Huge pile of coals

[larryjbjr]

So, I'm assuming this is normal, but could it be due to my wood not being dry enough? And if so what is the best way to handle it? Aside from getting better wood, that'll have to wait till next year.

Problem is that as I burn wood the stove just keeps piling up with coals and I can not figure out how to separate them from the ashes in order to just scoop out the ashes.

So, I start out with a clean stove and within a couple days I get to where I can only load about 3 splits at a time cause of the mountain of coals. I've tried just letting the coals burn a few hours in order to reduce them, but I really need to keep the fire going pretty hot or the house gets a bit chilly.

Do I just need to scoop out the coals and all every couple days? That seems like a waste of BTUs...

Here is a picture today after having cleaned it out pretty good two days ago.

 

[larryjbjr]

For the record, I have an Englander 30NCH.


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[Woody Stover]

For the record, I have an Englander 30NCH.

OK, I was gonna ask what stove. Sometime, if you are on a computer, you can put your stove in your signature. As for the coals....even when I need more heat, I can open up the air on the coal bed and maintain a STT of 300+, which is usually enough the tide me over until I have the room to re-load. If you can't do that, maybe pull the coals forward, put a couple smaller splits in back of the coals, just to keep some smoke feeding the secondaries to give you more heat, and hopefully with the air open a little wider, you can still burn clean and decimate some of that coal bed. I don't know, just spit-balling here 'cause I've never experimented with a tube stove.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

So, I'm assuming this is normal, but could it be due to my wood not being dry enough? And if so what is the best way to handle it? Aside from getting better wood, that'll have to wait till next year.

Yep. Wood that is only semi-seasoned is the source of almost all issues people have burning wood.

I would say I have "dry wood religion" except religion is based on faith in things that cannot be proven while the benefits of dry wood are explainable through the scientific method.

 

[fishki]

Yep been there done that...

Try this, it helps.

http://woodheat.org/charcoal.html

 

[Woody Stover]

Try this, it helps. http://woodheat.org/charcoal.html

That's the normal advice...different than my suggestion to try. Now, when you burn a log with the air wide open, can you still burn clean or does some smoke get out the stack, past the re-burn?

 

[begreen]

That's how I have dealt with a large coal bed in the past. Normally I don't have to open the air all the way, 50% seems to work pretty well with our good draft. Reburn seems to still be pretty decent, but I don't check it too much. More important is keeping the heat going while burning down the coal bed. With dry wood this usually is not an issue. I haven't had a load of damp wood for several years now, but will try to remember to check if I do.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

If you need to shovel them out, do it. Put them in a lidded metal container on top of something non combustible outside!

If you stir the coals, you let ash drop to the bottom and the larger coals rise to the top. From experience, I've found that I can keep doing this until there is approximately 6 gallons of ash in the bottom of the stove. Then I need to break down and clean the beast!

 

[weatherguy]

Get a couple packs of bio bricks, put a couple on top and open your air 50%, repeat til they're burned down. With bio bricks you can keep your stove at 400-450 while your burning down coals.

 

[Woody Stover]

If you need to shovel them out, do it. Put them in a lidded metal container on top of something non combustible outside!

That seems like a waste; Can you throw 'em in the grill and sear some salmon?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

That's a win!

 

[kennyp2339]

That seems like a waste; Can you throw 'em in the grill and sear some salmon

I'm drooling now

 

[Sodbuster]

Rake the coals to the front of the stove right by the door, pile them as high as you can, watch for rollers because some coals will want to roll out of the stove. Set your air on high and the pile will be reduced fairly quickly and will throw quite a bit of heat.

 

[lsucet]

I think there is/still, lot of heat out of that pile of coals. Maybe is just me but I love the heat from coals. With the air open some you should get some good heat from that pile. I don't know your situation but if the heat from those coals is not enough to keep you warm for at least few hours in the meantime you burn them down, I think you need to work on your house envelope and seal/insulate it. I am just saying, don't take it in the wrong way. Because you will continue having this issue when you need this high demand. It can be the wood but still.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Yeah as everyone has said... those are BTUs which have not been taken advantage of yet. Rake to the front, burn it hot, and hope for more seasoned wood next year. Its a PITA, but we have all dealt with it at some point...

 

[moresnow]

As well as others I'd recommend the single small split layed east/west on the coal pile after raking it (coal pile) forward. Add plenty of primary air to let the single split really nuke. Coals should shrink in a hurry. Worth a try.

 

[Coyoterun]

As well as others I'd recommend the single small split layed east/west on the coal pile after raking it (coal pile) forward. Add plenty of primary air to let the single split really nuke. Coals should shrink in a hurry. Worth a try.

