Frozen in Oregon

GeneralBill said:

Willamette Valley here. We don't get spells like this too often and I'm seeing the piling up of oak coals.

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Hi Neighbor, Your right about oak, lots of ash. I have gone to straight fir and haven't had to clean the ashes out yet this year. (Maybe after this cold snap is over.) Anyway now that I'm burning real dry fir I don't see much advantage to oak anymore, other than maybe a slightly longer burn time. How about with you? Do you also burn fir?

Oak will burn with very little ash compared to almost any other wood, if it is properly seasoned. If you're getting a lot of ash from oak it is because it's wet.

During the past 6 days it's been above 0F for about 12 hours at my house. Most of the time it has been between -8F and -18F. Been my first prolonged 24/7 burn of the season and I am impressed with the heat output from the 30-NC. Have had no trouble keeping the house between 80 and 85 degrees, in fact, the coldest it's been indoors since the cold snap started was 68. Really enjoying the way my dry pine burns, although I have been reloading a bit more often. Ferocious heat with a box full of that stuff though.

Oregon aloha said:

Hi Neighbor, Your right about oak, lots of ash. I have gone to straight fir and haven't had to clean the ashes out yet this year. (Maybe after this cold snap is over.) Anyway now that I'm burning real dry fir I don't see much advantage to oak anymore, other than maybe a slightly longer burn time. How about with you? Do you also burn fir?

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I look forward to fir now. I had burned plenty in the old big Earth stove, but not with the Summit yet. I've been through several years of oak, fir and maple just to start. My seasoning wood is all fir and maple though — next year.

BCC_Burner said:

Oak will burn with very little ash compared to almost any other wood, if it is properly seasoned. If you're getting a lot of ash from oak it is because it's wet.

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This last oak was bought seasoned outside over summer and then I split/cut it a bit more and stored in a drafty shed for over 3 years. I don't have a moisture meter, but having fell/split plenty of new oak, you can tell by the weight and feel that it is pretty dry. We have a different type of oak here in the rainy Willamette, maybe it ashes more?