.
seriously, try getting comfortable with it, pack it full of small DRY splits NE,
get it really good and flaming, enjoy that secondary burn and carefull to
not face burn while reloading.
I've found, damning down the air past 1/2 closed, starts to smutter and steal the heat.
running the fan at 100% overnight is not a good idea, you'll awaken to no heat with
only an exessive ember bed remaining.
I like to aim for seeing the scharred remains of splits sitting there red hot coal like
in the mornings, give it a rake with the poker and throw more fuel on, with plenty of air.
seriously, pack it full with small dry splits and allow for air in between.
secondary is going to get nice and active and red hot, great fun !
plenty of heat.
running the fan too hard is going to give you that cold at the feet feeling.
allow the door ajar for 5-10 min when reloading really gets it up to temp quickly.
always hot fire and I mean hot fires, first thing in the mornings. keep the pipe clean.
if you're getting dirty glass, you're not burning hot enough,
if you have dirty glass, burn even hotter and it'll clean itself up as intended.
every three or four days, allow cooldown for cleanup.
keep fan unit clean from dust and dirt.
Stoke it up nice and hot, it's meant to run hot.
no fuel = no heat, no heat = no fun!
it helps if your home all day.
yup your going to run a little short in the mornings due to it's size.
here, about an hour or so before bedtime, we stock it up nice and hot with
small "DRY" splits NS. keep the air open, fan on low, watch it for a half hour.
rake hot remains to the front and sneak one large hole in the very back, WE,
more small to medium splits NS in front, jam it full. blower on low,
watch it for another half hour, secondary burn throwing amazing heat,
dampner down to halfway, raise the fan to less then medium and go to bed.
6-7 hours later, cold morning, awake to red hot ember coal bed, rake around,
turning embers over and creating a flate bed all throughout, then throw several
small DRY splits in facing NS, close the door, have air wide open, takes to flames
by the time I can count to 10, stock it up, add more smaller splits and get that
secondary burn coming from the airtubes, damnper down from wide open to 3/4 closed,
an hour or so later, larger splits and begin to find that 1/2 air open, with fan pretty
much running at about 80% to get that heat out into the living room.
I work in C. degrees (European) and we like it hot!
I'm the one with all the wooden structure around my Osburn. (recall other thread?)
we reach 27.5C in the living room and 23.5 down the hallway.
don't be afraid to get it running nice and hot, you'll know a runaway, when you see one and
when the handle is too hot to the touch, other then that, the airtubes should be glowing red
with flames coming out of it, don't let anything scare you, just run it, it's meant to get nice and hot.
not running it hot enough is more of a problem then running it too hot.
seriously, try getting comfortable with it, pack it full of small DRY splits NE,
get it really good and flaming, enjoy that secondary burn and carefull to
not face burn while reloading.
I've found, damning down the air past 1/2 closed, starts to smutter and steal the heat.
running the fan at 100% overnight is not a good idea, you'll awaken to no heat with
only an exessive ember bed remaining.
I like to aim for seeing the scharred remains of splits sitting there red hot coal like
in the mornings, give it a rake with the poker and throw more fuel on, with plenty of air.
seriously, pack it full with small dry splits and allow for air in between.
secondary is going to get nice and active and red hot, great fun !
plenty of heat.
running the fan too hard is going to give you that cold at the feet feeling.
allow the door ajar for 5-10 min when reloading really gets it up to temp quickly.
always hot fire and I mean hot fires, first thing in the mornings. keep the pipe clean.
if you're getting dirty glass, you're not burning hot enough,
if you have dirty glass, burn even hotter and it'll clean itself up as intended.
every three or four days, allow cooldown for cleanup.
keep fan unit clean from dust and dirt.
Stoke it up nice and hot, it's meant to run hot.
no fuel = no heat, no heat = no fun!
it helps if your home all day.
Hey Brink
For starters, your Owners Manual states not to exceed 840F on the stove top so I am not sure why 500F concerns you so. I would think that if that is your max, you may be doing yourself a disservice by burning too cool and encouraging creosote production. I do not really think I am getting good heat this time of year until I push past the 650F mark. Depending on wood load and misc other factors, i do not really cut air back until 500 or so - maybe more with a full load that i am trying to get ripping for overnight burns.