This will work well. I have some wood left over from my uncle that's been stacked in a woodshed for 30 years or so. It's dry. Probably too dry. But it coals up just as much as fresh ash that's been CSS for only one year.

However, just for a different perspective:

Those "coals" are actually perfect bio-char. If you're into gardening at all and your garden soil is sandy or clayey, then bio-char is just what you need. Shovel them out into an air-tight lidded bucket, let them cool on a non-combustible surface, and then dump them out on your garden. They'll improve water infiltration and retention, nutrient retention and release, microbial activity, etc. Truly the cat's meow of gardening. (unless you've already got a perfect silt loam crumble bed, then you're already purring.)

Just something to toss out there.

 

[Sconnie Burner]

Damp wood will tend to coal up a bit more. Do you have a blower on the stove? I would think you should beable to exrtract plenty of heat from that many coals. You also have to remember that heating with wood, you're going to have "heat cycles" and fluctuations. Trying to maintain a set temp is nearly impossible, especially more so with a tube stove.

Also looks like you may be heating from the basement? If so place a fan at the top or bottom of the stairs blowing down/toward the stove displacing the heat out of the basement and up the stairway. Seems odd but many have done it and it just works. Cooler dense air near the floor is much easier to move the warm thinner air, if that makes sense.

 

[jetsam]

If I get too many coals, I rake them forward and put a few small to tiny dry pine splits on top, then burn it hot.

Tons of heat output, bye bye coals.

The downside is that you may have to do this when you've got a day off because the heat falls off in a couple hours.

 

[bfitz3]

[/QUOTE]

Those "coals" are actually perfect bio-char. If you're into gardening at all and your garden soil is sandy or clayey, then bio-char is just what you need. Shovel them out into an air-tight lidded bucket, let them cool on a non-combustible surface, and then dump them out on your garden. They'll improve water infiltration and retention, nutrient retention and release, microbial activity, etc. Truly the cat's meow of gardening. (unless you've already got a perfect silt loam crumble bed, then you're already purring.)

Just something to toss out there.

Moisture retention starts with volume... Biological activity needs surface area. Crush the charcoal before you incorporate it into your garden.

 

[firefighterjake]

I don't get a lot of coals as I try to burn in cycles . . . and have become much better at managing the cycling. However, when I am reloading too often and pushing the stove I sometimes tend to get excessive coaling.

My remedy is to throw a single split on the coals, open up the air and voila . . . in a half hour or so the coals are significantly reduced.

 

[qyota]

I burn pretty dry wood (less than 20%), and get quite a lot of coals. Granted, this is a pre-EPA ZC fireplace with no secondary burn, so a less efficient burn is expected. If I burn all day (12 hours or so), there are enough coals and ashes the next day to fill a 1-gallon pail easily. This is a mix of soft maple and birch, mostly.

 

[Sodbuster]

I burn pretty dry wood (less than 20%), and get quite a lot of coals. Granted, this is a pre-EPA ZC fireplace with no secondary burn, so a less efficient burn is expected. If I burn all day (12 hours or so), there are enough coals and ashes the next day to fill a 1-gallon pail easily. This is a mix of soft maple and birch, mostly.

I think different species of wood produce more coals than others.

 

[larryjbjr]

Thanks for the advice. I've tried raking the coals forward and burning a smaller split hot and fast. It definitely has helped. I now am able to go a little longer without getting quite so many coals built up.

I tried again today to get some dry wood. Seller said it was all less than 20% MC, but when I split a few splits and checked them, they all read in the 30s, most upper 30s. Now, they were stored outside with just the top covered, and it's been quite damp lately, even rained a bit last night, but I turned him down. I'm not sure if the wood would've been ok or not, maybe it was just wet from the rain, but didn't want to take the chance.

 

[Sodbuster]

Thanks for the advice. I've tried raking the coals forward and burning a smaller split hot and fast. It definitely has helped. I now am able to go a little longer without getting quite so many coals built up.

I tried again today to get some dry wood. Seller said it was all less than 20% MC, but when I split a few splits and checked them, they all read in the 30s, most upper 30s. Now, they were stored outside with just the top covered, and it's been quite damp lately, even rained a bit last night, but I turned him down. I'm not sure if the wood would've been ok or not, maybe it was just wet from the rain, but didn't want to take the chance.

There's your answer right there, that wood is way to wet, and will cause coaling. Keep a close eye on your chimney as well for creosote buildup, just read another thread about a guy burning unseasoned wood and his chimney was horrible.