I have a Hampton HI200 trying to get long burns. How do you deal with the ash. With such a small fire box I have to remove ash every day. Burning 2 year old hardwood mix. Am I doing anything wrong?
24 hr Burn and Ash
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Could be the wood species. I didn't have to clean out the similarly sized F3CB daily. More like weekly.
Mainely Saws
Feeling the Heat
I have the Hampton 300 freestanding stove which is 1.7 cft. In really cold weather it's almost impossible to not build up a lot of coals & ashes if you are trying to keep the house at a certain temp because if you wait until all of the coals burn completely down to ash it has gotten to cold in the house . Lately I have been using two of the large wood blocks from the Tractor Store N/S & then the largest two splits that I can get on top of those E/W .What I like about the fuel blocks is that they burn down to a very fine ash . With warmer outside temps ( like 20 or above ) I can get a lot of heat out of the coaling stage from the fuel blocks without having to reload to soon ...............
ChadD
Burning Hunk
BobUrban
Minister of Fire
Good ash info above. Check your wood MC. You are looking at 6 - possibly 8hrs for a long burn with less than 2' box. 24hr is blaze king territory
dafattkidd
Minister of Fire
It depends on what you are trying to do. If you are trying to heat 24/7 with a 1.7 cf stove you are going to run into limitations. Letting the coals burn down is part of the process of a burn cycle. If your house is too cold, and there is a huge coal bed restricting the amount of wood you can load in the stove, that probably means the heat demands are a bit higher than the heating capabilities of the stove. At that point it probably makes sense to supplement the heat with your regular heating system.
Do you have another source of heat? I used to have a 1.7 cf insert. It was great. It reduced my oil consumption tremendously. When it was 30 or higher I could heat the whole house comfortably with just the insert. Once it dropped below freezing I had to run the boiler a for short bursts while running the insert also, to help keep the house temps in a comfortable range. There is no shame in that. The wood stove will keep your house way warmer than just using your central heating system, and reduce your fuel consumption.
Do you have another source of heat? I used to have a 1.7 cf insert. It was great. It reduced my oil consumption tremendously. When it was 30 or higher I could heat the whole house comfortably with just the insert. Once it dropped below freezing I had to run the boiler a for short bursts while running the insert also, to help keep the house temps in a comfortable range. There is no shame in that. The wood stove will keep your house way warmer than just using your central heating system, and reduce your fuel consumption.
Sounds like your firebox is too small. I am personally always amazed how much wood I burn and how little ash I remove. You can get away with 2 yrs seasoned if its not oak. Oak takes 3 summers, split small, stacked off the ground, in single rows in my area of NJ.
madison
Minister of Fire
Invest in a "Kolkeeper" shovel, search the internet for pricing and purchase.
Species of wood and the way that wood was processed (dirt/mud pebbles etc) and have a lot to do with the amount of ash and unburnt material in the stove.
English BoB
Minister of Fire
Are we talking ash or ash and coals ?
40% of my weekly clean out is ash. The rest are usable coals - hot or cold.
I pull every thing to one side then sift with the homemade tool shown putting the coals on the opposite side, then remove only the ash.
Then restart with hot coals and kindling or maybe a small piece of fire starter and kindling.
40% of my weekly clean out is ash. The rest are usable coals - hot or cold.
I pull every thing to one side then sift with the homemade tool shown putting the coals on the opposite side, then remove only the ash.
Then restart with hot coals and kindling or maybe a small piece of fire starter and kindling.
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Hogwildz
Minister of Fire
I checked the MC this morning it ranges between 15 and 20 percent. I split a few pieces and checked the inside of the logs. Is that the best way to check?
I usually burn from 5pm to the last loading around 11pm. When a relight the next night I have 50 / 50 cold or hot coals and ash. I usually keep the coals in the box. I find if I don't at least remove the ashes I have that much less room for full loads if wood.
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Burning only to supplement my natural gas hot water 2 zones. About 1000 sf in the main living area. Would love to figure out how to get longer burn times. Could try those envi blocks but prefer free wood.
velvetfoot
Minister of Fire
I try to burn down the coals periodically, ideally if it's warmer outside. If not, just have to bite the bullet and do it. I find that opening the door for a while helps doing that. It always amazes me how little ash is left after the coals burn down.
Hogwildz
Minister of Fire
Leave about 1" of ash on the stove floor, believe it or not, it helps the burn.
Larger pcs for overnight load will help extend the burn some.
Also helps to pack it tight, but the tighter it is loaded, the longer the charring of the new load takes.
Larger pcs for overnight load will help extend the burn some.
Also helps to pack it tight, but the tighter it is loaded, the longer the charring of the new load takes.
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