To load or not to load ?

[sstan]

Not sure what I am missing... in so many post guys write that they "only put a few logs on " .. it's always just enough to last till morning. I just don't understand why not load the OWB up? Maybe it's just being new to it but how do I know it will only need a few logs or if it will burn up all the wood by morning? What difference does it make not to load it up .. the blower should only come on when I need heat so maybe there was a big call for heat during the night and everything burnt up and maybe it was not and there is two sticks left .. Does it somehow go through more wood if I fill it up each time?

Steve

 

[jcappe]

After awhile I learned how much wood it took to burn for 12 or so hours. I guess my thinking is why load it more than you have to. At this point I have it figured out so by the time I load it there is enough coals and little bits of wood left to have the boiler at normal operating temp. I don't know if it's true or not but to me if you over load it you are partially burning wood that you didn't necessarily need to keep the boiler up to temp? Works for me.

 

[cleanburn]

It seems there has been a lot of discussion on this in other threads, but the main consensus seems to be if you load more you burn more in the off cycle because there is more to smoulder in your firebox while its off. So load just what you think you need for 12 hours so that you have a good bed of coals left when you do load and thats it.

 

[Moss Man]

After awhile I learned how much wood it took to burn for 12 or so hours. I guess my thinking is why load it more than you have to. At this point I have it figured out so by the time I load it there is enough coals and little bits of wood left to have the boiler at normal operating temp. I don't know if it's true or not but to me if you over load it you are partially burning wood that you didn't necessarily need to keep the boiler up to temp? Works for me.

I believe this to be very true, couldn't have said it better. I don't have a OWB, but it works that way with my regular inside stove.

 

[modn]

I don't know if it burns more, but I like to have it end up with just coals left as it gives me a chance to rake the coal flat instead of fighting with wood left over. I can get a 24 hour burn in the 10-20° area but find the 12 hour schedule is not a bother 6am 6pm and I like playing with it so far.....maybe that will wear off, who knows?

 

[iCreek]

Agree with the others.... My goal is always a nice bed of coals, and a few pieces of wood that I can stir around, and get the grates opened for clear air flow. After a few heavy loadings, and having the fire go out a few warm mornings, even with forced air, and unloading the black heavy a55 chared wood, to throw in some kindlin to restart it, you kind of learn what works and won't don't work. To each there own, but my goal is enough wood till I plan to revisit, 12 - 14 hours.

 

[blakey]

I had a fellow staying with us for a week or so and he thought he would be helpful and load the owb. Well he just kept loading it and loading it and really enjoyed it. The smoke was unbelievable and when I opened the door the firebox was 1/2 full of black charred wood when it should have been pretty well burned down. I had to politely ask him to not add so much wood, just do it twice a day. He still had to open the door to check on it once in a while but restrained himself from loading when he wasn't supposed to. It works much better.

 

[slinger]

I have a Hardy H2 and I agree with some that sometimes a partial load of wood seems to last as long as a "packed full" load. I am a believer in using dry wood. I have had others tell me they get more burn time out of wet wood :deadhorse: but, that has not been my experience.

 

[barkeatr]

I think the OWBs have a tendancy to burn whatever is available..Im just learning what was said on all these posts after four years of using my OWB. Of course, this is the first year using drier high quality wood that will leave enough coals to maintain some heat and start a fresh load of wood. The crap i burned in the past would burn up, and not leave much for coals, so you were constantly restarting if you didnt fill up all the way..

cheers

 

[palogger]

just don't put to much wood in or the center will burn out and the wood won't fall into place and the fire will burn itself out

 

[Blazin]

After awhile I learned how much wood it took to burn for 12 or so hours. I guess my thinking is why load it more than you have to. At this point I have it figured out so by the time I load it there is enough coals and little bits of wood left to have the boiler at normal operating temp. I don't know if it's true or not but to me if you over load it you are partially burning wood that you didn't necessarily need to keep the boiler up to temp? Works for me.

:agree2:

 

[mtfallsmikey]

When I'm home on the weekends, I don't load too full, but will pack it at night. Depending on wind, temperature, type of wood, I may get a 12 hr. burn, then only an 8 hr. burn....just scored some old jack pine last weekend, been down for years, hard as a rock, burns almost as well as oak.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I only add as much wood as needed for several reasons:

1) I believe I use less wood and get more heat from the coals as they are not covered up with unburned wood.
2) It is easier to get the coals to burn up to a fine ash and I don't have to do as much raking.
3) When I only add a little bit of wood the OWB smokes a little bit at first and just barely has a trace of smoke when in the smolder mode. When I add a lot of wood the OWB smokes for a long time when the fire is first starting to burn and it makes more smoke when smoldering between burn cycles.
4) I believe the OWB runs cleaner when there is less wood inside. When the blower comes on it supplies a limited amount of air and if there is too much wood inside for the amount of air the blower can provide - it cannot provide enough air for a clean burn.

You can prove these things to yourself by just watching your stack after you put a small load of wood in - and then the next day put a large load in. With my small loads of seasoned and dry wood you only see a very light amount of smoke when the blower first comes on and after a few minutes you can barely see any trace of smoke. When I load the OWB up it smokes a lot more than it does with small loads.

 

[warlock1944]

I only add the amount of wood required to provide a 123 hour burn because I am lazy. I do not think that my boiler burns any more whether full or only part full.

You should do a check on your system if it uses a lot of wood, perhaps it has a leak. Do this simple test " when it is smoking put a pail over the flue pipe and check everywhere for smoke " If you find any make an adjustment to seal or replace the seal.

On my Heatmore after a years use I had to replace the door seal and adjust it to tighten it (10 dollar fix). Now when the fan is off I get no smoke and the wood reduces nicely to charcoal making it easy to keep a nice bed of coals. When the fan does fire I get a couple of minutes of heavy smoke and then nothing but heat waves and water vapor.

I use only seasoned hardwood cut and split to 18 " long by about 6 " thick and 10 " or so wide. I get most of my wood from fence row wolf trees and stuff that other people do not want(big stuff). I alo find that going from 160 to 185 takes less time when you have a nice bed of coals which is what I try to maintain. In the past two years I have burned from late Oct to end of April using 7 full cords of so depending on weather. House at 70

Michigan "Home of the big saws with little bars"

 

[woodlumn]

^ what oneoldbanjo said ^

more air in the box, cleaner and hotter burn. it's a more efficient use of wood, muscle, and air.

 

[mimilkman1]

To fully load my stove I have to put smaller pieces on the top to cap it off. When I look in the stove a couple of hours later almost all of the smaller pieces are burned up already and the other pieces are hardly touched it seems. I think these smaller pieces burn up with the secondary combustion on the upper part of the stove so to me I think it's a waste to fully pack it full.

Kyle

 

[LTREES]

Question

I have a CB 5036 w/out the forced air. After burning a 12 hour burn or longer I go to the boiler (beast) and there is nothing but coals. That is a good thing, but the solenoid is always stuck open and the temp is ok to @ 160. It opens at 175 but with only coals it only maintains and the water temp doesn't rise. This keeps the solenoid humming. Will the solenoid break from staying open so long?

LT...

 

[blakey]

My first solenoid lasted about 5 yrs and it is in the energized position alot as well. That's what they're made to do. Good idea to keep a spare, they aren't too expensive. Thats the only moving part on the whole unit besides the pump.

 

[November Wolf]

I have been loading about 10 -15 pieces of wood or around 20 smaller pieces 24" long and get a 24 hour burn. I load it up at 5:30 every night and it still has a couple left in it. I don't know if it burns more wood this way or not but I like loading it once a day.