are slow burns a bad idea every night?

[aaronmach1]

I like to start a slow burn right before bed. Pack wood furnace full of wood to the top and close ash damper all the way, and flue damper at 3/4 closed. Is this somthing i shouldnt be doing? or if i need to do it different then how? thanks

 

[drafty]

for an overnight burn I find scorching or letting the wood burn for a time gives me longer overnight burns, better coals in the morning, more heat and of course less creosote buildup.

If you search out overnight burns you will find most suggest to get a good, hot fire going before closing the damper. Try it, you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[nixon]

Seriously ? You've just read a ton of posts on your explosion thread, and you ask this ?
Some folks shouldn't play with matches .

 

[darkbyrd]

Tell you what I do:

I have an older stove (look up one of my earliest posts about your same problem, and my setup). Before I go to bed, I load it up, and leave the ash door open an inch for ten minutes or so, then close her up. Air intake is controlled by a thermostat, and judging from the amount of wood I sometimes have left in the morning sometimes, it burned real slow. I don't have a damper to mess with. My chimney looks like **** when I sweep it once a month, especially in the fall and spring, but it's all outside (stove outlets straight out the wall, then 8' of single wall outside). If I do everything right (right amount of time and air after loading to get it hot, right thermosstat setting when I walk away) the drafty house stays warm. If I am wrong a little either way, I either soak the bed with sweat, or wake up freezing.

Your situation is different I'm sure. My advice is probably bad and I'll hear it. I'm making a big old stove work in a small space. But I don't have any explosions anymore, and I (usually) stay warm through the night. If you burn it hot for some time each day, you'll dry out and keep the chimney clean. Don't dampen it down too far. I've heard operating a flue damper is an art you have to learn.

 

[unclemoustache]

Seriously ? You've just read a ton of posts on your explosion thread, and you ask this ?
Some folks shouldn't play with matches .

Little harsh there, Richard. Give the guy a break - he's asking for advice and has come to the right place. Let's not ridicule someone for wanting to learn.

 

[unclemoustache]

All stoves are different, so any advice we give may not be good, but it sounds to me like that's the general idea.

Keep in mind that the goal is not "the longest burn possible" (you don't want it to smoulder) but rather the most reasonable burn given the type, dryness and amount of wood. The amount of ash in the stove can help as well.

 

[Hank Chinaski]

not to mention, how much heat do you think a smoldering fire puts out?

if you keep a small fire going, but it's not enough to get usable heat out of, you aren't seeing any benefit.

What I do w/my freestanding osburn 2400 in my 2500+sqft house w/BIG vaulted ceiling, two hunter ceiling fans set on low, stove fan set slightly above low, box fan in floor of coldest room pushing cool air toward stove:
I start my "plan" at around 6-7pm and try to end up with a 3-4" base of very hot coals in the bottom (with very little ash), then around 10pm, I double stack the stove full of dry split oak with minimal gaps between the wood, and then shut the intake down to almost closed.

This method has allowed my electric heat to stay off (thermostat set at 70*) until I get up in the morning at 6am. It's worked down to 30* outside temp so far.

Your mileage will vary based on your setup/house/insulation/wood/etc

 

[CrappieKeith]

Little harsh there, Richard. Give the guy a break - he's asking for advice and has come to the right place. Let's not ridicule someone for wanting to learn.

but giving advice the adviser should have all of the facts....if you go back to his other threads the op lets out a few facts here and there...it is my belief he is all messed up from ducting to make up air to venting.

Now you want to give advice on his simple query...not so simple...it is not a normal setup...actually no where near code.

Harsh...hardley...more like a freakin wake up call before he kills himself.:bang:

 

[greendohn]

I find creosote builds up in my garage stove(pipe) when I choke it down too much.

 

[Chris-PA]

It's wood heat, not a fossil fueled heating system that is entirely automatic and has access to a large reserve of stored energy. It is purely a matter of if you can put enough wood in the firebox so that you'd have enough energy there to maintain a steady temperature throughout your house overnight. Maybe if you have a well insulated home. If not, then it does not matter what you do with the controls, you won't get what you want.

Then you have to burn it in a manner that actually puts out heat.

If you expect a wood fired heating system to work like a fossil fuel heating system you will be disappointed.

That said, you can certainly heat your house, and you can expect to have hot coals left in the morning to make starting you morning fire easy. If you want that kind of long term heat from wood you will probably need something with a very large firebox, such as is common on an OWB - then you'd have enough energy stored in a single wood loading to carry overnight. But of course you'll use more wood. Easier to adjust your expectations as to what is required in terms of heat and constant temperature.

 

[aaronmach1]

I start my "plan" at around 6-7pm and try to end up with a 3-4" base of very hot coals in the bottom (with very little ash), then around 10pm, I double stack the stove full of dry split oak with minimal gaps between the wood, and then shut the intake down to almost closed.
Your mileage will vary based on your setup/house/insulation/wood/etc

this is what i try to do except i have mostly ash and some maple and some walnut. I assume when u shut the intake damper down that u leave the exhaust damper open? I always close mine 3/4. ill try it open tonight.

