why does wood burn faster at -10?

[sparksalot]

i am sure this has been answered before but i could not find the thread..when it is really cold my wood burns really fast and there is not many coals left for me to throw the next log on top of....i have a really hard time adjusting my jotul castine in this weather,..i end up throwing a log on too early and then overfiring....anyone with advice or jotul advice would be appreciated..thanks

 

[bruce56bb]

i don't understand it but the draft gets stronger the colder it is outside.

 

[HalJason]

i am sure this has been answered before but i could not find the thread..when it is really cold my wood burns really fast and there is not many coals left for me to throw the next log on top of....i have a really hard time adjusting my jotul castine in this weather,..i end up throwing a log on too early and then overfiring....anyone with advice or jotul advice would be appreciated..thanks

I believe that among other things, draft is created by a temperature difference between the bottom of the chimney and the top (other factors are chimney height, wind, and probably atmospheric pressure). The colder it is outside (without a similar drop in temperature inside) the stronger the draft will be. The more oxygen being pulled through the stove, the more fuel burns at once, and the hotter the fire.

That's my understanding, anyhow.

-Hal

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

think of a hot air ballon, it rises faster the colder the ambient air is.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

here is a good thread about it. It confused me at first, but i was set strait.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/1329/

 

[begreen]

The other factor that probably is going to happen is one is likely to push the stove a lot harder at -10. I know I did as it approached 20. I didn't want to see that stovetop much below 500 degrees and that contributed to a surge in wood consumption.

-10 Oy!, makes my bones ache. We listen to Internet radio and Minnesota Public Radio was on the other morning. You could hear the quiet sighs and moans about the lows being -20 or worse as she read the evening weather forcast.

 

[MrGriz]

Consumption and burn rate should be up here for the next few days. Daytime highs for the near future are only in the single digits, lows of more than -10, without the wind chill. It's a balmy 2* right now; 73* in my office though :cheese:

 

[mmichaud]

I have noticed the same thing with my Jotul Castine also. I only have the air open at about 10 percent and the stove top stays at around 550 degrees. It is cold here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin right now, somewhere around 3 degrees with strong winds. My stove has been able to handle the entire house, roughly 1500 square feet. The furnace has not come on since early this morning when the fire had died down. Wood consumption has not been too bad, a couple of logs every couple of hours.