Burning the way we do every day, just putting more fuel in the stove, you pretty easily got 20 hours of heat out of the stove. Normal use of the stove, not going crazy trying for the lowest longest possible burn. Producing real heat, as dictated by the weather outside. And, in one of the early stoves that has not yet had the upgrades (which should make it just a tad more efficient, from what I have heard from those with the upgrades). I'm happy. Now, just for fun , you'll want to do this again after your upgrades.... On a serious note, thanks for running this experiment, Waulie.
Yeah, I'm pretty happy with it. It won't change anything with the way I run the stove. I love 12 hour burns and don't see any reason to put more wood in then will get me 12 hours with the appropriate amount of heat for the weather. For people in different situations though, it could come in real handy. At least we now have evidence. Now, we need at least one more PH owner to confirm my results.
Thanks for the updates. It was interesting to see the pics during the burn.Today I fully loaded my PH with some hardwoods for the first time since receiving it. I get far more flames than you did. I definately don't think I'll get as long a burn as you did. I ran it with no air at all after engaging the cat. Maybe I need to block off a hole or 2? The flames died down after about 4 hours, but I have nowhere near the wood left as you did at the 4 hour mark. I'm wondering if a tighter house would get a longer burn?
KSC, How long did you burn with the air open before starting to turn down, and how long at 50% or so before engaging the cat? Do you have a tall chimney? Exposed , windy location? If you are getting that much flame early on in the burn, shut down earlier to get a longer burn. The cat will engage, may take a bit longer, but you'll get a longer burn if you can get the cat to engage at a lower burn rate.
I've heard that from others, especially when the stoves first came out. Woodstock was recommending closing the bypass right away saying that the cat would fire eventually. I really don't like the idea of smoldering my stove at all so I've never tried it. I think it did work to deaden the secondaries and prolong the burn, but people were getting the smoke smell when they did it. If you have a new version of the stove, it might be worth a try because I think the smoke issue has been solved. But, before you try that: How are you monitoring temps and at what temps/ draft setting do you engage the cat? Are you using big splits? How big of a coal bed are you loading on? How did your start up go in general? What's your chimney like? I do seem to get longer burn times than many others with the PH, but I can't say for sure why. That's why I was hoping another person or two would document a low, full load burn. My house is not what I would call tight by any means. The real question is.... Is your house overheating?
Waulie, that was a good test and great explanation of what you were doing. Many thanks to you for doing this. Hope the snow doesn't get too deep for you.
I think the Woodstock fanboys are simply enjoying a place where they can stretch their legs and decide for themselves when threads should fade out for a change
It's a refreshing change from how-long-can-a-bk-burn threads. Pretty impressive for a <3 cu ft firebox.
I loaded the stove on a good bed of coals, stovetop was about 250. I let it catch and burn with half air for about 15 minutes. Once I noticed the stovetop temp. start rising, 260-270, I engaged the cat and cut air to zero. The maple splits were a little smaller than yours, I got 8 splits in from 4 x 6" to 2 x3". I have really good draft with an interior chimney in the center of the stoveroom, up through the second floor and out the peak of the roof. Total length of the smooth, insulated liner I installed is about 22'. Roxul insulation at the top and bottom of the chimney. My stoveroom, which is 24 x 20', was about 80, with the far rooms about 65. It was definately throwing out more heat than the softwood I've been burning, even though the stove top never exceded 450. My stove was built in Aug. 2013, I'll try to engage the cat before it hits 250 next time.
I just like information. Don't care which stove it is or which manufacturer it is. I just like the information and how it applies to my situation and needs. That being said, this thread help me understand that the Progress should work for me. I am really leaning towards a Progress in the living room, Steel in the kitchen, and a King in the den. Hopefully I can make the first two stoves happen sooner rather than later.
Sounds like you're on the right track. Try using flue temps instead of stovetop temps. Do you have single wall pipe connecting to your liner? I've found that using flue temps is a much better gauge since stovetop temps lag. I usually engage between about 320 and 350 external single wall pipe temps about 10 inches above the stove. It's takes some playing to find the sweet spot. I also have a tall, interior chimney. But, it is over sized at 7X7. I bet you're sucking air at a much higher velocity than I am. After playing with the stove for a while, you may want to consider a pipe damper if you can fit one in your system. If your liner connects directly to the stove........ Hmmm......
My money is on 2 PH's will heat BB' entire space. It's heating me 2200 feet just fine, and the stove is on the 2nd floor! Heat goes UP, not down, yet with a 4" duct and inline fan I'm heating both floors with the hybrid beast. But, that 3 stove buffet does sound like a dream team for sure! I just reloaded a small load, it's upper 40's tonight, and going to be 50+ in morning, so not much heat needed. Anyway, here is the reload process I find that works best, it starts quick yet allows a slow burn. Stove pipe was at 200-225 for reload, here's ashes when door was opened: Now I raked the coals until all the ashes fell thru grate, and then raked the hot coals left all to the front: What reload looked like, largest split in back (although all small splits on this small load): And what fire looked like after 3or 4 minutes when pipe hit 250 and I shut it down: This will burn till 8 or 9 am. Load was at 11 or 12pm
Came down early this morning to a nice bed of coals, the stove was 150-200. That's about 12 hours after loading. I vent out the back to a T, then straight up so a damper would be a tough install. So all in all, I'm getting the burn times I was told I'd get when I was at the factory.
