Blue flames, I mean REALLY blue flames in stove

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Big Al

Big Al

New Member
Jan 15, 2010
323
Rhode Island
I've seen many shades of flame colors in my stove; the bright whitish yellow, the deep orange, the orange mixed with blue hovering over the logs or coming from the secondary tubes that gives it a purplish hue. And the blueish/white Northern Lights. Well the other night the load was almost at the coaling stage so I increased the air a bit and went to brush my teeth. I came back to check on the stove before heading to bed a few minutes later and there were small intense blue flames coming from the coaling wood as well as an intense blue Norhtern Lights display. When I say blue I mean pure elictric blue, no white mixed in. I might expect something like that using scrap wood that may have been contaminated with something (chemicals) but I was using regular cord wood, oak, the same stuff I've been using all year. And, during the first part of the burn, the flames were normal. Anyone ever experience this?

PS. I did wake my wife to take pictures, but they don't do it justice.
 
I get those nice blue flames the same way you did. When I want to cook down the coals I rake them up front and open up the air wide open. Pretty isn't it?
 
Really pretty! Like I said I got my wife out of bed and once she saw it she didn't even give me a hard time. Just never saw them that way before.
 
I was at a barn fire once when I was on my local fire department (before I moved away from home). We had an excavator come in and knock down what was left of the barn, so we could get at the fire. The barn had been used as a machine shed and to store hay - the huge square bales. When the excavator pulled the top off that pile of hay there were blue jets of flame coming up out of the pile. It was pretty impressive.
 
I get those too... a solid, bright blue. They almost look more computer generated than real.
 
My stove has blue flames nearly all the time from new load to coal stage. If there is a good hot bed of coals the new wood will take off with blue at the root of the flames.
 
I have had the blue flames. I'd like to see those northern lights though.
 
ajreid said:
I have had the blue flames. I'd like to see those northern lights though.
Click to expand...

Here ya go. From my field. Not my hearth. %-P
 

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North of Sixty, you are a poet with that camera.
 
Somewhere I read (nepacrossroads.com I think?) that the blue flames coming off a load of coal, or charcoal too (since it's not that different), is the signature flame from combusting Carbon Monoxide, which requires very high temps to burn. (1100F? Wikipedia says its autoignition temp is 609C, that's 1128F)
I always notice a beautiful blue flame with yellow tips coming from the charcoal bed in my BBQ when I get it up to high searing temperature...
 
spirilis said:
Somewhere I read (nepacrossroads.com I think?) that the blue flames coming off a load of coal, or charcoal too (since it's not that different), is the signature flame from combusting Carbon Monoxide, which requires very high temps to burn. (1100F? Wikipedia says its autoignition temp is 609C, that's 1128F)
I always notice a beautiful blue flame with yellow tips coming from the charcoal bed in my BBQ when I get it up to high searing temperature...
Click to expand...


Could very well have been that hot. It was a reload over a good bed of coals and the whole load seemed to start coaling up at once, whereas typically the front logs have already coaled and crumbled and the rears are still offgassing (EW loading). So there was basically a stove full of coaling wood about an inch from the top of the bricks.

Like the OP said all blue, almost computer generated looking. Never saw it before but then again never had the whole load go to coals like that either.
 
Warm in RI said:
spirilis said:
Somewhere I read (nepacrossroads.com I think?) that the blue flames coming off a load of coal, or charcoal too (since it's not that different), is the signature flame from combusting Carbon Monoxide, which requires very high temps to burn. (1100F? Wikipedia says its autoignition temp is 609C, that's 1128F)
I always notice a beautiful blue flame with yellow tips coming from the charcoal bed in my BBQ when I get it up to high searing temperature...
Click to expand...


Could very well have been that hot. It was a reload over a good bed of coals and the whole load seemed to start coaling up at once, whereas typically the front logs have already coaled and crumbled and the rears are still offgassing (EW loading). So there was basically a stove full of coaling wood about an inch from the top of the bricks.

