The ultimate OverNight-Burn Thread !!

[km1423]

Onb

I agree, that is a stove to be proud of. Very impressive. Stove Envy.

 

[Ambull]

That's a gorgeous stove.

Thanks. I like the way that these stove heat a lot, so much that I got a second one for upstairs. It is very similar, a Round Oak 18-O-2. Here is a picture of it last year at Christmas time. The windows are lit up from the fire. The ash pan is huge, and can hold a solid week's worth of burning. And the stove has a round shaker grate, so it is easier to get the ashes down into the pan without making a mess. With these two stoves going, I can keep my 5000 square foot house toasty warm, even when outside temps are below zero.

 

[lopro]

For the best overnight burns, it takes time to know your stove. After a year or two, and sampling different types of wood, you'll get better at it. My stove is small compared to others on this site (Morso 5660), so in order for me to get a good overnight burn, I have to have a very good bed of coals. For me that means burning for at least 4-6 hours beforehand to get my stove temp up and the bed of coals good and hot.

From there, I pick some big hardwood pieces and stack them with as little air in between as possible (this is where experience in picking the right sized pieces and wood types is important). Then, I turn down the damper to the almost closed position, wash my paws, and hop in bed with the wife. G'night.

 

[Chris-PA]

ONB - of course! I never get up in the night to reload the stove - I like my sleep, I don't want to waste the wood, and this idea that a house must stay at a constant temperature is a silly notion that resulted from the age of fossil fuel heating. The easiest thing to change is your own expectations, and once you understand that houses are cold in the morning then everything is normal.

Don't take out all the ashes, load it big before bed and let it get cranking, then stop it down hard, but not so hard it doesn't burn. My stove is surrounded by stone so much of the heat is stored and I don't have to smother it to smoldering. If your house is of frame construction you may have to take a different strategy, but the most important thing is to have hot coals in the morning.

The biggest problem with this is the "waiting for it to get cranking part" - lay down on the couch in the 80-90 degree basement and try to stay awake. Go ahead, I dare ya. You wake up a while later and yeah, it's cranking all right!

 

[lopro]

The biggest problem with this is the "waiting for it to get cranking part" - lay down on the couch in the 80-90 degree basement and try to stay awake. Go ahead, I dare ya. You wake up a while later and yeah, it's cranking all right!

I've done that a couple of few hundred times!!! The missus definitely don't like that one.

 

[Chris-PA]

How many can tell what temperature the stove is by the way it smells? You wake up and take a sniff of hot metal and think "oh crap, that's overfired!"

 

[JRepairsK70e]

i can tell where the stove is in the burn cycle by looking at the heat powered fan on the stovetop [hotter it gets the faster it spins ,starts slowing down when temp drops below 300 ]

 

[Genie82]

You have to qualify if you are burning with an EPA stove or not since they burn differently. I'll comment from an EPA stove point of view:

Does ONB lead to more creosote buildup?
No, as long as you your firebox is hot enough to get the secondaries going and your wood is dry

Does ONB reduce efficiency?
No, if anything your efficiencies will be better.

How often would you preform ONB?
Load up your stove to the hilt on a decent coal bed, make sure the wood has started to char, make sure the secondaries are engaged and damper down.

Do you do any damage control befor of after ONB?
Not sure what that means. No damage, they are designed to burn that way.

Are there wood types that are not recommended for ONB?
You can burn whatever wood you want to as long as it's not been chemically treated. Soft woods will give you shorter burns.

For what reasons aren't they recommended?
Highly recommended, That's the selling feature

Do you care about the stove temp?
Yes, Thermometer placed about 18" on the flue will tell you if you are burning too cold (creosote zone). EPA wood stove should be around 350f

Do you close all air inlets and dampers?
Yes

How do you load the stove full safely?
If you can, North/South

I have been studying for DAYS... I have an Avalon 990 Rainer - it is my home's primary heat source (we have a space heater in our bedroom at the back of our house). I sort of need an overnight burn, but it honestly scares me. So, I am trying to minimize creosote build-up by following ONB recommendations in the owners manual... I build a fire, burn it with the air full open for 15 minutes. Then I fully load the firebox, burn another 15 minutes with the air open, then shut the air all the way down. After a few minutes, I lose all flame, including the secondary combustion, and smoke appears at the chimney. I have tried burning full open longer. I have tried closing the air partially. Everything I try eventually leads to a smolder and smoke. Should the secondary combustion keep going when I close down the air? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[flotek]

For me I just toss an arm load of wood in it . Crack the door for a couple minutes till it gets going , close it and the furnace does the rest ,I just go to bed

 

[TimberWolf530]

I burn all night and all day all winter long. I clean my chimney liner a couple times a year, but I haven't had any creosote problems yet. Just an ashy coating inside that comes off easily. Season your wood, and you shouldn't have an issue.

 

[ashy larry]

I can get 12-16 hr burns with enough coals to throw a couple small splits in and start up again. This is in a hotblast with spindraft nubs removed. The colder it is, the shorter the burn.

Ive got mine down to a science.
40-50 degrees, fill with softwood and open spindraft 1/2 turn.
30-40 degrees, hardwood and 1 turn.
20-30 degrees, hardwood and 1.5 turns
10-20, hardwood and 2 turns
It rarely gets colder than that here in NC.
I do see quite a bit of creosote from this practice, mainly bc its been so warm that if i did a real hot burnoff in the morning my house would be 90 degrees in no time, so i clean it pretty often.

 

[Iaff113]

I can get 12-16 hr burns with enough coals to throw a couple small splits in and start up again. This is in a hotblast with spindraft nubs removed. The colder it is, the shorter the burn.

