shawneyboy said:So here are the pics of what I mean by the zipper method, (i hope them come out in the correct order). The reason I call it the zipper is because air from the doghouse, unzips the pile of hot coals, in an inverted V from front to back. With in a half hour this large pile of hot coals was burned back at least 3 or 4 inches using this method. Now that may not seem like alot but consider that the pile to start was 4-5 inches high from the bottom of the stove. If I do this regularly, it keeps the coal bed manageable and allows for more or less full loads every time.
So if I add these pics correctly they should be.
1 . found coal bed
2. centered coals w/ 2 medium rounds
3. even out with smal rounds
4. add 3 large splits on top
5. fill her up with small stuff
6. secondaries with doghouse burn
7. secondaries with doghouse burn lights off
I hope this helps someone, and as always this is valid at participating locations only, subject to change without notice, and mileage may vary.
I never get the order correctl! Damn.... I am still trying to figure out how to post a pic then text under it, then another pic, and so on.
Well you get the idea.
You do the same thing I have been doing. Something else I do is I end up with a lot of large sections of bark as I try to split the bark off to hasten seasoning. So I take 3 sections of bark & make the upside down U over the coals in the center. The bark makes a pretty intense fire & doesn't add to the coals. ...... One thing I noticed is all the unburned black deposits in your firebox. That suggests that you are burning less than seasoned wood & creating creosote. In my firebox the interior is white not black like yours. It seems to me that if you have that black IN the firebox, you are probably building up deposits in the chimney.
