How to Load your Wood Stove for a Long Overnight Burn Time🔥

[@wobdeehomestead]

For a longer burn try raking all the coals forward then pack the wood in tightly. This will make the fire burn front to back and leave a bed of coals in the back.

[@JENSENDIY]

@@wobdeehomestead Thanks for sharing! I’ll give that a try this winter.

[@HungryCats70]

Thank you SO MUCH for posting this video! I've had a standalone wood stove for a little over a year now and while I have no problem starting the fire after the wood has burned down to coals, I've not clearly understood how to adjust the damper so that the wood will burn for a very long time. I'm going back right now to restart my fire and will try out your method. Thanks again!!!

[@iakovoskoronaios]

One like for you and one for Levi, he is a fearless guard! Greetings from Greece.

[@JENSENDIY]

Levi says thanks!

[@danielhanawalt4998]

Good morning Levi. We had a coal stove when I was a boy. Worked the same way. Just enough air to keep it from completely dying out. I like wood stoves better. It's all a bit messy but worth it as long as the stove has a glass door so you can see the fire. Actually helps you feel a bit warmer when you can see it.

[@JENSENDIY]

@@danielhanawalt4998 Levi & I agree, just seeing the fire warms you up! Thanks for sharing

[@elizabethwilson9983]

Hi great video. I had a log burner installed love it. Problem is there is no way it would burn all night & still have hot coals in the morning, I stack it up & close the air flow but it’s alway out 😢 someone told me to leave some ash in the stove to slow the air flow didn’t work it still burns like crazy

[@JENSENDIY]

Hi there, is your stove an airtight with gasket around the door? If not unfortunately it will not burn all night. If it is an airtight, once stove is loaded the fire should be burning really well before you damp it down. It should then burn for the night unless it is a very small stove. Hope this helps!

[@elizabethwilson9983]

@@JENSENDIY Hi thank you for replying. Yes the stove is airtight, has the gasket round the door. I finally got an answer from the supplier/installers they’re saying due to where I’m located the draw in the chimney is to much. there suggesting putting a damper in the flu pipe. They could have a point as I can hear a howling gale coming down the chimney when the fire is off. Hopefully the dampener will help. 🤞

[@rmc4562]

​@@elizabethwilson9983 Get a vacu stack for a chimney cap. Solves chimney downdraft issues. The harder the wind blows the more the chimney will draft up. Have one Works great.

[@terafarley7440]

Hi Levi! Cute pup and great video

[@JENSENDIY]

Thank you!

[@Johny40Se7en]

Nice one. With bellows or just blowing on the fire to get it going again, it's way better to have a slower more constant stream of good air than little puffs like that at 3:40 Could even use a tidy bicycle or gym ball foot pump with a nozzle on it to direct the air to where you want it exactly 😉

[@tsewja]

hello i just bought a home that has a fireplace. I am very new to in home fires. My question is it has a iron log rack in my insert and most videos I have watched no no one has them. Any info not sure if the bottom should have direct heat, i know very little

[@JENSENDIY]

@@tsewja If it’s an actual metal fireplace insert like mine & there are bricks under the log rack then l don’t think the rack needs to be there. Usually you only see the log racks in a traditional open fireplace. Hope this helps!

[@tsewja]

@@JENSENDIY just watching this video improved the 2 nights i had burns. thanks you.

[@stevedonoghue1868]

Do use a fire glove ( or welders glove) - saves some nasty skin burns!

[@scottrehm5852]

Agreed!! Had the dog sneak up behind me while I was laying a log in back with two hands and he well lets say got personal and now on the top side of each hand I have quarter size scars on each hand.

[@jasonbroom7147]

It's interesting to contrast this with how you use a large masonry heater, where you burn it as hot as it will go until all the fuel is consumed. That heats up the giant thermal mass of the masonry heater, which radiates warmth all night long, instead of trying to keep it burning (inefficiently) all night long. The problem with packing a wood stove in the manner you demonstrated is that any fire burning with a restricted supply of oxygen is going to give off far greater emissions, and fewer BTU's, for a given volume of wood. The masonry heater takes the exact oppositive approach, which is why they have far fewer emissions and burn so much less wood, overall. The downside to a masonry heater is they're HUGE and quite expensive to build.