Ive got mine down to a science.
40-50 degrees, fill with softwood and open spindraft 1/2 turn.
30-40 degrees, hardwood and 1 turn.
20-30 degrees, hardwood and 1.5 turns
10-20, hardwood and 2 turns
It rarely gets colder than that here in NC.
I do see quite a bit of creosote from this practice, mainly bc its been so warm that if i did a real hot burnoff in the morning my house would be 90 degrees in no time, so i clean it pretty often.

I'm am currently in the learning process with mine. So you are opening the spin draft from being completely shut? I still haven't ground off my nubs. I guess I will do that the next time I let the stove die down


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[ashy larry]

Yes open from fully closed. Grind them nubs. Take a cutting wheel, open draft completely and you have enough room to knock em off without removing anything. 5 min tops

 

[chipper1]

I'll jump right in, although I wasn't aware that Jerusalem was a place in need of much wood heat.

The best wood for an ONB is gopher or olive. The cedars of Lebanon work great as well.
The burning of dung has been outlawed as it is unclean, but please check with you local perish as exceptions may be made based on the needs of the people.

 

[Iaff113]

Copy just walked down and took them off before I forgot.


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[ashy larry]

Youll thank me

 

[chipper1]

I have been studying for DAYS... I have an Avalon 990 Rainer - it is my home's primary heat source (we have a space heater in our bedroom at the back of our house). I sort of need an overnight burn, but it honestly scares me. So, I am trying to minimize creosote build-up by following ONB recommendations in the owners manual... I build a fire, burn it with the air full open for 15 minutes. Then I fully load the firebox, burn another 15 minutes with the air open, then shut the air all the way down. After a few minutes, I lose all flame, including the secondary combustion, and smoke appears at the chimney. I have tried burning full open longer. I have tried closing the air partially. Everything I try eventually leads to a smolder and smoke. Should the secondary combustion keep going when I close down the air? Am I doing something wrong?

You must have dry wood first of all.
If the wood is dry it eliminates most issues and will help the learning curve of ONBing.

Second is to have the temperature in the stove up to at least 350(more in some stoves).

Third the inside of your stove should be white not black when you shut the air controls down. This is a lean condition which will quickly correct itself once the air controls are shut down.

A stove is an engine. The byproduct is heat and exhaust. It must have proper fuel and air in order to run. If you put water in your cars fuel it will not run, same with a stove.

When the weather outside is not very cold it will be harder to control an all night burn.
There is a learning curve to burning and it takes time. It's ok to be afraid, (proverbs says its the beginning of knowledge), you will get it and you will love it once you do.
Hope this helps,
Brett

 

[ashy larry]

Yep, i was a mess last year when i installed it. All recently cut wet wood and very little hardwood.

Sometimes it would catch and wed wake up to 90 degrees. Sometimes it wouldnt catch and id wake up seeing my breath. We used auxiliary space heaters a bunch, which was defeating the purpose altogether.

Good seasoned oak and a bunch of it has made this season go much smoother. Also tying up some loose ends as far as insulation has helped, windows, front door, etc.

 

[chipper1]

Yep, i was a mess last year when i installed it. All recently cut wet wood and very little hardwood.

Sometimes it would catch and wed wake up to 90 degrees. Sometimes it wouldnt catch and id wake up seeing my breath. We used auxiliary space heaters a bunch, which was defeating the purpose altogether.

Good seasoned oak and a bunch of it has made this season go much smoother. Also tying up some loose ends as far as insulation has helped, windows, front door, etc.

It's funny when I thought back after using good dry wood, it would have been wise to pay for a cord or two of wood my first yr and only use dead standing trees for the rest. When you look at the cost of gathering wood and the work involved it's a labor of love. For around 6-800 a year I could have enough wood for a whole yr delivered. At 8-1000(2+yrs of wood)a nice semi load and all I need to do is buck and split. Then the "cheap" route would be to scrounge and need a truck or trailer(maybe both), have to load/unload, spend money on fuel, time going to get the wood, time loading, time unloading, did I say time,and dodge the DOT. The cost of getting the wood home does not usually justify the trouble or purchasing of extra equipment. If you have a truck or a way to haul wood or just love to cut wood then that is another thing. I have a lot of trees(good to have a saw), love to run equipment, mechanical( can fix equipment when it breaks, it will), and I have access to wood(free wood), also have kids(little wood haulers). If any of those things were not present I would just buy split or have a semi delivered as the savings is in not paying for propane, not in the harvesting of the wood.
Oh wait this is the ONB thread, not the scrounging thread lol.

 

[Genie82]

You must have dry wood first of all.
If the wood is dry it eliminates most issues and will help the learning curve of ONBing.

Second is to have the temperature in the stove up to at least 350(more in some stoves).

Third the inside of your stove should be white not black when you shut the air controls down. This is a lean condition which will quickly correct itself once the air controls are shut down.

A stove is an engine. The byproduct is heat and exhaust. It must have proper fuel and air in order to run. If you put water in your cars fuel it will not run, same with a stove.

When the weather outside is not very cold it will be harder to control an all night burn.
There is a learning curve to burning and it takes time. It's ok to be afraid, (proverbs says its the beginning of knowledge), you will get it and you will love it once you do.
Hope this helps,
Brett

Thanks! I was looking at my stove this morning, and as it is brick-lined, I'm not sure that I could tell by sight when it is hot enough... The bricks are not black, at all, lol. Also, I do not have a stove thermometer. Perhaps I should invest?

I am right now burning a small load full open to a) address any overnight creosote build-up - hopefully - and b) build a coal bed for some slower burns through out the day. I am not seeing any secondary combustion in the firebox, though I am also not seeing any smoke at the chimney. I think maybe its time to schedule a maintenance visit?