new burner with hearthstone heritage a few questions

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splitoak

splitoak

Member
Nov 6, 2013
228
Jefferson Co, WV
Hello all..I am the proud owner of a new heritage stove and new to the art of burning wood..I've been burning for a few weeks mow and with the advice on here I can get the center stone 400 plus degrees and a few times over 500...question is today I noticed the chimney cap was getting some creosote build up on the outside..is this something I should be worried about?..I have been burning all oak (itsall I have some of it is more seasoned than others)..I don't have a moisture meter but on reloads on a bed of coals I have to peave the door ajar for a while to really get the wood good and caught. I do see some smoking as everything is trying to catch..so how much is too much..p.s..its deer season here in w.v.so I'm tryn to type and hunt at the same time..lol..so please excuse the run on sentences..:)
 
How long has the oak been split? oak takes 2 sometimes 3 years to fully season. I'm burning 3 year seasoned oak and it takes right off with the door fully closed on a bed of coals, oaks a pain but once seasoned well it's great to have.
 
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weatherguy said:
How long has the oak been split? oak takes 2 sometimes 3 years to fully season. I'm burning 3 year seasoned oak and it takes right off with the door fully closed on a bed of coals, oaks a pain but once seasoned well it's great to have.
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weatherguy said:
How long has the oak been split? oak takes 2 sometimes 3 years to fully season. I'm burning 3 year seasoned oak and it takes right off with the door fully closed on a bed of coals, oaks a pain but once seasoned well it's great to have.
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Im not really sure...i bought it...some of it looks seasond well...other stuff i can still smell the oak..
 
The odds are the wood is not fully seasoned. Oak needs at least 2 yr dry time after being split. Same for hickory.
 
So if the stove temp is usually runnin bout 400 or so will that keep the creosote buildup down?
 
That is on the low end of temps, but the flue temp is more important. Creosote starts condensing below 250::F. If this is an exterior chimney and the flue gases a foot or two above the stove are at 3-400F, they can be exiting the chimney cap at below 250F. Conversely if this is an interior chimney and the flue gases are running at about 400F, the flue could be fairly clean with just normal creosote build up on the cap. The best way to tell is to inspect and clean the chimney if needed after each full cord of wood has been burned. With dry wood this is less of an issue.
 
begreen said:
That is on the low end of temps, but the flue temp is more important. Creosote starts condensing below 250::F. If this is an exterior chimney and the flue gases a foot or two above the stove are at 3-400F, they can be exiting the chimney cap at below 250F. Conversely if this is an interior chimney and the flue gases are running at about 400F, the flue could be fairly clean with just normal creosote build up on the cap. The best way to tell is to inspect and clean the chimney if needed after each full cord of wood has been burned. With dry wood this is less of an issue.
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Woops, misunderstanding I think. The stove temp of 400 is very much in the normal burn range for this stove. Flue temps aren't even being measured right? I owned a heritage and I measured flue temps to always be higher than stove top temps and often more than double. So long as your stovetop is at 400 you won't be creating abnormal amounts of creo. The heritage sends lots of heat up the flue and is very easy to burn with a clean flue.

The cap will get junk on it. Not dripping but black dry deposits are normal.
 
splitoak said:
Im not really sure...i bought it...some of it looks seasond well...other stuff i can still smell the oak..
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Sad, but for sure that oak is not dry enough. Wood sellers can not store wood to dry it before selling it. Therefore, it is buyer beware. So knowing this, if you are buying wood, start right away to buy extra so that you can get it dry before burning it. It dries best when split small and stacked off the ground out in a very windy spot. Wood stacks also should be covered on the top but never on the sides or ends. Wood also dries very slow in a wood shed and that is why most folks will dry the wood outdoors before storing it in a wood shed, garage or basement.
 
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Is the cap just black or can you physically see creosote forming. Its normal for it to be black and have some build up on it. Mines usually black from October till December then I take mine off once I get going 24/7. I seriously doubt that oak is dry. If possible get as much as you can in by the stove to help dry it out. It won't dry it completely only time sun and wind will do that but it might help. If your burning ok seasoned wood it would be a good idea to check the flue at least once a week
 
Hey split oak I'm from the good old wv to. Did u get anything on the last day yesterday? We got the snow storm today wish it was yesterday tho haha. I'm new to burning as well but I try keep my flue up over 300 with a stove top of 600-650
 
And these guys are right about the wood. I bought 4 cords from a guy said it was seasond and couldn't get a fire for poop signed up here and these guys are very smart and told me stuff to try. So I went out bought a moisture meter and tested them low and behold not dry at all so yea he seen a new burner and got me oh well I'll be good next year I had some friends that had dry wood they gave me I bought some from lowes and have been finding some standing dead that's good in moisture and burning it but it is night and day.
 
weatherguy said:
How long has the oak been split? oak takes 2 sometimes 3 years to fully season. I'm burning 3 year seasoned oak and it takes right off with the door fully closed on a bed of coals, oaks a pain but once seasoned well it's great to have.
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Wow you guys a good at planning, I can barely plan for next year nevertheless 3 years... How many split cords do you have right now and how many un-split?
 
BKInsert said:
Wow you guys a good at planning, I can barely plan for next year nevertheless 3 years... How many split cords do you have right now and how many un-split?
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That depends upon your needs. I burn more wood than most so I am shooting for 40-50 cords split and stacked. I'm at around 20-22 right now. I buy all my wood.

If you burn 4 cord a year, shoot to have 8-12 stacked and drying. More is always better.
 
BrowningBAR said:
That depends upon your needs. I burn more wood than most so I am shooting for 40-50 cords split and stacked. I'm at around 20-22 right now. I buy all my wood.

If you burn 4 cord a year, shoot to have 8-12 stacked and drying. More is always better.
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Wow, that is a LOT of wood! You need a lot of space to store all this wood, not all of us have that much land. I better start going on the bucked logs, I have maybe 10 cords of white oak...They were cut over a year ago but I did not split them yet.
 
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