When do you load more wood?

[enchant]

I'm sure this must have been asked and answered a LOT, but my searches aren't finding what I'm looking for.

I'm trying to burn my wood efficiently, and I'd like to know if there is any agreed-upon wisdom when you should reload your stove. Once the flames stop? Once the coals sink to a certain level? Should I try to wait as long as possible, to the last moment that the coals have the ability to kindle the next load of wood?

FWIW - I have a Jotul 400 Castine. I don't use it to heat the entire house. It's in a particularly cold room, and I have fans to send some of the heat to adjacent rooms.

 

[Stdyhand]

I'm sure this must have been asked and answered a LOT, but my searches aren't finding what I'm looking for.

I'm trying to burn my wood efficiently, and I'd like to know if there is any agreed-upon wisdom when you should reload your stove. Once the flames stop? Once the coals sink to a certain level? Should I try to wait as long as possible, to the last moment that the coals have the ability to kindle the next load of wood?

FWIW - I have a Jotul 400 Castine. I don't use it to heat the entire house. It's in a particularly cold room, and I have fans to send some of the heat to adjacent rooms.

If I am trying to maintain a temperature I will load before the last wood is burnt completely down because while it is still burning efficiently it will help to light the next load and keep it burning. If the temperature in the home is beyond what I was aiming for I will let it burn down to coals, throw in a couple pieces of wood, and close the damper. This will let a couple pieces of wood slowly burn enough to maintain coals but not hot enough to keep the house too warm. The temperature in the home can come down while I have a slow burn and when needed I have coals still to quickly warm things back up.

 

[toddnic]

I burn primarily for temperature (house around 70 degrees). For instance, we are currently having some cold temperatures with lows at night in the upper singles or low teens. I'll load the firebox with enough wood to keep the stove at around 450 degrees for a 7 to 10 hour period. When the stove drops around 100 degrees below 450, I'm going to reload. There may be a inch or two of coals when I'm burning like this depending upon how much air I have going into the stove. If it is the shoulder season and I'm only having an evening fire, I'll put in four or five splits and let it burn and go out. The answer to your question is really based upon your desired house and stove temperature. Your stove temp as it relates to your house temp will help dictate when to reload.

 

[enchant]

7-10 hours? You must have a serious stove.

Thanks for the good info. The reason I ask is that I didn't know if there was a more efficient way to do it. e.g., if you load too quickly, you're going to go through wood faster.

 

[Woody Stover]

My stove is small like yours, so I want the coals burned down pretty low before I reload, so I can get a full load in there. I think that is the most efficient way to burn, instead of opening the door more often to add a couple pieces of wood here and there, and losing heat up the flue every time you do that.
That's where we part ways since you are just burning to take the chill off a room. I'm heating the house so as long as I can open up the air a bit on the coals and keep the stove top around 300, that's usually enough to maintain house temp. If it's single digits and windy the house may get a few degrees under my target of 70 before I can burn down enough coals to get a good-sized load in there. Worst case, I'll have to start throwing a few splits in on a larger coal bed than I would like, and try to make it to the warm part of the day and burn down coals then.

 

[Nick Mystic]

I've noticed that if I reload when the stove is still up around 350F and the bottom is covered in a thick base of glowing coals I have to be very cautious in monitoring my primary air control. If I don't lower it down very low very quick I will get a strong blast furnace effect going that is hard to bring back under control. I have a Jotul F 600.

 

[rudysmallfry]

I wait until I see the stove surface temp drop to 300 or the coals almost out. If I do it sooner and put new wood on too hot coals, I will quickly have an out of control fire on my hands if I forget to shut the air down quickly.

