The ultimate OverNight-Burn Thread !!

[jimbojango]

i do ONB nightly, use a big piece of GREEN hedge on a decent sized fire to start, let burn 30 minutes, shut dampers all the way down. My stove ISN'T EPA so you're not convincing me of much that its losing efficiancy anyway. Have millions of cords of it around, so the faster it gets burnt the better. I always have plenty of wood and coals in the morning to open the damper's up and toss a lil ash on it. Then depending on how cold the house is (above 75 or above 70) i'll throw some oak or ash on.

 

[4seasons]

Does ONB lead to more creosote buildup?
Only if you choke the fire back too much so it cant pull a draft.

Does ONB reduce efficiency?
Only if you choke the fire back too much so it cant pull a draft.

How often would you preform ONB?
Every night that the temps will be below 35

Would you prefer it if you didn't have to do it?
I don't have to do it, I have a heat pump and aux backup as well. I burn wood because it is cheaper than electric.

Do you do any damage control befor of after ONB?
Damage? What would there be to damage?

Are there wood types that are not recommended for ONB?
I wouldn't use any type of pine but that is only because oak is so plentiful in my area. The longer lasting more heat producing woods will always rain supreme when you want to keep a fire going for an extended period.

For what reasons aren't they recommended?
Well I guess if your chimney or stove are questionable you wouldn't want to go to sleep with fire going, but I wouldn't want to have to keep a constant eye on it when I was awake either.

How do you preform ONB?
- Do you care about the stove temp?
Nope, only about the room temp in the room with the stove.

- Do you close all air inlets and dampers?
Not all the way, but if you have short burn times you need to choke it back some.
- How do you load the stove full safely?
Big wood in first then smaller pieces in to fill up the gaps.

and more...
I am spoiled with the long burn times I can get from my stove. Part is because my wood is mostly 3 year seasoned white oak, part is because of a good size stove in a small house. My fire box measures 24"x12"x18" so I cut my wood in 20" lengths and split to 6" wide. For my long burn times I try to use the 8" rounds that I cut 22-23" long just to get more wood in the box. Tonight the low is suppose to get down to 10 so I stuffed it pretty full and set the dial about 1/2 way open. I'm going to bed in a few minutes and the living room (were the stove is) is 75. When I get up in 8 hours I expect the living room to be 70 and to still have a piece or two of wood that haven't burned up yet resting on a solid bed of hot coals. Just in case I wake up in the middle of the night cold, I carried in a few more sticks of wood to throw on, but I rarely use them until morning anyway.

 

[treeguyinoh]

I stack my old Fisher grandpa bear full as i can of honey locust or hedge apple and back the dampers off from shut 1 full turn. 9:30 pm until 5:30 or 6 am with no troubleat all. Still have a pile of coals, throw in some pine in the morning for a little quick heat, and repeat. As far as creosote buildup, I am eally not sure. There seems to be a little more on my heat reclaimer in the morning, but during the day the wife cleans it off a few times. But, my stove may not go all the way out for months, if the weather is cold enough, so I am really not sure just how much the overniters contribute to this. Any decent stove should be able to maintain an 8 or 9 hour burn with decent wood.
Dennis

 

[chowdozer]

I put three logs in at 2100 hrs and go to bed. When I wake up at 0430 hrs it's about 66 in the house. I shut the draft all the way and go to work. When I get home at 1700 hrs, about half the time I still have coals and just throw a couple of pieces of wood in. The other half the time, I have some clinkers to restart a fire. After 14 years with this stove, I have the system down.

 

[dmlefevre]

Right stove + dry wood = no worries. Load at 11pm, 6am, 3pm.

 

[StihltheOne]

Big Blaze king non epa, load her full of cottonwood at 10pm, 8am and maybe a little snack on the after noon. Easy 10 hours per load, will need a full load in the afternoon if temp stay below 20 for highs.

