Isle Royale Burn Cycle

[ClintonH]

Hey, folks. I'm new to the forum and in my 3rd year of wood heating. Although my parents have 2 catalytic VC stoves, we opted to go with a Quad (Isle Royale). It's a corner installation (on a 45) in our living room which has a big 10-ft door into the kitchen/rest of the house: yay for heat transfer and dissipation. That being said, the house is 1886 and had cellulose blown into the walls at some point. Walls are hand-poured single pane with either original weather window or aluminum storm. We have air leaks, drafts, etc., but don't want to use the oil furnace any more than we have to (yikes).

My wood supply has been cured 1-2 years, mixed hardwood species especially ash and red oak. It's always been under roof, first in open stacks with metal roofing to cover and now in a converted corn crib (with southern exposure and prevailing wind).

I've checked out other threads on burn time, reading coals, etc., but I still have some questions.

1) While I understand the secondaries and their advantage: essentially re-burning compounds off-gassed as the wood combusts, is there a duration of secondary ignition I should be aiming for to maximize heat production?

2) While I don't have a stove thermometer (my stove at my previous house had one, to Amazon I go!), I do get the sucker hot! When I pack it full it may "go nuclear" as some of you describe: incredibly hot, fast flame action including secondaries, rapid heat-up with steel expansion sounds. This will last for 1-2 hours, during which the house warms up nicely. Once this has passed, however, the house is cooling off again and the furnace sometimes kicks on! How hot is hot enough? How hot gets to be too hot? It's a cast iron stove and so I understand it can take some heat.

3) I have LOTS of coals. After 1-3 full loads, I have to take several hours to burn the coals down to ash so I can reload the stove. This means the stove is cooling down a touch until I can reload. Suggestions on how to get fewer coals?

4) I have more ashes than I anticipated having as well. When the firebox has 4-6 inches of coals in the bottom, you know you're going to have lots of ashes! My parents' experience with catalytic stoves yielded notably fewer ashes, and I hate to have egg on my face! Ideas on reducing ashes produced?

Any advice would be awesome! Check out the pics if you'd like.

 

[HotCoals]

You should listen to your parents,for they are wise! lol

All sounds ok. You're just burning the wood fast to get hot heat fast!
Only so many btu's in a load..it's up to you how many of those just go up the flue.

 

[johnstra]

Sounds like you're on the right track. I would shoot for trying to maintain good secondaries for 2-3 hours (That's about what I'd get from my 30NC). Cut your air back just a bit to try to extend the secondary action. Burning in cycles works best for most folks, but it does entail a fairly long period where your stove is making useful heat but is definitely past its peak and cooling. When you need heat, you can get good heat out of this period by opening up the air and adding small dry splits your coals - you can experiment with how much to open the air. This will give you more heat and burn down the coals to make room for the next full load.

Note that less than ideal wood will coal more than very dry wood. If you're burning 1 year old oak, it's likely not quite ideal.

 

[JA600L]

I wish my stove had an automatic function so that when the stove gets colder and starts to coal, the primary air control would open up and allow more air to blow over the coals... I feel like inventing....

 

[teutonicking]

I wish my stove had an automatic function so that when the stove gets colder and starts to coal, the primary air control would open up and allow more air to blow over the coals... I feel like inventing....

There is--its called "Smart Stove." It was demonstrated in Washington DC at the recent Wood Stove Competition in November.

 

[ArsenalDon]

1) While I understand the secondaries and their advantage: essentially re-burning compounds off-gassed as the wood combusts, is there a duration of secondary ignition I should be aiming for to maximize heat production?

If some of the old timers here read this and post I suspect they will talk about quality and type of wood. In my Isle Royale I was burning 100% soft woods and was noticing ash not too bad at all, this season I have been burning 40% hard woods mixed in and there is more coaling and more ash.

While I don't have a stove thermometer (my stove at my previous house had one, to Amazon I go!), I do get the sucker hot! When I pack it full it may "go nuclear" as some of you describe: incredibly hot, fast flame action including secondaries, rapid heat-up with steel expansion sounds. This will last for 1-2 hours, during which the house warms up nicely. Once this has passed, however, the house is cooling off again and the furnace sometimes kicks on! How hot is hot enough? How hot gets to be too hot? It's a cast iron stove and so I understand it can take some heat.

I am having problems dealing with this one too. Hardwoods have changed how the stove burns. I let it get up to 500 or so and then shut all air off, it still goes nuclear for 30 min or so with my infrared showing high 700's - low 800's until it finally settles in to the 650 range.

3) I have LOTS of coals. After 1-3 full loads, I have to take several hours to burn the coals down to ash so I can reload the stove. This means the stove is cooling down a touch until I can reload. Suggestions on how to get fewer coals?

Rake the coals forward and then put a thin piece of softwood (pine, cedar, fir, etc.) on the pile. that burns the coals down like a charm without having to let the stove cool.

 

[ClintonH]

Thanks for the tips, folks. I have a TON of bone-dry pine from a recent upstairs remodel: I'll burn down coals with that. That being said, all is much better today: it's positive 12 degrees and feels downright balmy out there. Stay warm, folks!