 

[enchant]

Full disclosure here... I have a strange wood situation. Due to structural problems on the house, we had to stop burning wood about 4 years ago with about half a cord of seasoned oak unburned. Early this year, we decided that we could swing making the repairs to the house, new chimney, new woodstove some time in 2017. So in March, I purchased 2 cords of green wood, expecting that I wouldn't be burning it until December 2017. Things changed, we were able to do everything THIS year, so now I've got half a cord of wood that's really TOO seasoned, and 2 cords of wood that aren't seasoned enough. So I've got to build my fires with this mixture of old a new. I've also got to keep an eye on the stove, because the new wood will resist burning until most of the moisture gets squeezed out, then the oven takes off. But we realize that, and this year we'll just have to be extra careful.

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

I am in a similar situation. I planned to burn some wood but having zero experience I didn't plan. I have a few dozen large standing deadwood trees I am going to cut and split hopefully they burn. I also have a cordish of cottonwood slab wood.


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[Woody Stover]

I planned to burn some wood but having zero experience I didn't plan. I have a few dozen large standing deadwood trees I am going to cut and split hopefully they burn. I also have a cordish of cottonwood slab wood.

Welcome, Lloyd. What kind of stove do you have? The Cottonwood slab wood might be pretty dry if it's been sitting in slabs for a while. I posted a couple times in another thread about how to scramble for dry wood when you are behind the eight-ball. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...urning-is-not-a-procrastinators-sport.158506/

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

I have a daka 501 in my shop as primary heat , I have propane but refuse to fill the tank unless I'm pinched. In the house I just slammed in a arrow insert 1982 date. I have oil& electric radiant but also. Penny pinching or atleast trying. The cottonwood when it's dry is pretty wild. It's well seasoned and has been uncovered. It rained for a week, then snowed 5" then melted and rained another week and just froze up on Monday. So it's all soaked. I'm trying to keep a pallet or 2 in the shop warm to dry. Kind of.


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[Woody Stover]

In the house I just slammed in a arrow insert 1982 date.

Slammer install into a fireplace, no direct-connect or positive connection? If so, you're "playing with fire" so to speak. Really need to at least direct-connect (pipe up into the clay liner tiles, and a block-off plate,) if a full-length liner (positive connection) isn't in the cards right now...

 

[begreen]

Slammer installs are no longer legal. Keep close track on creosote buildup in the chimney. Damp wood + big cool chimney can = rapid creosote buildup.

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

I have it direct connect I guess. 3' of 8" going into the clay tile. I don't have a block off plate manufactured I didn't realize I needed one. That will be on the list for the coming week. I have it all packed in with insulation now, ideally one day I plan to get a newer insert and do the proper liner. But 650 ducks just for the liner heats my house 1 season With zero work. I do my best to burn hot with not much smoke to avoid disaster. My shop stove the last 2 mornings was gray on the inside , I thought the first time I over fired it. And I think I did. But this time I watched it and kept it choked down. Seems to turn back to brown or black by the end of the day , after being cold all day.

 

[Woody Stover]

I have it direct connect I guess. 3' of 8" going into the clay tile.

OK, sounds like you have a handle on what to watch out for. Here are some block-off plate threads, which I found by using the search in the drop-down "forums" menu at the top of the page . Some guys have used Roxul mineral insulation as a stop-gap measure until they can get an actual block-off plate installed. It won't keep the heat in the house as well as a block-off plate, but it's more heat-resistant than the pink stuff which will kind of bake and pull away from the pipe. https://www.hearth.com/talk/search/19630047/?q=block+off+plate&t=post&o=date&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=6

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

That's what I have, I have the entire cavity stuffed full of Roxul around the pipe to seal it and all around the insert. I have some metal around I might get that done even this weekend. Do you think I could put a 8-6 reducer on the stove without affecting performance? I can run round pipe and a couple 45's and re line the chimney. Without cutting the back plate in the fireplace


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[jcapler]

Woodpro WS-TS-2000

 

[jcapler]

That's what I have, I have the entire cavity stuffed full of Roxul around the pipe to seal it and all around the insert. I have some metal around I might get that done even this weekend. Do you think I could put a 8-6 reducer on the stove without affecting performance? I can run round pipe and a couple 45's and re line the chimney. Without cutting the back plate in the fireplace


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I can't speak for your exact situation but I have an 8-6 (reduction is near ceiling) reduction on my stove and it has a great draft. I have never had an issue on draft at all. This new stove drafts better than the old one.
I can toss a pic up if you want to see the reduction.



