Is it time to reload?

[Hunker Down]

Here is a pic of the coals in my englander. I have a fire going for about 3 hours. Air control is about 1/2. Stove top temp is 325. Front of house is 77, back bedroom is a nice 70. It is 34 pout side, cold and mixed rain and snow outside.

Is this a good time to reload the stove?

I have noticed a decent amount of creosote at the top of my chimney, not clogging the grates. But a decent discoloring of black.

My wood is not great but I am substituting with pallets and dimensional wood. I have never had a fire smolder out, but the wood hisses and pisses, but I usually don't add it until stove reaches 450.

Is this a good method? Do you need more info to answer?

 

[Learnedtoburn]

Rake the coals a bit , open air all the way, let them burn down a bit then add- fill it- let it get up to about 600 then turn down air half, keep lowering air until you get it around 450-500 . The hotter you burn the less creosote you'll get.of course at night u can't help it

 

[FionaD]

I'm sure our stoves are very different. But my coals look a bit like your picture right now and I think I have at least another hour before I would add more wood. But ... on the other hand, if I was cold, and only If the stove temp was also under 400, I'd add more now...

 

[russb]

With wet wood you can (should?) probably reload sooner (than otherwise), since the added moisture will drive down the temperature anyways, and you'll need the extra heat to drive off the moisture; someone will surely correct me if I'm wrong.

If my coal bed looked like and I was comfortable/had time to spare, I'd rake those coals to the front, open up the air, and let it burn down a bit before reloading.
If I was cold or impatient I wouldn't mind reloading on that, after raking it forward. Or I'd toss a small split, or a pallet piece, on and let the colas burn down while burning up the piece. Throws off a little more heat and burns down a little quicker that way.

I burned wet wood last year. Do yourself a favor and get ahead (you already knew that I'm sure); my current wood was split and stacked 9 months ago (I do live in a field, full sun and wind at my disposal, and every bit of it was dead for a long time before that); I'm anticipating an even better experience next year when I'll be working with >1-yr.-seasoned wood.

 

[CenterTree]

Rake the coals a bit , open air all the way, let them burn down a bit then add- fill it- let it get up to about 600 then turn down air half, keep lowering air until you get it around 450-500 . The hotter you burn the less creosote you'll get.of course at night u can't help it

That seems like TOO high before closing the air. Risk of a runaway at that point, no?

 

[russb]

Mine won't run away if it gets to 600 before shutting it down, but my wood isn't perfect either. I tend to begin shutting it down in the low 500's, and by the time I am closing it the rest of the way it's around 600 (with a full load--I'll never see 600 with a less-than-full load, it seems).

 

[Hunker Down]

Thanks all for the info. Sometimes when I think I have a handle on this wood burning life, I start to second guess myself.

 

[FionaD]

With a full load, Mine cruises nicely for about an hour at 600 if I shut it down at 600 (that's stove top temp) . If I shut it down at 550 it does the same thing at 550. If I shut down at 500 the temp seems to fall away more quickly. I think this depends on the wood I'm buring too tho... I'm burning a mix of oak and birch just now.

I get the impression from others here that all of this kind of thing is dependent upon the size of the stove ... Maybe a bigger stove needs tuning down a little sooner or it will get over enthusiastic

 

[Cburke]

I would agree with another hour if not more(me personally) u still have good useable heat there. I have some nice dry wood, 15 percent or so on mm. I usually load after 7 hour mark or until the house is noticeably cooler.( or wifey complains ) here is mine after 5 hours since last load. When u stir ur coals up you'll be surprised how hot they actually still are and I personally think it's a waste of wood to loa the stove too early. When I load my stoe around 10 at night I have plenty of coals to get a new fire going at 530 am, now they're not producing much heat at this point (200 or so)but beats starting from scratch every morning.

 

[Hunker Down]

What does

That seems like TOO high before closing the air. Risk of a runaway at that point, no?

I have never experienced a runaway scenario. Have you? My englander likes to cruise around 650 at half air control and within an hour or so the temp always seems to decrease.

Besides closing down the air control totally if the stove temp starts to runaway, what else should one do to keep it under control?

 

[Hunker Down]

I would agree with another hour if not more(me personally) u still have good useable heat there. I have some nice dry wood, 15 percent or so on mm. I usually load after 7 hour mark or until the house is noticeably cooler.( or wifey complains ) here is mine after 5 hours since last load. When u stir ur coals up you'll be surprised how hot they actually still are and I personally think it's a waste of wood to loa the stove too early. When I load my stoe around 10 at night I have plenty of coals to get a new fire going at 530 am, now they're not producing much heat at this point (200 or so)but beats starting from scratch every morning. View attachment 145876

Cburke, thank you for that. I am definitely loading to early because I am enamored by the flames as a newbie and I feel if the fire smolders out I failed. But your explanation was exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Silenced38]

Is that a Madison? With dry wood i shut mine down around 450 and itll climb to 600 or 650. I loaded it wrong once and it climbed to 750 and climbing. That was tense.

