LFEngineering
ArboristSite Operative
I know the topic of burn times can be a sore subject to some, but I was just so damn impressed with yesterdays burn I just had to say something.
Let me first start off by defining what I consider to be "burn time": The time between 2 consecutive firebox loads and the fire must start both times from the coal bed (no paper, matches, or tinder).
Yesterday was a typical hunting morning; I got up at 4:00am, top loaded my VC Defiant Encore with 8 or 9 16-18" logs. There was a good 3" coal bed on the bottom to boot. I left the air control on full blast with the damper open while I took a shower & got ready. At 4:20 the griddle temp was 500 degrees so I closed the damper / engage the cats. While the cats heated up I filled the truck with my gear and refilled the indoor wood rack. At 4:30a I turned the air control down to Low* and left the house. Between hunting & work I was gone from 4:30a until 5:30p = 13 hours. I walked in the door expecting the house to be cold & the fire to be completely out. To my surprise the griddle temp was 280 & I could still see coals glowing though the dirty glass. I chuckled and said "you SOB your still lit" (I'm not the only one that talks to my stove am I?). I tossed in a few small logs & left the door open while I emptied the truck. Within 30 min the stove was up to temp with the cats closed ready for the evening burn.
* Unfortunately VC didn't feel it was necessary to put marks on the air control lever leaving users to "guess" at their settings. As a designer & engineering tech I love numbers & repeatability. I spent weeks trying to find the "sweet spot" in the air control. Consequently I put 3 colored dots on the casting and a mark on the lever now I know where Low 10-13 hours @ 300 degrees, Med 8-9 hours @ 400 degrees, and High 5-6 hrs @ 500 degrees are.
Let me first start off by defining what I consider to be "burn time": The time between 2 consecutive firebox loads and the fire must start both times from the coal bed (no paper, matches, or tinder).
Yesterday was a typical hunting morning; I got up at 4:00am, top loaded my VC Defiant Encore with 8 or 9 16-18" logs. There was a good 3" coal bed on the bottom to boot. I left the air control on full blast with the damper open while I took a shower & got ready. At 4:20 the griddle temp was 500 degrees so I closed the damper / engage the cats. While the cats heated up I filled the truck with my gear and refilled the indoor wood rack. At 4:30a I turned the air control down to Low* and left the house. Between hunting & work I was gone from 4:30a until 5:30p = 13 hours. I walked in the door expecting the house to be cold & the fire to be completely out. To my surprise the griddle temp was 280 & I could still see coals glowing though the dirty glass. I chuckled and said "you SOB your still lit" (I'm not the only one that talks to my stove am I?). I tossed in a few small logs & left the door open while I emptied the truck. Within 30 min the stove was up to temp with the cats closed ready for the evening burn.
* Unfortunately VC didn't feel it was necessary to put marks on the air control lever leaving users to "guess" at their settings. As a designer & engineering tech I love numbers & repeatability. I spent weeks trying to find the "sweet spot" in the air control. Consequently I put 3 colored dots on the casting and a mark on the lever now I know where Low 10-13 hours @ 300 degrees, Med 8-9 hours @ 400 degrees, and High 5-6 hrs @ 500 degrees are.