Show Your Night Load

[Ashful]

Well, if someone has to prove you wrong, it's always best to do it yourself. My 80# number above is good, pulled out the bathroom scale tonight to weight both loads before going into the Ashfords, and verified I can indeed put 80# of oak into these stoves. But that 100# guess was just dreaming, I have to pack the stoves pretty darn tight just getting that 80 pounds fully in, with no returns to the pile. There is no way I'd ever get 100# of mixed-size splits in there, short of cutting wood custom to fit the stove.

I guess with it being warm out, I'd forgotten how full I was packing the stove back when I took those prior weights.

 

[Snagmaster]

Focus 320 load around 10 30. Maple, some birch, poplar (use what I have). Should be good coal bed at 6 am.

 

[30WCF]

Let’s see what this looks like n the morning.

 

[weee123]

3 big chunks of black walnut. All I could fit in without rolling forward

 

[dafattkidd]

Here’s my firebox packed out with some four year old Osage orange. I actually rarely load this much wood into my stove. After 14 hours I had a huge coal bed and still tons of heat pouring out.

I’ll post an EW load over weekend once the temps drop down again.

 

[begreen]

Day load or night load is about the same when it's cold out. I tend to burn large doug fir splits. This is good for 8-14 hrs. depending on how hard I am pushing the stove for heat.

 

[ohlongarmisle]

I am hoping to start a thread that will be beneficial to a lot of users. For those that want to participate, please show photos and comments related to how you load your stove for an overnight burn. I'll start:

At 8:30pm I loaded my stove as in the first photo. The stove had been running all day; so it is not a cold start. I moved all the coals to the left side of the firebox. My stove is a DROLET Escape 1500. I cut most of my wood to a length of 11". That way I can load it N-S in this stove. In this photo you can see that there is space for more smaller splits. The fire burns from left to right throughout the night.
The next photo is at 6:30 am the next morning. I raked the coals a bit and left the door open for a while. The next 2 photos show the coals; one with no flash to show them glowing.
I then raked the coals toward the left side of the firebox and loaded the stove again. (prior to loading I could removed excess ash if I wish.) After a bit and the touch of a match, the wood started burning. See last photo.

I hope this is helpful and that other share their methods.

View attachment 303100 View attachment 303101 View attachment 303102 View attachment 303103 View attachment 303104

Red elm large splits.

 

[marty319]

My 3300 mostly full of pine,good for 9 hours

 

[Caw]

You’re getting an 8 hour burn out of that little firebox? Man I wish I could get that with my 1.85!

I have a 1.85 cu ft box and regularly go 10:30 pm to 7:30 am. You just have to not be afraid to really stuff it good and full.

 

[BillBurns]

My wood burner is like .9 cubic feet or whatever. Its small. Thats enough wood for me to burn all day,. and before anyone says it, my stove is "junk".

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

Day load or night load is about the same when it's cold out. I tend to burn large doug fir splits. This is good for 8-14 hrs. depending on how hard I am pushing the stove for heat.

View attachment 306893

Do you pile your ashes/coals in a certain spot? Or are they spread out over the entire bottom of firebox? The reason I ask is that I am concerned about all the splits lighting at once if the coals are spread over the entire bottom. I worry about a massive overfire if all the splits are burning. I rake mine to the left, or to the right, or to the center. That way the fire will burn up and then across the top to the side.

In the attached photo, I raked the coals to the center. The fire will burn up and then to the sides. The result is a long burn time.

 

[begreen]

Do you pile your ashes/coals in a certain spot? Or are they spread out over the entire bottom of firebox? The reason I ask is that I am concerned about all the splits lighting at once if the coals are spread over the entire bottom. I worry about a massive overfire if all the splits are burning. I rake mine to the left, or to the right, or to the center. That way the fire will burn up and then across the top to the side.

In the attached photo, I raked the coals to the center. The fire will burn up and then to the sides. The result is a long burn time.

View attachment 306953

I burn them down as much as is reasonable and then rake them to the front before reloading.

I see you are loading N/S. Is this in the Drolet 1500? What length are your splits?

