Englander 30NCH not burning all coals

[bholler]

But what about when it gets down to just hot coals and the flue temp is only about 250°? Does that cause creosote build-up as well?

No because there is noting left to create creosote at that stage of the fire

 

[Highbeam]

No because there is noting left to create creosote at that stage of the fire

That's also why you let the fire burn down to coals before cooking over it. The nasty chemicals have burnt off.

 

[larryjbjr]

Ok, a little update.

Today I bought a moisture meter. I took one of my elm logs, split it, and checked it and it is reading in the low 20's. So, y'all were right, it ain't dry enough.

I've ordered a cord of wood from a fellow on craigslist. He's supposed to deliver it tomorrow. I'll of course check it, and if it's dry enough I'll take it and hopefully have better burns.

Elm reading in the low 20's now, if I c/s/s it this spring/early summer will it be ready for next winter? I'm just north of Milwaukee, WI if it matters.....

 

[Woody Stover]

took one of my elm logs, split it, and checked it and it is reading in the low 20's. So, y'all were right, it ain't dry enough.
I've ordered a cord of wood from a fellow on craigslist. He's supposed to deliver it tomorrow. I'll of course check it, and if it's dry enough I'll take it and hopefully have better burns.
Elm reading in the low 20's now, if I c/s/s it this spring/early summer will it be ready for next winter? I'm just north of Milwaukee, WI if it matters.....

Gonna be hard to beat low 20s from a wood guy, but you talked to him and talked about MC I assume? Yes, if you split not too big and stack the Elm in the wind, top-covered, it'll be good come fall...like 18. But you might have to split bigger to control the 30-NC, I don't know.
Ahh, "North of Milw"...know it well.

 

[woodchiprookie]

I cut alot of dead standing ash thats been dead standing for 3 or 4 years. I cut it last spring. I stacked it in rounds and it sat all summer. I split it a couple months ago and STILL have to let it sit by the stove for a week sometimes before it will burn right. And thats in a couple of old non-epa Fishers.....

 

[CenterTree]

So, I understand that a slow burning fire with a flue temp less than around 275° will build up creosote. But what about when it gets down to just hot coals and the flue temp is only about 250°? Does that cause creosote build-up as well?

Let me know if I missed it, but how are you determining your flue temp? If you are using your IR gun and just getting a reading from the outside of the pipe, you don't have the real temp of the INSIDE of the flue.

Likewise, do you have single wall or double wall black stove pipe? I find that with single wall I can estimate the actual INSIDE temps to be about 3 times what the gun reads. And with double wall pipe the INSIDE temp may be about twice what the gun reads. YMMV.

PS: that 900 stove top you mentioned you had is WAY too high to sustain. Be careful, lest ye need a new stove.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Ok, a little update.

Today I bought a moisture meter. I took one of my elm logs, split it, and checked it and it is reading in the low 20's. So, y'all were right, it ain't dry enough.

I've ordered a cord of wood from a fellow on craigslist. He's supposed to deliver it tomorrow. I'll of course check it, and if it's dry enough I'll take it and hopefully have better burns.

Elm reading in the low 20's now, if I c/s/s it this spring/early summer will it be ready for next winter? I'm just north of Milwaukee, WI if it matters.....

Just to clarify, are you splitting the split and checking the middle?

If so, 20's is darn good.

The elm that i have split (or tried to split) was very fibrous. It was wet as all get out when i cut it down and dried very quickly in the sun. It is campfire wood for me. I love the way it pops and smells.

 

[larryjbjr]

Let me know if I missed it, but how are you determining your flue temp? If you are using your IR gun and just getting a reading from the outside of the pipe, you don't have the real temp of the INSIDE of the flue.

Likewise, do you have single wall or double wall black stove pipe? I find that with single wall I can estimate the actual INSIDE temps to be about 3 times what the gun reads. And with double wall pipe the INSIDE temp may be about twice what the gun reads. YMMV.

PS: that 900 stove top you mentioned you had is WAY too high to sustain. Be careful, lest ye need a new stove.

Flue temp is determined by a magnetic temp gauge attached to the flue admit 18" above the stove top.

Stove top is determined with an IR gun. And I only hit 900° once, then quickly brought it back down.

And I have 24" of single wall pipe coming out of the stove, then a double wall 90 and another 24" of double wall pipe going to the chimney.





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[larryjbjr]

Just to clarify, are you splitting the split and checking the middle?

Actually, I split the split, brought it inside for a couple hours, then checked it.



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[larryjbjr]

I find that with single wall I can estimate the actual INSIDE temps to be about 3 times what the gun reads. And with double wall pipe the INSIDE temp may be about twice what the gun reads.

Wouldn't it be the other way around?


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[sportbikerider78]

Yes..higher flue temps with insulated pipe.

 

[Jazzberry]

Wet wood don't cause your coals not to burn. It don't matter if you start with 100% moisture by the time you get to coal stage there is 0 moisture in your coals. Black Oak leaves a lot of messy ash that acts like an insulator to a bed of hot coals. Just rake the coals to the front and open the air to burn them down occasionally. Usually when I get to the point where coals start building up its time to clean the ashes out anyways.

 

[Woody Stover]

with single wall I can estimate the actual INSIDE temps to be about 3 times what the gun reads. And with double wall pipe the INSIDE temp may be about twice what the gun reads.

I think you reversed those estimates....double the outside temp for single-wall, triple for double wall.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

I run that stove too, one thing I do is make sure I have a little tunnel in the center of the coal bed leading from the dog house to the back of the fire box. That seems to help ignite everything in back as well. Another tactic is to rake all or most of your coals forward before you reload. I know that has helped me reduce the charcoal build-up.

 

[venator260]

I run that stove too, one thing I do is make sure I have a little tunnel in the center of the coal bed leading from the dog house to the back of the fire box. That seems to help ignite everything in back as well. Another tactic is to rake all or most of your coals forward before you reload. I know that has helped me reduce the charcoal build-up.

I have to give air from the doghouse a route to the back of the stove for decent secondary burn. I've had loads that simply wouldn't maintain secondaries. Made a tunnel (either by moving wood or jamming an implement through the coal bed) and secondaries were easy to get and maintain thereafter.

As others have said, be sure to burn the coals down before you reload. A few times not doing this well enough and I have too many to deal with, and will take ages to burn down. Removing ashes also helps. Wait too long and your coals are mixed with ashes, and are harder to get to burn down.

 

[CenterTree]

I think you reversed those estimates....double the outside temp for single-wall, triple for double wall.

And you are certainly correct. Good catch guys.
I meant what I said, I just didn't say what I meant.

Glad to know that some people read my post.

Wouldn't it be the other way around?

 

[FTG-05]

It's from elm trees that were already dead in the woods, bark all fell off. I just cut them up. So, they may have been a little damp from the snow, but inside seem well seasoned. I don't have a moisture meter to check them with though.


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No offense, but that's pretty much the textbook definition of......

Wet Wood.






















No offense.

 

[larryjbjr]

No offense, but that's pretty much the textbook definition of......

Wet Wood.






















No offense.

No offense taken, but they ended up measuring an MC on the mid to low 20s. I know that's not ideal, but wet....?


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[larryjbjr]

Ok, I got a load of wood Monday, and before I paid for it I took a piece, split it and checked it. It read around 17% MC.

So I took a piece inside and last night I split it and it is more like 32%. So I split another one, same thing.

So it seems I have some good wood and some not. I think the stuff that reads in the 30s is Ash while the dry stuff is elm.

Interesting though is that the Ash, wet as it is, lights up quick and burns great. Even with that I'm keeping my flue temps between 300-400°.

My question ist this, even though it's wet, am I ok to burn it if I burn it hot?


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[Jazzberry]

I burn mine between 500 to 650. Never under 450 or so. Pull the coals in the back to the front when you reload. I burn fresh cut pine in mine a lot. One split at a time to a hot fire. You have to add some more air usually which sends more of your heat up the pipe. The steam cools it down for a bit until it evaporates but its doable. It requires adjusting the air control frequently. Way less heat than burning dry wood but you can get heat from it. I wouldn't want to have to burn wet wood on a cold night as it doesn't make good heat like dry wood. Once it burns the water off it burns well though.