putting too much wood in stove

[wood burning cop]

when i only put 3 or 4 small splits in the stove i can get the stovetop temp up to 700 or 750 degrees with the air only open a small amount. at this point i am affraid to put in a good size load for overnight burning. in my belief more wood equals higher btu's and a higher stovetop temp and overfiring. i use an ir thermometer ( the dial kind reads about 50 degrees cooler). is there a way to keep the temp lower when using more wood in the stove. any help or comments would be appreciated.

 

[BrowningBAR]

when i only put 3 or 4 small splits in the stove i can get the stovetop temp up to 700 or 750 degrees with the air only open a small amount. at this point i am affraid to put in a good size load for overnight burning. in my belief more wood equals higher btu's and a higher stovetop temp and overfiring. i use an ir thermometer ( the dial kind reads about 50 degrees cooler). is there a way to keep the temp lower when using more wood in the stove. any help or comments would be appreciated.

Stop believing that.

 

[begreen]

Try 3-4 large splits and pack it in with smaller splits filling the gaps. Large splits burn slower.

 

[corey21]

A packed load will burn different then 3 loosely placed splits.

 

[wood burning cop]

ok, thanks i will try a larger load and see how it goes. i guess it makes sense that not all of it will be buring and that some of it will be compressed and will burn as the outside burns down. thanks for the input

 

[corey21]

Raking the coals forward will help when you do that larger load.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

For sure you need to do some experimenting during the daytime so you can see what actually happens. And like others stated, try putting in a couple of larger splits or rounds when you fill it.

fwiw, many times on our stove we too can get the stove top pretty high, that is, between 600-700 (700 is the recommended high for our stove) and this with only 3 splits. Yet we never hesitate to fill the stove for a long burn and the stove top will still get as high but not higher.

One other thing I might suggest is to turn the draft down sooner. Rather than leaving the draft open until the stove gets hot, start dialing the draft down. It will take longer to get to that high temperature but will probably stay there longer which results in you getting more heat per burn. Experiment a little.

 

[Slow1]

While more wood makes for a hotter firebox to a point my experience is that it crests around 1/2 full - if your stove is in proper working order you should be able to control the burn when full and manage it to control the burn with a full box. "Too much" wood in the box is when you try to stuff that last piece and it doesn't fit such that the door won't shut.

 

[wood burning cop]

i always try to rake the coals forward and will throw a small piece on them if i need to burn them down between reloads. it is amazing to see how much heat just the coals put off. get that large chunk of steel up to temp and it stays hot for a long time. i love having a wood burning stove. in my other house i had a multi fuel stove that i used a mix of corn and wood pellets in. it was ok, but this stove is soooo much beter. i know all of the new burners go thru this paranoid stage and worry about a lot of stuff that should just be normal. i will do some experimenting when my days off are and see what i can get this stove to do. looking forward to cooking on the top of it also. thanks again

 

[31 bertram]

My stove started doing this recently and I found it to be getting too much air, I found that the window gaskets needed to be replaced.

 

[ohlongarm]

when i only put 3 or 4 small splits in the stove i can get the stovetop temp up to 700 or 750 degrees with the air only open a small amount. at this point i am affraid to put in a good size load for overnight burning. in my belief more wood equals higher btu's and a higher stovetop temp and overfiring. i use an ir thermometer ( the dial kind reads about 50 degrees cooler). is there a way to keep the temp lower when using more wood in the stove. any help or comments would be appreciated.

Pack that thing don't be afraid be adventurous ,the stovetop manufacturer has factored in the fact that some will push the stove to the limits,but it would be hard to do in most cases.

 

[wood burning cop]

i try to dial back the air when the stovetop gets to about 350 then again when it gets to about 500. then try to let it cruise and have the air open just a little when it is at 600. goes up to about 700 and then fluxuates back and forth to about 600 to 700 most of the time. just when the secondaries go crazy does it get up above 700. do those temps and settings sound about right or should i have less air sooner.

