Question about coals

[dafattkidd]

Does more bark mean more coals? I've been burning locust and the coals are crazy. It's kind of annoying because the pile up so high that I can't put too much wood in after a big load. I know usually you want coals but when I have like 8 inches of coals and my stove is at 320* for two hours, I'm looking to spike those temps a bit higher with more wood, but the firebox is full of coals. I don't find this to be the case so much with oak. I was wondering if it's because of the crazy bark on locust. Is this just part of the cycle? What do you guys think?

 

[ecocavalier02]

dont know if its the bark. but certain wood speices will coal more than others. i know to that if ya have some pine or sumtin just throw a couple splits on top of it and dont load the stove fully and let it burn really hot to burn down the coals and reaload the stove in a couple hours.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes, you get different coaling with different wood. You will also get more coaling if the wood is not dry enough.

Cure is to open draft full just before it gets down to the coaling stage. Another thing to try is put a small split in or some kindling and leave the draft open full. This will help burn those babies down and give you some good heat too.

 

[sixman]

The bark does not make for more coals. The coals are from the hardwood part of the split or log. The bark burns off relatively fast and turns to ash. There is way more BTU in the hard part of the log and takes longer to burn down. Try sifting all the ash off of your coals so that they can get good air circulation around them and leave the air open. This should bring some life to the coals, give off more heat and burn them down so you can have more room when ready to reload. I took the coal rake that came with my stove set and welded some rake teeth off of a baler on the end of it to make a miniature pitch fork for lifting the coals out of the ash and bringing them to the front of the stove. You get some really good heat from them that way.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Rather than sifting the ash off the coals, just simply take the poker and rake it through the coals.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Does more bark mean more coals? I've been burning locust and the coals are crazy. It's kind of annoying because the pile up so high that I can't put too much wood in after a big load. I know usually you want coals but when I have like 8 inches of coals and my stove is at 320* for two hours, I'm looking to spike those temps a bit higher with more wood, but the firebox is full of coals. I don't find this to be the case so much with oak. I was wondering if it's because of the crazy bark on locust. Is this just part of the cycle? What do you guys think?

If you have 8" of coals.. spike the temperature with more air. Throw a small split on top, open the air up fully, see what happens.. I know what happens at my house. I got big coal buildup last year, have not seen it this year, woods better I think.

 

[dafattkidd]

Thanks guys. Took some of your advice- shifted the coals around and threw some kindling/construction debris on there and it seemed to put out a blast of heat and burn down the coals. Great advice. Thanks guys.

 

[LLigetfa]

The bark could be to blame indirectly... Coaling is usually a MC problem and bark on the wood could cause it to have higher MC. Insufficient air also increases coaling. Bark makes more ashes and ashes can block air flow.

 

[dafattkidd]

ok that make sense about the bark. This locust was cut down in Nov. 2009, cut stacked in the sun and wind march 2010, we had a very dry summer. MM reads 16-18%, but still leaving crazy coals.

 

[firefighterjake]

Does more bark mean more coals? I've been burning locust and the coals are crazy. It's kind of annoying because the pile up so high that I can't put too much wood in after a big load. I know usually you want coals but when I have like 8 inches of coals and my stove is at 320* for two hours, I'm looking to spike those temps a bit higher with more wood, but the firebox is full of coals. I don't find this to be the case so much with oak. I was wondering if it's because of the crazy bark on locust. Is this just part of the cycle? What do you guys think?

I think the best solution is to wait a bit longer before adding more wood and let the coals burn down . . . and if this doesn't work, open up the air and place a single (maybe two) small splits on the coals and let the split (and coals) burn down some . . . problem solved. Most of the time it seems as though folks with too many coals are simply reloading their stove too early.

 

[LLigetfa]

Most of the time it seems as though folks with too many coals are simply reloading their stove too early.

I have three theories...
1. Their wood is not as dry as they think it is.
2. They choke the air back too much trying to get that elusive 30 hour burn and Northern Lights secondaries.
3. Their stove is too small so they're driven to reload too soon to get the heat back up.

(or two or more of the above)