Can you burn wood standing vertically

[ScottF]

. I am new to this form. I just purchase a stove dating from about 1890 that I had completely refurbished. (see photo). The picture does not do the stove justice. I plan on using it to heat the first floor of my house. The stove was originally set up to burn coal but can burn wood. It has a grate you put over the coal grates for wood. I have lots of free wood from my lot as we own a lot of wooded property and therefore dont want to pay for coal. I have always burned my Rumford fireplace but for obvious reasons it is not a good way to heat. We burn about 1500 gallons of oil to heat the house and we can not afford that anymore. Anyhow my Question is this : The barrel where the fuel goes is about 12 in diameter inside the refractory cement. It is however about 30" tall and there are two stacked front doors to load. Can I burn by standing the wood up vertically rather than horizontally as is traditional? If so I can fit 18" long pieces. Is there any downfall to burning in a vertical position? The only other way is to cut the wood about 10" long and I already have about 12 cords cut and split at 16 to 18 inches long.Thanks for any help

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Wow- that is an unbelievable stove!

I don't think there's an issue with standing them up to burn, though it may burn faster as there are more direct air channels with this arrangement. These old stoves are inneficient- use the dryest wood that you can find to get the most out of it.

I'm jealous

 

[Todd]

Wow! She's a beauty. You may have a hard time pulling a permit for an old pot belly stove. I don't know if you can, unless it's UL listed and I doubt it is. Insurance may have a problem with it also.

 

[Jags]

That is one sweet looking stove.

The only downfall that I can see to burning wood in the upright position would be in the stability of a partially burned load of wood. Meaning: if you have a fire going and open the doors, it would be possible that you could get a "collapse" of wood that is partially charred through. This could send sparks and chunks where you might not want them.

Other than the obvious issues with that stove (small firebox, constant feeding, non - epa, smoke dragon ) that thing sure would look purty if located in the proper setting.

Keep in mind that most coal stoves do not do a great job at burning wood. They are just designed different.

Oh, and welcome to the site.

 

[Wet1]

Boy, I don't think I'd want to burn in that thing, that's something you should hold onto as a show piece. I'd go buy a Englander 30-NC to heat the house with and leave that gorgeous coal stove to burn some other day.

BTW... Someone did a really nice job on the restoration!

 

[Wet1]

Keep in mind that most coal stoves do not do a great job at burning wood. They are just designed different.

Hey, watch it!

 

[ScottF]

Hi All , Thanks for the quick replys. I am curious about one thing. Why are they inefficient? The restorer supposively sealed the stove so it is relatively air tight. Although there are no gaskets on the doors. The air intakes are the screw in types so they can be completely closed off. Do you mean they will burn more wood than a modern stove? Why cant we just close off the air more? We were told by the dealer / restorer that these large, round, cast iron stoves with throw a lot of heat, although I do have to admit that at first we did buy it based on the looks and not for the effieciency. Supplementary heat was a secondary reason although we do hope to reduce oil consumption.

I am an designer / builder and we designed a beautiful brick surround that simulates our rumford fireplace. All masonry walls with no combustibles and a 8" masonry/ concrete floor on steel pans and beams. It is not UL rated so I overkilled the design so there are no combustibles within 3 feet. Did all the work myself due to cost. Like I said it was more for the looks but now with the cost of oil going so high since we started this project it is becoming more about the heat.

Thanks again for all the quick replys.

 

[burntime]

I burn one of those when I deer hunt in kentucky, they eat wood fast and furious. The big issue is you are trying to pump heat out and feed the stove and they have a tendency to overfire or you open the door and hot coals can come out.

 

[Jags]

Why are they inefficient?

New stoves are designed with a method to "reburn" the off gases given by the initial combustion point of a fire. Meaning they re-burn the smoke that would escape up the stack with a non-epa stove.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Burntime- is yours as ornate as that one? I would love to come in from hunting and have one of those waiting for me... as well as a 6 of Smuttynose beer and Scarlet Johansen...

 

[stanleyjohn]

Now!! If stove manufactures can build new EPA stoves like scottf's stove i would buy one in a heart beat.I love the work on that stove

 

[fossil]

That's a downright beautiful old stove, and I'd love to see a pic of the site you've built for it that you described. But as to your original question in the thread topic, of whether or not I can burn wood standing vertically, why yes, I can...although sometimes I really prefer to be lying down while I'm burning wood. Rick

 

[cmonSTART]

Reclined on couch with a beer in hand is best for burning wood. Not vertically.

Beautiful stove.

 

[begreen]

Yes, there are even some new modern stoves like some from Rais that burn wood vertically.
http://www.rais.com/Default.aspx?ID=56&M=Shop&PID=58&ProductID=88

And there were the Godin stoves that I think did too, but not sure as I have never owned one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Godin-coal-wood-stove_W0QQitemZ230277497199QQcmdZViewItem

 

[precaud]

I had Godins in the early 80's when I was burning coal and wood. They got the "lined firebox" part right but stopped there They're really coal stoves that you can burn wood in if you must, but they're horribly inefficient doing so. They are ornate-looking but put a lot of heat (and creosote) up the chimney. No real control of burn rate, either.