I do understand that you have a smaller firebox and about 8 hours of burn is the max you should expect - so how to keep it hot when you get up in the AM? For one, you may have to sacrifice sleep as i do this time of year. not really but I jump up early and get that thing going right away in the AM. Secondly, folks who have said to use small splits with air in there are not going to get the longest burn times possible. It is nice to have a minimum of one big split in there for the long haul.
All this said, if your wood is not nicely seasoned, you may have issues regardless.
For starters, your Owners Manual states not to exceed 840F on the stove top so I am not sure why 500F concerns you so. I would think that if that is your max, you may be doing yourself a disservice by burning too cool and encouraging creosote production. I do not really think I am getting good heat this time of year until I push past the 650F mark. Depending on wood load and misc other factors, i do not really cut air back until 500 or so - maybe more with a full load that i am trying to get ripping for overnight burns.
I do understand that you have a smaller firebox and about 8 hours of burn is the max you should expect - so how to keep it hot when you get up in the AM? For one, you may have to sacrifice sleep as i do this time of year. not really but I jump up early and get that thing going right away in the AM. Secondly, folks who have said to use small splits with air in there are not going to get the longest burn times possible. It is nice to have a minimum of one big split in there for the long haul.
All this said, if your wood is not nicely seasoned, you may have issues regardless.
I agree with CTwoodburner. There's something magic that happens to my stove at about the 600* mark. It seems to just stay hotter much longer. I can close the air and it just cooks. I think the more mass you have heated up at the hottest you can go safely will result in the longest burn times. Fill that sucker up till you can't cram anything else in it. I've extended my bedtime by :30 because I wait till it's at 500* before I cut it back half way and then at 600* I close it all the way and head off to bed. Of course this is after doing it more than a few times while awake and watching and feeling comfortable with it.
Wow..thanks for all the info. I thought Crazy Dan was just kidding. I cannot find 840 degrees anywhere in my manual that came packed inside the insert or in the on-line version. The only temps found in my manual are on the page for the first three fires, stating that the last fire can go to 450F.What page is 850F found?? Do you have an 1800 insert?
When stacking in the splits, how close do you place the wood to the air tubes ? And what diameter (in inches)is a small split? So much to learn!
When stacking in the splits, how close do you place the wood to the air tubes ? And what diameter (in inches)is a small split? So much to learn!
OK, just to be clear, are we all talking about the Osburn 1800 insert and where are the temp readings being taken? My temp guage is on the center of the top shroud, next to the phillips screw that holds it on.
I would tink that 500 max temp for a metal stove is way to low. My soapstone stove max temp is close to 700 degrees and they said it can handle higher temps, but only a short duration. When my stove is running betwen 550 and 600, it really throws out the heat.
brink,
Osburn 1800i manual:
section 3.0 OPERATION.
3.1 safety information.
line 8:
Caution: Do not overfire this heater,
read on and note the part ".... and do not exceed 840F (450C) as measured on the Cooktop"
My current reading on the Cooktop center is 279F and thats not even hot enough.
I've not had my door handle become hot to the touch yet.
living room is now 79.9 F or 26.9C
kitchen is currently at 24.7C
hallway leading to the bedrooms is currently 23.5C
furnace hasn't run since I was in cleanup mode yesterday afternoon for a few hours.
I run some of the excess hot embers to my backyard and dump them on my outdoor fire pit which is now covered in snow.
I do that in my t-shirt as quick as possible (although it wasn't that cold out yesterday)
seriously, don't be afraif to get it nice and hot, you want to see the secondary tubes working,
don't be too quick to dampen down, it needs air.
yes smaller plits will be hot quickly but will not last overnight,
try placing large units at the rear when going to bed.
try not closing the damper down more the halfway,
we found closing anymore then that starts to kill the fire itself.
but it depends on the draft in your home.
it's like someone said, it hits that majical hot spot and just heats up the place.
trick is to then keep it going like that all evening and then the house up temp
ready for an overnight.
Really hot fires first thing in the morning,
small dry splits placed NS with all air and you'll find she heats up good and quick.
------
EDIT: sorry correction "placed NS"
Osburn 1800i manual:
section 3.0 OPERATION.
3.1 safety information.
line 8:
Caution: Do not overfire this heater,
read on and note the part ".... and do not exceed 840F (450C) as measured on the Cooktop"
My current reading on the Cooktop center is 279F and thats not even hot enough.
I've not had my door handle become hot to the touch yet.
living room is now 79.9 F or 26.9C
kitchen is currently at 24.7C
hallway leading to the bedrooms is currently 23.5C
furnace hasn't run since I was in cleanup mode yesterday afternoon for a few hours.
