Shoulder season advice for a new wood burner

[7acres]

My wife and I are loving our new wood stove. We've already used it a few times when the low at night was reaching the low 40s. I filled up the firebox, got the load fully engaged then backed the air down a quarter at a time till it was on low. Waking up to a nice warm house was amazing!

What wasn't so amazing was that the stove kept on putting out heat well into the morning and afternoon even though I never added any more wood. It was 3pm the next day and the stove top was too hot to keep your hand on. And since it's the start of the shoulder season it was a nice 73 outside but inside (with all the doors and several windows open) it was 78 because the stove was still putting out the heat. This awesome stove performance will be a real blessing when it's cold and nasty; that's for sure!

What techniques can I use to heat during the night but have the stove cooled off by mid-morning?

 

[Randy Acton]

Don't load the firebox fully. The fuel you put in is a direct result of the heat that comes out.

For the most part your stove doesn't care what the outdoor temp is. You could load and burn your stove on a summer day and its still going to put out heat .

If you don't need the heat don't add the fuel

 

[Fsappo]

I would load less wood in there>

 

[7acres]

I would load less wood in there>

Last attempt I did a half load. And I had the air opened up a little more to burn through it faster. I also turned the fan up to pull heat off the stove quicker. It was better. But was still warm the following afternoon.

My latest idea is to put in a real small load and open the air up all the way. I'm thinking that would burn up all the wood quickly and the cast iron will radiate during the early part of the night and be cool by morning. Thoughts?

 

[Frank625]

What are you burning for wood. Smaller splits of softer wood like poplar will not last nearly as long if you are burning hardwoods. poplar is very we when you cut it but it seasons pretty fasy and it is very easy to split. Where are you in the South East. I am in NC and I have access to some poplar. Help me haul some wood and i'll give you some.

 

[7acres]

I

What are you burning for wood. Smaller splits of softer wood like poplar will not last nearly as long if you are burning hardwoods. poplar is very we when you cut it but it seasons pretty fasy and it is very easy to split. Where are you in the South East. I am in NC and I have access to some poplar. Help me haul some wood and i'll give you some.

I'm in SC and I burn primarily hickory and oak. Pretty much just hickory this year because the oak isnt seasoned yet. Thanks for the offer but I'm fortunate to have plenty of wood on my own property.

 

[blades]

Now this a twist as most of us are out desperately searching for some of those two holy grails and generally have more than enough of the lesser species .

 

[7acres]

Now this a twist as most of us are out desperately searching for some of those two holy grails and generally have more than enough of the lesser species .

I never knew how lucky I was till I joined this forum last year to build up my wood stove IQ. But yep, hickory, oak and a fair amount of cedar on the property too. I used to think I had a lot of maple too because of the leaf shape. But earlier this year I realized those were maple imposters and were actually shagbark hickory.

 

[jeff_t]

My latest idea is to put in a real small load and open the air up all the way. I'm thinking that would burn up all the wood quickly and the cast iron will radiate during the early part of the night and be cool by morning. Thoughts?

That's what I do.

I'll take a split or two and make a bunch of 1" square sticks. I burn it wide open. It warms the stove up and burns up quickly. It burns hot and fast with very little smoke.

 

[begreen]

I burn smaller 3" splits of softwood, 3-4 are often enough.

 

[Ashful]

As others have said, smaller loads. That will get you thru those first years, when you're too excited to refrain from burning in the fall.

Me? After the amount of wood I've put thru my two stoves the last few years, I'm happy to let the oil-fired boiler do the part-time job right now. It's not using much fuel, this time of year. I'll fire up my stoves when it's cold enough to not worry about overheating the house.

 

[tarzan]

Man, that's good burn time. You've hit on a fine combination with the Jotul and Hickory.

As others have said, less wood equals less heat. I know you can't have anything seasoned this year but if you have some soft wood on your property that you can cut and split now it would be ready next fall to make shoulder season better and save the oak, hickory for "real" cold weather.

 

[Jasper]

I


I'm in SC and I burn primarily hickory and oak. Pretty much just hickory this year because the oak isnt seasoned yet. Thanks for the offer but I'm fortunate to have plenty of wood on my own property.

I am also in South Carolina and a first year burner. I have had the same problems with the recent weather. I have been lighting the stove earlier and getting it up to temp and then shutting it down with a low burn. Then just letting it die and not going for an overnight burn. When I get up in the morning there is still plenty of heat coming off the stove and it usually is fairly cool by afternoon. I'm not loading the box full and I'm using mostly sweet gum and poplar. I love this forum, I have learned so much in the past year just reading and watching threads.

 

[7acres]

I burn smaller 3" splits of softwood, 3-4 are often enough.

Okay, I guess I've found a niche for the cedar then. Perfect! I'll try that next. It'll get down to 39F tonight. I'll be really happy if I can keep my hand on the stovetop on my way out the door to work in the morning.

