Slumbering.

[Mick Dempsey]

Oak is pretty good for getting some embers in the morning, just to get it going.

 

During the week we’re both of to work early so we stack it up before bedtime and hope the heat carries through.

[Dazza95]

I’ve had success with big lumps of ash, oak, field maple and yew before. After loading the stove, I let it it get up to temperature with the air open for around 15 minutes or so before shutting it down - just enough to have some visible flames. In the morning, there’ll be enough embers to get it going easily again. The glass is usually clean as well if I’ve done it right. I do this quite regularly in the depths of winter as our house isn’t very good at retaining heat.

[coppice cutter]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Sort of confirms the idea that the solution possibly lies more with the grate than the wood being burned.

 

Fortunately it'll be easy enough to experiment as the grate slides straight out the ashpan door at the bottom, once I get a bit of vermiculite it'll just be a matter of setting it in instead of the ashpan and we'll take it from there.

[neiln]

In my mind slumbering and banking up are slightly different.  Possibly just me though!

I thinking of banking up as shoveling ash over the fire, usually to slow an open fire and more awkward with a stove but possible to an extent.  It keeps embers in longer than just closing the vents down as it insulates them and keeps them glowing.  I've done it more often by accident by doing a hot reload using a very ash producing log type but have experimented doing it on purpose by shovelling ash on top, with signs of success.

[Ashes_Firewood]

I have a separate stack of logs that get made from all the knotty ugly stuff that won't split and have been ripped down with the saw. I put 1 or 2 of these on if I want to keep the fire in whilst we're out or over night and it seems to work well. Mainly Ash and Cherry at the moment.

[JT19]

I've been burning a bit of hawthorn recently and that is a nice slow burner leaving good coals. Might be worth a try to keep in at night. I put on a shovel full of smokeless coal at night and the stove is still hot in the morning. The glass stays clean which I believe is a good sign?