In one of the recent posts, people were saying leave an ash bed in the bottom of the stove, it insulates it and makes it burn longer. What does everyone do that has a stove with an ash drawer underneath? Mine has a grate for the ash to fall through, so it is hard to keep any on the bottom middle. One solution would be not to empty the bin, but that kinda defeats the purpose.....
Ash bed
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I would never empty the ash pan. I always recommend letting the ash build untill you open the door and it comes out. At that point take a scoop out of it. You will see even better burn times and easier start up with a nice bed of ash in the stove.
Well, the wife is now thinking the ash is interfering with the air intake, (meaning it's piled up in front of the air inlet that's front & center. IS this where the stove gets all it's air from, BTW? I hear people talk about an air inlet on the bottom back, but haven't investigated the workings of it yet.) I don't think so, as it's currently burning at around 600. But what about on a cold start up? I have noticed a distinct increase in the time the coals will stay warm in it with a lot of ash, but the pan is so convenient to use....
I don't have the heart to tell her that I think it's the way the fire was built is why it's not starting well.....It happens to me sometimes. She's actualy pretty good at running the stove once it's started, she just needs some firebuilding expirience.
I don't have the heart to tell her that I think it's the way the fire was built is why it's not starting well.....It happens to me sometimes. She's actualy pretty good at running the stove once it's started, she just needs some firebuilding expirience.
RH.
My stove manual says to be sure to keep the air supply hole in the front open/clear, and that keeping a channel open in the ash bed will help greatly with maintaining a fire.
Each morning when I start a new fire, I rake the ash back from the door slightly, and then rake a channel from the front center to the back (a couple inches deep).
After starting each new fire, and during the days burns, I can very plainly see each new piece of wood added burning from the center outwards.
The incoming air blasts the center of the wood, leaving a "u" shaped area in each piece.
It burns from front to back, then off to the sides.
If I put a new piece in, and it gets in the way of the air channel described above, the fire just smolders or dies out.
Same thing happens if the ash gets too high in front of the hole.
I just keep that channel open, and it works great!
(remove too much ash when cleaning out the stove though, and it is harder to build/maintain a fire as the air is all over, and not being directed as designed).
I'm with the others, forget that the pan pulls out.
Having the pan is a nice feature for cleaning out the stove in the spring, but for the rest of the time, having the ash bed is of more importance.
Let it fill up and keep the ash as close to the bottom of the door as you can.
When you must remove some ash, just use the ash shovel to get a few scoops, then quit!
Sounds like your wife has a pretty good handle on how it works!
If you can find some Cedar shingles, or fence rails, and cut and split them into very thin pieces (very easy to do) a nice hot kindling fire can be started with just a single match!
My other air inlet draws at the bottom back, but spills into the interior of the stove through the tubes in the ceiling.
Rob
My stove manual says to be sure to keep the air supply hole in the front open/clear, and that keeping a channel open in the ash bed will help greatly with maintaining a fire.
Each morning when I start a new fire, I rake the ash back from the door slightly, and then rake a channel from the front center to the back (a couple inches deep).
After starting each new fire, and during the days burns, I can very plainly see each new piece of wood added burning from the center outwards.
The incoming air blasts the center of the wood, leaving a "u" shaped area in each piece.
It burns from front to back, then off to the sides.
If I put a new piece in, and it gets in the way of the air channel described above, the fire just smolders or dies out.
Same thing happens if the ash gets too high in front of the hole.
I just keep that channel open, and it works great!
(remove too much ash when cleaning out the stove though, and it is harder to build/maintain a fire as the air is all over, and not being directed as designed).
I'm with the others, forget that the pan pulls out.
Having the pan is a nice feature for cleaning out the stove in the spring, but for the rest of the time, having the ash bed is of more importance.
Let it fill up and keep the ash as close to the bottom of the door as you can.
When you must remove some ash, just use the ash shovel to get a few scoops, then quit!
Sounds like your wife has a pretty good handle on how it works!
