Wow, Cold Temps and burning the Black Locust = Happy Fireview owner.

[Evil Dave]

So far this season I've been burning 14 month CSS Siberian Elm and misc punkish white oak limb wood rounds. When daytime temps top out in the low 30's and nights bottom out in the mid 20's I began to struggle to keep up with our new Fireview. Really struggling with burning down the coals as I'm trying to push the stove a little harder to keep up. The Sib Elm doesn't hiss or sizzle and the MM shows it's 16% to 18% MC, it lights quick, blazes bright and chars pretty well . . . It also seems to make a lot of ash. With Sib Elm alone we were able to hit 625 stove top maybe 2 times so far. The Fireview should be able to manhandle our 1 1/2 story Cape Cod-ish Farm House at about 1250 SF, Lately the propane furnace has been helping more and more to keep up. Starting to plan the next several winterization/insulation projects on our old house.
Flash forward to Friday low temp of 15 deg F, time for the good stuff, Black Locust, several years dead, 2 years down (leaning), CSS early this November. Wow. Many of the observations I have made and some of the opinions I was forming about my Woodstock Fireview were less than perfectly happy based on Sib Elm burning. After a mere 4 loads of the good high BTU Black Locust I have to scrap what I thought I knew to be fact and file that knowledge under the Burning Siberian Elm Category.
I was beginning to think that BW Savage and many of the other Woodstock enthusiasts must really exaggerate their results compared to what I have been able to accomplish so far. Switching to burn the Black Locust was like taking off the training wheels and letting our Fireview really run for the first time. I had to Open the Cat Bypass and close the air intake to slow the Cat Temp as we briefly touched the 1,350ish temp on the Cat Probe, 700 stove top temp. Even burnt some new paint in places last night. The Black Locust coals burn down throwing as much heat as the S Elm near is peak burn temp, and they vanish when burnt, very little ash. The furnace has kicked on one time while I was seeing if I could cross the 12 hour burn cycle (I made it by the way, but not throwing enough heat for 15 deg outside though). WOW

 

[katwillny]

Its 25 degrees outside now and I just loaded up 2 year old Locust 6 to 8 inch rounds nonsplit. Man those things put out some serious heat. House is 75 degrees and it feels great. Just came from my neighbors and they keep their house at 64 on days like these, that just does not work for us.

 

[Todd]

Yep, good firewood makes a huge difference. I've been burning half punky Oak til just last week and now I'm into my good Oak and it's like night and day. Much more heat and longer burns.

I've burned lots of Elm and if it's fresh cut it takes forever to dry out. The standing dead stuff is a different story, it's just about ready to burn.

Also have burned lots of Black Locust in my Woodstocks and found it takes a little longer to catch but burns hotter than Oak and can last a long time. When it gets cold out it's the best stuff to burn.

If you have coaling problems you may need to just burn at a higher setting and let it go. Sometimes you can have what looks like a raging inferno at #1 and you get tempted to turn it down lower but if you leave it there it settles down after it burns up the front logs.

 

[Gark]

Yeah that BL sits pretty high up on the BTU charts. This our first year burning the stuff and I haven't quite yet mastered how to make it work best in our stove. It seems to take longer to ignite than normal species.

 

[upanovr]

My all time dead of winter favorite to burn. Can't wait to see how the new wood furnace likes it.

 

[nate379]

Jeez it was around 20-25* today and I thought it was nice. Went out for a trip to the glacier in the Jeeps. I like it when it gets cold so I can load my stove and not overheat the house. With the warm temps we have had for the last while I have to just throw in 3-4 splits at most.

 

[Evil Dave]

Went out for a trip to the glacier in the Jeeps.

We got rid of our glaciers 10,000 to 20,000 years ago and they are generally not missed at all. I would recommend that you get rid of yours as well. We are however, grateful that the result of their 2 or 3 trips across the Midwest, including 2/3 of Indiana created some excellent fertile soil for growing hardwoods, including my new favorite Black Locust. If 3 or 4 splits of your Alaskan grown wood will keep you warm I could probably mail you a dozen or so pieces of BL and that should just about get you through the winter. . . . . it's good stuff. OK it might take 2 dozen depending on your insulation. In my old house, I wish I had another chord of it ready to burn to overcome my lousy heat loss.

 

[argus66]

b l is 90% of what i burn one of the best also splits great and grows straight most of the time.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