 

[begreen]

Instead of going by stove top temp, go by eyeball and start turning the stove down in incremental reductions once the wood is starting to burn fully. Repeat as the fire picks up steam again every 10 minutes or so. I've been doing this lately with good success. Loading E/W instead of N/S can also help slow down the fire.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

i always try to rake the coals forward and will throw a small piece on them if i need to burn them down between reloads. it is amazing to see how much heat just the coals put off. get that large chunk of steel up to temp and it stays hot for a long time. i love having a wood burning stove. in my other house i had a multi fuel stove that i used a mix of corn and wood pellets in. it was ok, but this stove is soooo much beter. i know all of the new burners go thru this paranoid stage and worry about a lot of stuff that should just be normal. i will do some experimenting when my days off are and see what i can get this stove to do. looking forward to cooking on the top of it also. thanks again

It is not always necessary to rake the coals forward. During the daytime we never do that but rake the coals forward only when building for the night burn. During the daytime we simply level out the coals. This will actually get the new load burning much quicker.

If you are getting excessive coaling, start opening the draft to full open just about or a little before the fire is down to all coals. This will maintain the stove temperature while burning down the coals. Also be aware that excessive coaling can be a sign that the wood is not as dry as it could be.

 

[jeff_t]

A packed load will burn different then 3 loosely placed splits.

I put this together a little while ago, and I'm actually having trouble getting it to take off. There are no gaps between the splits to let air up and out. It'll go, but it's taking awhile.

 

[rdust]

I put this together a little while ago, and I'm actually having trouble getting it to take off. There are no gaps between the splits to let air up and out. It'll go, but it's taking awhile.

I've actually started mixing in a couple small cherry splits on the bottom on those types of loads. I find they take off a lot faster for me.

 

[rdust]

It is not always necessary to rake the coals forward.

It may not always be necessary but with a non cat stove I feel you have better results with them raked forward. Now that I have a cat stove(ie a stove with good control) I have no issue spreading out the coal bed if I'm loading on a large coal bed. With my non cat if I loaded on a spread out coal bed it was off to the races more times than not.

 

[corey21]

I put this together a little while ago, and I'm actually having trouble getting it to take off. There are no gaps between the splits to let air up and out. It'll go, but it's taking awhile.

View attachment 86921

That is some big splits.

 

[etiger2007]

I agree with Begreen and Savage, go more by flames than temps. I have been having my draft all but closed at the 400 degree mark and my wood has been burning clean and long. Ive been getting 6-8 hours off three medium ash splits. I also have been pushing the air control 100% closed midway through the burn this seems to extend the burn as well. My stove top stays between 500-600 and this tells me im not wasting wood by hitting the 700 mark.

 

[DTrain]

Instead of going by stove top temp, go by eyeball and start turning the stove down in incremental reductions once the wood is starting to burn fully. Repeat as the fire picks up steam again every 10 minutes or so. I've been doing this lately with good success. Loading E/W instead of N/S can also help slow down the fire.

Me too, I have been getting the stove temp up higher and longer burns this way. I was burning to fast going by temps alone.

 

[remkel]

Less splits = more air in the firebox leading to a hotter fire in my opinion. Load 'er up, let 'er rip. control the burn with your air controls.

I have been shutting my air down at 420 or so and watching the flames. If the secondaries die out, I reopen the air to the point where I first see the flames going well, then I shut her down again. Been leading to longer, more efficient burns.

 

[etiger2007]

Less splits = more air in the firebox leading to a hotter fire in my opinion. Load 'er up, let 'er rip. control the burn with your air controls.

I have been shutting my air down at 420 or so and watching the flames. If the secondaries die out, I reopen the air to the point where I first see the flames going well, then I shut her down again. Been leading to longer, more efficient burns.

right on

 

[wood burning cop]

loaded up the stove last night for the first overnight burn. All went good and still had red coals and plenty to start the fire back up today at 8am. put about 4 big splits it in and it just seemed to cruise about 550-600 and was still about 200 this morning. thanks for the help

 

[Freeheat]

I have never tried a loaded fire box , best I do is 2 large splits. Is anyone loading like this with a non-cat stove?

 

[etiger2007]

I have never tried a loaded fire box , best I do is 2 large splits. Is anyone loading like this with a non-cat stove?

I will throw two splits in every now and again, lots of flames in the upper firebox