 

[kwalshy]

Do you have a stove thermometer or a thermometer on your stove's vent line to the chimney?
Can you easily check your flue for creosote levels?

You need to find your stove's sweet spot between damper & draft settings that give you the extended burn time & reduce the amount of creosote buildup.
Obviously, once you choke down on the damper & draft you will affect the temperature of the stove.

My suggestion is to watch your stove vent temp and adjust your damper & draft settings during the day to watch & learn what happens with a full load of wood. Once you have an understanding of what these settings are then you can see what happens to the amount of creosote in your flue. This knowledge should give you an understanding of how you can achieve a safe and efficient slow burn.

This is not something that can be done in a week's time. It may take a few months or seasons.

good luck

 

[aaronmach1]

Do you have a stove thermometer or a thermometer on your stove's vent line to the chimney?
Can you easily check your flue for creosote levels?

You need to find your stove's sweet spot between damper & draft settings that give you the extended burn time & reduce the amount of creosote buildup.
Obviously, once you choke down on the damper & draft you will affect the temperature of the stove.

My suggestion is to watch your stove vent temp and adjust your damper & draft settings during the day to watch & learn what happens with a full load of wood. Once you have an understanding of what these settings are then you can see what happens to the amount of creosote in your flue. This knowledge should give you an understanding of how you can achieve a safe and efficient slow burn.

This is not something that can be done in a week's time. It may take a few months or seasons.

good luck

this is what im trying to do. Trying to learn all 3 dampers and what they do. Ive only been doing this a couple weeks. This is my first wood burner.

 

[kwalshy]

good to hear that you're willing to utilize your dampers. you're on the right track to having great success with your stove.

don't forget that the dryness & type of wood (maple, birch, oak, etc) can also have an effect.

This is one of the most exciting times for you with your stove. You're learning the art & science of your system and it's rewarding when you see how much money you can save since your not relying solely on the house's furnace for heat in the winter.

 

[nixon]

Little harsh there, Richard. Give the guy a break - he's asking for advice and has come to the right place. Let's not ridicule someone for wanting to learn.

Uncle M , actually You are dead right . In particular my parting sentence. My apologies to this board and Aaron M . Been dealing with some things ,and obviously not very well.
Again, my apologies to A/S and to the OP .
Oh, if you feel like it ,in future you don't need to be so formal as to call me Richard.
#### will be fine ,all things considered

 

[unclemoustache]

but giving advice the adviser should have all of the facts....if you go back to his other threads the op lets out a few facts here and there...it is my belief he is all messed up from ducting to make up air to venting.

Now you want to give advice on his simple query...not so simple...it is not a normal setup...actually no where near code.

Harsh...hardley...more like a freakin wake up call before he kills himself.:bang:

I just went and read through the first three pages of that thread. Lot of flared tempers there, I may say. Including yours, which surprises me, cause you're usually such a neat and friendly guy. You doing all right? :msp_sad:

I also read where the OP was given advice about CO detectors and sealing the door, and he came back the next day, saying he had done that.

No, I think the OP is a decent guy, trying to do what's right. Maybe the last few pages he suddenly turned into an ogre and tried to blow up his house, but from the three pages I read, I didn't see anything worthy of a beat down.

Uncle M , actually You are dead right . In particular my parting sentence. My apologies to this board and Aaron M . Been dealing with some things ,and obviously not very well.
Again, my apologies to A/S and to the OP .
Oh, if you feel like it ,in future you don't need to be so formal as to call me Richard.
#### will be fine ,all things considered

Wow - there's a sign of a true man. I take my hat off to you! As for Richard, I was thinking more of your screen name of Nixon, and thought it might fit! My apologies. :redface:

Hope you're doing all right. I think a lot of us are dealing with some things right now - the post-holiday stress is in full bloom this year. Hang in there, y'all.

 

[mama]

We close our stove down every night, been doing this for 33 years just keep it clean. We run the stove 24/7.

 

[shane438]

OP I think some details like what kind of stove and pics of your set up would help give you answers more specific to your case. What i'm seeing as a general theme is that you may have the intake damper consistently closed too much. Damper control is more art and every setup is different. I still can't get my wife to understand it so i have found a sweet spot on both dampers that puts out enough heat when i'm gone to keep the house warm. While not as efficient in terms of wood usage, its easier to just use a little more wood throughout the year. I have an old King Circulator in my basement and i keep both dampers about half closed. For my setup, its a good compromise that keeps creasote down without overburning the stove.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Uncle M...maybe 6 days of no smoking...lots of gum...

 

[darkbyrd]

Uncle M...maybe 6 days of no smoking...lots of gum...

Go for it! I can't wait until I can