 

[Todd]

Now!! If stove manufactures can build new EPA stoves like scottf's stove i would buy one in a heart beat.I love the work on that stove

Here ya go!

www.thelinco.com

 

[savageactor7]

Scott just cut some of your wood and half and burn it with the wood laying horizontal. That stove will put out heat but you'll end up being a slave to it. With the wood upright it'll be impossible to reload in a timely manner...which is mostly every time you look at it. btw ...beautiful stove good job on the restore but burning wood standing up straight=FUBAR .

 

[Backroads]

I too would keep that conversation piece just the way it is and pick up a new EPA stove. She's a beauty!

 

[ScottF]

Thanks for all the great information. What a great site.
We have been supplementing the heat (at night and weekends only) for 10 years with the Rumford fireplace. We cant leave it going days for obvious reasons. (Safety being the 1st). We figured even though this stove is inefficeint it would be an improvement and we should burn less wood than an open fireplace.

I do have a couple of questions regarding improving the wood consumption rate and the constant filling that seems to be the consensus amoung replys.

1) The dealer sealed all metal connections but the doors are not gasketed. Can I put some sort of a glue on gasket on the two doors to improve effieciency or at least slow down the time between filling? If I can cut down (or cut off )the air why cant I slow down the burn? At that wouldnt the only difference between this and a new stove be the catalitic burning?

2) The dealer / restorer said that we should put a manual pipe damper on the flue to control the burn? I have read contrary opinions on this site. SHould I install one or not? Would it help slow the burn rate? Is it dangerous.

3) should I lay down horizontally while standing the wood vertically or should I stand up while cutting the wood and putting it in the stove horizontally? Im confused now

I would love to get an efficient stove and use this as display but the entire kitchen was designed around the surround and this stove. I have no place to put an efficient stove. We build a chimney in the area this one is to be installed.

Also the fire chief told me that as long as I burn it really hot for a while each day and clean the chimney once a year I will never have to worry about a chimney fire. I dont have a picture of the surround yet because we are still building. I will post one when done.

If all else fails then we can always just burn coal, but that is $300 per ton in my area and my wood is free. I have been working hard on wood for a year now and already have 12 cords cut and split. All of my free time is invested in it.

Thanks again for all the advice. Seems like a great bunch of people in this group.

 

[fossil]

...3) should I lay down horizontally while standing the wood vertically or should I stand up while cutting the wood and putting it in the stove horizontally? Im confused now...

Hmm, I'm confused now too...but I do strongly suggest never cutting wood while laying horizontally. :bug: Rick

 

[Beanscoot]

Well Scott I have to agree that your stove is a beauty. While the Thelin stove is novel, there's a difference between ornate iron castings and shiny sheet metal. The good thing about burning wood vs. coal is that the former should cause a lot less corrosion to the iron, so it should last much longer.

Judging by the rustic relics in the edges of your stove photo you appreciate old craftsmanship. It will be great to let that old beauty do what it was made for (almost!) and heat up the space in a most attractive manner.

It sounds like you accept that it may burn more wood, in which case that's not a problem, just put more wood in.

 

[begreen]

Scott, this stove will not reburn the unburned gases the way a modern stove does. Basically, it heads up the chimney as smoke. You can burn hot smaller fires and keep it somewhat clean, but nothing like an EPA approved stove. Choking off the air supply before the charcoal stage will just let it smolder.

In a new stove, there are a few methods for reburning. A catalyst is one method, but it doesn't have to be a catalytic stove. Stop by a stove shop and look at the inside of their stoves. On several models you will see a series of tubes or a stainless manifold with holes in it on top of the firebox. That is where air is introduced for secondary combustion. It's this secondary combustion (the reburning of the unburnt wood gas) that makes these stoves efficient, cleaner and better heaters than stoves of yore. You'll also see downdraft stoves mentioned here. They use a reburner chamber, usually at the back of the stove, to achieve secondary combustion.

Here are a couple good articles that get into the technology of new stoves:

http://www.woodheat.org/technology/woodstoves.htm
http://chimneysweeponline.com/horeburn.htm

 

[ScottF]

AHH now I understand why is not so effiecient. We do love old world craftsmanship. So much so that I build period furniture as a hobby. Here are a couple of examples of 2 of the many pieces I have built over the years.

We will just appreciate the stove for what it is and feed more wood. I will also install a damper as suggested to try to help control burn.


Thanks for all the great knowlege that you all took the time to give us. This is a great forum

 

[Jags]

WOW! Absolutely beautiful Scott. Stunning.

 

[webbie]

Uh, I'm in need of a bedroom set......