 

[corrupt]

Can people add there firebox sizes like "4seasons" did, then we will kow what size fire box we all need to get a nice 10h ONB.

 

[Junkrunner]

Before or after damage control?
After a ONB, I open the stove dampers-up and get'r blazin for at least a half hour. I do this EVERYDAY.

If I'm gonna catch the place on fire, I want to be awake.

And about every two weeks I throw acouple of beer cans (empty of course) in when its really cookin.. I was always told this helps with releasing the creosote. Seems to work for me.

Potato peels work too, I've heard.

My box is 20" wide 20" tall and 32" long. I built my stove 14 yrs ago.

The biggest thing that helps mine is keepin the right amount of ashes in the stove. I never clean ALL the ashes out. Unless I'm done for the year.

I fashioned an ash box that sits under the stove and sticks out the front about 4" that has a lidded grate on it. This allows me to just "rake" some of them out while it's still burnin.

Usually by mid October I'm in full burn. It won't go out till april sometime.

I burn all wood. Yes some is better than others. You just GOT to know what works best for ya.

This is however, my first winter burnin some ailanthus. I know, I know its junk wood. But to be perfectly honest. I think it burns hotter and longer than other junk wood. Like sycamore, poplar and silver maple.

I've bin doin my own personal little studies on this.
The biggest difference that I've found, that seems to matter is, when the ailanthus is cut.
I had to clear about a half acre of the crap in the fall of 09 , after the leaves came off.
I hated the idea of just dumpin it. So I cut it, split and let it season.

Now if it's cut in the spring or summer, it's a completely different animal. It seems to go punk before it drys.
Other than the fact it smells kinda like burnt peanut butter, I'm not gonna just let it rot.

Besides, it's the best way to get rid of this invasive monster.

 

[lopro]

At 11pm I usually just put the largest piece of wood that can fit (my firebox is only 1.5 cu. ft. but it cranks pretty good for its size). Preferably a round or crotch piece. Turn down the damper, but not fully to prevent soot on the glass, and wake up to a sleepy, slow burning bed of coals around 5:30 or 6am.

It doesn't burn as hot overnight, but at least it's still burning in the morning. It's better to throw a few sticks on and have a nice morning fire without hassles than starting a new fire in the morn.

I don't know about my creosote buildup.

Efficiency...I don't know either but it doesn't burn as hot.

How often do I ONB?...as much as possible!!!

I prefer ONB over starting a new fire every morn.

Damage control??...what damage?

Types of wood?...Anything big enough to fill up the firebox. Bigger pieces are more dense and take longer to burn out. Must be dry so it doesn't make my glass sooty.

Plus, I don't measure stove temps and it's safe if I can close the door tight.

Amen.

 

[goanin]

Does ONB lead to more creosote buildup?
Does ONB reduce efficiency?
Hard to believe it doesn't. The fire isn't intense and oxygen is low. According to what I've learned so far, this leads to:
1. Smoke not having a chance to burn completely, so more of it leaves the firebox and goes up the chimney.
2. The chimney isn't as hot as it can get during a high oxygen burn, so more particles condense, thus more creosote builds up.
3. Less burnin', more smoke - less efficiency..

How often would you preform ONB?
Would you prefer it if you didn't have to do it?
That's the reason I asked. Because I don't feel like I wanna do it to many times. So I would it on Friday night, through Shabbat and only if it's cold.

Do you do any damage control befor of after ONB?
By 'damage control' I ment doing things that can help get rid of any creosote that could have been formed. Because a few people told me that after ONB they burn a very hot fire to burn the creosote on the chimney.

How do you preform ONB?
Load a full as I can. Burn HOT for 10 min, and only then reduce air.
- Do you care about the stove temp?
Ya. I want it not to be to cold.
- Do you close all air inlets and dampers?
No. I don't want the glass door to get dirty. So just a crack..
- How do you load the stove full safely?
This is important. I raised the question because my firebox is rectangular (21"X11"). It lets me load only east-west. So if I load to high, I'm always scared that pieces could roll over and break the glass.