So far this season I've been burning 14 month CSS Siberian Elm and misc punkish white oak limb wood rounds. When daytime temps top out in the low 30's and nights bottom out in the mid 20's I began to struggle to keep up with our new Fireview. Really struggling with burning down the coals as I'm trying to push the stove a little harder to keep up. The Sib Elm doesn't hiss or sizzle and the MM shows it's 16% to 18% MC, it lights quick, blazes bright and chars pretty well . . . It also seems to make a lot of ash. With Sib Elm alone we were able to hit 625 stove top maybe 2 times so far. The Fireview should be able to manhandle our 1 1/2 story Cape Cod-ish Farm House at about 1250 SF, Lately the propane furnace has been helping more and more to keep up. Starting to plan the next several winterization/insulation projects on our old house.
Flash forward to Friday low temp of 15 deg F, time for the good stuff, Black Locust, several years dead, 2 years down (leaning), CSS early this November. Wow. Many of the observations I have made and some of the opinions I was forming about my Woodstock Fireview were less than perfectly happy based on Sib Elm burning. After a mere 4 loads of the good high BTU Black Locust I have to scrap what I thought I knew to be fact and file that knowledge under the Burning Siberian Elm Category.
I was beginning to think that BW Savage and many of the other Woodstock enthusiasts must really exaggerate their results compared to what I have been able to accomplish so far. Switching to burn the Black Locust was like taking off the training wheels and letting our Fireview really run for the first time. I had to Open the Cat Bypass and close the air intake to slow the Cat Temp as we briefly touched the 1,350ish temp on the Cat Probe, 700 stove top temp. Even burnt some new paint in places last night. The Black Locust coals burn down throwing as much heat as the S Elm near is peak burn temp, and they vanish when burnt, very little ash. The furnace has kicked on one time while I was seeing if I could cross the 12 hour burn cycle (I made it by the way, but not throwing enough heat for 15 deg outside though). WOW

Whew! Glad you cleared my name. Even happier that you found out how good that Fireview is and that the key to any stove is the fuel you put in it.

On the overfire, where did you have the draft set? Perhaps it was set a tad too low. Next time you might try opening the draft just a little bit and you should see the stove top temperature drop. I say this because I caught my wife one night fretting over the stove because it kept going to 700 degrees so she'd open the bypass then close it only to open it again. I told her to give it more draft as she had it either closed or close to it. Seems like I told her to turn it to 1 or 1.5 and the stove top cooled and stayed down. Yes, it stayed around that 650 mark for quite some time which was nice because it was cold outside.

 

[nate379]

Birch is the best stuff we have here. Growing up in Maine, we tried to get as little birch as possible as that was the "chit wood". haha!

Went out for a trip to the glacier in the Jeeps.

We got rid of our glaciers 10,000 to 20,000 years ago and they are generally not missed at all. I would recommend that you get rid of yours as well. We are however, grateful that the result of their 2 or 3 trips across the Midwest, including 2/3 of Indiana created some excellent fertile soil for growing hardwoods, including my new favorite Black Locust. If 3 or 4 splits of your Alaskan grown wood will keep you warm I could probably mail you a dozen or so pieces of BL and that should just about get you through the winter. . . . . it's good stuff. OK it might take 2 dozen depending on your insulation. In my old house, I wish I had another chord of it ready to burn to overcome my lousy heat loss.

 

[Slow1]

Winter temps have been very slow to show up around here it seems. We finally had a couple of 20* nights this weekend. Fine with me though.. not really too eager for it.

However, I have been burning softer woods - mix of some evergreens and poplar along with semi-punky "mutt wood" that I can't even identify. All of it very dry, some of the most dry wood I've ever had based on the "glass test". I have not had to clean the glass yet this year other than getting ash off as it seems somehow it gets "splattered" on in spots somehow. Not sure how that happens, but the pattern looks like it splats. Guess something lands against it in the night?

Anyway, I did get into some of my "premimum" wood for the weekend nights. BIG difference noticed here too. Oak and Black Birch (my favorite). Both at least 3 years split and what a difference I could notice. 10 hrs of good heating and a huge pile of coals left over to ignite the next load.

Good, dry, solid wood makes a difference.

I'm going to be breaking into my pile of ash soon - first experience with it. Hope it turns out to be as good as folks say it is.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You will like it Slow. You have much better fuel than when you first started out and can see the difference it makes. Good for you.

 

[Stump_Branch]

Black locust makes nice firewood. I try to knock off its think bark. I love the heat and burn times i get with it, other than getting it to light, better than oak. Drys very quick, and i think its a tree you can plant and harvest in your life time. Stuff grows from saw dust i swear. Ive caught a sparks in the face more than once opening the door, raking coals to add wood.

Interesting wood is all. With its growth rate and hardiness some of you far northern folk ought to grow it like a crop.

 

[Flatbedford]

About 95% of my fuel for this year is Black Locust. I does burn hot and long, but I am having a heck of a time getting it going if I wait too long to reload. The wood is plenty dry. I have no moisture meter, but there is no steaming or hissing, it just takes awhile to really light up. I am trying to make some smaller splits while I move the wood from my stacks to the front porch, but that is a PIA to split the wood a second time. I may start mixing in some pf next year's Red Oak to help get things started. I was almost late to work this am because I was waiting for a good fire before I closed the bypass and set the air for the day. I know that this BL is great stuff, but I will gladly trade it for some well seasoned Oak if anybody with 50 miles of me is interested.

 

[firefighterjake]

Birch is the best stuff we have here. Growing up in Maine, we tried to get as little birch as possible as that was the "chit wood". haha!

Went out for a trip to the glacier in the Jeeps.