[@MrPhillipgraham]

Hi, will this not coke up the flue if its burning so low overnight? Cheers

[@JENSENDIY]

@@MrPhillipgraham A little, but that’s normal. This happens with any wood burning stove. The key is to burn dry wood. Wood with a higher moisture content will cause creasote to build up much faster.

[@alexarmstrong8615]

Do modern fires have restrictors that stop you turning the air off? Even with everything closed and the burner fully loaded it will only last a few hours.

[@JENSENDIY]

@@alexarmstrong8615 Some newer stoves are not airtight. The easiest way to tell is if the door has a seal that seals to the firebox when closed. If it doesn’t, it’s not airtight and will need wood added more often. Hope this helps!

[@davebean2886]

Thanks for the video. We also have a fireplace that closes tight with a heatilator and fan. When fireplace is hot, the heatilator and fan significantly increase the warm air to the room. If cold and the power ever out, it would be fantastic to somehow power that fan. Not quite sure how to do that - wonder if others have done this. I can't seem to find the brand at the moment, but installed in 2006.

[@JENSENDIY]

I agree, the fan really helps circulate the heat. l have plugged the fan into extension cord from our gas generator once when power was out in really cold weather. Im guessing it could be run with a battery pack as well but not sure how long that would last. Thanks for watching!

[@Billy_W]

Portable solar power station with a mains plug

[@joelslater]

G’day, with this method of starting your fire with coals morning and night, at what point do you clean out the ashes?

[@JENSENDIY]

G'day to you too, I only keep the fire going full time in the coldest months and every few weeks or so during that time I will let the fire go out and clean out the ash. Also depends on the type of wood you are burning as to how often this needs to be done as softwood produces less ash that hardwood.

[@nick_is_watching]

noob question, how do you get a bed of coals burning in the first place if you dont have one left over from a previous fire?

[@JENSENDIY]

@@nick_is_watching You need to start a new fire and get it burning really well, add more wood once it’s going and let it burn down to a bed of coals. Hope this helps!

[@marcusprice]

Do you have a cold air intake?

[@stanleyqc2244]

Very informative. Thanks! I recently got a wood stove installed and I'm trying to figure out the best way (and the most efficient way) to use it. Yours is the first video I see that confirms what I read - hot coals + stuffing the stove = ready for an overnight burn! I'm wondering however, say you wanted another long burn in the morning (for when it's -20 outside). You added two pieces. Would that be enough to make enough coals like you had in the beginning of the video - so you could stuff it again and go for another 6-7 hours of slow burn?

[@JENSENDIY]

Hi there, glad to help! I would add a few more pieces of wood and let it get going really well again before loading it up. You just need to make sure the fire is burning good and hot before damping it down. If you are planning on burning the stove in the damped position most of the time, you definitely want to clean your chimney more often. Thanks for Watching!

[@DrumPeearl]

Thank you for this informative video. Just to make sure. Once i put all the wood pieces and I left the door opened to create some flames. Is it fine if I close all the doors and damper all the way to make it last all night? Thanks

[@JENSENDIY]

Once you close the door or doors then l would again let it burn and get a good draft going, once you know the fire is going well then damp it down all the way for the night. Hope this helps!

[@DrumPeearl]

@@JENSENDIY thanks! I just want to make sure it's good to completely seal the stove.

[@notastepizzaface]

Hi, Thanks for the video, but where on earth is the ash!?! The next morning it looks like your stove was completely clean aside from the coals!? Even before you loaded it the night before I see the hot coals but no ash. Is there an ash catcher or something beneath where you put the wood?!

[@JENSENDIY]

Hi there, I had cleaned the ash out a few days prior but it really does depend on if you’re burning soft or hardwoods. I burn softwood (fir, hemlock, cedar) & only need to clean out the ash every 3 weeks or so, l have found hardwoods produce much more ash.

