Loading the box................

[WoodMann]

Whew, been down in the Ashcan a bit too long. Anyways- in the quest for over niters I've started using larger splits and they go a long way, but still not quite enough. So the question is, how high can I pack the boc with sood safely? Right now I stuff it about 5/8 of the height of the box, the box is I'd say 1.5 cu ft. Can I stack it to the top safely..............

 

[Todd]

Most non cat stove manuals state to leave a small gap between the baffle and the wood to help with secondary combustion, but I always fill to the top being careful not to damage the baffle especially if its ceramic board. It seems to me that after you pack it full and start burning the load sinks a couple inches as the coals burn down so I always have a gap between the wood and baffle anyways.

 

[WoodMann]

Hmm- wood shrinks as it burns, I knew that. I'm gonna go higher with my packing. Nothing like stickin' it to the utility company, eh.....................

 

[edthedawg]

I went so far as to stick one extra late-night split into the Heritage last night around 11pm and wound up with awesome coals this morning at 6am. Stove was still generating great warmth. Raked together, the heat was intense from the coal bed. plopped a few chunks of bark and old lath on there, and then 3 smallish splits. Gave it 5 minutes w/ the door cracked open and the primary full on. shut the door@ <5m, backed the primary down about halfway at ~15m, and maybe 20m later closed the primary almost all the way. Plunked another smallish split on there before i left for work at 7 - i expect it'll be near death, when i get home, but maybe not.

That extra split last night was definitely key to the residual heat this morning. I had a b*tch of a time getting it fired up last night from dead cold, but it was not very cold out and i know we have very wet wood. I managed to blacken the glass pretty good trying over an hour to start from scratch. I really wanted to give it a good hot burn to chew on - try to get it cleaned out at least a little. if it had been subfreezing out overnight, i would likely have mashed things down a little and squeezed one more stick in there. 2.3 cu ft ain't much but I'm finding - despite the wet wood - we can stretch it pretty well.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

non cat epa insert- I jam pack.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

About 3" from the burn tubes......

WoodButcher

 

[Corey]

If you 'split your own' try and make some large rectangular chunks...8"x10" or even bigger. Squares/rectangles seem to pack into the stove a little tighter than splits, which = more wood. Sometimes I'll stick a big, solid round way at the back on the bottom, but try to avoid rounds on top of the pile as it can shift during the burn - and the last thing you want is a round rolling forward and breaking the door glass during the middle of the night. Lastly, I don't know if it helps or not, but I try and put the bark side down for the overnight burns (thinking it may delay the ignition of the wood for a while) whereas during the day or when I need fast heat, I'll try and put the wood face down (thinking it may light off a little faster) and try to put the bark facing the back of the stove (if there is a pop or crackle from the bark, it will shoot back in the stove versus out into the room.)

 

[Hogwildz]

Fill er to the gills and that will do it.

 

[cmonSTART]

That's pretty much what I do. Stuff as much as I can in.

 

[RedRanger]

How do you guys manage to bump or hit those ceramic baffles? I`m always still bumping those damn secondary burn tubes that hang below the baffle. Annoying little steel monsters, but they sure do add to the effeciency ;-)

 

[myzamboni]

I think a 1.5cu ft box is the limiter, no matter how much you pack it.

 

[begreen]

How do you guys manage to bump or hit those ceramic baffles? I`m always still bumping those damn secondary burn tubes that hang below the baffle. Annoying little steel monsters, but they sure do add to the effeciency ;-)

Ya need a PE to get away from those wimpy little tubes. :coolsmirk:

 

[kenny chaos]

I think a 1.5cu ft box is the limiter, no matter how much you pack it.

What he said.

 

[brooktrout]

My ole Buck is pre-epa, pretty much pre-anything. I pack it as much as I can while still being able to work the damper. That usually translates to about 80lbs of wood and 8 or 9 hours of 75 degrees :coolsmirk:

 

[Dix]

[quoteYa need a PE to get away from those wimpy little tubes.