If you can find some Cedar shingles, or fence rails, and cut and split them into very thin pieces (very easy to do) a nice hot kindling fire can be started with just a single match!
My other air inlet draws at the bottom back, but spills into the interior of the stove through the tubes in the ceiling.
Rob
My stove has air wash system and the air supply in the center botom. It also has an ash pan. I have yet to use the pan, my grate stays closed during burn season want to get a good bed of ash. As 48Rob said when you remove some ash, don't remove to much, but at the same time keep that air inlet clear of ash. Oh and as much as you may not want to hear it, wifey is right.
Cheers
Cheers
OK, I'm part right, and she's part right. We will try to keep the air inlet clear, but also keep more ash in the stove. Sounds good, thanks for the suggestions!
I don't think there is one right single answer to this question. It depends on the design of your stove, and how you use it.
Most folks with brick-bottomed fireboxes prefer to operate with a layer of ash in the bottom. It helps preserve live coals for startup in the morning.
If, like the OP, your stove has a grate and you like the convenience of using the ashpan, then letting ashes build up is a secondary consideration. The same is true if you sometimes use air through the grate to burn down built-up live coals (the best way to do it, IMO).
In many stoves, the air stream from the inlet at the front-center of the stove (often called the 'doghouse' around here) is strong enough to clear its own path; on some, it is not. A strong air stream from the doghouse can make it difficult to control the burn rate of your stove, for example when burning softwoods. Blocking that hole (completely or partially) will help a great deal.
I have the doghouse completely blocked on my Quad. The X33's is left open, and I make sure it has a clear opening when reloading.
Most folks with brick-bottomed fireboxes prefer to operate with a layer of ash in the bottom. It helps preserve live coals for startup in the morning.
If, like the OP, your stove has a grate and you like the convenience of using the ashpan, then letting ashes build up is a secondary consideration. The same is true if you sometimes use air through the grate to burn down built-up live coals (the best way to do it, IMO).
In many stoves, the air stream from the inlet at the front-center of the stove (often called the 'doghouse' around here) is strong enough to clear its own path; on some, it is not. A strong air stream from the doghouse can make it difficult to control the burn rate of your stove, for example when burning softwoods. Blocking that hole (completely or partially) will help a great deal.
I have the doghouse completely blocked on my Quad. The X33's is left open, and I make sure it has a clear opening when reloading.
clr8ter said:
I have a grate, and leave my ash pan full and do not use it. I believe that allows coals to build more quickly and lengthens the time of secondary combustion for my particular stove design (downdraft/crossdraft).
Leaving the ash in does not seem to interfere at all with air supply in my stove. Even though the controls are right above the ashpan door, the air is entering the firebox via the airwash above the door.
clr8ter said:
Ah we both have an Oslo so I can tell you what I do and why it works . . . the grate in the Oslo is small enough so that the ash will drop into the ash pan, leaving the larger coals in the firebox . . . which is good. On top of that there the actual grate is quite a bit smaller than the actual "floor" of the firebox so quite a bit of ash and coals will not drop into the ash pan . . . until you actually move the ash/coals around . . . and again . . . when you do so mostly only the finer ash or small coals will drop down into the ash pan . . . leaving the larger coals and a fair amount of ash in the firebox.
The secret is to not be over zealous in your stirring of the coals/ash . . . let the coals burn down a good amount before you add wood and really you only need to stir the coals after a long overnight fire or if you need to drop some ash into the ash pan to make room for the fresh load of wood you are about to put on the hot coals.
Trust me . . . I use my ash pan and think it's a fantastic feature with the Oslo. Folks who are not using the Oslo are missing out on a very handy feature.
On the other question asked . . . by you . . . or another member . . . I routinely scoop the ashes/coals away from the air inlet at the front of the Oslo under the doghouse just to give free and clear air to the coals/wood . . . a habit I just picked up when I started burning . . . I figure if nothing else it keeps the ash from building up and dropping down into the doghouse where it can gunk up the sliding mechanism for the air control.
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