Ack! My little stove is coaling up!

[EatenByLimestone]

Time to throw some pine on and open up the air! If this goes on much more I won't have any room for wood!

Matt

 

[precaud]

What stove is it?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The small Century. 24000007 I believe it's the same as the Dutchwest small.

Matt

 

[wg_bent]

Yup, add the pine!! It works wonders. Keeps BTUs up and coals down.

 

[precaud]

Reducing coaling:
For east-west stoves, burning smaller, hotter loads does it.
For north-south types, burning larger pieces does it.

 

[Woodsroad]

I have a Jotul F3, is that an east-west or a north south? Or a north-by-northwest? <gr>

I have coals build up, too. I generally put some smaller pieces in there and open it up all the way, seems to get them to bun down.

 

[WarmGuy]

What does that mean, "Coaling up?"

 

[karl]

Coaling up is when the stove is full of coals and you can't put anymore wood in the stove until the coals burn down

 

[PAJerry]

Having a small stove, I've learned that you can reduce the coaling by using smaller splits. We use slab this year and the awful coaling we had last year is now gone - used to have to clean it out twice a day sometimes.

 

[precaud]

I have a Jotul F3, is that an east-west or a north south? Or a north-by-northwest? <gr>.

Depends on where you live... or maybe how you look at it... if you look at it from the side, it changes

The F3 is E-W (primary air is fed to the side of the wood).

 

[Stevebass4]

i have a small insert and i have to shovel out the coals every couple of hours

 

[Gunner]

i have a small insert and i have to shovel out the coals every couple of hours

:gulp:

That's sac-religious....Run with the air wide open and burn some softwood with poor coaling abilities ie. PINE

 

[Stevebass4]

i have a small insert and i have to shovel out the coals every couple of hours

:gulp:

That's sac-religious....Run with the air wide open and burn some softwood with poor coaling abilities ie. PINE

i would but all i have is hardwood and the air is always wide open (qf 2100)

 

[Todd]

i have a small insert and i have to shovel out the coals every couple of hours

:gulp:

That's sac-religious....Run with the air wide open and burn some softwood with poor coaling abilities ie. PINE

Those coals give almost half your heat! Let em burn down or burn the fire a little hotter.

 

[Todd]

i have a small insert and i have to shovel out the coals every couple of hours

:gulp:

That's sac-religious....Run with the air wide open and burn some softwood with poor coaling abilities ie. PINE

i would but all i have is hardwood and the air is always wide open (qf 2100)

Are you saying your coaling up even after burning your fire wide open? Could be a draft problem?

 

[Stevebass4]

yup i run it wide open all the time

the qf 2100 is a small insert with only one air lever - i don't have a draft problem that i know of - never any smoke inside the home

using a direct connect - 6 feet into my chimney

i don't know how to run it any hotter than what i am doing now

 

[Todd]

yup i run it wide open all the time

the qf 2100 is a small insert with only one air lever - i don't have a draft problem that i know of - never any smoke inside the home

using a direct connect - 6 feet into my chimney

i don't know how to run it any hotter than what i am doing now

How tall of chimney and what is the inside flue diameter? It may be drafting well enough not to dump smoke into you home, but not enough pull to give you optimum efficiency. Maybe you need a full liner? I use to have excessive coals with my old stove running into an 6.5"x10" flue. Then relined with 5.5 and stove burned much better.

 

[Mo Heat]

Might be worth checking the seal where the direct connect pipe meets the chimney tiles. That could kill your draft if it leaks.

 

[precaud]

I'd say you have a draft problem... describe the chimney.

You might try larger logs. My Quad 2100 will burn just fine on a couple 6-7" dia. splits without coals building up. It loves big rounds, too. I run the air at the lowest setting.

 

[Stevebass4]

normal brick chimney (exterior) with clay lined the direct connect is blocked off with a blockoff plate and the direct connect is 6 feet inside

i would guess it's 20 feet high

i know i should get a full liner

 

[karl]

This is one of the reasons why I'm glad I bought a Summit insert. I don't live in a truely cold climate. Right now, we are hitting the 50's during the day and a stove full of coals will keep the house warm nicely. It's also good to know that I can always put more wood in it. I've only had it half full of coals or maybe a little bit more. That's still almost 2 cubic feet of coals. Shovel them to the front and open the draft and I get good heat for a long time.

 

[budman]

Steve are you raking your coals to the front of stove.

 

[Wolves-Lower]

I guess I am lost here.
Why in the world would you want to discourage coals?
I have a small woodstove. And when it gets full of coals thats when I get my best heat.
I rake them to the front, add a few pallet slabs, put in the hardwood then shut it down.
I don't think I would ever take them out.

Perhaps someone can enlighten me on this??

 

[Jags]

I guess I am lost here.
Why in the world would you want to discourage coals?
I have a small woodstove. And when it gets full of coals thats when I get my best heat.
I rake them to the front, add a few pallet slabs, put in the hardwood then shut it down.
I don't think I would ever take them out.

Perhaps someone can enlighten me on this??

I think what is being referenced here is the fact that they have a LARGE coal buildup, not allowing enough room to add cord wood.
This can be a problem depending on the types of wood used and burning habits. Coal buildup isn't really a bad thing, but some stoves perform better while a live flame exists and gasification of the unburnt wood happens.

Some ideas that may help:

If you wish to reduce (burn) a large coal base down:

1. Keep the coals stirred up and keep the air controls open (obviously watch to make sure you are in the safe temp zone), if you do not let an ash coating establish on the coal it will burn hotter and faster.

2. Stir the coals and add small, dry splits a couple at a time to keep the firebox temp up. This is where a lesser wood such as pine works well. This allows for good heat generation as well as consuming the coal base (lots of heat in those coals).

3. Attempt to rake or pile the coals into the center of the stove (but disturb the pile often to get rid of any accumulated ash). This will concentrate heat (like starting your charcoal grill).

Hope this helps.

 

[precaud]

I have a small woodstove. And when it gets full of coals thats when I get my best heat.

What stove is that? (put it in your sig and we won't have to ask...)