 

[Dix]

Cburke, thank you for that. I am definitely loading to early because I am enamored by the flames as a newbie and I feel if the fire smolders out I failed. But your explanation was exactly what I was looking for.

Way to early to reload, considering the outside temps.

I came home to house @ 66F an hour ago, 35 outside with this cold, dank rain. An hour later, the den is at 75F, and current temps down the hall are 68F.

Hissing firewood is wet wood, watch your chimney, especially as a newbie.

Welcome to the forums, neighbor, in case I missed you

 

[Cburke]

Cburke, thank you for that. I am definitely loading to early because I am enamored by the flames as a newbie and I feel if the fire smolders out I failed. But your explanation was exactly what I was looking for.

Your more than welcome! Glad I could help! This is my first year with an EPA stove and it's been a learning curve, the flames are great but heat is a much better bi- product from those flames. You'll get the hang of it brother, just takes some time to learn your stoves behavior, it's like riding a bike for the first time. You'll be presently surprised that after you wait to load that stove instead of load it early how quickly your house heats back up plus some. Wood likes to burn in cycles, and once the bones of your house are already warm it's easy to keep or increases the heat which in return lessens the amount of wood your using. And just wait til you load some nice dry stuff in the stove, it's a whole new ball game! Good luck man, and happy burning!

 

[Wood Duck]

For me the time to reload is when there are just enough coals to get the type of restart I am looking for. When it is cold I am looking for a fairly quick restart that minimizes the time when the stove isn't at full temperature, so I reload sooner. When it is warmer outside I will wait until there are just barely enough coals. In either case, I rake the coals to the front, make a groove through them in front of the doghouse air intake, and reload.

The problem with reloading when the stove is still hot are two: I get too many coals building up; the fire might take off and threaten an overfire-type of situation. If I reload with lots of coals once, that is fine, but if I do it several times in a row I get to the point where I have to wait between loads for the coals to burn down. I sometimes reload on a hot bed of coals and the wood heats up really quickly and gives off tons of gasses in a short time, and this can get the stove hotter than I'd like. I can avoid this by moving all the coals to the front, allowing some of the wood to rest on the stove bottom or on ash instead of coals.

 

[xman23]

I reload when the reload burn will not create more heat than we like. The reload size is based on the same. It's better to wait so the reload fires burn hot, not smoldering fires.

With wet wood, burn hot. Check and clean the chimney after a month to see what your depositing in it. Don't skip this , as you can't tell what's happening in there. Based on than schedule cleanings.

 

[Hogwildz]

Rake the coals a bit , open air all the way, let them burn down a bit then add- fill it- let it get up to about 600 then turn down air half, keep lowering air until you get it around 450-500 . The hotter you burn the less creosote you'll get.of course at night u can't help it

DO NOT wait till 600 before cutting the air back. At 600, you best have that air all the way cut back. At 600, and cutting the air back only half, that thing is going to go up in temp, and won't see 450 any time soon.
You should only run it so hot. 600-700 at peak nasties burning and all is fine, but let it do her thing up to there after cutting back sooner, don't get it there to 600 and then cut the air down and expect it not to take off.
Unless you're burning wet crappy wood, then you won't see 600 anyway.
Round here, based on that photo, I wouldn't be loading it for another 2-3 hours. I'd leave it just as she is, and let it burn down as is.

 

[Hunker Down]

I reload when the reload burn will not create more heat than we like. The reload size is base on the same. It's better to wait so the reload fires need to be hot, not smoldering fires.

With wet wood, burn hot. Check and clean the chimney after a month to see what your depositing in it. Don't skip this , as you can't tell what's happening in there. Based on than schedule cleanings.

Xmas, thank you for the info. I just went up on the roof at the 16 day mark, and there was a lot of substance in the chimney

DO NOT wait till 600 before cutting the air back. At 600, you best have that air all the way cut back. At 600, and cutting the air back only half, that thing is going to go up in temp, and won't see 450 any time soon.
You should only run it so hot. 600-700 at peak nasties burning and all is fine, but let it do her thing up to there after cutting back sooner, don't get it there to 600 and then cut the air down and expect it not to take off.
Unless you're burning wet crappy wood, then you won't see 600 anyway.
Round here, based on that photo, I wouldn't be loading it for another 2-3 hours. I'd leave it just as she is, and let it burn down as is.

DO NOT wait till 600 before cutting the air back. At 600, you best have that air all the way cut back. At 600, and cutting the air back only half, that thing is going to go up in temp, and won't see 450 any time soon.
You should only run it so hot. 600-700 at peak nasties burning and all is fine, but let it do her thing up to there after cutting back sooner, don't get it there to 600 and then cut the air down and expect it not to take off.
Unless you're burning wet crappy wood, then you won't see 600 anyway.iting
Round here, based on that photo, I wouldn't be loading it for another 2-3 hours. I'd leave it just as she is, and let it burn down as is.

