What's more efficient smoldering or burning hot?

[Coldfront]

I have a indoor basement forced air wood furnace and often wonder what is more efficient toward conserving wood, smoldering it once the house is up to the desired temp, or burning it hot and let the house really warm up, then let the fire go out. If I smolder it I still burn through wood but the temp just stays the same in the house and it does burn through the wood. If I build a hot fire and let it rip I can let the house get up to say 82° then let the fire go out and it only drops about 1 degree an hour. It takes me about 10 mins. to build a new fire, I use the top down method. The only advantage I see with smoldering it is that I don't have to build so many fires. At night I let it smolder or if I am not home all day. I can get maybe 6 hours max on a fully stoked smolder, and about 2 1/2 hours on a good normal hot burn. To me it seems like I go through more wood smoldering it all the time. Wasting the btu ability of the wood?

 

[CrappieKeith]

A small hot fire is way more efficient than a large smoldering fire.
Gaining burn times is a hair pulling chore when you lack gasifacation,thermal mass,heat exchangeability,cycling burn rates and draft eleviation.

Your better off burning your unit hot and restarting fires.
Smoldering will only cause creosote.
Make sure your wood is cut and split for at least a year.
There is 8000 btu's per pound. Making the heat and then exchanging it is the challenge.
I'm guessing here ,but your unit may not be able to do either very well.
400 degree stack temps are all that's need for a good draft.Any more than that and your waisting that heat.
Maybe a barametric draft regulator could help mounted in the flue?

 

[ShoerFast]

Re burning the gasses from a hot fire and crack a window, when it comes to winter comfort, there is nothing like a wood fire. Just cut/get more firewood.

Approaching nuclear melt-down or better put, at the highest safe capacity, will give you better mornings to wake up to.

Enjoy your fire!

Kevin

 

[Nuzzy]

Personally, I don't really care what's more efficient regarding my indoor basement forced air wood furnace. I don't like the wild fluctuations of heat in the house and I don't like starting new fires all the time. Thus, I let mine smolder a lot. Big splits, full (up to 12") rounds. If I'm home during the day I'll put in fewer pieces more often, but most times it's just smoldering away. Sure I have to clean the chimney a bit more, but that's easier for me than a daily hassle of heating cycles and fire starting.

To each their own

 

[Zodiac45]

You've pretty much answered your own question. Is it possible too run it somewhere in-between full blast and smolder? Then you go 3 hrs, and add wood etc.... If you don't have the throttle control then I agree fast and furious is the cleanest way too burn.

 

[Coldfront]

It's about this time of year that I start to get tired of building fires all the time. At the beginning of the burning season I can't wait to start lighting fires, now it starts getting old. I like the house about 78° my wife thinks that is too hot she likes it around 72°. If I build a hot fire and get it up to 80° to 84° and let it go out so it takes about 10 hours before I need to fire it up again, she has the windows open and defeats the purpose. So I'm sort of in a catch 22. I guess my best bet is smolder it and keep the house around 72° and wear a wool sweater when we are both home. I guess my question is when we both leave for work in the morning about 7:00 am and don't get home until about 5:00 pm would it be more efficient to smolder a fully stoked fire? Or let a fully stoked fire burn fast and hot? On days where the temperature will be the same outside I guess I will just have to try it both ways and see which one keeps the house warmer when I get home at 5:00 pm. I will report back my findings. Btw I exclusively burn wood the nat. gas is never on.

 

[iowa]

It's about this time of year that I start to get tired of building fires all the time. At the beginning of the burning season I can't wait to start lighting fires, now it starts getting old. I like the house about 78° my wife thinks that is too hot she likes it around 72°. If I build a hot fire and get it up to 80° to 84° and let it go out so it takes about 10 hours before I need to fire it up again, she has the windows open and defeats the purpose. So I'm sort of in a catch 22. I guess my best bet is smolder it and keep the house around 72° and wear a wool sweater when we are both home. I guess my question is when we both leave for work in the morning about 7:00 am and don't get home until about 5:00 pm would it be more efficient to smolder a fully stoked fire? Or let a fully stoked fire burn fast and hot? On days where the temperature will be the same outside I guess I will just have to try it both ways and see which one keeps the house warmer when I get home at 5:00 pm. I will report back my findings. Btw I exclusively burn wood the nat. gas is never on.

I would say smoldering it is the way to go. That is what I do when we are both gone for the day. Sounds like we have the same type of schedule and wife. She likes it around 72ish. I like 77-78. We meet in the middle at 75 I've found that letting it smolder is better than letting it rip when I fill it up early in the morning. If on a really cold day and there is no fire and we have a cold day with no sun, the house starts getting cold and then you have to make it warm up gradually.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Other than one weekend I went UP north. My wood burner has been going 24/7 for two and a half months. :greenchainsaw:

Billy

 

[Coldfront]

Other than one weekend I went UP north. My wood burner has been going 24/7 for two and a half months. :greenchainsaw:

Billy

I will assume you have a owb. a inside wood furnace is a lot different, the fire box is about 19" X 17" x 20" Starting new fires is a way of life, I would have to be hand cuffed to the thing to keep it going 24/7.

