Or keep it full. I have a jotul f500. New to burning this winter and am trying to find the optimal burn. Any tips are appreciated.
The best thing to do is try any combo you can think of, and observe and know exactly how your stove runs. There's a lot of BS to sort through sometimes on the internet With less wood in my stove, I can run hotter temps easier, but shorter burn times. When I stuff it full (small stove, but stuffed none the less) I try to settle it in quicker, and have a lower temp, but for much longer. Sometimes you don't need a blast furnace, and can just throw an ugly big knarly chunk in with more air to fan the fire. It seems there is some kind of synergy where with 3-4 pieces, they help each other along better than just running them as singles. But your stove is a different creature than mine, so who knows.
Yep. During the day, I tend to run smaller loads, and reload more often. Overnight, load 'er up. Generally, it's warmer during the day, so not as much heat needed, so loading it up is overkill.
Well I wouldn't really recommend 1 stick at a time, but as others said it's not always necessary to pack it full either. It all comes down to how you like to burn your stove or what works best for your stove. I usually start small fires and build them up. I hate the top down starting method that some are fanatics about, it takes too long to get a good temp going and seems to result in a lot of smoke and smoldering. Sometimes I'll put another log on a fire that's barely died out anyway, and sometimes I'll pack the stove so full I get nervous. It's all circumstantial.
One stick at a time is usually not the way to go. Why would you want the firebox door open that often? If the wood is not ideal, that too will add to creosote problems. In short, let the weather determine how you load your stove. Always let the weather determine it. For example, if the outside temperature is maybe around 10 degrees one day and 30 degrees the next, would you want the same amount of heat?
My 30NC is my first EPA rated stove, and every load is an experiment. I've stacked north/south....east west....used 12" splits that I cut for my tiny fireplace upstairs....18" splits that were 16" logs, split in half....different combinations of the 2.....1/4 section splits on the 18" ones....stacked only half way up the firebox.....jammed the firebox so that 90% of it's volume was taken up with wood....you name it. Now I'm out of the 18" ones and I'm back to my stack of 12" stuff. The stack I tried last night was interesting. I put 2 pieces east/west across the back stacked on top of each other, and filled the front of the stove north/south. I seemed to add about an hour to the burn time. Could have just been a fluke though. I'll try it again in the morning when there are only a few coals left. So far, one of the "never deviate from this" things I found with the 30NC is to make sure that there's a clear path, front to back, right in front of the dog house hole. The moral of this story....try a bunch of stuff. Eventually, you'll learn what works well and what doesn't for your particular stove.
To each there own. However. My experience. I did the 1 to 3 sticks at a time for a year and a half. Since then I went to burning by the load. I'll never go back. Ever. Give it a try. No fluke. Works for me nicely as well.