 

[dafattkidd]

What are your house temps when you start a fire? For me the outside temps are far less important than the inside temps this time of year. If it hits the 40s at night but was in the 60s and sunny during the day, my house will hold heat fine through out the night (this is a new miracle in my home owning experience, as my house used to be SUPER drafty, but that's besides the point). I usually light a fire when the house temps hit 66 or so. And even then, sometimes I'll just let the boiler run for 20-30 minutes to bring the house up to temp and save some wood for when I have time to enjoy a fire.

Also it is probably very difficult to run your stove correctly with that baby necklace you seem to be so fond of.

 

[Shane Collins]

I'm in a similar situation to you. My BK Ashford stove was installed just a couple of weeks ago. I've found what works best for me is burning very little wood. I usually put on 4ish splits. The smallest I can find in my pile, usually around 3-4 inches. Wake up and it's nice and warm and the fire lasts a few more hours but it's not putting out too much heat.

 

[7acres]

What are your house temps when you start a fire? For me the outside temps are far less important than the inside temps this time of year. If it hits the 40s at night but was in the 60s and sunny during the day, my house will hold heat fine through out the night (this is a new miracle in my home owning experience, as my house used to be SUPER drafty, but that's besides the point). I usually light a fire when the house temps hit 66 or so. And even then, sometimes I'll just let the boiler run for 20-30 minutes to bring the house up to temp and save some wood for when I have time to enjoy a fire.

Also it is probably very difficult to run your stove correctly with that baby necklace you seem to be so fond of.

Well, we've burned 3 fires for warmth so far. I'd say the house has to be around 66 before we even entertain the idea. Last week and this week we decided to see how well the house holds its warmth when it's cold out. And the house only drops 7 degrees on nights where it gets down to the mid 40s. Then when my wife wakes up she just open all the blinds and the greenhouse effect kicks in and we're back in the 70s in no time. So we're learning about our house as well as the stove.

And my necklace there is big enough to help put wood in the stove now. Not to worry though, we just brought a new baby boy into the world on Oct 8th. I'll have another baby necklace shortly

 

[7acres]

I'm in a similar situation to you. My BK Ashford stove was installed just a couple of weeks ago. I've found what works best for me is burning very little wood. I usually put on 4ish splits. The smallest I can find in my pile, usually around 3-4 inches. Wake up and it's nice and warm and the fire lasts a few more hours but it's not putting out too much heat.

When you say 3-4" splits do you mean width? I assume they are still 16" long though, right?

 

[Shane Collins]

When you say 3-4" splits do you mean width? I assume they are still 16" long though, right?

Yes, all my wood is cut to about 16 inch in length. I just mean the width. Shoulder season burning is new to me, it's all new to me really. So far this is working for me though. The house is staying at 70-72 which is just right, any higher and windows would have to be opened. All stoves work differently though so you'll have to do some playing. Try a small fire though, with some of your smaller splits. Just use around 4-5. For next year I can see myself making a load of even smaller splits or just putting all the small branches that are a few inches in size to the side and use that for the shoulder season.

Good luck!

 

[Ashful]

And my necklace there is big enough to help put wood in the stove now. Not to worry though, we just brought a new baby boy into the world on Oct 8th. I'll have another baby necklace shortly

Congratulations!

 

[7acres]

Congratulations!

Thanks Joful Just one more reason to keep the home cozy this Winter!

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

I never knew how lucky I was till I joined this forum last year to build up my wood stove IQ. But yep, hickory, oak and a fair amount of cedar on the property too. I used to think I had a lot of maple too because of the leaf shape. But earlier this year I realized those were maple imposters and were actually shagbark hickory.

That shagbark is the hottest of the bunch you have there! Only thing giving that a run for the money is Osage and Black Locust.

 

[7acres]

Total success! I loaded 3 cedar splits with some small hickory limbs and pine wood working scraps for kindling. Stovetop was cold this morning. Opened the door and put my hand inside to confirm no smoldering embers. Zippo. Room temp inside the stove. It got down to 37F outside. Temps inside the house were 67 this morning. So this small load wasn't quite large enough to hold the house at a nice warm temp. But the exercise was a total success. This stove can be run low and slow to put out heat for 20+ hours off of one full hardwood load. Or can burn through a small softwood load quickly to dump some BTUs into the inside air and be totally out by the time the Sun is up too.

I didn't get home till 9p last night. But the babies were sleeping and my wife and I got some quality time by the fire before retiring. It was just perfect.

 

[DBoon]

maple imposters and were actually shagbark hickory.

New stove, dry wood, new kid, and the disappointment of finding out you have shagbark hickory when you thought it was maple. It's amazing he finds the fortitude to carry on.

 

[Byrond]

I am also in South Carolina and a first year burner. I have had the same problems with the recent weather. I have been lighting the stove earlier and getting it up to temp and then shutting it down with a low burn. Then just letting it die and not going for an overnight burn. When I get up in the morning there is still plenty of heat coming off the stove and it usually is fairly cool by afternoon. I'm not loading the box full and I'm using mostly sweet gum and poplar. I love this forum, I have learned so much in the past year just reading and watching threads.

I'm here in the sprawling metropolis of pumpkintown SC. Currently sweating because at 1030 this morning my wife loaded the Buck 81 with a load of hickory. It was 39 this morning with a breeze. Needless to say the A/c is on in the bed room.