Woodpro WS-TS-2000

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

I don't foresee it to be an issue, I just have not heated or burned wood before about a month ago. And I have learned a lot. I have extensive experience with waste oil burning but that's a different cat to skin. I would need to reduce right on the stove 45 to 1' of pipe 45 again and then 20' straight up with a cap


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[jetsam]

In shoulder season I reload 0-1 times a day, usually just before I go to work.

In cold weather, I reload before work, after work, and before bed. Might be a small reload or a big one, depending on temperatures.

I must be a little crazy because I enjoy the big hot frequent reloads more than the low-burning 24 hour reloads.

 

[Woody Stover]

Do you think I could put a 8-6 reducer on the stove without affecting performance? I can run round pipe and a couple 45's and re line the chimney. Without cutting the back plate in the fireplace

What size is your clay liner? Does the stove have decent draft now? If the clay liner is pretty large, and it's still drafting OK now, it's possible you could get away with reducing to 6" to get through the damper, especially if this is a pre-EPA stove and you have 20' of stack.

we had to stop burning wood about 4 years ago with about half a cord of seasoned oak unburned. Early this year, we decided that we could swing making the repairs to the house, new chimney, new woodstove some time in 2017. So in March, I purchased 2 cords of green wood, expecting that I wouldn't be burning it until December 2017. Things changed, we were able to do everything THIS year, so now I've got half a cord of wood that's really TOO seasoned, and 2 cords of wood that aren't seasoned enough. So I've got to build my fires with this mixture of old a new. I've also got to keep an eye on the stove, because the new wood will resist burning until most of the moisture gets squeezed out, then the oven takes off. But we realize that, and this year we'll just have to be extra careful.

Well, we've kind of taken this thread off track on you, but you derailed it when you threw us the wet-wood curve ball. In that case, as you found out, you have to have a decent-sized coal bed to be able to burn off the moisture from a reload with wet wood. We've all been there (most of us, anyway,) and we made it through to the promised land of dry wood. Might consider getting some Bio-bricks to get you through, if you just gotta burn this season...which I think you do.

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

It's large. 12" I think. Or whatever the larger size is. If I had half a brain id take a tape to it. It drafts awesome. Open the door cold it's sucking air. Never have any smoke spillage even on the wicked wind days. (Every day in the flats). Yeah it's an old bird. And I have lots of chimney. It's seriously thick brick around it too. Bout 3'x5 all the way up so masonry insulated if you want to call it that


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[Sawset]

A long time back someone mentioned here "I would never put wood on a 400deg stove". I think of that every time I reload. And early on the lesson wasn't learned completely, until one time, on closing the door, after putting wood into a hot stove, it wuffed so hard it shook the house. Smoke came out of every orifice - of the stove that is.

 

[jcapler]

[QUOTE="Sawset, post: 2128126, member: "I would never put wood on a 400deg stove".[/QUOTE]

I have never heard that before I find myself doing this more then once in a while. Sometimes I try and keep the stove top temp at 600 and will toss a split in when it drop to 500 or below. I have never had an issue but that doesn't mean I wouldn't. Any reason on why this is a good rule of thumb?


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[Sawset]

Your right, 400deg, maybe needs a little clarification. On the Oslo normal operating stovetop temp is from 400 - 600. It means that the firebox inside is going at a pretty good rate, and to go through the process of putting more fuel on means opening the door to an inferno, loading, then getting the door closed before it takes off. Most of the time I try to time reloading to avoid all of that. And also it would feel like I would be maxing out the capacity of the stove, which most of the time I dont need to do. To let it simmer at 4-500, and refill below that has worked better here anyway.