 

[chowdozer]

Does ONB lead to more creosote buildup?

It can. I'm not very concerned about it.

Does ONB reduce efficiency?

It can, not very concerned about it.

How often would you preform ONB?

Every night when its cold for the last 25 years.

Would you prefer it if you didn't have to do it?

It's one of the prices you pay for keeping warm. I don't consider it a problem or a burden. It just becomes a fact of life like taking a leak.

Do you do any damage control befor of after ONB?

No. I burn a hot fire every 4-5 days when it's raining or snowing which will control any possible sparks from the flue that may land on the roof.

How do you preform ONB?

Fill the firebox before I go to bed.

Do you care about the stove temp?

Not particularly as long as it's reasonable. If the magnetic thermometer is between 300 & 400 F it's good.

Do you close all air inlets and dampers?

No, I have a setpoint for the draft control.

How do you load the stove full safely?

Open the door and put wood in. Shut the door. I use a welding glove on my hand because I am not fireproof.

This is important. I raised the question because my firebox is rectangular (21"X11"). It lets me load only east-west. So if I load to high, I'm always scared that pieces could roll over and break the glass.

I took the glass out and welded 1/4" steel in it's place. I am more into the heat of the stove that sitting watching fire.

 

[pook]

http://www.woodheat.org/tips/hiperwoodburning.htm

 

[rmount]

This is important. I raised the question because my firebox is rectangular (21"X11"). It lets me load only east-west. So if I load to high, I'm always scared that pieces could roll over and break the glass.

You could cut some wood to 10" length and keep a separate ONB pile which packs north-south.

 

[ozzy73]

My ONB

Does ONB lead to more creosote buildup?
Yes due to lower burn temp. Just run the stove hot for 20-30 min every day and burn the creo out the chimney and you wont have issues.

Does ONB reduce efficiency?
No.

How often would you preform ONB?
As often as I can.

Would you prefer it if you didn't have to do it?
No, I prefer to do it. We are using an air-air heatpump as a heatsource that is not able to get the house above 69F on the cold winter days.

Do you do any damage control befor of after ONB?
No.

Are there wood types that are not recommended for ONB?
Soft wood's produce less BTU's and burn quicker and do not coal as well as hardwoods. Anything wood can be used.

For what reasons aren't they recommended?
You really have to be comfortable with your wood stove to load it full of wood and adjust the controls to a low setting and go to bed. I must have gotten up every 20 min to check on my stove the first coupe of times i did and ONB. They might not be recommended because of an operators experience level with the wood stove.

How do you preform ONB?
Remeber every stove and setup is different. My stove has a 2.9 cft box so achieving an ONB is no problem.

For the ONB load I make sure there is enough coals in the stove and rake all the coals forward, close to the lip of the firebox close to the airwash. Load the stove North to South ( this way no wood will roll forward to damage the glass ) all the way to the to baffle ( or an inch below the 2ndary tubes ). Open the damper and get the wood chared really well and actually burning. Once I see the stove reach 500 I adjust the air intake to 1/2 closed, this will settle in the temp between 500 - 600. Turn down the air intake to 1/4 and go to bed.

I found this works great because the load burns from front to back and the entire load is not consumed all at once. Just like smoking a CIGAR :msp_biggrin:

- Do you care about the stove temp?
Yes.
- Do you close all air inlets and dampers?
Yes, I close the air intake to 1/4 and top damper all the way.

- How do you load the stove full safely?
Make sure there is no active fire but only a nice coal bed when you are loading it. Use welding gloves and position the wood the way you want it.

The other thing I want to add is burn in cycles, this reduces loading the stove every hour and is more enjoyable. During the day I load the stove approx every 3-4 hours but maintain higher temps. Every stove and setup is different so experiment with your stove and different types of wood and find out what works best for you.

