How many people get a large coals bed after burning in there wood burning stove.. like after around 3-4 hours of burning?
coals
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Or decrease airflow. I sometimes get a large coal bed when pushing the stove hard
Wait after 3 to 4 hours of burning. That is probably just normal coaling stage. Your only half way through the load
Oak gives me an excessive amount. I’ve learned to mix it on the coldest days since burning it over 3 days or more, the pile takes up too much room with little heat output. I only get a normal amount from an established fire after 3 or 4 hours. It has to burn 24/7 for 3 days to accumulate to the point of needing extra air to burn down.
The design of the stove makes a big difference in how you use coals. Deep stoves, or Box stoves end up with fine ash burned down at the front, and coals with charcoal in the rear. Each morning remove ash from the front, and rake charcoal and coals with a little ash ahead. Start the fire on these coals, and you never need to let the stove go out to remove ash. Always burn on an inch of ash. This prevents oxygen from getting to coals, and insulated them, prolonging the fire. If you don’t want coals, clean down to brick more, but this will not prolong the fire.
If you need to burn them off, rake toward the air intake to allow oxygen to come into contact with their surface. When embedded in ash the way they should be, only the outer surface is being consumed where you see blue flame. The glowing portion is not actually being consumed. Like a hot poker or electric heating element that glows, but is not being consumed. Since only the surface in contact with oxygen is consumed, little heat output is realized.
I should add, you may be loading with the wrong side down. Place the splits with split sides toward the heat. This heats the fuel faster due to more surface area towards the heat. If you’re laying larger pieces bark side down on the coals, it will be slower to preheat, smoke, glow, and burn slower, possibly looking like coals when the log is charring, glowing and not preheating inside to out gas, burning cleaner.
If you start fires top down, start with logs on bottom bark down, so the larger surface area of split side is up, toward the heat. This is the only time bark goes down. You don’t need to load larger wood on the fire or open the door after lighting this way. It should take 3 or 4 hours just to start a good coal bed.
If you start fires top down, start with logs on bottom bark down, so the larger surface area of split side is up, toward the heat. This is the only time bark goes down. You don’t need to load larger wood on the fire or open the door after lighting this way. It should take 3 or 4 hours just to start a good coal bed.
I will use bark to burn down excessive coals. A medium size load of softwood or small load of smallish hardwood will also help to have more room for a full size overnight load.
Open the air a bit at the end of a burn. Maple gives mostly ash here (a LOT), and not much coals.
If I have coals and I want to reload a big load, I rake them to near the door where the airwash comes down, add a small very dry split of anything (if I don't have pine, for, or bark, even a 1" split of <15 pct red oak works for me) on top to direct the air under that wood and thru the coals, and burn on high. 15-30 mins later the volume of coals is half as large .
If I have coals and I want to reload a big load, I rake them to near the door where the airwash comes down, add a small very dry split of anything (if I don't have pine, for, or bark, even a 1" split of <15 pct red oak works for me) on top to direct the air under that wood and thru the coals, and burn on high. 15-30 mins later the volume of coals is half as large .
As said your only halfway thru the burn cycle. But if you need more heat you need to add more wood. Sometimes I have to do that, but once the house temp is up to where I want it, I let the coal bed burn down.
At 4 hrs after starting a full load in a Summit there should be a lot of solid wood still left. If it is all coals the fire needs to burn down more or the air turned down more and earlier.
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