REAL ACTUAL BURN TIME

[Srossi720]

Okay so I’m new to burning this year and just wanted a round about number for peoples burn time. I have an Englander NC 30 and my burn time is as follows...
From load to reload is about 8 hours, I can visually see wood burning for about 4 hours and have a bed of coals for the remaining 4 hours and stove top temps stay about 750f burning wood and about 450-500f with coals left. Any input would be great thanks!

 

[bholler]

Okay so I’m new to burning this year and just wanted a round about number for peoples burn time. I have an Englander NC 30 and my burn time is as follows...
From load to reload is about 8 hours, I can visually see wood burning for about 4 hours and have a bed of coals for the remaining 4 hours and stove top temps stay about 750f burning wood and about 450-500f with coals left. Any input would be great thanks!

It depends on the stove the fuel the chimney the air settings etc.

 

[weatherguy]

Your doing good with what you're getting, like Bholler said a lot depends on the stove, a bk king will get triple of what youre getting.

 

[Tar12]

Maybe this should have been titled Real Actual NC 30 burn times? As Bholler mentioned there are variables that come into play with each set up...from what I have read here you are getting the best burn time expected out of this particular stove...you are doing good!

 

[vwmike]

Sounds normal to me. I get about 3hrs flame, 3 hrs coals, when pushing my summit for max heating capacity. Shoulder season I can stretch it to about 4hra flame and 5-6hrs coals.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

I have the same stove and I have similar results to yours.

 

[rwhite]

Your doing good with what you're getting, like Bholler said a lot depends on the stove, a bk king will get triple of what youre getting.

I've got a princess. Burning softwood I can get 15-16 hours in the shoulder season. Once the temps drop below 30 I'm on 12 hour reloads. When they hover around zero I'm on 8 hour loads.

 

[MAD MARK]

Have Englander 30-NC and your results are average for me when its below 32°F out. Above sometimes I can get 9-10 hours before its needed to be reloaded (STT <400)

 

[SculptureOfSound]

burning about 2/3 loads of pine in my 2cf firebox insert (external fireplace) at 0f today, getting almost 2 hours of flames and 2 more hours of decent heat from coals. only got pine to burn so am on about 4 hour reloads, 3 hours if i want to keep it 75+ in here

 

[Manly]

That sounds like a good burn to me, especially with the stove temp remaining that high after 8 hrs. I have been burning a small stove for the past 20 years, Jotul 3CB. I’ve got it down where can load it before bed time and have enough coals to rekindle in the morning. The outer stove isn’t very hot, but we’re talking a small firebox.

 

[SpaceBus]

That sounds like a good burn to me, especially with the stove temp remaining that high after 8 hrs. I have been burning a small stove for the past 20 years, Jotul 3CB. I’ve got it down where can load it before bed time and have enough coals to rekindle in the morning. The outer stove isn’t very hot, but we’re talking a small firebox.

I'm in the small stove club as well with a Morso 2B Classic. 6-8 hour burn times are possible with hard woods and a 200f stove top with just enough embers to start a new fire when I wake up. 4-6 hour burns are much more common and I wake up at night to feed the stove on cold nights. In a few years after we finish renovating the house we probably won't ever need to feed the stove after we go to bed.

 

[shoot-straight]

Active flames then coals is how the burn cycle works in a non cat or a cat stove (turned on higher setting). I had a non cat hearthstone for 10 years. When it was cold it provided 3 hrs of suffienct heat, then 5 hours of insufficient heat (coaling).

The drop in temp is normal, and is why the thermostatic air control on blaze kings are special. If you have it set at a higher setting the bk stat will open up and give more air to produce more heat as needed. Thereby keeping a more even heat. Don't misundertand, it's not perfect, and it still gets hot then cools some, but it gives a much more even flow of heat over the duration.

 

[begreen]

Burn times are somewhat of a myth. They are going to vary radically for almost any stove depending on the BTU output required for the particular heating need. This is going to vary with the characteristics of the house, the region, the weather, the stove, the wood, the stove installation and the operator. There are just too many variables to ascribe one burntime number to any stove. The same stove may provide a 12 hr. burntime during average mild weather and only 4hrs when pushed hard during a serious cold spell.

Our stove can easily provide a 12hr burn time during our average mild winters, but in very cold weather with a strong northwind in our old farmhouse with way too much glazing I'll be reloading it every 6 hrs..

 

[Srossi720]

Thank you all for your input! I have an Englander 30NC in my basement with a 21’ class a chimney. It drafts really well and I never have a problem. My house is a 1300sq ft cape. Built in 1920 so I know my walls aren’t insulated well if at all. My attic is R-38 and all windows and doors are new energy efficient and sealed with the remodel. Basement is an uninsulated fieldstone foundation and that’s where I have the stove. When it’s in the mid teens outside I can have the first floor at 69f and second floor at 66f. Which is perfect for me because I don’t turn on the furnace which saves me a ton also thanks to my cousins company delivering free seasoned wood to my house.

 

[PAbowhunter]

I can get about 4 hours of actual heat and 4-5 hours of low stove top temps and coaling burning hardwood. Ive learned that this stove doesnt like cold starts as it takes forever to heat the whole box up even if the stove top temp is 500+. So those numbers only go for the first reload after a cold start. That being said, this stove performs good for us burning 24/7 but has been a little annoying for us with the milder winter since we let the fire die out a lot

 

[illini81]

Burn times are somewhat of a myth. They are going to vary radically for almost any stove depending on the BTU output required for the particular heating need. This is going to vary with the characteristics of the house, the region, the weather, the stove, the wood, the stove installation and the operator. There are just too many variables to ascribe one burntime number to any stove. The same stove may provide a 12 hr. burntime during average mild weather and only 4hrs when pushed hard during a serious cold spell.

