Englander NC30 deal .....ordered

On warmer days I would reload with less coals than that but I don't have a NC30

 

All good points guys.
I agree BBar, the stove sure seems easy to get going. I need to hone my skills.
I had an idea my splits were on the small side. Nothing I can do about that, but I can pack tighter.
That's sometimes a challenge, since the wood wants to burn before I get it loaded.
Supposed to get cold again tonite. Maybe I'll do an e/w load nice and tight.
Yep, squares and rectangles rdust, then I can use 'em in 3 years.
You don't think opening the air some will cause the stove to get crazy?
Although the 2ndaries are cool, Id trade those in a second for a longer burn.

 

You need stove gloves. Makes reaching into the back of the stove a LOT easier.

 

I almost always have flames at the bottom (This way once the secondaries start to die the primary air is open enough to keep the temps up some) this way also keeps the pipe hot enough.
For good long burns I stuff it as full as I can, I have 17 to 18 inch splits, I can't always do it but I try to packet very tight with only quarter inch gap, sometimes I have to take pieces back out and rearrange it to get it tight.
my stove likes to run at 700 to 725
Edit, yes this happens to, the wood wants to burn before I get it loaded

 

I'm sure you have some ash trees up that way that are still standing dead. Get some of that wood for a couple years while the oak blocks season up. Ash in 4x6 blocks will season up pretty decent in a year, and your set up is ideal for seasoning firewood. I find my ash burns just as well as the red oak I have in the stack. At least not enough difference to justify the 3 year wait time on the oak. I'm getting a little panicked since I only have a few cords of ash left, not sure what I'll do when that is all gone since it's my favorite wood. I still have some to cut but they're running out fast.

 

damm that bottom hinge!

 

rdust, there may be Ash up here, but none that I know about.
Actually, the soft Maple does a pretty darn good job. I've got plenty of Oak for the next 3 years, with more planned to be c/s/s.
I can get my larger splits separated if that'll work better, and I'll be making some bigger ones. I just don't like handling them.
Holy moly Dex, that's half the splits but just as much wood as my last load.
I'll PM you re: the gloves.

 

Dave, since they don't sell the blowers in the store, did they order one as a ship to home thing?

 

I don't remember exactly, either that or I picked it up at the store, it was a ordered item.

 

What I meant was that mine does the exact same thing. I take a rubber mallet to it twice a season.

 

I don't like them huge either, perfect sized splits for me are 4x4, 4x5 or 4x6. I make some bigger but find those sizes fill the stove pretty good. I have some 8x8 square oak stuff that will be ready by 2020 or so, those should burn nice. :lol:

 

I shoot for six inch splits and some end up smaller

 

I'm learning to know my limits as I advance in years.
When I was younger, I could do just about anything. Now.......not so much.

 

Papadave- my out look is slightly different- still can do most anything just takes more and/or larger tools to accomplish and more time. And then there are the items we used to do because we had no other choice.

 

Dex, not to bug you, but did you manage to get the OAK pic?
chris, yeah, I can still do a lot of that stuff.....just a little slower.

 

I burn a lot of soft Maple but it's no match for Oak when it comes to burn time. The Oak keeps the higher stove temps going quite a bit longer.
Sounds like you need to track down some of these air leaks. I had been putting that off because it seemed like it would be a pain in the butt and time-consuming, considering how leaky this place was. Once I got started though, I was able to fix a few of the worst leaks with a minimum of effort, and gain several degrees in room temps. When there where strong winds from different directions, I was able to find the big leaks on the windward side of the house pretty easily and figure out a way to address those. Now I can hold 70 degrees in here in all but the nastiest weather.