Burning down coals

[Hogwildz]

You positively sure the wood is dry? I had a problem similar to you last year. But I knew my wood was on the wetter side. Had no choice as it was all I had.

its very dry and light as a feather!... i tried what you said about the big split on the ash lip but i did all three it seems to be helping for now but once you get to the half way point i don't even think its burning in the back of the stove ... my secondary is going like crazy and temp is about 625 as the wood burns it will fall apart blocking the front and the back i will still have the same problem.. but hopefully this will work

Helped me alot. Also, try not to burn all hardwood such as oak etc. Mix it with some softer stuff that doesn't coal as much.
I been using alot of oak, but I been lucky, and I just keep burning the coals until I get them low enough. House doesn;t usually fluctuate in temp more than 5 degrees.

 

[iceman]

You positively sure the wood is dry? I had a problem similar to you last year. But I knew my wood was on the wetter side. Had no choice as it was all I had.

its very dry and light as a feather!... i tried what you said about the big split on the ash lip but i did all three it seems to be helping for now but once you get to the half way point i don't even think its burning in the back of the stove ... my secondary is going like crazy and temp is about 625 as the wood burns it will fall apart blocking the front and the back i will still have the same problem.. but hopefully this will work

Helped me alot. Also, try not to burn all hardwood such as oak etc. Mix it with some softer stuff that doesn't coal as much.
I been using alot of oak, but I been lucky, and I just keep burning the coals until I get them low enough. House doesn;t usually fluctuate in temp more than 5 degrees.

i don't know what i am burning how can i tell the diff? lol but around here mostly all you get is oak or mixed hardwoods

 

[Hogwildz]

You positively sure the wood is dry? I had a problem similar to you last year. But I knew my wood was on the wetter side. Had no choice as it was all I had.

its very dry and light as a feather!... i tried what you said about the big split on the ash lip but i did all three it seems to be helping for now but once you get to the half way point i don't even think its burning in the back of the stove ... my secondary is going like crazy and temp is about 625 as the wood burns it will fall apart blocking the front and the back i will still have the same problem.. but hopefully this will work

Helped me alot. Also, try not to burn all hardwood such as oak etc. Mix it with some softer stuff that doesn't coal as much.
I been using alot of oak, but I been lucky, and I just keep burning the coals until I get them low enough. House doesn;t usually fluctuate in temp more than 5 degrees.

i don't know what i am burning how can i tell the diff? lol but around here mostly all you get is oak or mixed hardwoods

I don't know all what I am burning either. I do know oak its unmistakable. I have some of the soft maple and other I have no clue. I just notice what they look like and what kind of coals & ash they leave. The oak to me does not seem to leave as much ash as the soft maple and other softer woods, but does leave alot of long lasting coals. The softer woods are opposite in my opinion. Just experiment with what you have, If you know what the oak looks like, mix it up with stuff you have that you notice burns leaving different colored ash etc. During the day, I pretty much burn the irregular shaped crap, some oak, some other. I like to get rid of the "junk" so I have nice uniform pcs for the overnight burn to pack her full.

 

[swestall]

The coals are a pain. I read in another thread, and I've started to do it, pushing the coals to one side then taking the ash out below it, then doing that to the other side until I get much of the ash out. Then I spread the coals around with a bit more to the front and reload, eventually these coals burn down. Since I am 24/7 that's the best I can figure out.

 

[iceman]

well guys same problem this morning ... i called pacific today and am awaiting return phone call ... its the draft .. i think i ran maybe 16 feet in ss but i am sure thats it ...however it could be combustion air but its one of the 2 i am going to take apart my stove and remove the ash drop plate and see if that helps

 

[karl]

I'm in the same boat Iceman. I have a Summit insert with a 16' SS liner and I have tons of coals left from an overnight burn. I also have alot of burnt out black chips. I'd like to hear what PE says about it. If it's a draft problem I'll insulate the liner and maybe add a few more feet to it for next year.

I still can't complain its heating the house, but things get a bit cold in the early evening when I'm trying to burn the coals down.

 

[swestall]

If I damp the stove down all the way to get the longest burn, I get the most coals. If I leave it 1/2 open, I get less coals and less time. No magic bullet here.
I really don't mind managing a bed of coals under the splits as it seems to add to the effectiveness of the fire.
That take the ash out a little every day process keeps my coal bed low enough to keep reloading with enough new fuel to get good burn times. But, I am still experimenting with how much I can leave the damper open to get a good balance of burn time and more ash/less coal.

 

[iceman]

i just took out my ash plate thingy in the back of the stove... i can see the air coming in hopefully it will increase draft ....i am gonna burn without the shroud tonight to see if it makes a diff if so i will be making a new shroud

 

[Hogwildz]

i just took out my ash plate thingy in the back of the stove... i can see the air coming in hopefully it will increase draft ....i am gonna burn without the shroud tonight to see if it makes a diff if so i will be making a new shroud

Ash plate thingy in back of the stove?, WTF is that?

 

[iceman]

i just took out my ash plate thingy in the back of the stove... i can see the air coming in hopefully it will increase draft ....i am gonna burn without the shroud tonight to see if it makes a diff if so i will be making a new shroud

Ash plate thingy in back of the stove?, WTF is that?

lol i have the ash clean out in my fireplace not my stove...my mistake!!

 

[iceman]

by the way does the ss liner change colors mine looks like its darker is that from the heat

 

[iceman]

update the summit is stripped down i opened ash clean out temp is still around 600 after going up to about 650 then down to about 550-575ish secondary is really been going well i hope giving it better or more air has helpedwe will see in the morning

 

[Hogwildz]

by the way does the ss liner change colors mine looks like its darker is that from the heat

Mine turned a lil gold at the adapter plate, most likely normal from heat &/or the oil on the liner burning off.

 

[Hogwildz]

Pu a 4' section of insulated double wall rigid on the top of that liner and I bet you get some better draft & performance. I'm telling ya, temporarily try a cheap 4' x 6" section of galvanized from home cheapo and see if it works. The $7.00 is worth the test.

 

[iceman]

got an email today from pe he gace me a questionare to fill out ... blah blah ..when i spoke to him on the phone he said that he has been getting a lot of that lately
the shroud off and ash cleanout did help some (along with placing splits in the lip).. but my house is not that tight that it shoulda been a problem i think its the just the freash air vs inside air theory

 

[MarkG]

I am pretty new to this but this is what I have been doing

once there is a huge pile of glowing coals, if I am in the room, open the door of the woodburner to let huge amounts of radient heat into the house for about 30=60 mins, by then the colas burn down about half way enough left to refire...

is this crazy???

Mark

 

[marky_mark896]

I wanted to do that too Mark, but I read where, during the coal burn down stage, a lot of carbon monoxide is given off, so to be safe, I don't do it. I don't know if it's enough to hurt someone or not.

 

[MarkG]

wow that is an important issue, but I dont smell any smoke or anything doing this so I assumed the fumes are still going out the chimney...please experts chime in

 

[Hogwildz]

One thing to keep in mind is carbon monoxide is odorless.

 

[marky_mark896]

I believe I am correct in saying that there is no smoke during the coal burning stage (experts chime in if this is wrong). All the gases from the wood are shed during earlier stages of the burn. CO is the exhaust during the coal burn, and is odorless like Hogwildz said.