This is my first season burning wood, so I'm still learning as I go. I did a lot of reading through this forum before installing my osburn 1600 insert into my existing masonry chimney. The insert is connected to a full liner, w/o insulation or block off plate though.
I went through a few weeks burning unseasoned wood, all the while searching for some decently seasoned wood I could use. I ended up buying about 1.5 cords of elm from a guy who was moving... he said it has been split since beginning of last summer (18 months). I split and checked several pieces with moisture meter and found most of the wood reading between 17-20%. I'm very happy with the heat output, I get stove top temps of 650-700 burning N/S, but have been extremely unhappy with the amount of ash left behind.
I'm not sure if the wood isn't seasoned well enough, or if this is normal with elm wood or if it is something else I am doing. After an overnight burn, I wake up to find some red coals, (usually around 200 stove top) but they are completely buried under piles of ash. I literally empty a large pail of ash every single day (the red one in the picture) burning 24/7.
Help...!!??
I went through a few weeks burning unseasoned wood, all the while searching for some decently seasoned wood I could use. I ended up buying about 1.5 cords of elm from a guy who was moving... he said it has been split since beginning of last summer (18 months). I split and checked several pieces with moisture meter and found most of the wood reading between 17-20%. I'm very happy with the heat output, I get stove top temps of 650-700 burning N/S, but have been extremely unhappy with the amount of ash left behind.
I'm not sure if the wood isn't seasoned well enough, or if this is normal with elm wood or if it is something else I am doing. After an overnight burn, I wake up to find some red coals, (usually around 200 stove top) but they are completely buried under piles of ash. I literally empty a large pail of ash every single day (the red one in the picture) burning 24/7.
Help...!!??