 

[Nuzzy]

I will assume you have a owb. a inside wood furnace is a lot different, the fire box is about 19" X 17" x 20" Starting new fires is a way of life, I would have to be hand cuffed to the thing to keep it going 24/7.

I must be lucky!! I think the last fire I started in my inside furnace was back in November and that's because I shut it down to clean... Mine runs 24/7 packed full before bed or leaving for the day. I'll always have at least a few coals to keep 'er going without having to build new. I can eek out 11-12 hr burn times with seasoned rounds and maintaining 67-70*.

 

[Nuzzy]

Then again, you are in WI and usually a bit colder than me over here just east of Lk MI. Still, it's pretty chilly here compared to elsewhere in the country...

 

[husky455rancher]

wow you guys keep the house 78 thats too hot for me. i keeo the upstairs 69-72 ish. the woodstove is in the cellar it is about 75-80 in the cellar away from the stove.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Howdy Coldfront

This is the beast

Its a old Johnson Energy Sys. I did just go and measure the firebox its 30d 19w 23t. I use 20" logs in it. Heck I have to get up at 3am to pee so I might as refill it. I run heavy equ and am laid off in the winter. But if I load it up good I have enough coals after 14 hrs to relight it.

Billy

 

[Coldfront]

I wish mine was 30" deep, a 19" log is the absolute max I can fit in there, and my door opening is only 17" x 11" so I can't fit a big round in there. I just took a tape measure to my fire box it is only 14" wide with the fire brick sides, 19" long, and about 17" high. The most I can get smoldering the piss out of it is 6 hours. It's probably a 30 year old side by side wood gas furnace made by Thermo Pride.

 

[treevet]

It prob depends just what is smoldering in there, too. If you are smoldering red oak, hickory as opposed to ash, silv maple then smoldering times and temps are going to vary substantially.

I also have been burning my inside furnace 24x7 since the cold set in with the exception of a couple of days like today where it was 50 degrees and I even got in a motorcycle ride. In the am after stoking at around 11 pm I have a nice bed of coals and can throw a honker on and if I open the flow....whoosh it is gonna explode in flames.

Don't miss the old woodstove days a bit.

 

[whiting-5]

i have the clayton 1800 mine runs 24/7 since oct. if im home i feed the beast keep her roaring when i go away for more than six hours i will fill her up get a good fire going than cut off the draft blower a set it at about 68 that way no big fire and last quite awhile mine does have a 38 inch deep box though that way when i get home i can crank the draft blower up get er roaring . when i go to bed i leave draft blower set at 70 and drink two glasses of water before bed that way i know i will get up to water the tree and load wood into the beast. also on mine i have the shaker for ashes but i prefer to use a shovel to clean out the coals if they get to thick on bottom cant get any high heat out of unit due to the draft blower not blowing through the bottom up.

 

[treevet]

i have the clayton 1800 mine runs 24/7 since oct. if im home i feed the beast keep her roaring when i go away for more than six hours i will fill her up get a good fire going than cut off the draft blower a set it at about 68 that way no big fire and last quite awhile mine does have a 38 inch deep box though that way when i get home i can crank the draft blower up get er roaring . when i go to bed i leave draft blower set at 70 and drink two glasses of water before bed that way i know i will get up to water the tree and load wood into the beast. also on mine i have the shaker for ashes but i prefer to use a shovel to clean out the coals if they get to thick on bottom cant get any high heat out of unit due to the draft blower not blowing through the bottom up.

I got the Clayton 1600. Got the shaker and 3 speed fan. You better watch the back putting a 12" dia (mine takes) by 38" log in there...damn. Mine takes a 28"...Did you get that at TSC? Mine was the biggest they had when I bought it.

 

[dwinch53]

Well, I have a firechief 500 wood/coal furnace in my basement..I usually put in about five 4 to 5 inch rounds or splits, open the bottom door and take the flue up to 400 degrees and keep it their for ten min or so...shut the bottom door and open the bottom draft 1/2 turn and leave the power draft opened about a third...place the thermostate at 70 and it will smolder until the thermostate demands heat..again the furnace will roar up till therm demand is met....smolder again until therm kicks in and on and on...I put wood in at 11pm...3 am...and again at 7 am...more or less depending on the outside temp..Works for me...DWopcorn:

 

[treevet]

Sounds like a plan!