 

[kcmclellan]

My wood burner is like .9 cubic feet or whatever. Its small. Thats enough wood for me to burn all day,. and before anyone says it, my stove is "junk".

If your stove is giving you warmth & joy, it sure ain't "junk!" Like the old song says, "love the one you're with..." 😊

 

[kcmclellan]

Living in Fredericton NB, it's been a warm winter. I got myself a cord of dry softwood for shoulder seasons, spruce & pine (I think) and that's pretty much all I've been burning, and usually just 1 burn a day if I'm lucky! My wife is running hot these days, so I try to be careful about overheating the house (running the stove and A/C together is not fun, although it is funny 🤪).... So when I burn lately, I like to stuff my Drolet Austral with soft wood and let 'er rip! 😊

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

I burn them down as much as is reasonable and then rake them to the front before reloading.

I see you are loading N/S. Is this in the Drolet 1500? What length are your splits?

Yes, the Drolet Escape 1500. I cut my splits to 11 inches long. These fit nicely from the back fire brick to the stove side of the corridor that carries the Primary air (air wash air) left and right across the front of the stove. Raking to one side or the center works for me better than raking toward the front. My stove is not as deep as true N-S loaders. And I have 'doghouse air' vents that I try to keep clear.

I still have some splits cut to 9 inches long. This is for my previous stove (Pleasant Hearth WS2417) which was quite small. One of the drawbacks of getting 3 years ahead in the wood game is that, if you change stoves, the wood you stockpiled for seasoning may not be the best fit for your new stove.

 

[Ashful]

Night load is same as the day load, but I just loaded both stoves with a random load of oak and ash, and grabbed a photo of each.

 

[Diabel]

Night load is same as the day load, but I just loaded both stoves with a random load of oak and ash, and grabbed a photo of each.

View attachment 307486 View attachment 307487

@Ashful
These splits look to me on a small side, no. I normally fit 6 splits in mine and get 22h. You advertise much longer burn times.. but with these small splits? Just asking😜

 

[Diabel]

@Ashful
These splits look to me on a small side, no. I normally fit 6 splits in mine and get 22h. You advertise much longer burn times.. but with these small splits? Just asking😜

edit
Maybe 8 splits, fit tight

 

[TomMcDonald]

Night load is same as the day load, but I just loaded both stoves with a random load of oak and ash, and grabbed a photo of each.

View attachment 307486 View attachment 307487

That is the same stove.

 

[Caw]

Yes same 2 pics lol. Probably by accident.

 

[TomMcDonald]

Yes, the Drolet Escape 1500. I cut my splits to 11 inches long. These fit nicely from the back fire brick to the stove side of the corridor that carries the Primary air (air wash air) left and right across the front of the stove. Raking to one side or the center works for me better than raking toward the front. My stove is not as deep as true N-S loaders. And I have 'doghouse air' vents that I try to keep clear.

I still have some splits cut to 9 inches long. This is for my previous stove (Pleasant Hearth WS2417) which was quite small. One of the drawbacks of getting 3 years ahead in the wood game is that, if you change stoves, the wood you stockpiled for seasoning may not be the best fit for your new stove.

Hi, what's your max burntime with your stove? The website says 6 hours.

 

[armanidog]

Here in NE Georgia it will be a low of 58F tonight. The stove has been cleaned and is awaiting another cold spell.

 

[trailrated]

Focus 320 load around 10 30. Maple, some birch, poplar (use what I have). Should be good coal bed at 6 am.
View attachment 304187

That's my kind of wood. Softer and season's pretty fast. Can burn in 8-12 months or less.

 

[begreen]

Here in NE Georgia it will be a low of 58F tonight. The stove has been cleaned and is awaiting another cold spell.

52º right now up in the northwest. The heat pump is keeping the house comfy at 72º.

 

[Caw]

52º right now up in the northwest. The heat pump is keeping the house comfy at 72º.

I'm running the stove anything 50 and under now with the new cost of electricity. My usual limit is 40 for the heat pump but can't justify the cost when I have wood right here, even with the solar.