Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers WITH EPA-Certified Models => Portage & Main => Topic started by: EE Farm Boy on November 20, 2014, 09:10:26 PM
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Read a couple of post and now I am wondering if I am doing something that I should not be doing. At night, to get a 10 hour burn, I have to put as much wood as possible in the stove. I normally fill the bottom and keep stacking. Of course some pieces fall and lay against the metal sides as I feel the entire fire box, is this a problem? The next morning all the ashe is down on the bricks not on the sides touching metal so I was under the assumptions that the wood next to the metal is not a problem. Will stacking the heater that full cause issues with the wood touch the metal sides? I am burning seasoned split red oak, hickory, and maple. If the wood can't touch the metal sides I will not be able to get enough wood in the firebox to get a full night of heat.
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With the load you have on it, it won't be an issue, we just don't want folks attempting to get that 24 hour burn and letting the unit smolder, I think with your load, a 34-44 might have been better suited for the task, you have a lot of footage there but cheer up, it'll warm up in a few months
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Yes, I was torn between the larger unit and the smaller one, but I think I got it right. 10 hour burn times in the coldest nights here in NC in the teens is all that anyone can ask for. I would rather burn it hot and add wood every 10 hours than to have a larger unit with a lot of smoldering and creosote build up. Needless to say, my firebox is rather clean with very little build up. As long as I can load it full around 10:00 at night and it last all night until I feel it up around 7 AM the next morning then I am happy. I am kind of a peddler so I actually enjoy going out messing with it loading the stove. During the day, we keep the loads small where we add a piece every couple of hours as day time here in NC is normally around 50 degrees. Its the nights that can sometimes get cold. The teens is as cold as we will ever see, most of the time its in the mid to upper 20's. That was one of the reasons I went with the smaller unit. I was right on the edge where the larger unit was more than I needed and the smaller one was questionable on being enough. I think running them hot is better than smoldering so I went for the smaller unit. In retro spec, I guess I could have got the larger unit and just cut down on the size of the loads of wood I put in the box but like always, I did not think about it from that angle before buying.
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I was talking with P+M this week regarding having the wood touch the side metal when loading and I was told not to worry about it, by a man that has the same model as I.
Bob
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I wouldnt worry about it either, all our boilers are spendy and we want them to last as long as possible but I am not going to worry if wood touches the sides I would hope they are designed to handle that.