Thank you for the info. I have read and related to so
many of your posts. Some of you guys are wood burning rock stars!
Because my wood is sub par. I have been starting my fires and re lites with 2 splits on bottom, dimensional wood and pallets. Once the fire gets going 500-600 I load with 4 sub par splits. I leave the door cracked for 15 minutes with a timer ( based on your recommendation) then I latch door for approx 20 min until list are charred. Then I close air control to half for another 20! Min, then down to 3/4 closed. At this point stove is usually around 600-650. The burn will last about 5 hours.

What do you think? Our home is very warm, but I seem to be going through wood rapidly

 

[Dix]

Your fire wood is wet, and you will burn through it with out maximum heat.

It hasn't been cold here yet.

Live & learn.

 

[Hunker Down]

Your fire wood is wet, and you will burn through it with out maximum heat.

It hasn't been cold here yet.

Live & learn.

I have definitely been learning. And loving every minute of it. Our home has never been this warm. Even if I don't save any money, it really has been great having the wood stove. I can't believe how much enjoyment I receive from the process. Tanks for always responding to my posts. I really appreciate it.

 

[Hogwildz]

The wood not being dry is a multitude of issues.
Having to keep more air intake to keep it burning & temp up.
Having to get temp up high before cutting air back, to dry out the excess moisture in the wood, and keep the temp from dropping.

You gotta do what you gotta do. Just keep in mind, keep your present tactics as a temp solution, and don't make habit of it.
When you get ahead with some dry wood, your present tactics will not be favorable, and that puppy will take off like no tomorrow.
I am highly against leaving the door open unless loading or cleaning ash out. But that is just me.
If I leave my door open, it actually cools the stove down. I can watch the temp drop. Try experimenting with where you put the dry wood vs the sub par wood.
I would try putting the sub par on top of the dry, or even off to each side, at least then you can get the dry stuff flaming in the center, and going well, and the crappy stuff to each side can dry while the center is going.
Get yourself some large plastic tote bins from Wallyworld, Kfart etc, and bring some wood in and store it in the bins in the stove room. It will dry out enough for better burning fairly fast. Won't be perfect, but will be much better. Put some kind of mesh or screen over top tight to keep insects trapped in the tote if that is a concern.

Sounds like you have adjusted well for the wood you have. Just keep an eye on the top of the flue and cap, say once a month or every other month,
to assure no serious buildup or clogging is going on due to the sub par wood.
You will go through wood faster with more air drying the wet stuff out , and the drier stuff burning up faster with the same air.
Right now, your getting about 1/2 or even less of the burn times you will get with say, good dry oak.
At least your heating the home, and it is comfortable. Just keep creo in the back of your mind, and check things frequently this year.
Better to be overkill on concern, then lax, and have the shat hit the fan when not expected.
You'll be fine.

 

[BobUrban]

I have the same stove and the above post is spot on - with dry wood your current practices will certainly get your shorts dirty if not worse. Looking at your photo and noting your home temps I would not reload for a few hours but everyone has their own in house heat requirements. I would let it go another hour or so then do the rake forward and possibly throw and small split or piece of pallet on the coals to burn them down. Once my "in house" temp started to decline below say, 68 or so, I would load again. The process is to rake forward or to one side all the remaining coals, load the full amount of wood I plan to burn at one time and shut the door with air wide open. Let the primary air do its thing until the fire gets going and shut the air back as needed. With wet wood this is in increments - with >20% wood I can shut it off and walk away. Stove will steadily climb to 650/700 then run for hours.

EPA stoves run best in full cycles vs. periodic single split enhancement.

The 30, by design allows for NS or EW burning. EW will produce a longer burn cycle do to the configuration of the splits and primary air coming into the front. Very nice for overnights/all day burns in the dead of winter but not a good practice with compromised wood. With less than desirable wood I suggest keeping your load to NS with a small channel open front to back in front of the dog house. Try loading all you plan to burn at once and let er' go. Stove works equally well with 1/2 loads so that works fine in the shoulder season and then go to full loads(splits up to the top of the bricks) when you really need the heat.

Raking the remaining coals to one side will enhance longer burn cycles for you and helps prevent and overfire do to all the wood offgassing at once.

 

[Learnedtoburn]

I did say 600 cause he said he had less than desirable wood i.e. not seasoned. With seasoned wood it will tend o get away from you . At 600 I cut my air completely and keep an eye on it- If it climbs above 700 after the flames die down ill quickly open the doors allowing the heat out,; I'm burning seasoned ash . Buy yes, you can't cut the air in half at 600 and expect it to lower , seasoned wood cut it all the way and then gradually open it to where you want to cruise. It's like everyone says do what works for you

 

[Hunker Down]

My wet wood saga continues, thanks all for the great info!

 

[Hogwildz]

We all been there, you know what needs to be done now, and will adjust as we all have.
Get yourself 3 years ahead, and one day you will be looking back with a smile on your face, while the stove is cruising away.
You will be having this same conversation with a new member in a couple years, and the circle completes.
Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy the day.