][/quote]

Amen.... fist pump

 

[Hogwildz]

How do you guys manage to bump or hit those ceramic baffles? I`m always still bumping those damn secondary burn tubes that hang below the baffle. Annoying little steel monsters, but they sure do add to the effeciency ;-)

Ya need a PE to get away from those wimpy little tubes. :coolsmirk:

Grinning

 

[WoodMann]

Thanks guys- I'll get some pics up; of the unit and what I'm doing. I packed the box yesterday and did a 6hr stint at work came home and the stove was still 200* with some healthy coals. I think I'm on the right track. Yeah- I think I'm askin' alot out of a 1.5 cu ft box.............

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I went so far as to stick one extra late-night split into the Heritage last night around 11pm and wound up with awesome coals this morning at 6am. Stove was still generating great warmth. Raked together, the heat was intense from the coal bed. plopped a few chunks of bark and old lath on there, and then 3 smallish splits. Gave it 5 minutes w/ the door cracked open and the primary full on. shut the door@ <5m, backed the primary down about halfway at ~15m, and maybe 20m later closed the primary almost all the way. Plunked another smallish split on there before i left for work at 7 - i expect it'll be near death, when i get home, but maybe not.

That extra split last night was definitely key to the residual heat this morning. I had a b*tch of a time getting it fired up last night from dead cold, but it was not very cold out and i know we have very wet wood. I managed to blacken the glass pretty good trying over an hour to start from scratch. I really wanted to give it a good hot burn to chew on - try to get it cleaned out at least a little. if it had been subfreezing out overnight, i would likely have mashed things down a little and squeezed one more stick in there. 2.3 cu ft ain't much but I'm finding - despite the wet wood - we can stretch it pretty well.

Ed, if you are using old lath for kindling, you should have been able to start that stove from dead cold in no time flat. It's about the best kindling you can find! Perhaps you need to look at how you are starting that fire? With lath, we used to use a small amount of newspaper along with perhaps 6 pieces of lath and 3 small splits on top of that. Touch a match and in no time the fire should be cooking.

 

[WoodMann]

OK guys- here are some pics of how tight I'm packing...............

 

[LLigetfa]

I drag all the coals to the front, leaving exposed firebrick at the back and bottom and drop the biggest quarter split piece into the back. That piece will burn from the top down and the firebrick will suck out enough heat to slow the burn so you have big chunks of blackened charcoal you can later bring up for air.

 

[ansehnlich1]

My friendly Oslo gets as much stuffed into as I can.

I make sure I cut my splits to near maximum length, that gives me maximum wood in the firebox.

I looked at your pic and I think you can stuff more into that firebox, for sure.

 

[WoodMann]

Thanks guys- I'm gonna work on stuffing more into the box. I talk with other wood burners at work and one fella says don't stack it to the top bacause ya don't want flames up the pipe might cause a chimney fire. I always thought ya want a good, hot punch up the chimney to shove everything out, assuming ya keep the pipes clean and creosote deposits to a minumum................

 

[bokehman]

Thanks guys- I'm gonna work on stuffing more into the box. I talk with other wood burners at work and one fella says don't stack it to the top bacause ya don't want flames up the pipe might cause a chimney fire. I always thought ya want a good, hot punch up the chimney to shove everything out, assuming ya keep the pipes clean and creosote deposits to a minumum................

The only way you can have a chimney fire is if you have fuel in the chimney (because you have been burning too cool or unseasoned wood).

As for packing the firebox try weighing your wood. Allowing for ash and coals you should be able to fit 20lb of good quality, seasoned hardwood for each cubic foot of firebox.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I don't know about your regency, but my oslo, I burn it once a day at 600 to 650 degrees f. as measured by the thermometer on the stove top corner.....where the oslo manual says to put it.

I have a gut feeling the guys at work you're talkin' about may never have had an epa stove, have they?

I guess I can get a little flame up the pipe a ways if I'm runnin wide open but it ain't blastin up there like the old smoke dragons used to. Other than burnin' hot once a day, I can shut my air down with a packed load, shut it down half way when it reaches 350 or more if its burnin vigorous and then it'll rise to about 500, maybe 600 if I leave it at half air.

 

[crazy_dan]

your EPA stove has a baffle so the flames have some traveling to do instead of the strait shot they used to have in the old non EPA models.