Burned way too cool. Now what?

just run the stv you'll b fine

Dear Sally.

Yes, change your name to ikesskySally please!

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/creosote_from_wood_burning_causes_and_solutions

There is some info on Creosote as most seem to only see the forum part of the site. AS for your concerns - good that you care for sure. A good once per month inspection and/or cleaning is more than enough if you suspect you are getting some creosote build up.

ikessky said:

So I'm just being a Sally? That's good to know I guess. I read the manual again and if I remember correctly, it said to remove anything thicker than 1/8".

Click to expand...

Yes

You may want a good temp gauge. I bought a cheap one and put it in my oven to check it's accuracy. It was off by 100+ :bug: degrees, granted I have burned before and I use this as a quick referance, but mine is not rliable for experimenting. >:-(

Allso, you will hear the clinkers just like EatenByLimestone said. You can smack the exghaust pipe firmly with your palm once in a while and if you hear what sounds like fluttering in the pipe then you know you have some build up.

1. Burn only seasoned wood
2. Buy one (or two) stove thermometers. Search hearth.com for information on use, placement and temperature verification.
3. Read your stove Owners Manual for recommended operating temperatures and use
4. Prepare to clean your flue in the near future, as will all of us wood burners

Enjoy your stove, knowning that you are following the correct operating procedures for safety and performance.

Let me say pardon my frustration, but the statement "1. Burn only seasoned wood" is easy to say but not all of us have three seasons worth of wood hanging around. Some of us got caught short with the ridiculous fuels costs. I started in April and I now have 10 cords, 90% of which was free due to my own hard work. But some tips on how to burn semi-green wood could be a help.Rather than just throwing the statement out there like just burn seasoned wood, it's like selling a book on how to make a million dollars. Step one......Get a million dollars...........I would rather have some help For example, using some dried pine to get the fire box nice and hot can help the greener splits cook a little better. Don't over load with green splits or you will see a lower burn. If you play your cards right you can get a good hot fire and leave the air wide open without over-firing the wood-stove. The green would can help with a nice all night burn.

The number one cause for creosote formation is green, wet or "unseasoned" wood. There is no way around it.

A majority of the thermal value of the wood fuel mass is going to boiling of the moisture in the wood, therefore the stove and flue temperature never reaches optimum, then that moisture, and wood product smoke, condenses on the cold flue lining. Creosote forms!

Believe me, as I have lived this for years in the past. And made many similar mistakes. Yes, you can add an unseasoned split or two at times, after using seasoned "dry" fuel to bring it up to temperature, however each time the thermal value of the fuel mass in the stove is reduced by the moisture in those unseasoned splits.

There is no way around the need for "seasoned" wood. Ask other experienced wood burners.

Valhalla said:

The number one cause for creosote formation is green, wet or "unseasoned" wood. There is no way around it.

A majority of the thermal value of the wood fuel mass is going to boiling of the moisture in the wood, therefore the stove and flue temperature never reaches optimum and the moisture condenses on the cold flue lining. Creosote forms!

Believe me, as I have lived this for years in the past . Yes, you can add an unseasoned split or two at times, after using seasoned "dry" fuel to bring it up to temperature, however each time the thermal value of the fuel mass in the stove is reduced by the moisture in those unseasoned splits.

Click to expand...

Agreed. If you have unseasoned wood, go out and find yourself some dry hardwood pallets. Green-ish wood should be a very small portion of what you burn, if at all, unless you want creosote. The best tip on how to burn semi-green wood is... don't do it.
But if I had to offer a second-best tip, I'd say only add green wood to the top of a good-sized load of seasoned wood that is nicely charred already... hopefully the wood will boil dry without cooling the fire too much.

TGun- I see it a bit more like someone whose car won't start because there's no gas in it. "put gas in it"

That said- get some pallets (look on craigslist) and cut them up. No need to remove nails. Dry pallet wood burns very fast and hot and may aid in burning green wood, but you'll still ned to watch the creosote. Also- don't shut down the air all the way. You will still be wasting a lot of wood burning green.

I have cut standing dead wood that gushed water- especially near the base, even if the upper part of the tree was dry. "Seasoned" is a bit more ambiguous than "dry" for that reason.

Oh- and it's not just boiling water that eats up that energy- if the fire burns cooler, then the wood will also not burn efficiently (smoke etc.)- that is caused by water, but it mean that fuel is going straight up the stack. That compounds the issue of boiling water- you have less fuel burning in the fire box.

ikessky said:

I can't imagine that the 45-50 degree temp outside helped my draft either. I would think that coupled with the smoldering was the perfect recipe.

I burned the same wood a few days before with no ill effects. The difference was that it was a little colder outside and I burned hotter. I really think my issue comes from not knowing the temp.

Click to expand...

Yep, it like driving without a speedometer and still trying to get there on time and without a speeding ticket.

Moral: speedometers and... thermometers are really useful gauges!

If you're not burning good dry wood this season, I can just about guarantee that you're going to be nothing but frustrated with your stove.

I dealt with this when I put in my stove last winter. It wasn't fun, and I was quite disappointed. I was lucky enough that a friend was able to hook me up with some good dry wood. It was mostly mill ends and slabs, but it was dry.

The difference running my stove with "somewhat seasoned" wood (down two years, cut one year, split a couple weeks) vs. the dry mill ends was night and day.

If you're not burning seasoned wood, in addition to creating more creasote... Lighting a cold stove is going to be a real chore. When you reload, your splits won't want to relight from coals very well either. You'll have a heck of a time getting the secondaries established, and the stove just won't quite burn right in general.

The best tip on burning semi-green wood is to have some well seasoned wood to get the stove going, and only mix in a little bit of the green stuff at a time.

-SF

It is quite simple.

"Less than ideal" fuel will not produce optimum and desired performance.

If you have green wood, put it somewhere where it wil get wind and sun and work on drying. If you have to, stack it in your basement and put a fan on it to help the process along...splitting it into even smaller peices will help wick that moisture out by increasing the surface area thats exposed to the air. Above all, put it where you'll use it last to minimize the green going into your firebox. If you have no choice, but to burn green wood then burn it with any dry wood you can get to minimize its effect. No dry wood available? Go to your nearest lumberyard and get a truckload of slabs and leftovers. My local lumberyard will doa full truckload for $10 pine, $40 all hardwood and I'm plannning on a few trips in the next weekend or so to stock up on some primo hot dry hardwood, I'll use the green stuff to balance the dry stuff and try to make sure I run a good seriously hot fire now and then to keep the creosote blown out of the chimney.

I, like many others, am a grashopper with my firewood. I am nowhere near being done cutting and splitting for the year and I am fully aware of what this means.

No two ways about it...an optimal fire takes dry wood. Green wood will burn, but its inefficient, smokey, makes creosote and tends to be alot cooler. If you burn green wood, plan on cleaning your chimney a couple times before spring...pay extra attention to your cap...I can say from personal experience that my stack was almost 100% creosote free after a full season of burning one hell of a lot of green wood, but my cap was almost completely blocked by a creosote film that built up on the exhaust holes...and its not a meshed cap, its a good, open metalbestos one.

When you "touch the stove pipe!"

Buy a thermometer today for about $15.00.

Heat and sleep much better tonight.