Not being familiar with your furnace I can't say with 100% sureness that you can load the box to a point above the brick without consequence (actually I'm covering my azz)... but I find it really hard to believe it would hurt anything.
In most fireboxes, more wood means more heat per minute, per hour, etc., not necessarily longer burns... unless you change the rate of burn. Back-in-the-day, people would stuff the box full and choke down the fire to get the "long" burn. But they could have got near (I said near) as long a burn with just half, or even a quarter load choked back that way... but less heat per minute, per hour, etc.
Your furnace has an automatic forced air draft... rate of fire changes automatically according to heat demand. If you want longer burns you need to reduce how often the draft blower starts, and reduce how long it runs when it does. There's only two ways to do that...
- Turn the thermostat down... which means the house will be colder when you come home, and require more wood burned at high rate to warm things back up. Chances are that alone won't increase burn time by all that much... only by the length of time it takes for the house to cool to thermostat set point.
- Put a larger load of wood in the box (and/or use heavier, denser wood)... which will make more heat per minute, per hour, etc. when the furnace is idling, thereby reducing how often the draft blower starts, and will make more heat per minute, per hour, etc. when the blower is running, thereby reducing how long it runs.
[B]CTYank[/B] is wrong, I do not "try to match wood-burner heat output to the load moment to moment"... I load the box for expected heat demand and walk away from it for 6-12 hours, depending. If I was trying to match it moment to moment... I'd be needing to sit beside it and babysit. The auto firing rate (i.e., draft blower) makes that a simple thing, it allows you a large margin of error... there's no reason to ever over-load and over-heat the house...
Keep experimenting and trying different load sizes... you'll catch-on to what it wants/needs for conditions.
*
CTYank,
The OP has a newly installed forced air wood-fired furnace, and asked a couple of questions...
You answer with a bunch of non-related gobble-gook about thermal storage in water (among other things) and an experimental concept wood boiler from the '70s... that I will add, failed in the retail marked, even after at least 4 separate companies (that I know of) tried to make a go of it. Although, to be fair, the gasification boilers are an off-shoot from it. Then you sum up your response by stating that what I try(?), "just doesn't work" (in your opinion)... before I've even posted in this thread.
- So how much can I cram into this thing without damage?
- Would like to get 10 hours--load at night, load when I wake up, load when I get home from work and then repeat the process.
Thanks
Then I come along and actually address the questions from the OP... address them with things that actually are applicable to what he has. I use examples of things I do, or have done, that actually do work to increase both heat output and burn times significantly (i.e., direct answers to direct questions). I then reference your statement about what I try(?) and how it doesn't work... stating you are wrong because what I do does, in fact, work (I'm guessin' your magic crystal ball, the one that lets you see what's happenin' half way across the country, is malfunctioning). I sum it up with tellin' the man he'll likely need to do a bit of trial and error to find what works best for his setup.
You're the guy that referenced me in the first place... and now you're the guy with his panties all bunched up... give me a friggin' break.
*
You're the guy that referenced me in the first place... and now you're the guy with his panties all bunched up... give me a friggin' break.
*
Says the most arrogant, closed minded member on the whole site.An open mind is prepared for learning, unlike what we see from a few knee-jerkers.
Been tinkering with my DS Stoves 400-09. The firebox measures 16"x29". The maximum log length is 26 inches. I'm burning 14"-18" splits now--mostly ash with some hard maple and red oak. We put in usually
5 splits max to 'fill'.
I'm lucky to get 6 hours burn--we wake up and the house is cold--62 degrees.
So how much can I cram into this thing without damage?
The interior of the box has brick linings. Above the brick is the secondary burner tubes that run vertical up to the top. Can I load wood into the 'metal' section of the firebox above the brick?
Would like to get 10 hours--load at night, load when I wake up, load when I get home from work and then repeat the process.
Thanks
Says the most arrogant, closed minded member on the whole site.
Lets hear some more about how your Poulans and Tanaka are better than Husky and Stihl. Or how the Council maul will outsplit a tool you've barely used. What's next? Your Ranger will out pull a Duramax?
You've attacked several esteemed members of this site with accusations they don't know what they are talking about. WS doesn't know how to burn wood, Benp doesn't know how to split wood, and there are more in the splitting tool thread. Even when people proved you were 180 degrees from manufacturers recommendations, you continued to dish the insults.
When your poor attitude and pushy ways have caused you to become the butt of jokes on this site, it's clear who should reevaluate their position.
That's funny... 8³/ft... hardly... try and be realistic at least.A whopping 8 cubic feet and your getting a 6 hour burn time ? Sounds like you don't need a better method ...sounds like you need a better wood burner.
I will correct the OP on one thing though. As I understand it, those vertical tubes above the firebrick are not "secondary burner tubes"... they're actually tubes that the forced air flows through to increase heat transfer. I wouldn't get to overly rambunctious in loading without keeping a close eye on those tubes for warping, for a little while. I'm assuming they're made from the same thickness of steel as the walls, and with air flowing through them there really shouldn't be an overheating issue... still, better safe than sorry.The interior of the box has brick linings. Above the brick is the secondary burner tubes that run vertical up to the top. Can I load wood into the 'metal' section of the firebox above the brick?
Sorry about the rant guys... but some of these self-indulgent, elitist posts are horse-crap.
Here we have a guy who's not been a member for a full year yet... only 30 posts.
He drops (likely) something over $3k for a new wood-fired furnace...
He spends another chunk to have it professionally installed...
He comes here politely and sincerely asking for help and advice about running it...
And what does he get for an answer from some??
"It don't work" and "you need a better wood burner."
Well, I ain't above stirring the pot for fun, but totally unhelpful comments and put-downs like that, just because the guy made a different choice than you would, shows plain self-indulgent, elitist horse crap... not to mention it's flat azz mean and unfeeling. Sometimes the mark of intelligence and civility is knowing when saying nothing is better than saying what your thinking.
I'm glad I'm perfectly comfortable with who I am... which necessarily means I'm glad I don't give a ratz-azz-in-hell what you think that is.
Still... I believe I've had enough of this place for a while.
*
+1.I agree Whitespider, If a new person who is also new to the field of burning cutting and splitting asks a serious question on here the "veteran" users should recognize that as a chance to help and further our cause of burning wood for heat. To blow them off with unhelpful comments would give the wrong impression of what I thought this site was about.
I feel you have done your best to be helpful..... Don't let the others under your skin and don't go away mad...the OP hasn't replied indicating he is probably at work and later he will read them all and figure out who is trying to be helpful and who could care less other than to be bullying. You know, the newbie who doesn't know anything and the clickish attitude rears up, oh boy here's an opportunity to whack at someone.
I may have spoke out of turn telling him to stack it full, I didn't realize it was an EPA stove so I wasn't aware that it had the cross tubes above. I guess I re-read the first post and found that out but, with care I'm sure he can load it heavier than he is and as SVK pointed out if he uses bigger splits his burn time should increase substantially.
Enter your email address to join: