Disintegration of Ashes!!!

[NordicSplitter]

Been burning a mix of soft wood and hard so far this season. Usually empty my ash pan ever 4th day. Give everything a good cleaning. Ashes, front glass, wipe down the hearth. Just make it look good. However, went 6 days last week(wasn't planning on it, just happened) when I went to empty the ash pan, what a surprise....Total dust for ashes! Never seen that before. Burned more in the 6 days than in my usual 4 but less ashes! Has this ever happened to anyone else. Did I enter a different stage of burning?

 

[pen]

Do you usually burn a mix?

 

[jeffesonm]

I've noticed as my wood has gotten drier over the years, I get less and less ash and it's more fine white powdery stuff.

 

[CountryBoy19]

The dryer the wood the hotter and more efficient the combustion, the less ash output you get.

 

[ClanCameron]

Ditto to the dryness of WOOD. I'm burning 3-4 year seasoned wood now and it's my best burning year ever, with less ash, lotsa Heat.

 

[Jay106n]

Yep, i've found the same. The dryer and hotter you burn, the less ash left behind, no clumps, just fine ash.

 

[gzecc]

Occasionally you need to burn down the ashes. I just can't keep adding wood without burning them down.

 

[NordicSplitter]

Do you usually burn a mix?

Normally I try too. This winter so far probably 60% soft 40% hard. I'm sure that will change once the cold blasts decide to show up.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Different woods burn differently. Some just leave a pure fine white ash that burn up to nothing eventually. Nice burning reall seasoned wood though, right?

 

[Chimney Smoke]

A lot of time during the week I start a fire each afternoon when I get home from work and burn 24/7 on the weekends. My stove will still have a decent amount of coals left each morning to reload if I wanted to but I can't seem to talk myself into getting up an extra half hour earlier to make sure the stove is properly cruising when I leave for work at 530AM. I do stir all the coals and ash around and get them glowing red before I leave. Each afternoon there are no chunks left and everything is just fine powder. If I don't stir it up in the morning I'll have more chunks than ash.

 

[peakbagger]

My wood boiler is coal hybrid with a bottom grate. All the air comes though the grate and it has a refractory lined pit for the wood. Is runs full out to charge my storage tank. The ash produced by it is fine powder no chunks except an occasional nail from my kindling.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Having a grate helps a lot with burning up the chunks. We used to have a lopi answer and it always had chunks and unburned pieces because it was burning on the floor of the stove and the pieces would get buried. Now we have a good cook stove and it burns clean and hot and only gives us fine ash that we empty once a week. The firebox is lined with fire brick and that helps a lot.

 

[CountryBoy19]

A lot of time during the week I start a fire each afternoon when I get home from work and burn 24/7 on the weekends. My stove will still have a decent amount of coals left each morning to reload if I wanted to but I can't seem to talk myself into getting up an extra half hour earlier to make sure the stove is properly cruising when I leave for work at 530AM. I do stir all the coals and ash around and get them glowing red before I leave. Each afternoon there are no chunks left and everything is just fine powder. If I don't stir it up in the morning I'll have more chunks than ash.

first thing I do when I get up in the morning is stoke the fire, then I do all my tasks to get ready like shower (if you shower in the morning), get dressed, personal hygiene, pack lunch, feed the dogs etc and by that time the fire is going good enough to close the primary air down. Very rarely do I have to stick around before I leave.

If it takes longer for your fire to get going than it does for you to get ready then you either get ready very, very fast (and I thought I was fast) or your fires take unusually long to get going...

 

[maple1]

Occasionally you need to burn down the ashes. I just can't keep adding wood without burning them down.

I don't think ashes will burn. Coals will.

 

[maple1]

Yep, i've found the same. The dryer and hotter you burn, the less ash left behind, no clumps, just fine ash.

I think that's also partly due to more ash going up & out the chimney, the finer it is.