Smoke or Fire??

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Mr. Kelly

Feeling the Heat
Hi all...

We're starting our second season of burning, and our first full burning year.

Since it hasn't been that cold here yet, we're trying to get a feel for how to burn efficiently during the shoulder season.

Today, I thought I'd try to burn as light as possible as to conserve wood, by trying to keep the fire mostly hot embers, rather than in full flames. The initial fire, as it died down a bit, had lots of really hot embers and was on the low/moderate side of heat. Does it make much sense to have a fire that isn't actually flaming, but is mostly hot embers?

How many of you let your embers go for a long time before reloading? Do you think it's hugely less efficient to let embers churn like that - or more so?

Flaming seems to mean we go through more wood, but more heat. Embers seem to mean lower heat, but longer burn. Also, only embers probably means more potential chimney bi products.

What do you guys do?
 
I quit trying to keep a fire going in shoulder seasons a long time ago. With a stove with a lot of mass like a Summit or my 30-NC I fire it on three splits or so in the morning to get the stove hot and let them die out. The stove is going to radiate heat for many hours after the flames die. I do the same thing again after sundown. Trying to limp along just eats wood and craps up the chimney. And usually overheats the house. This works best on sunny days of course. It is a judgment call on a cloudy rainy chilly day.

Those embers you have left won't leave anything in the chimney. The nasties burned out of that wood long before it became just coals.
 
Pre EPA stove here. I put in some kindling and 3 small/medium splits this morning, let it burn with medium air, then opened the air later when the wood had gone to coals. The stove gave off heat for several hours, and I just now started another fire with several pieces of kindling and 2 splits. I'll let that burn down, then load about 3-4 splits a little bit before bed.
In this weather, warm the house, then leave it alone. The hot embers should suffice until it gets colder. I've been having fires morning, evening, and overnight recently, but not every day.
Read your house, your need for heat, and how cold it's going to be, then burn accordingly.
 
Mr. Kelly said:
Hi all...

We're starting our second season of burning, and our first full burning year.

Since it hasn't been that cold here yet, we're trying to get a feel for how to burn efficiently during the shoulder season.

Today, I thought I'd try to burn as light as possible as to conserve wood, by trying to keep the fire mostly hot embers, rather than in full flames. The initial fire, as it died down a bit, had lots of really hot embers and was on the low/moderate side of heat. Does it make much sense to have a fire that isn't actually flaming, but is mostly hot embers?

How many of you let your embers go for a long time before reloading? Do you think it's hugely less efficient to let embers churn like that - or more so?

Flaming seems to mean we go through more wood, but more heat. Embers seem to mean lower heat, but longer burn. Also, only embers probably means more potential chimney bi products.

What do you guys do?

Mr. Kelly, you have some good ideas.

Just embers burning is okay and there can be a lot of heat there. It will do no damage to the chimney. Burning as light as possible makes a lot of sense and that is why I usually question some of the folks who stuff their stove full of wood at this time of the year. We just do not need that much heat right now.

On your burn cycles, you might find it best to try 2 or 3 splits at a time and let it burn right down before adding more.
 
Mr. Kelly said:
Hi all...

We're starting our second season of burning, and our first full burning year.

Since it hasn't been that cold here yet, we're trying to get a feel for how to burn efficiently during the shoulder season.

Today, I thought I'd try to burn as light as possible as to conserve wood, by trying to keep the fire mostly hot embers, rather than in full flames. The initial fire, as it died down a bit, had lots of really hot embers and was on the low/moderate side of heat. Does it make much sense to have a fire that isn't actually flaming, but is mostly hot embers? Sure it makes sense . . . the "bad" stuff has been burned away and you're still getting heat from the coals and the heated stove. That is to say, I wouldn't deliberately keep the fire smoldering just to have some embers . . . but I never feel compelled to always have flames in the firebox either.
How many of you let your embers go for a long time before reloading? I do this all the time . . . especially during this time of year when it may warm up during the day and you don't necessarily want or need a lot more heat but just want enough heat to chase away the chill. Do you think it's hugely less efficient to let embers churn like that - or more so? Only if you're letting it smoke excessively . . . this time of year I often either burn one hot fire and just use the heat from the coals to stay warm . . . or if it looks like it is going to be cool and I want to avoid a fire I may add one or two sticks at a time and keep the air control open a bit more than normal . . . not quite as efficient . . . but it works.
Flaming seems to mean we go through more wood, but more heat. Embers seem to mean lower heat, but longer burn. Also, only embers probably means more potential chimney bi products. Actually the opposite . . . bad stuff has been burned off . . . or most of it anyways . . . look at it this way . . . you can get warm from flames or coals . . . it really doesn't matter which . . . as long as you stay warm.What do you guys do?
 
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