What is the definition of Burn time?

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mjlynch12

New Member
May 18, 2008
11
Phila. Pa.
I installed my Napoleon 1402 last week and I've had about 6 fires so far. First, it's great. Puts out great heat. When I load it up its burns fine the wood species is supposedly mixed hardwood and it is seasoned. After the wood is well lit and the flame is nice and easy the blower kicks on. Usually takes about 1/2 hour. If I let it go the embers are still red hot and the flame my drop off the fan will start to cycle off after maybe 4 hours. I doubt if it will last the night with good heat coming out. Not to say that its bad. Can anybody define burn time so maybe I can compare. From what I read here I need to load the fire box with a good fire going and damper down the control any other good tips.

thanks,
 
I personally define burn time as enough coals to just load up the firebox with good sized splits and the fire will take right off. To get long burn times you need to rake the coals forward towards the glass and pack the firebox full side ways or east/west not north/south, burn on a higher setting til the wood is good and charred, then turn it down to low.
 
I looked at the 1402 before buying my Summit. I went with the Summit because of the bigger fire box. 3 cubic feet versus 2.25. I paid alot for that extra .75 cubic feet. The napoleon is supposed to get 9 hours on a low fire. I think that's a bit optimistic, however the general concensus on here is 2 cubic feet or more is good for all night. I think you should be doing better than 4 hours before the fan starts cycling. Maybe the wood isn't really dry, or not all that hard.

I think maybe you didn't have a really hot stove when you filled it up or alot of coals in there. You should get 8 or close to it. Wait until it gets really cold out and you have that thing burning all day, then load it up for the night. It should last longer.
 
Speaking of burn time, I cannot get an all night burn from my stove. No matter how good my fire wood, how low I adjust my air intake or how many splits I put in there. When I wake up there are barely any coals in there. If I need to light a fire, it is from scratch!!
 
Does anyone know how much lower of a burntime do you get if you burn soft wood vs hard wood??
 
stanleyjohn said:
Does anyone know how much lower of a burntime do you get if you burn soft wood vs hard wood??
Click to expand...

All I can compare is soft wood to soft wood. Since I got a load of spruce this year ive tryed some and can say its at least 2hrs less of a burn time than pine on full loads set at low. Id also say that if a stove has a built in t-stat than for sure you will see length of burn times vary with all species.
 
stanleyjohn said:
Does anyone know how much lower of a burntime do you get if you burn soft wood vs hard wood??
Click to expand...
Significantly less since most soft woods don't coal very well. I'd say 60 to 70% of the best hardwoods like black locust, hickory, oak.
 
I'm now burning 24/7. I've been pleasantly surprised to consistently get 6-hour burns at night in the new stove and wake up to red hot coals that quickly ignite splits that I put on them in the morning, even though the stove's only got only a medium-sized firebox--2 cf. (We're dipping down below 20 F---6 C--at night; the temps in the house have been between 69-71 F--20-21 C--when I've gotten up.) I intentionally kept small diameter rounds (4-7 inches) intact for nighttime burning rather than splitting them. I put several rounds and a split or two in right before I go to bed and shut the stove down. I'm burning pine and fir, not hardwoods. (We only have conifers here, no oak or other hardwood, deciduous trees.) If you've got some small diameter rounds, you might try them. They may help you achieve a longer burn time.
 
InTheRockies said:
I'm now burning 24/7. I've been pleasantly surprised to consistently get 6-hour burns at night in the new stove and wake up to red hot coals that quickly ignite splits that I put on them in the morning, even though the stove's only got only a medium-sized firebox--2 cf. (We're dipping down below 20 F---6 C--at night; the temps in the house have been between 69-71 F--20-21 C--when I've gotten up.) I intentionally kept small diameter rounds (4-7 inches) intact for nighttime burning rather than splitting them. I put several rounds and a split or two in right before I go to bed and shut the stove down. I'm burning pine and fir, not hardwoods. (We only have conifers here, no oak or other hardwood, deciduous trees.) If you've got some small diameter rounds, you might try them. They may help you achieve a longer burn time.
Click to expand...

I always like to get a good raging fire before I close the bypass and air down. I learned here on these forums that in the initial ten to twenty minutes of burning, the logs release volatile gasses wich when trapped in a closed down firebox can actually explode. This happened to brother. I am only saying this because you said you like to load up and close down right away. I would imagin rounds might take a little more time to release the gasses. I like your method of using rounds instead of splits for the nightime load.
 
Thanks for the warning, but I didn't mean I literally shut the stove down when I load it. I will let the rounds and splits take off well before shutting the stove down, but it doesn't take very long for a raging burn to start--about 10 minutes. Enough time to get PJs on and turn down the bed before going back to the stove and shutting it down for the night.
 
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