Back at the Woodstock open house, Gamma was nice enough to give me 6 of her envi blocks to play with.
I often do small (3-4 med-large splits) fires in the shoulder season. First envi block I tried was one block on top of 2 pieces of wood. Everything burned just like it was straight wood in the stove.
Next time, I tried 2 envi blocks on the bottom and a piece of wood on the top of the (upside down V formation). Wasn't that impressed w/ the burn as it didn't take off very evenly, but it was from a cold start and it was a clean burn through the duration, just took a bit more fidgeting around than normal.
This time, I came home tonight to a house that didn't need much heat and had just enough coals left to start a fire w/out kindling. Figured I'd try my last 3 envi blocks together in an upside down V.
When loaded on the ash / coal bed, I had about 1 inch inbetween the bottom 2, and 2 inches of headspace to the burn tubes. About 15 mins into the fire I spread the bottom 2 about another 1.5 inches apart (I wanted the dog house air to shoot between them) and they still expanded so much that they nearly filled the gap. Gap to the burn tubes dropped to 3/4 of an inch when fully engulfed.
Here are some pics of what I saw tonight. It's 2.25 hours into the burn and the stove top is down to 450°F . Max temp of about 635 was achieved 1.25 hours into the burn.
3 of these things in the big 30 looked pitiful. I was defiantly impressed w/ the max temp for such a small amount of fuel in the stove. But things seem to be dropping off quickly. I ran the air settings pretty much the same as I would have for wood. W/ 3 med-large pieces I should have enough to start the fire tomorrow morning from coals, I'll be interested to see what I have left from these blocks. Right now, even though the temps are dropping quickly, the blocks are still holding their form quite well.
Here's what I saw.
3 split fire loaded at 6:30 this morning, there is what is left of the coals at about 7:40 pm w/ the blocks loaded on them, no kindling.
7:50 pm Blocks weren't lighting but there was smoke in the stove, pulled out the aluminum arrow shaft and gave 1/2 a breath through it on the coals and things took off.
Another 5 mins gone by.
Things progressing, about 40 mins after reload, air about 40% open. Closed it down to 20% after the pic.
About 75 mins into the burn, air about 20% open. Been that way for about 35 mins.
This shot was taken at about 75 mins into the burn
About 120 mins into the burn, stove top down to 500.
As I finish this, it's about 2.5 hours into the burn and the stove is down to 400.
ETA: 3 hours in, and down to 300.
Conclusion. I could see a MAX of 7 bricks fitting into the stove. 2 stacked in the back EW, 3 across the front evenly spaced NS, 2 on top of that. However, w/ the way these things peak and outgas, I'd bet things would get pretty darn hot for a while. I'd guess that about 5 would be the normal recommended load for this stove.
It's not like I've burned through a pallet of these things, but for the 2 packs I played with I can definitely see why they could be useful to someone who does not have ideal wood. They burn clean, they light easily, they get the stove hot, and they generally act more like real wood than I would have guessed. They do peak for a shorter and more furious time than hardwoods generally do for me, and they do expand a lot.
In the end, I'll play with some more for the fun of it as it was a decent experience. For someone where fuel is often delivered sub-prime, storage is an issue, an occasional burner, or trying to work w/ sub-par wood, I see these as a viable aide.
However, after playing I have trouble believing this claim even more now:
http://www.southshorewoodpellets.com/wood_stove_fuels__prices
Thanks for the fun Gamma!
pen
I often do small (3-4 med-large splits) fires in the shoulder season. First envi block I tried was one block on top of 2 pieces of wood. Everything burned just like it was straight wood in the stove.
Next time, I tried 2 envi blocks on the bottom and a piece of wood on the top of the (upside down V formation). Wasn't that impressed w/ the burn as it didn't take off very evenly, but it was from a cold start and it was a clean burn through the duration, just took a bit more fidgeting around than normal.
This time, I came home tonight to a house that didn't need much heat and had just enough coals left to start a fire w/out kindling. Figured I'd try my last 3 envi blocks together in an upside down V.
When loaded on the ash / coal bed, I had about 1 inch inbetween the bottom 2, and 2 inches of headspace to the burn tubes. About 15 mins into the fire I spread the bottom 2 about another 1.5 inches apart (I wanted the dog house air to shoot between them) and they still expanded so much that they nearly filled the gap. Gap to the burn tubes dropped to 3/4 of an inch when fully engulfed.
Here are some pics of what I saw tonight. It's 2.25 hours into the burn and the stove top is down to 450°F . Max temp of about 635 was achieved 1.25 hours into the burn.
3 of these things in the big 30 looked pitiful. I was defiantly impressed w/ the max temp for such a small amount of fuel in the stove. But things seem to be dropping off quickly. I ran the air settings pretty much the same as I would have for wood. W/ 3 med-large pieces I should have enough to start the fire tomorrow morning from coals, I'll be interested to see what I have left from these blocks. Right now, even though the temps are dropping quickly, the blocks are still holding their form quite well.
Here's what I saw.
3 split fire loaded at 6:30 this morning, there is what is left of the coals at about 7:40 pm w/ the blocks loaded on them, no kindling.
7:50 pm Blocks weren't lighting but there was smoke in the stove, pulled out the aluminum arrow shaft and gave 1/2 a breath through it on the coals and things took off.
Another 5 mins gone by.
Things progressing, about 40 mins after reload, air about 40% open. Closed it down to 20% after the pic.
About 75 mins into the burn, air about 20% open. Been that way for about 35 mins.
This shot was taken at about 75 mins into the burn
About 120 mins into the burn, stove top down to 500.
As I finish this, it's about 2.5 hours into the burn and the stove is down to 400.
ETA: 3 hours in, and down to 300.
Conclusion. I could see a MAX of 7 bricks fitting into the stove. 2 stacked in the back EW, 3 across the front evenly spaced NS, 2 on top of that. However, w/ the way these things peak and outgas, I'd bet things would get pretty darn hot for a while. I'd guess that about 5 would be the normal recommended load for this stove.
It's not like I've burned through a pallet of these things, but for the 2 packs I played with I can definitely see why they could be useful to someone who does not have ideal wood. They burn clean, they light easily, they get the stove hot, and they generally act more like real wood than I would have guessed. They do peak for a shorter and more furious time than hardwoods generally do for me, and they do expand a lot.
In the end, I'll play with some more for the fun of it as it was a decent experience. For someone where fuel is often delivered sub-prime, storage is an issue, an occasional burner, or trying to work w/ sub-par wood, I see these as a viable aide.
However, after playing I have trouble believing this claim even more now:
http://www.southshorewoodpellets.com/wood_stove_fuels__prices
Thanks for the fun Gamma!
pen
That gets installed Thursday.
