Color of the secondary Burn?

[theonlyzarathu]

My PE Summit, when started with kindling will go into secondary burn very very quickly, I mean as soon as the fire is fully burning.

I've always figured that the color of the flame is indicative of the temperature of the flame, but in a wood fire this is not true. The color is dependent on the stuff in the wood that is being burned.

But.... I can adjust the color of the secondary burn by adjusting the primary air intake. If I adjust that so that the fire produced long spikes of purplish-blue-even white flame, am I getting less creosote burning? Or doesn't it really make any difference.

I've searched on-line for this, but have not found any answer.

 

[begreen]

Wood impurities may influence the flame color, but the temp is still a guideline. I know I have thing set right when I start seeing blue/purple flames regardless of the wood.

 

[HotCoals]

I always figured blue was hottest even with wood..but I don't know.

 

[theonlyzarathu]

Wood impurities may influence the flame color, but the temp is still a guideline. I know I have thing set right when I start seeing blue/purple flames regardless of the wood.

So you delibertately set the primary draft for the blue/purple flames and avoid the yellow orange flames if you can except in start up?

 

[theonlyzarathu]

[del]

Wood impurities may influence the flame color, but the temp is still a guideline. I know I have thing set right when I start seeing blue/purple flames regardless of the wood.

So you delibertately set the primary draft for the blue/purple flames and avoid the yellow orange flames if you can except in start up?

[/del]

 

[pen]

I always figured blue was hottest even with wood..but I don't know.

I think it can be deceiving.

Once a year or so, about the time I start wondering if I'm nuts for saying to so many folks that they need to search for drier wood, I'll prove to myself its importance and grab a stove load of 6mo split and stacked wood to see how it goes. Did that about a week ago and after that SOB finally got to burning and settled in, it had the most beautiful blue / purple flames in the firebox that I had ever seen in that quantity.

Now, that was a full load that took an hour and a 1/2 to get up to "normal" temps (20 minutes of that at about the 1 hour mark involved a hair dryer on high speed stuck up my stove's air hole) and once cruising I still had to leave the air open 50% or more. In the end the stove top temps were no where near as high as I normally get, the load burned up in about 2/3 the time, but man did it look pretty!

If I had never burned anything but less than well seasoned wood to compare to, I would have sworn I was doing something right by the color of those beautiful flames alone

pen

 

[HotCoals]

I always figured blue was hottest even with wood..but I don't know.

I think it can be deceiving.

Once a year or so, about the time I start wondering if I'm nuts for saying to so many folks that they need to search for drier wood, I'll prove to myself its importance and grab a stove load of 6mo split and stacked wood to see how it goes. Did that about a week ago and after that SOB finally got to burning and settled in, it had the most beautiful blue / purple flames in the firebox that I had ever seen in that quantity.

Now, that was a full load that took an hour and a 1/2 to get up to "normal" temps (20 minutes of that at about the 1 hour mark involved a hair dryer on high speed stuck up my stove's air hole) and once cruising I still had to leave the air open 50% or more. In the end the stove top temps were no where near as high as I normally get, the load burned up in about 2/3 the time, but man did it look pretty!

If I had never burned anything but less than well seasoned wood to compare to, I would have sworn I was doing something right by the color of those beautiful flames alone

pen

Good report..I often wondered if it was the same deal as nat gas or propane.

 

[corey21]

With seasoned wood when i start seeing blue flame the stove usually gets a little hotter.But with unseasoned wood it can be very pretty but with all the moisture it can trick you.

 

[firefighterjake]

Wood impurities may influence the flame color, but the temp is still a guideline. I know I have thing set right when I start seeing blue/purple flames regardless of the wood.

+1 . . . although if the temps are good in the flue and in the stove and I am getting good secondaries I can live with just about any color flame in the firebox . . . other than pink . . . pink flames are just not manly enough for me.

But yeah . . . when I see blue or even purple flames I know I'm generating some serious BTUs and burning pretty darn cleanly.

 

[Coleman Stove]

I always figured blue was hottest even with wood..but I don't know.

Well technically isn't white supposedly the hottest color a flame can get too?

 

[HotCoals]

I always figured blue was hottest even with wood..but I don't know.

Well technically isn't white supposedly the hottest color a flame can get too?

Could be..I dunno.
I have also heard the heat is hottest just past the flame.

 

[burleymike]

The only time I get blue or purple flames is when the wood is starting to enter the coaling stage. Maybe it is because I am burning pine and the sap is so rich. My flames are super bright almost white like a lighter flame or gas lantern.