Cheers,
Ozzy

 

[km1423]

New Stove Owner (UK)

I am a complete novice and have never owned a stove in my life. I own a multifuel stove (Defra approved), that means it safe to burn wood in a smoke control zone. Stove isn't huge, 5 KW. Plenty enough for our space and so far so good - although it hasn't been cold here yet at all.

Great to read information about overnight burning - it really is hard to find. The manual which came with my appliance is so basic, even the diagrams are misleading, Airwash fully open - diagram shows in closed position; No wonder there are folks who don't get the best out of their appliance. I count myself lucky to find 12 lines of text about ONB. Wood being in those 100 words - Wow!

This is a great Forum for newbies like myself to learn about techniques. Glad I found it. Useful and relevant information, which you would never find in a manual, it really is a matter of trial and error unless you have an experienced person giving you these tips first hand.

I have tried ONB with coal with a modicum of success. So far I have kept stove going for four days. I use this time before it becomes cold to practice and get the optimum out of my stove, before Winter really takes a hold.

I will keep my eyes peeled for any new information.

Cheers.

 

[olyman]

Oh! Oh! Oh! My Turn! My Turn!

Just before you go to bed you look at your teenage daughter (who is up half the night staring at something on her Lap Top called "Facebook" and sending text messages from her cell phone) that if you wake up to a cold stove in the morning she will be carrying a cord of wood from the shed to the house at 5:00 AM.

Hey, it works for me, my stove is always hot in the morning. :biggrinbounce2:

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Fyrebug]

My Round Oak 18-O-3 was built back in the 20's so it is about 90 years old. It has no problem burning for about 12 hours, if it has a good bed of coals. This stove will probably not go out until March. Any warm days and I just simmer it until it gets cold again.

This stove is not nearly as efficient as modern stoves, but it keeps the chimney much cleaner. Not exactly sure why, but I would guess that the smoke temperature is higher, lowering the amount of creosote build up.

Where I live, without overnight burns, the house temperature would swing too low at night.

Here is a picture of it:

That's a gorgeous stove.

 

[Fyrebug]

You have to qualify if you are burning with an EPA stove or not since they burn differently. I'll comment from an EPA stove point of view:

Does ONB lead to more creosote buildup?
No, as long as you your firebox is hot enough to get the secondaries going and your wood is dry

Does ONB reduce efficiency?
No, if anything your efficiencies will be better.

How often would you preform ONB?
Load up your stove to the hilt on a decent coal bed, make sure the wood has started to char, make sure the secondaries are engaged and damper down.

Do you do any damage control befor of after ONB?
Not sure what that means. No damage, they are designed to burn that way.

Are there wood types that are not recommended for ONB?
You can burn whatever wood you want to as long as it's not been chemically treated. Soft woods will give you shorter burns.

For what reasons aren't they recommended?
Highly recommended, That's the selling feature

Do you care about the stove temp?
Yes, Thermometer placed about 18" on the flue will tell you if you are burning too cold (creosote zone). EPA wood stove should be around 350f

Do you close all air inlets and dampers?
Yes

How do you load the stove full safely?
If you can, North/South

 

[badwood]

When u say dampers u guys are talking about the stovepipe damper being closed all the way and the air inlet closed all the way to is this correct just making sure I don't close one iam not to. Thanks

 

[rmihalek]

I never touch the stovepipe damper: it stays vertical (wide-open). When I regulate the draft, it is with the damper controls on the stove.

I need to try burning some unsplit rounds overnight; never tried that before. I normally just put in some bigger split pieces for the overnight burn.

I always do a 30-45 minute "hot" burn each morning during breakfast. I just throw two or three small splits on the coal bed and open the draft all the way. This cleans the glass and hopefully the chimney as well. I clean the chimney twice a year, once mid-way through the heating season and once some time in the summer before the fall heating season starts.