I realize this will be different for everyone with different models, but I was sitting here looking at my stove and thinking how I load. I have an old non EPA wood insert for reference. During the day I put two splits running N/S with a gap between them. Then I put 3 splits on top running E/W. This allows a lot of air around the wood for a clean robust burn. I normally get around 3 hrs of usable heat from this load. If it is extremely cold I reload almost every 2 hours. 4hrs if it's in the 20's outside. It's not a big deal because my wife works from home and her office is only 15ft away. Before bed I will put 3 or 4 splits running N/S them another 3 or 4 E/W. If there is much room I will add a smaller split in the void. I can normally get 4-5hrs of good heat like this and have plenty of coals for relight in the morning. I see a bunch of guys with modern stoves who run all there wood N/S and pack it in there. I assume they do this because the secondary air or catylist burns the smoke that results from little air movement over and around the wood. I thought about trying it tonight to see if it increases my burn time, but worry it won't burn well in my old stove. The other concern I have is packing too much wood in and having a run away stove, although I haven't experienced that with this stove yet.
When I really want to pack it I load n/s. I get usable heat for 10 hours. My stove is located at the very end of the house in the den with a cathedral ceiling so heating the entire house isn't a cake walk. However if it was centrally located I bet I could heat the house for 12 to 14 hours.
Glad this topic was brought up again cause I'm curious too. I've got a Lopi Freedom Bay insert in an original free standing fireplace and mine is oriented for more E/W logs. In fact, I can fit like 22" splits in E/W while 16-18" splits fit N/S. Makes it hard to decide how long to make my cuts! Because of this, I have found I have a good mix if shorter and longer splits (not ideal for making uniform stacks), but I like having some of each. Tonight, I tried two shorter splits N/S, a few sheets of newspaper and kindling in the void, followed by 3 longer splits E/W on top. I had some scrap stuff I threw on top because there wasn't enough gap to put another layer of splits but if I had some more dry smaller (2"-3" branches), I would have added them. We'll see how long the blower runs tonight. Loaded at about 10PM. Hopefully it's still blowing hot air at 6am.
My furnace firebox is 5' deep & about 20" in diameter, so only 1 way to load. I cut 2' long & stack two layers N/S. Get 8-10 hrs of usable heat & never need to relight. There's always coals. I've gone three days & still had enough embers to refire with a bit of paper. Burn a heck of a lot of wood though.
With high btu stuff like beech, shag, ironwood, I'll get 8 hrs burn on a full load. I can do 18" long in n/s iron my Quadrafire insert, but it really works better if I cut 16-17". The ash doesn't build up by the door if I keep the logs at 17" or less. I'll throw thinner branch pieces on top to fill the gap. Like dis..
Oh and my stove can accept 22 inch splits but it's a pain. You have to angle them in thru a 17 inch door. I cut to 18 now so they fit ns or ew easily.
I don't think you will have any problem running the wood N/S, I have a pre EPA stove that I ran for 30 years and always loaded it N/S, I only stack Lincoln Log style when I have a cold stove with no coals. I think you will have better luck with some trial and error.
I have the same exact stove... Jammed N/S it burns much longer, infact N/S jammed eith beech I can get 12hrs out of it... E/W is much longer pieces as you know, but 8hrs is more realistic.. The difference is caused by... Well I dont know lol.. What I do know, I load E/W way more because i dont like cutting and splitting that many more pieces that it takes for constant N/S loading.
I've read about folks loading the stove first n/s then e/w on top of that and would have no problem if I wanted just a short and hot fire. But to get the best, I'm a believer that if you load n/s, then load the entire stove in n/s fashion for the longest and best burn. However, I feel one big mistake a lot of folks make is that if they can stuff, say, a 22" log into the stove, that is what they will do. I've always noticed that the fire burns much, much better if you leave a gap rather than using the total length. For example, the best length for wood in our stove is 16". However, we can get longer length into the firebox and if in the center, I've gotten logs over 20" in there. But that is not ideal. The fire will do much better with a 1-2" space between the end of the wood and the edge of the firebox and the same with the door end. Therefore, I would advise you to do all of your loading in a n/s fashion. In addition to better fires, most folks find they need a different length if loading one way versus the other. Load all one way and cut the wood all the same length! btw, our stove is a side loader (which I prefer) so we load only one way and it is a rather small firebox so trying to load it n/s would really be a pain in the sitting position. (Did I clean that one up okay?)
I start N/S and then move to E/W for night burns. I can maintain right at the top of "optimal" temp with my damper just cracked loading N/S when I have a good coal bed but I do go through the wood faster. I load E/W when I go to bed to ensure I don't overheat my stove (I'm paranoid BTW ) and I've found that I'll get a longer burn. I've tried both ways for night burns with similar outside temps and found the mornings a little warmer doing E/W night burns. One thing I've noticed though is I seem to get a more pronounced secondary burn E/W. I have to assume its an airflow thing. Physics man, physics...
I load n\s and can load it to the gills, cat stove.....my old pre epa air tight I loaded n\s to the gills too. My way of looking at it is if your air or draft can feed the box and you have good draw, stuff it full, let it char well and slow the draft and burn baby, burn.
Both for me, front door load north south its just easier logs don't hit glass. 2 hours per burn I did that for years 8 to 12 hour burns are much better.
I mostly load N/S. Due to the sloped top, if stuffing to the gills, I add a couple E/W on top. This is with an Ideal Steel with both secondaries and a catalyst. The catalyst makes a huge difference in efficiency because it can burn the smoke and other volatiles cooking off at the beginning with a packed load and little airflow. Whith my last stove that stuff either went up the chimney or stuck to the walls as a fire hazzard. With splits I get 12 hours on a cold day, closer to 8 when frigid. Using compressed wood bricks (see Fiber Fuel thread) I can get 24+ hours but at a higher cost per BTU for the convenience. My secondaries only prior stove was more like 4-6 hours, although I never tried the bricks in that one.
Buck 74 here. I have always done the "campfire" or teepee wood pile inside. I recently started doing the NS or "front to back" loading method and it seems to make quite a difference. The 74 is a non-cat stove. I was able to restart a fire with no matches, and no paper after 12 hours. Thats pretty darn good on my book.
