Large amount of coals-f600

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remkel

Minister of Fire
Jan 21, 2010
1,459
Southwest NH
Been running the f600 for a couple of months now and am very happy with the performance. Lately I have been getting some huge coal beds after good initial burn. Went outside to check the chimney and after a couple of hours am seeing smoke come out of the chimney. Some of my theories:

1- my wood is not 100 percent dry and that is resulting in a lack of full combustion leaving the large coals. My proposed solution- leaving the air open further to allow for more primary air into the firebox.

2- I may have a potential partial blockage up at the cap. Sent the soot eater through the pipe last weekend and got NOTHING falling down. I may be a couple rod lengths short, so the very top of the liner may have been missed

3- not having run this stove in the past, is it possible some ash may have collected through the primary air supply and restricting air flow?

It seems that it is the wood at the back of the firebox that is not burning down during the initial burn stages.

Any thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
Burning down the coal bed takes more air. Try putting a single 2-3" split on the coals, then open up the air control at least 50% to burn down the coal bed.
 
BeGreen said:
Burning down the coal bed takes more air. Try putting a single 2-3" split on the coals, then open up the air control at least 50% to burn down the coal bed.

That's what I have been doing- it is just that the size of the coal bed recently increased significantly, and I was just trying to come up with theories why the change would have suddenly happened. Prior to the past few days I did not have this issue- things have not changed- same fuel, same burning practices. Just seemed odd that this would have suddenly begun.

I have been leaving the primary air just a bit open today instead of shutting down the air all the way to see if this makes a difference.

Thnks for the advice.
 
Have you started burning a different type of wood recently?
 
Is there more of an ash bed under the coals? That will help insulate them.
 
BeGreen said:
Is there more of an ash bed under the coals? That will help insulate them.
Could be it, but again, I do not think it is any more than usual.

Wood species mix is the same I have Ben using all yer-mix of oak, maple and birch.
 
Sometimes I get some build-up of larger coals with locust. Other times, when burning hard with frequent reloads, I'll get some too. Pretty much after a long burn or an overnight, everything will burn down. But when it doesn't, I just open the damper up and they will burn down. Sometimes I do this with one split on top of them to get some flames going to help with the burn.

Good luck,
Bill
 
madison said:
Wood moisture content can be different depending on how and where it is stacked. ie the pieces along the bottom next to the ground may contain more moisture than the top. Sections of the stack shaded etc

That is what I am suspecting in this case. Just going to have to give her more air I think. Just wanted to see what others might think about this.

I appreciate the responses.
 
When the coal bed is built up like that, try reloading with just a few splits of maple since that won't coal up. I also use larger pieces of oak bark for the same thing.
Al
 
Here is a technique I use in cold weather. When the burn is over the peak and the burn is heading toward the coaling stage, I open the air control fully. This gives me more heat from the coals and accelerates there burning down.
 
My guess is the wood is a little different. In addition to wetter wood you could also have a slightly more dense wood, white instead of red oak, more knots, etc. As I go through my stacks I hit drier sections, knottier sections, and some wood that is just a little different even though it looks the same as the rest of the wood. That is part of the fun, I keep telling myself.
 
((Here is a technique I use in cold weather. When the burn is over the peak and the burn is heading toward the coaling stage, I open the air control fully. This gives me more heat from the coals and accelerates there burning down.))

This is good advice, thanks. I too have had a change in the leftover coals, and chalked it up to less than ideal wood moisture, coupled with warmer temperatures. I try keeping them raked together, too, getting them above the ashes.
 
Sometimes I get coal build-up when running the stove pretty hard, and using dense wood like oak and locust. I try to keep some well-seasoned pine on hand to use in burning down the coals. Just put a couple of pieces of pine on the coals and open the air fully. If it is a really big coal bed, I may have to repeat this a couple of times.
 
I would say its a situation that the stove burned a little cooler than usual. So opening up the air letting it burn a little hotter may get you back to the right amount of coals in the morning.
 
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