Charcoal-like remnants: keep or toss?

[Runningtab]

Fire dies down, leaving 90% burned charcoal-like chunks -- if charcoal were essentially weightless and crumbled to the touch. I've left them in as a bed for kindling last couple of fires. Seem to do no harm, and it's easier to leave them than to crush 'em or shovel 'em out. Leave? Toss? Thanks!

 

[mellow]

Leave them, plenty of energy left in those charcoal chunks.

 

[axeman628]

Leave them. At least for me it seems like night and day difference starting a fire in a stove with the remnants of the last fire vs. a cleaned out stove, even when cold. With the extended shoulder season I wasn't running 24/7 and I used to clean way too much. I stopped doing a full cleaning, I just scoop out some ash and wipe down the glass. Much happier with startups and performance early in the cycle.

 

[Bigsby]

Leave them, plenty of energy left in those charcoal chunks.

This. Plus they're good for keeping splits suspended above the ash bed when starting a top-down fire in a cold stove, giving the undersides a chance to catch fire.

 

[saskwoodburner]

Keep them in the firebox and burn them.

 

[heavy hammer]

I'm with saskwoodburner burn them great for fire restart.

 

[firefighterjake]

Keep . . . it's fuel . . . and you'll find that they ignite pretty easily the next time you light up the stove.

 

[Runningtab]

Great responses and very helpful - thanks all.

 

[peakbagger]

Its worth setting up a strainer for your ash and recovering the charcoal chunks. Just throw them in with your next fire

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

I got one of these for sifting the bigger pieces out of my ash. Works great.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BZ21BSW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00