Show Me Some Pics Of Your Overnite Load

[KindredSpiritzz]

I try to load mine up to the top of the fire brick per the instructions that came with the furnace. (Vogelzang 2500)
Is it safe to load it higher? Mine won't burn long enough the way I load it now. I get about 4-6 hours out of it with it set on low.

I have the same furnace. I load it almost to the baffle and let it get to 450 degrees on the stove front and then i crank the air way down. I think it ends up smoldering alot more than a half a load but i'll still have a few coals in the am. I think they don't want you loading it past the fire brick if you lose power otherwise you're fine going higher. That furnace is a POS tho.

 

[Chris-PA]

Not me, when looking for a long-term burn. For that, I try to minimize airflow within the load.

Works okay during the day, mainly when loading some "reluctant" splits. E.g. black cherry.

I want the hot coals to gasify wood above for secondary combustion, not be blocked off and smoulder. I limit the burn rate with the inlet control, although mine limits both primary and secondary air. There is also a lot of stone around the stove so the temperatures do not drop that fast after the stove burns down lower.

 

[4seasons]

My load for the night. Forecast for the night is 14 F for the low. 4 splits of black locust and a small round of apple over a 6 in bed of coals from elm, apple, plum and beech.
I can get 18-24 hours of heat from this load but when it gets down this cold I open it up and let it burn. I should wake up in the morning to 66-68 F in the house with a good bed of coal to throw on some more wood.

 

[Jakers]

hey 4seasons, i know that stove... i have the same one in the house, has the same space robbing warp to it too. do you ever have any trouble controlling the fire in yours? seems mine is either wide open or just puttering along. i have a really short stack on it tho, may be an issue....

 

[4seasons]

Mine is a US Stove Co. Wondercoal, model 2827. It was in the house when I moved in and has performed well for us for 10 years. I have had some issues from it this year though and you can read about them here: http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...rming-stove-this-morning.250449/#post-4652703
and here: http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/interesting-24-hours.249480/

I am planning on replacing or rebuilding it next year. Currently I am digging up all the information I can on Rocket Mass Heaters to replace this stove with. My chimney isn't the greatest design (on an exterior wall, masonry, 16 ft) so I fight backpufffing sometimes, and since I put firebrick over the grates it has been hard to get enough air in once the ashes start building up, but overall it has done pretty well heating my small (under 1200 sqft) home. The damper spring seems to do it's job, shutting it down when it gets hot and opening it up when it is cold, but it took a bit of fiddling with the slack in the chain/cable to get it set right. The biggest problem I have had is the thin gauge metal warping and the crappy grates breaking causing either an air gap letting to much air in, or an ash clog letting almost no air in.

 

[artbaldoni]

My overnight load,

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cit6z6ptb5apkoq/20140303_185351.jpg

 

[Vangellis]

My overnight load,

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cit6z6ptb5apkoq/20140303_185351.jpg

I'm almost out of coal for the season and will be switching back to wood probably before the weekend.
It's nice to have options.



Kevin