Topping Off...How Do You Know?

My wife and frankly, so am I. Is a bit paranoid of the stove (Chubby) snuffing itself out. I work during the day and my wife works at night. So, while she is at home during the day she has a tendancy to "top" the stove off between 12 and 2pm. I don't discourage it but I'm not sure if it is necessary. She usually puts in about 3 shovels full of nut. And by the time I get home there is a large portion of red coals and not much black but I usually don't shake down as soon as I walk in the door. I give it between 1 and 2 hours before I shake down for the evening.

Here is my routine:

- 6am shake down and refill.
- Wife tops off around 12 - 2 pm.
- I get home around 4pm and don't usually shake down until 6 - 7. (I think I could go longer. Because agter I shake down the red hot coal level only moves 1/4" down the pot.) Refill.
- 9 shake down (don't always do this), refill/top off (depending on whether or not I shake down).
- 6 am shake down and refill.

How long does the "fire" last after every piece of coal turns red? What is the average? I understand every house and every stove and every setup is different. But I'm just trying to figure out if I honestly need too have my wife top off the stove before I get home.

I generally run my stove (now at least because its been cold; hell, it was snowing and hailing today) around 350* - 480* (stack temp between 150* - 200*) with the MPD closed all the way.

The only time I add coal is after shaking down -- topping off is not really needed, nor recommended (by me anyway).

How long it burns will depend on how deep the bed is, how hot it's burning, & quality of coal used. That can be anywhere from 8 - 48 hours. The way to know for sure it needs a recharge is when portions of the bed are starting to burn out, & the heat output is starting to get lower & lower. Also the bed itself will be at a much lower level than when it was filled.

Each stove, coal, chimney, etc are unique to each persons particular set-up. Its hard to know how to answer your questions.

Here's how I figure out the answers to my particular stove/set-up. I run a thermometer on my stove and watch the temperature often, while it's running, when I load it, when I'm going to re-load it. On weekends when I don't need to worry about losing the fire, I used to let the fire run close to the end of it burning out. If I do lose the fire, I can start a new one without really a problem with heat.

My stove runs about 24 hours on a slow burn cycle without losing the fire. In the spring when it's getting to the end of the heating season and the stove is burning as slow as I can make it go, I'll get close to 48 hours before the fire dies. When I have it stoked up higher in cold weather I'm good for 16 to 18 hours. In that kind of weather it makes me a little nervous though so I try to stoke it at least every 12 hours. I keep an eye on how the stove looks every time I fill it. Over time you get pretty good knowing what it can do and when you have to worry for the way you're burning for the temps you have.

From what I've read here on the forums, the chubby should be good for a lot longer than you are giving it...

dj

I'm On Fire wrote:I don't discourage it but I'm not sure if it is necessary. She usually puts in about 3 shovels full of nut. And by the time I get home there is a large portion of red coals and not much black but I usually don't shake down as soon as I walk in the door.

Stick close to an 8 hour schedule, rev it up a few minutes, then shake it down and reload. Always top it off to the top of the firebox. Don't play with it in between, coal doesn't like being played with so no adding 3 shovels full in between reloads. You should still have some black, unburned coal on top of your fire when you go to reload. If you don't, you are going too long between reloads.

I'm with dlj. A coal fire will often look dead because it burns from bottom up; often there are no Blue Ladies dancing to tell you the fire is going. I know that this was a difficult concept for me to grasp after burning wood all my life. A thermometer on the side will tell you if the fire is burning. My Mark II has an idling temps of around 180*; anything lower and I should be worried of losing the fire, anything at 180* and higher will easily recharge with additional air to the draft. There is no need to be topping the stove off midday. In fact doing so maybe harmful to the fire as the new coal will act as a damper to the airflow by blocking the draft through the fire. No, I vote no midday top offs, touch the stove twice a day to load and recharge it unless the thermometer or manometer tells you there's a problem. Have a great day, Lisa

Yep,the 12 hr shake & top off programm works real good on my hand fed---hopper or not,I think that should be the game plan--don't over think it--let the coal do the work

So, having all of the coals turn red is OK? I'm worried because by the time I get home there are no black coals whatsoever.

I told my wife to not top off today before I left for work this morning. She kind of freaked out as I was walking out the door. "What do I do then?", she asked. I told her to just keep an eye on the stove temp. I told her that if the stove goes below 400* and continues to drop to then start thinking about adding coal.

I just got off the phone with her and she says the stove is floating between 430* and 450*.

I just get paranoid because I'm still a newb and I'm afraid to repeat what had happened back in September when I was trying to learn. I know I probably should worry since I've had it going now since October 10th non-stop but sometimes, I over think things.

That Chubby you have there is a nice solid heating machine. I would not worry yourself when all the coals turn red , that what they are supposed to do. You still have a lot of time left before you have to shake down and reload. I don't even think that topping it off is necessary. The Chubby should burn straight through till your next reload. Hand fired stoves are different in a way that the owners of the stoves schedule the shake downs and reloading times. Some like a 12 hour set up (twice a day) while others may like a 8 hour set up ( 3 times a day ) whatever is better for them and thier stove. The next time you have a free day or on a weedend I would time it. Make sure that you have all red coals on top and see how long you will get out of it. I think this will put your mind at ease.

I am going on vacation the week of Thanksgiving and plan on staying home every day to work around the house so that may be a good time to time it like you say.

Well, I just got home. It's 1630 and the stove is sitting at 460* and my house is 75. My wife did good. She didn't top the stove off at all. I had a quick peak through the top of the stove and I am quite surprised to find that there is still quite a bit of black coal sprinkled about the top of the red coals. I mean, I can see a lot more red coal than black.

I'm guessing I could go to about 8 tonight before shaking down and reloading. I usually shake down at 6 but I'm gonna go a little longer and see.

I suspect you leave for work before 8 AM--whoops,I mean 0800 hrs--try to keep a consistent shake & top schedule---every 12 hrs or whatever works for the stove---just keep it consistent---she's not going to burn any more then she's going to burn as long as your draft is right--which it sounds like it is---that will probably have to be played with once real winter gets here---sounds real good though--remember,don't over-think it,it's a machine

Yes, I leave for work at 0630 in the morning. I'll try to not over think it.

Hey "I'm on fire",

Every day at 0600 I get the fire going really well, then shake, reload for the day and go to work. I come home around 1630 or 1700 wait until about 1800 and repeat the process. It has worked great for me. I pretty much let the stove do what it suppose too and haven't had any problems yet. We'll see what happens when the weather gets really cold though. Good luck!

Jim