Proud of myself - Thanks hearth.com!

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joefrompa

Minister of Fire
Sep 7, 2010
810
SE PA
I started a fire this morning on barely any coals, using wet (physically damp AND underseasoned) wood of a size far from ideal....

And within an hour, it's humming along around 525-550 degrees, after spending several days not being able to get over 400 degrees.

Why? What's the difference?

I stopped messing with the darn thing!

I lit up using plenty of newspaper, left the door cracked for 15 minutes, shut the door and let it crank. Added one other other log and then shut the door and told myself "Do not open that door Joe. Leave it go."

It slowly creaked up to 300 degrees...I'm thinking its not going higher... Then, I realize I'm sitting here smelling the distinct smell of my stove hitting 500.

I look over and the creosote on the glass door is starting to thin out.....

All because hearth members say to just give the fire some time without constantly messing with it.

Thanks!
 
Oops, 600 now. Literally my door was blackened with creosote....could barely see flames behind it....and now all the edges about 1.5" in are speckled as the creosote is cooking off.

I can't believe how well this thing is performing just by leaving it be!
 
Think of how much better it will be using dry and seasoned wood. That should be some incentive to get ahead on your supply!

Glad you are getting it figured out though!
 
Even if all seems well, keep a close eye on your flue if you are burning really underseasoned wood. Glad things are working well for you. Cheers!
 
I did the same thing last night. Got the stove going and as I made adjustment I waited longer for the stove to settle. Much better result, learning curve on an EPA stove. (see NC-30 BURN thread)

Tony
 
Good to hear it is working out for you Joe. You'll do even better in the future.

As NH_Wood stated, do keep an eye on the chimney. I recommend checking it monthly for all new wood burners. And also, get ahead on the wood supply. Try to get 2-3 years ahead if possible and you will hardly believe how much better things go when you get to that point. It might take a while but the extra work is well worth it. After you get ahead, then you only have to cut one year's supply every year and it can sit and dry out. Don't forget either that in order for wood to dry it needs to be split.

Good luck.
 
I find that with less than seasoned wood a bed of coals is essential. I Re-load when the last piece of wood is bright orange and just starting to break up and fall apart. If the fire is cooking the moisture out, too early of a re-load will cause a less than ideal ignition of the next piece. I use a good handful of pine kindling with a bit of a super cedar under it to start and smaller splits to get a nice coal bed going. Re-fill at the bright orange-coal stage and you're good to go. Just my .02 cents.
 
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