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I stayed up all nite watching the fire burn in my new Woodmaster Plus AFS 900. I am burning straight barley from a local farmer. I am smiling ear to ear! All seems to be working well just need to tweek the auger settings.
The barley is $3.00 bu wich is 48lbs to bushel. it figures out to $125 per ton. The barley puts out more heat than pellets but more ash. I will clean ash for the price. The barley that I bought is malt barley that was to dark to make beer so it sells for feed barley.
Reminded me of a night in the Fall of 1990. Just bought our cabin on the lake with a very nice fireplace. The prior owner had left a little fire wood, one piece being a large pine stump end piece glazed over in pitch. Dummy me proceeded to throw that in the fireplace after the fire was going good.
From good to near disaster. The open fireplace sucked air and that pitch laden piece of pine roared for hours. I too was up all night watching the fire, but for a much different reason. I was convinced I was going to burn the cabin down. I didn't and never have made such a stupid mistake again.
I still burn lots of dry pine, but those stump ends full of pitch do not reach the fireplace. And no pieces too big. A nice, moderate fire - not a blazing inferno.
Reminded me of a night in the Fall of 1990. Just bought our cabin on the lake with a very nice fireplace. The prior owner had left a little fire wood, one piece being a large pine stump end piece glazed over in pitch. Dummy me proceeded to throw that in the fireplace after the fire was going good.
From good to near disaster. The open fireplace sucked air and that pitch laden piece of pine roared for hours. I too was up all night watching the fire, but for a much different reason. I was convinced I was going to burn the cabin down. I didn't and never have made such a stupid mistake again.
I still burn lots of dry pine, but those stump ends full of pitch do not reach the fireplace. And no pieces too big. A nice, moderate fire - not a blazing inferno.
Snap, crackle, and Pop Corn all night eh! LOL I use really dry pine kindling for starters and get the same effect for a few minutes until the hardwood catches.