[@notastepizzaface]

⁠@@JENSENDIYthanks for writing back! I live in a pine forest so the only thing I burn is pine. I shovel it out every morning! There are still a lot of thumb sized coals amongst the fine white ash. And sifting the chunks out creates a big mess but I do my best. My stove does get super hot. May I ask how deep your ash gets? After one day, my ash with chunks is easily 1-1.5 to inches deep!

[@JENSENDIY]

@@notastepizzaface About 3 inches and then l clean it out. An advantage to leaving the ash for awhile as you said the coals last longer in the ash which makes it easier to rekindle the fire after a longer time period. Wood stoves are messy no matter how much ash, but they sure are a nice heat! Thanks for watching :)

[@bensubotin4151]

Forgive me if you answered this question but what model Drolet is this insert? I have a Drolet Escape 1500 on order for my 1200 SF house. I am curious how well this unit heats your house?

[@JENSENDIY]

Ours is an Escape 1400 and heats our 1400 SF rancher very well. I do have the fan on 90% of the time though which is a bit noisy but it really helps circulate the heat. The far end of the house stays a degree or two cooler which works fine for us. You may have to open a window once in awhile with the 1500 but really depends on layout, insulation in walls & ceilings etc... Hope this helps, thanks for watching!

[@ChrisIrving-f7k]

It’s the most comfortable form of heat 🌤️

[@JENSENDIY]

@@ChrisIrving-f7k I agree 👍

[@Believe_the_Bible]

Good job, thanks. How long was that overnight burn. To 6am from when?

[@JENSENDIY]

About 10:30pm to 6 am. I have been able to rekindle the fire with the bellows up to 12 hours after damping it down. Dry wood + airtight stove = long burn. Thanks for watching!

[@herrprepper2070]

In the Northern Hemisphere, smoke goes up the chimley clockwise. I the Southern Hemisphere, smoke goes up the chimley counter clockwse.

[@JenniferMathew-gh2vf]

Does your wood stove heat your whole house? Do you have a DIY on installing a wood stove into a home that has previously not had any type of fireplace or wood stove? Thank you for helping those new to wood burning!

[@JENSENDIY]

@@JenniferMathew-gh2vf Sorry no video on installation, but there is one on cleaning the stainless steel liner. Yes our stove does heat the whole house so well in fact that we have to crack a window open sometimes during winter!

[@thomasbgage]

I saw that cutaway while you were bellowing, took a bit more than you thought didn’t it? 😉

[@Invis_Space]

I’m new to wood burning. Thank you for your video. I’m worried about carbon monoxide poisoning while I sleep. Is this a non issue?

[@JENSENDIY]

If you have an airtight wood stove the chances of CO are very low. It is important to have the fire going very well before damping the stove down for the night. A little smoke coming into dwelling will happen from time to time when you open the door but not enough to worry about. If you are concerned invest in CO detectors. Hope this helps and thanks for watching!

[@Invis_Space]

@@JENSENDIY Jensen thank you for the reply. Very useful 🙏🏻

[@rsmrymcgwn]

Same wood stove just inserted. What type of wood are you using? We got the insert in part because we could get free wood but nothing that would last overnight. I have to double check what type we got but our burn rate is quite high. MInd you right now we have -20 to -23 C which obviously has an impact. Are you trying to heat your entire home with the insert? My husband is creative and is in the process of connecting a four inch pipe? above the insert with a fan inserted in the pipe and drawing the heat through a nearby ceiling register up to the main floor. Any experience dong something like this or comments? thanks for your video

[@JENSENDIY]

Yes the drolet does heat our entire 1400 square foot rancher but we do have a backup gas furnace and the far room at the end of the house stays a couple degrees cooler. We dont get -20 here, sometimes it may dip to -10 but not that often. When I made the video it was not getting below freezing yet but with your temps I think your husbands idea is a good one for a 2 storey house, or cut a register in the ceiling in the same room as stove depending what is located above. When it gets really cold I get a really good bed of coals load as much wood in as possible, let it get going really well, damp it down and leave the fan on high. Thanks for watching!