Our stove can easily provide a 12hr burn time during our average mild winters, but in very cold weather with a strong northwind in our old farmhouse with way too much glazing I'll be reloading it every 6 hrs..

Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong, but I'm not sure I agree that burn times are a myth. I think there are (at least) two different ways to look at burn time, one of which is helpful, and the other not so much.

1. Length of time a full load will keep my house at an acceptable temp - this probably involves too many factors that are specific to a house/installation/user preference to attach a number to a stove. Shoot-straight, I know your intent wasn't to provide a review of your hearthstone stove, so I'm not at all criticizing your post, but the below quote is sort of an example of this approach to burn time. Someone might read your post and assume that your hearthstone stove would only give them 3 hours of sufficient heat at at time. In reality, the stove only gave you 3 hours of sufficient heat, according to your requirements.

I had a non cat hearthstone for 10 years. When it was cold it provided 3 hrs of suffienct heat, then 5 hours of insufficient heat (coaling).

2. Length of time at the end of which I will have enough coals to reload on without kindling - this involves some variables that are not specific to the stove (type and moisture content of wood, draft), but with some caveats, I think it is possible to assign a number to a stove, and I think this number is very helpful to prospective buyers.

Personally, I wanted a stove that could consistently burn 10 hours at a minimum (using second definition). Eight hours seems to be typically considered the minimum for an overnight burn, but that means loading the stove has to be just about the very last thing you do in the evening and the first thing in the morning. I wanted more flexibility than that. If I wasn't able to evaluate stoves using the second definition, I think I could have ended up disappointed with a stove that didn't meet our wants/needs.

 

[bholler]

Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong, but I'm not sure I agree that burn times are a myth. I think there are (at least) two different ways to look at burn time, one of which is helpful, and the other not so much.

1. Length of time a full load will keep my house at an acceptable temp - this probably involves too many factors that are specific to a house/installation/user preference to attach a number to a stove. Shoot-straight, I know your intent wasn't to provide a review of your hearthstone stove, so I'm not at all criticizing your post, but the below quote is sort of an example of this approach to burn time. Someone might read your post and assume that your hearthstone stove would only give them 3 hours of sufficient heat at at time. In reality, the stove only gave you 3 hours of sufficient heat, according to your requirements.



2. Length of time at the end of which I will have enough coals to reload on without kindling - this involves some variable that are not specific to the stove (type and moisture content of wood, draft), but with some caveats, I think it is possible to assign a number to a stove, and I think this number is very helpful to prospective buyers.

Personally, I wanted a stove that could consistently burn 10 hours at a minimum (using second definition). Eight hours seems to be typically considered the minimum for an overnight burn, but that means loading the stove has to be just about the very last thing you do in the evening and the first thing in the morning. I wanted more flexibility than that. If I wasn't able to evaluate stoves using the second definition, I think I could have ended up disappointed with a stove that didn't meet our wants/needs.

I don't care if we are all using the same definition or not unless you are testing in labratory conditions with extremely consistent wood your numbers will be all over the place regardless of definition.

 

[illini81]

I don't care if we are all using the same definition or not unless you are testing in labratory conditions with extremely consistent wood your numbers will be all over the place regardless of definition.

I guess I disagree. This is only my second year with the stove, so I realize I have way less experience than you, but almost every night I burn for 10+ hours (only less if it is really cold), no matter what wood I put in the stove (varying species and moisture content). So I have a hard time believing extremely consistent wood is needed in order to give a rough answer to the question, "How long can you consistently stretch a full load in your stove, and still reload on hot coals?" I think that question can be answered in a way that is helpful to prospective buyers.

Also, I would not be interested in lab test results. I would be interested in real world results, which you can find, right here on hearth.com. Before buying my stove, I polled all of the users of the stove that I could find who had ever posted on hearth.com, to find out whether the manufacturer quoted number is accurate. There was definitely a spread of answers, but they were all right around the manufacturer quoted number.

 

[shoot-straight]

Everyone's "burn time" will be different. That's the only consistent thing.

One note- my hearthstone did not have a fan. My bk does. Amazing how
Much better he bk heats with the fan on. Eapecilly when it's on the back side of the burn when temps drop some. Again everyone is different.

 

[bholler]

I guess I disagree. This is only my second year with the stove, so I realize I have way less experience than you, but almost every night I burn for 10+ hours (only less if it is really cold), no matter what wood I put in the stove (varying species and moisture content). So I have a hard time believing extremely consistent wood is needed in order to give a rough answer to the question, "How long can you consistently stretch a full load in your stove, and still reload on hot coals?" I think that question can be answered in a way that is helpful to prospective buyers.

Also, I would not be interested in lab test results. I would be interested in real world results, which you can find, right here on hearth.com. Before buying my stove, I polled all of the users of the stove that I could find who had ever posted on hearth.com, to find out whether the manufacturer quoted number is accurate. There was definitely a spread of answers, but they were all right around the manufacturer quoted number.

I can tell you every stove I have used (about 12 now) burn times vary greatly with fuel used. And times will vary drastically depending upon strength of draft. Which is why I say you need lab testing to get consistent results. They use fans to create a consistent draft. They use wood with a set moisture content and set weight. Any other way of testing will be inconsistent. But those numbers really are only for comparison purposes because the real world results will vary.

 

[bholler]

Everyone's "burn time" will be different. That's the only consistent thing.

One note- my hearthstone did not have a fan. My bk does. Amazing how
Much better he bk heats with the fan on. Eapecilly when it's on the back side of the burn when temps drop some. Again everyone is different.

Yes a fan can help allot. But especially on his with their thermostatic control that fan will effect burn time