I run some of the excess hot embers to my backyard and dump them on my outdoor fire pit which is now covered in snow.
I do that in my t-shirt as quick as possible (although it wasn't that cold out yesterday)
seriously, don't be afraif to get it nice and hot, you want to see the secondary tubes working,
don't be too quick to dampen down, it needs air.
yes smaller plits will be hot quickly but will not last overnight,
try placing large units at the rear when going to bed.
try not closing the damper down more the halfway,
we found closing anymore then that starts to kill the fire itself.
but it depends on the draft in your home.
it's like someone said, it hits that majical hot spot and just heats up the place.
trick is to then keep it going like that all evening and then the house up temp
ready for an overnight.
Really hot fires first thing in the morning,
small dry splits placed NS with all air and you'll find she heats up good and quick.
------
EDIT: sorry correction "placed NS"
Duuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I can't believe I didn't remember that Once I read it just now, I remembered. Too much smoke on the brain!
I do know that when I bought the stove thermometer the guy said to keep it out of the red zone which is 500F and up. I must have confused what he said with the stove manual. Sooooooo, now I may have less fear of running little Ozzy a bit hotter.
Ok I can't stop asking stupid questions. and I know this is not in the manual.............when it mentions the door handle getting hot, do they mean the spring portion that you always touch or the solid bar part of the handle?
I can't believe I didn't remember that Once I read it just now, I remembered. Too much smoke on the brain!I do know that when I bought the stove thermometer the guy said to keep it out of the red zone which is 500F and up. I must have confused what he said with the stove manual. Sooooooo, now I may have less fear of running little Ozzy a bit hotter.
Ok I can't stop asking stupid questions. and I know this is not in the manual.............when it mentions the door handle getting hot, do they mean the spring portion that you always touch or the solid bar part of the handle?
hey Ref67, You find running N-S better then E=W? I have the 2200 Osburn, basically the same unit just a little bigger fire box. Just started cooking it up yesterday and have been running E=W. I will have to give N-S a try.
Do you guys wait uitil it burns down before adding more wood?
Do you guys wait uitil it burns down before adding more wood?
Brink, they mean the rounded coil at the end of the handle,
if you try and touch the steal rod from the handle that leads to the latch, while you are running hot, you'll leave some skin behind.
if your looking to find out what else gets really hot to the touch, ask my wife, we've been burning this unit since Dec 12 and she
has already managed to scare her right hand fingers twice. but then again she didn't listen to me that it's not cool to load wood
while consuming alcohol and trying to showboat to the guest. She can now load it without injuries although the other day
I watch her and couldn't believe how long she had her bear hands in there trying to push a large split towards the back.
silly girl ...
if you try and touch the steal rod from the handle that leads to the latch, while you are running hot, you'll leave some skin behind.
if your looking to find out what else gets really hot to the touch, ask my wife, we've been burning this unit since Dec 12 and she
has already managed to scare her right hand fingers twice. but then again she didn't listen to me that it's not cool to load wood
while consuming alcohol and trying to showboat to the guest. She can now load it without injuries although the other day
I watch her and couldn't believe how long she had her bear hands in there trying to push a large split towards the back.
silly girl ...
chipster314 said:
The only E-W we do is the large split at the very back after the coals are raked to the front when we settle in for the overnight.
other then that, we place three small splits N-S to get the heat during the day. seems to work good but keep in mind
we are also learning and feel we have a good idea of what's working for us. still having trouble with being able to close
air all the way down, seems to allow for longer burns but with the fan on, I can watch the temps drop within a half hour.
don't like that part ... wife and I seem to agree that it likes to output lots when we are no less then 1 1/2 to the closed position.
I found a link on this site to this video which I enjoyed,
explains the N-E vs. W-E and covers the loading cycles.
"Everyone who burns wood develops their own method through trial and error"
"Wood fires burn best in cycles. A cycle starts when you rake the coal bed and place a new load of wood, and it ends when that load has been reduced to coal bed and it is time to reload."
"a load of wood breaks down more slowly when placed east-west because the air isn’t able to penetrate the load as much as it does a north-south load. That makes east-west loading better for mild weather when you want low heat over an extended period. North-south loading is better in very cold weather both because it tends to burn faster and hotter, and because you can fit more wood in the firebox because it can’t roll out."
good stuff in this video I thought.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videos/Woodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv
Enjoy.
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