Like the OP said all blue, almost computer generated looking. Never saw it before but then again never had the whole load go to coals like that either.
Click to expand...

Burn on Al! Great work on that old stove! BTW I talked to Ray today and plan on getting another 3 cords from him once the snow starts to go away here... Hope you're happy with Ray as I have been so far...

Ray
 
Seems like mine does that with oak and not so much with hedge or hackberry. It just seems that way, I don't know.
 
A blue flame is caused by a clean hot fire in an oxygen rich environment.. A good example is an acetylene torch when you crank up the oxygen it turns blue, when starved of oxygen the flame is yellow and emits black soot due to incomplete combustion..

Ray
 
raybonz said:
A blue flame is caused by a clean hot fire in an oxygen rich environment.. A good example is an acetylene torch when you crank up the oxygen it turns blue, when starved of oxygen the flame is yellow and emits black soot due to incomplete combustion..

Ray
Click to expand...


Good analogy Ray. And thanks to all others for your input as well.

Btw Ray, I was so happy with your wood supplier I gave his number to my sister. She's getting a load this week.
 
Warm in RI said:
raybonz said:
A blue flame is caused by a clean hot fire in an oxygen rich environment.. A good example is an acetylene torch when you crank up the oxygen it turns blue, when starved of oxygen the flame is yellow and emits black soot due to incomplete combustion..

Ray
Click to expand...


Good analogy Ray. And thanks to all others for your input as well.

Btw Ray, I was so happy with your wood supplier I gave his number to my sister. She's getting a load this week.
Click to expand...

Hey that's great Al please mention my name.. I like dealing with Ray and talked to him the other day.. He does firewood for a living so he takes it seriously.. Too many part timers out there that are here today gone tomorrow..

Ray
 
I'm wondering it you might have been burning the heartwood of the tree or the denser wood at the base of the tree? We get pure blue flames with locust. It burns hot and clean.
 
He does firewood for a living so he takes it seriously.. Too many part timers out there that are here today gone tomorrow..

Ray
Click to expand...
As an Ex part timer myself I can say why....Its a lot of hard work for very little pay. Might make 2 bucks an hour after it all said and done. It really only pays if you do it on a very large scale with processor or do it for yourself so you get the pay back in free heat.
 
wkpoor said:
He does firewood for a living so he takes it seriously.. Too many part timers out there that are here today gone tomorrow..

Ray
Click to expand...
As an Ex part timer myself I can say why....Its a lot of hard work for very little pay. Might make 2 bucks an hour after it all said and done. It really only pays if you do it on a very large scale with processor or do it for yourself so you get the pay back in free heat.
Click to expand...

I agree it's hard work and as you said if a guy is serious about it he will will be more efficient in his efforts.. I do some of my own firewood and buy 3 cords a year c/s/d.. I think I may have done about 1.5 cord myself last year.. Good hard honest work makes a man feel good and makes him appreciate it when the wood is c/s/d..

Ray
 
My dog woke me up to go out in the night earlier this week. About 3 a.m.--headed down to the stove room to check the fire--and the show was amazing. My stove's air intake is in the center below the door, and circular, so that's the location and shape of the hottest burn. The bottom split had a glowing red hole burned through, and a sheet of flames came up between the splits on top, roiling, dancing blue. I thought--wow--this is the light show that goes on when we're all asleep? Maybe this is what happens when we just `fill it and forget it'. Thought of your post and briefly considered waking my son up to come and look at the stove, started laughing at what I imagined his response would be. I don't think he would have taken it as well as your wife did. Started to fall asleep in front of the fire, dog scratched on door, we both went back to bed, but it was a cool experience indeed.
 
I witnessed some of that myself....It reminded me of something that should have been in that Pink Floyd movie....The blue flames were dancing magically and they were soooo vibrant. Did you guys see that movie....I think it was The Wall, with all the people with no faces and stuff. The movie you would get messed up and watch in high school? Takes me back, way back....Now I spent my weekends on hearth.com and have only the blue flames to look forward to.....My how things change.No more of that funny stuff..............................
 
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