The overnight burn...

[jtcedinburgh]

Hi folks.

A couple of weeks ago our new Morso Owl 7kW stove was installed. It's not so cold here yet but despite that I've been firing it up on a few 'test burns' to see how it goes. So far, so good - the heat output is quite low but that appears to be due to the lower chimney draft due to outdoor temps in or around 60F right now.

Due to having to get up reasonably early (0545hrs) I typically hit the sack at around 1030hrs. What I'd *like* to do is to load up the stove just before bed, with a load sufficient to provide a gentle heat until morning, at which point I would hope I could place a log or two in and get it started again. What I have found, though, is that the Owl eats its way through logs fairly quickly, even when closed down a fair bit. Is this a characteristic of having to compensate for a relatively poor draft (in current conditions)? Am I likely to be able to get my overnight burn or is this unlikely?

The firebox of the Owl isn't particularly large - I reckon I could fit a maximum of around six 12" logs in there at any given point in time. Is this enough for an overnight burn?

Also, any tips for overnight burning? Chimney is 12m, stainless steel lined inside of a fairly decent clay liner, stack is internal and draft ought to be quite good all things considered. Logs are typically split hardwoods, though of varying types.

Thanks,

John

 

[DonCT]

With that small of firebox, it is going to be tough to get a full 7-8 hr. burn. Perhaps some of the others here have some tricks you could try to get alittle longer burn times (stove loading, damper control, etc.....)

 

[Roospike]

The out side temps being lower will help. loading all hard wood ( Oak ect ) will also help. If i can remember correct the Owl is ........ 34k btu (?). Over all i think with that size stove it going to be tuff to get an all night burn. With a fire box of its size your going to get 1 thing and that is BTU's per what kind of wood your burning and your going to get so many BTU's for x amount of wood you can get into your fire box. turn it all the way down to the point it burning correct and your get less BYU's an hour but longer burn time , if you need more BTU's per hour its going to have to be turn up but are going to loose over all burn time. I could be wrong but dont think that model is designed for 8 hour burns with any decent heat out put.

 

[jtcedinburgh]

Hmmmm... okay, well, I will experiment but at least I know that it's unlikely. It's not a big problem, really, but it would have been nice. We don't have the space for a bigger stove so it's not as if we could have sized it up by very much.

I guess it's lucky that we also have modern condensing central heating - if we scale it back of an evening and use it more for the early morning heating, that might make more sense...

 

[begreen]

That's the way we ran the house when we had the condensing furnace. It was on a digital thermostat and took the chill off the house just before we got out of bed. Then it set back for the rest of the day. In the afternoon or evening we'd light up the fire. The 3CB would only go about 4-6 hrs. on a load of wood and that was only if it was dampered down. When we really needed heat, 3 hrs. between loads was more normal.

 

[Todd]

This is what I use to do with my small regency for a long burn. After you establish a good bed of coals rake them all to the front, then put a large split or better yet unsplit round in the back. Then jam as much wood in there you can, the larger the better. Burn hot til chared, then turn the air all the way down. If you use good hardwood such as oak you might get 8hrs with enough coals to start back up.

I think Roospike has it backwards, the colder it gets outside the stronger your draft and the quicker it will burn? At least that's how it works for me.

 

[begreen]

WOW!! Three hours on a load?? Really?? I thought Puget Sound was s'posed to be mild.

I should qualify that. By burn time I mean burning at 550-600 degrees normally and restoking when the stove temp would drop down to about 350. There was still a good bed of coals left. If one went to 5 hrs, there might be enough embers to restart, but not enough to heat the house.

Our mild outdoor temps do not seem to make a difference in the burn time. The 3CB has a small firebox. Hardness of wood is also a contributing factor. We be burning softwood most of the time. Big leaf maple, alder and fir. I did get about 6 hrs from a load of madrona.

 

[recppd]

I've only had luck with compressed logs on an overnight burn. Firewood in my stove (Jotul Kennebec) just doesn't last that long, and a fresh fire is required when I get up in the morning.

 

[Roospike]

Hi folks.

A couple of weeks ago our new Morso Owl 7kW stove was installed. It's not so cold here yet but despite that I've been firing it up on a few 'test burns' to see how it goes. So far, so good - the heat output is quite low but that appears to be due to the lower chimney draft due to outdoor temps in or around 60F right now.

The out side temps being lower will help. .

I think Roospike has it backwards, the colder it gets outside the stronger your draft and the quicker it will burn? At least that's how it works for me.

Todd , I was referring to his statement of his "heat out put being quite low" and "lower chimney draft due to outdoor temps in or around 60F right now." Yes his burn quality will get better when its colder out side with better draft.No , colder out side is not going to make a 34k BTU stove burn for 8 - 10 hours. I guess after re-reading my post it could look the way you interpreted it. I was just throwing answers all over the place i guess.

 

[saichele]

This is what I use to do with my small regency for a long burn. After you establish a good bed of coals rake them all to the front, then put a large split or better yet unsplit round in the back. Then jam as much wood in there you can, the larger the better. Burn hot til chared, then turn the air all the way down. If you use good hardwood such as oak you might get 8hrs with enough coals to start back up.

I think Roospike has it backwards, the colder it gets outside the stronger your draft and the quicker it will burn? At least that's how it works for me.

That's how I ran my Napoleon. Elm actually left a very nice coal bed. Seemed to hold shape as a charred log, which could be easily broken into coals for restarting.

Steve