We got rid of our glaciers 10,000 to 20,000 years ago and they are generally not missed at all. I would recommend that you get rid of yours as well. We are however, grateful that the result of their 2 or 3 trips across the Midwest, including 2/3 of Indiana created some excellent fertile soil for growing hardwoods, including my new favorite Black Locust. If 3 or 4 splits of your Alaskan grown wood will keep you warm I could probably mail you a dozen or so pieces of BL and that should just about get you through the winter. . . . . it's good stuff. OK it might take 2 dozen depending on your insulation. In my old house, I wish I had another chord of it ready to burn to overcome my lousy heat loss.

Ah, I don't mind white birch so much . . . I actually find it's not so bad with the EPA stoves -- even the secondary burners . . . I don't load up the stove with birch before leaving for the day or going to sleep at night, but it's fine for when I'm around in the evening or weekend . . . and my wife likes the way it lights up so easily on the hot coals.

Besides it must be good . . . I mean all the LL Bean catalogs show a bunch of white birch in the firewood holders beside the roaring fireplace or woodstove.

 

[oldspark]

About 95% of my fuel for this year is Black Locust. I does burn hot and long, but I am having a heck of a time getting it going if I wait too long to reload. The wood is plenty dry. I have no moisture meter, but there is no steaming or hissing, it just takes awhile to really light up. I am trying to make some smaller splits while I move the wood from my stacks to the front porch, but that is a PIA to split the wood a second time. I may start mixing in some pf next year's Red Oak to help get things started. I was almost late to work this am because I was waiting for a good fire before I closed the bypass and set the air for the day. I know that this BL is great stuff, but I will gladly trade it for some well seasoned Oak if anybody with 50 miles of me is interested.

I find that interesting, I have the same problem with oak as the BL, does not start up easily due to the denseity of the wood, for the most part the two woods are close to the same.

 

[Flatbedford]

The BL I am burning was standing dead for years before I got to it. The logs had no bark and weren't that big either, maybe 8"-12" diameter. The outside is weathered so smooth and the wood is so hard that it just doesn't seem to have enough surface area to light up easily and because the logs were smaller, all the splits have one side smooth like this. If I re-split smaller, I can get some rugger edges that light up faster, but then I have a bunch of fast burning, small splits. The old Oak I have has a much rougher surface with a little more surface area and it tends to light up faster. I like the heat, but I don't like th extra work this wood is making. In a month or so I will be burning splits from bigger trees and hopefully more split surfaces will help ignition. This morning, it took an hour to get a load of this stuff ready to turn down the air and close the bypass, and there was still some smoke coming out the chimney when I drove away. It takes that long to get good, hot burning that can support a smokeless secondary burn. I never had problems like this before.

 

[Todd]

The BL I am burning was standing dead for years before I got to it. The logs had no bark and weren't that big either, maybe 8"-12" diameter. The outside is weathered so smooth and the wood is so hard that it just doesn't seem to have enough surface area to light up easily and because the logs were smaller, all the splits have one side smooth like this. If I re-split smaller, I can get some rugger edges that light up faster, but then I have a bunch of fast burning, small splits. The old Oak I have has a much rougher surface with a little more surface area and it tends to light up faster. I like the heat, but I don't like th extra work this wood is making. In a month or so I will be burning splits from bigger trees and hopefully more split surfaces will help ignition. This morning, it took an hour to get a load of this stuff ready to turn down the air and close the bypass, and there was still some smoke coming out the chimney when I drove away. It takes that long to get good, hot burning that can support a smokeless secondary burn. I never had problems like this before.

I think your splits are too large? How many are you loading in the stove? Split them down so you can get at least 6 or more in there and it shouldn't take an hour to get going. Sometimes when I don't have enough coals I'll rake them all forward, lay a couple pieces of kindling on top then fill the box.

 

[oldspark]

Flatbed-you dont have access to elm, soft maple, cherry or anything like that to mix in, I hate trying to get a fire going with some of the more dense wood.

 

[Flatbedford]

I can get 6 or so splits in the stove. This reloading on a good bed of hot coals. My splits are the same size I've always used, I think it's just that this buch of BL I have simply does not want to ignite! I have a limited supply of Ash that I can mix in, but that is a real PIA! I have been cutting a fallen standing dead Ash this fall that may even be ready to burn if I get it split. I also have some Red Oak that was split big in August 2009, and them split small and stacked i the summer of 2010 that I could mix in too, but I was hoping all this BL would give the oak more seasoning time. I am a little disappointed with my massive BL pile right now.

 

[oldspark]

Bummer, I'll trade but the shipping is going to kill us.

 

[Flatbedford]

Take a ride out here. NYC is beautiful during the holiday season!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Steve, I cannot imagine any city being beautiful!! Take me to the country; that's where I belong.

 

[Flatbedford]

Dennis, I agree, but some people actually go out of their way to visit cities! I just have to work in one.

 

[SmokeyCity]

Yeah that BL sits pretty high up on the BTU charts. This our first year burning the stuff and I haven't quite yet mastered how to make it work best in our stove. It seems to take longer to ignite than normal species.

BL is my fav too. I've burned white oak which is suppoed to be even better but the BL consistently burns hotter and better.

Anyone know why BL burns hotter then white oak even tho W.O is more dense?