Would a grate make Coals burn up better?

[branchburner]

No, air cannot circulate under the fire, the grate is closed. As I said the grate slides or rotates to close while burning.

Not my grate. What you describe is true of the old cookstove we use at camp, but not of my Harman.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

I sometimes wonder how a grate would be different from an ashpan? I've never had an ashpan equipped stove so just wondering.

OK, was bored.. Here ( I hope) is a series of pictures of the ash pan grate in a Hearthstone Homestead.. grate with some ashes, grate rotated open allowing ashes to fall into pan, then closed again.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

No, air cannot circulate under the fire, the grate is closed. As I said the grate slides or rotates to close while burning.

Not my grate. What you describe is true of the old cookstove we use at camp, but not of my Harman.

So, what keeps ashes from falling out of the bottom of the stove when the ash pan is removed for dumping? I think my local dealer carries that stove, I will have to go by and look at it.. Our ash pan goes into a "box" kind of thing, but it doesn't have a separate door, the pan seals to the bottom of the stove. You just pull it out, dump, replace. We actually don't use it, we just shovel about once a week. Easier, and for me, cleaner. Our ash bucket carrier dealeo isn't as wide as the ash pan, so transfering is sketchy at best from the pan.

 

[firefighterjake]

One word: Cycles.

 

[firefighterjake]

And an explanation.

Burn in cycles and you will lessen your chances of having an excessive amount of coals . . . and at the same time by learning to burn in cycles you will learn to prolong your burn times and not go through your wood like a fat kid going through their Halloween candy.

As mentioned . . . coals = heat. Sure, they may not be as pretty as dancing flames and perhaps we've got this thing ingrained in our minds that we have to have flames to be warm . . . but the truth is coals will put out a lot of heat for a decent amount of time . . . let them burn down a bit before adding fresh wood to the stove.

Finally, sometimes you will end up with excessive coals . . . it's the middle of the winter, temps are sub-zero and you're working the stove hard to keep the house warm . . . in this case there may be an over abundance of coals . . . open up the air for a while . . . or open up the air and put on a single split or two . . . you'll lose a bit of heat up the chimney this way, but in short order the coals will have mysteriously vanished, leaving you room to load up the stove for another go.

 

[branchburner]

No, air cannot circulate under the fire, the grate is closed. As I said the grate slides or rotates to close while burning.

Not my grate. What you describe is true of the old cookstove we use at camp, but not of my Harman.

So, what keeps ashes from falling out of the bottom of the stove when the ash pan is removed for dumping?

The ashes (and coals) fall into the pan through the grate continuously, but the area containing the pan is itself sealed within the stove. So ashes can fall INTO the bottom of the stove when the ash pan is removed, but not OUT OF the bottom of the stove.

 

[krex1010]

I think modifying a woodstove is a bad idea. Use them the way they are intended to be used, if a grate was safe and improved performance then manufacturers would have them for their stoves. I know mine clearly says not to use a grate or elevate the fire.