[@JENSENDIY]

Burning mostly Douglas fir softwood, sometimes hardwoods like alder, maple or arbutus

[@johnbrennan7175]

I live close to someone who burns wood and coal. The problem with that, I installed a HRV system in my house which sucks in fresh air from the outside and heats it up. Now, I have been force to turn off the HRV because it now suck in, unpleasant smoke fumes instead of fresh clean air...

[@JENSENDIY]

I'm sorry to hear that. Where I live we are only allowed to use airtight wood stoves which are not only efficient but burn pretty clean as long as the wood is dry enough. You may want to try and find an Activated Carbon Filter for your system which should help with the smoke problem.

[@JENSENDIY]

@@sounduser Fresh air intake is piped in crawl space near masonry chimney clean out below wood stove.

[@gdfggggg]

That’s the problem with slow burn, it will smoke.

[@cemRecete]

Hi, nice video! I could not understand what you do with that air thing. Is it the only thing you need to change once you fill the stove with the wood? :)

[@JENSENDIY]

Yes, once the fire is going well and the door is tightly closed, the air damper gets closed all the way off. By restricting the air the fire burns slowly as long as you are burning dry wood. Thanks for watching!

[@Johnnysokko168]

When i try an load up my stove it over fires and nothing can stop it its frustrating.

[@JENSENDIY]

That tends to happen more if the stove is not airtight.

[@Johnnysokko168]

@@JENSENDIY its brand new. So i think i was leaving door open for to long when i already had a thick bed of coals. Last night I packed it and closed it up earlier, after about 20-30 minutes all flames died and it just “coaled” for a lack of a better word all night and 8 hours later the stove temp was about 250 and had enough coal to relight. House was 72 this morning.

[@JENSENDIY]

@@Johnnysokko168 Well that’s good! Now you just have to deal with the new paint smell burn off. I burned mine off outside for a good 12 hours when first got the stove but still smelled up the house for the first few weeks after install. Thanks for watching!

[@danielmoulton4117]

This is an illustration of why the face cord evolving to strictly 16 inch lengths infuriates me. I fell, buck and split my own wood, so it doesn't affect me personally, but 16 inch wood in a 20 inch stove leaves a huge amount of space unused. Back in the dark ages, around 1980, we sold face cords of 18 and 20inch wood to accommodate different sized appliances. Obviously the price was adjusted to reflect the different amount of volume in each length. You were able to fit a short piece alongside the laterally loaded wood, but only used 1/3 the height of the wasted space. What if you hadn't had a short piece? I said I'm not affected, but if you are, start asking your producers for longer pieces. The math isn't that hard. If you don't care enough to ask, nothing will change, and buyers will continue only heating with 75 percent of their stove's capability. More fuel per load equals more heat per load of the stove.

[@JENSENDIY]

Yes 16" seems to be pretty standard. I usually try and source my own wood, sometimes it's already bucked and sometimes I cut it myself, reason being where I am its $300 for a full cord delivered. In this video this is just the wood I had on hand and temps were not getting below freezing yet. We mostly burn Douglas fir around here because that is the main wood logged in our area. Thanks for watching!

[@orananapple88]

I wish I had window in my stove to see what the dampers are doing

[@ChrisIrving-f7k]

Ya. But ya slept

[@jochenmilde873]

Hey guys, sorry to tell you, but that's totally irresponsible to burn a fire like that! It is the least efficient in terms of output, it burns super dirty for the environment and toxic as there is not enough oxygen itll create carbon monoxide which in the worst case like bad wind conditions might leak into your house and harm or kill you or your pet....! DON'T DO IT.

[@alexh8402]

OK liberal lmao BTW Trump 2024 😂

[@jimlacefield7176]

Say your an ignorant tree hugging girly man without saying your an ignorant tree hugging girly man.

[@Dusyamozetspirsa]

You mean 2025?​@@alexh8402