Klinkers

[Touch0Gray]

For decades now, I have noticed that when I burn a lot of red elm, I get a layer of slag like klinkers under the layer of ashes literally, rocks. I have always assumed that it is from the mineral deposits in the wood. Anyone else have this happen?

 

[thisoldgoat]

I'm getting those too, burning poplar.

 

[weatherguy]

I used to get them all the time with the Blaze King, now just occasionally, not sure what type of wood causes it.

 

[SpaceBus]

I sometimes get pale green, like corroded copper, clinker/slag in my stove. Mostly burning Balsam Fir and Red Spruce, but I do have limited amount of various birch and sugar maple. Seems like the Birch leaves behind the colorful slag since I'm not seeing it anymore that I'm back to mostly spruce and fir again.

 

[Touch0Gray]

I only clean my ash out every other week or so, so maybe it is the intense heat on the ashes "smelting" the mineral deposits "?

 

[NaturalCauses]

I've been burning some red elm this winter, and after every load that included some splits there are always clinkers. I don't get them when I burn ash/maple/poplar.

 

[Highbeam]

Lots of klinkers with doug fir. Both cat and noncat stoves.

 

[Rhodie]

Lots of klinkers with doug fir. Both cat and noncat stoves.

I know we don’t burn anywhere close to 24/7 but is that with the bark on? Maybe our soils differ. I don’t see a lot of klinkers with our doug fir unless I burn the bark. Not a lot of ash left either, really wish we could try out more hardwoods but not going to pay for wood when it’s currently all over the yard...

 

[Highbeam]

I know we don’t burn anywhere close to 24/7 but is that with the bark on? Maybe our soils differ. I don’t see a lot of klinkers with our doug fir unless I burn the bark. Not a lot of ash left either, really wish we could try out more hardwoods but not going to pay for wood when it’s currently all over the yard...

Yes of course I burn the bark. Maybe that contributes to clinkers. It burns well. If the slabs of bark fall off naturally during drying then they go into the noncat. Straight bark does some funky stuff when you burn it like expand.

 

[SpaceBus]

Most of the minerals are in the bark.

 

[blacktail]

I've been burning a lot of bigleaf maple this season. It's over 75% of my fuel. The klinkers this year have been unbelievable.

 

[AlbergSteve]

I burn d fir as well and have lots of clinker, sometimes slabs of it in the bottom of the stove.

 

[David.Ervin]

Any time I burn something with a lot of bark on it at high temp (lookin' at you, shagbark hickory), I'll get these. They tend to break up pretty easily with the stove poker.

 

[Grizzerbear]

I get them too and i burn mostly oak and hickory. I never gave them much thought.....just thought it was compressed ash or sumthin lol. I googled it and apparently they are mineral deposits that wont burn and once your fire meets the temperature that will melt them they fuse together and form a chunk. Idk if its true but it sounds plausible.

 

[Highbeam]

Any time I burn something with a lot of bark on it at high temp (lookin' at you, shagbark hickory), I'll get these. They tend to break up pretty easily with the stove poker.

I'll break them up and spread them out but then they remelt together into a slab. It looks kinda like a bunch of melted milk jugs mixed with a lot of oreo cookies. When they hit each other it almost sounds like glass chunks banging each other. I burn full time and haven't emptied the ash since the season opener, which means that there is at least 3.5 cords of doug fir ash in the stove right now. There was some maple in there too but only a small portion.

 

[blacktail]

I burn full time and haven't emptied the ash since the season opener, which means that there is at least 3.5 cords of doug fir ash in the stove right now.

One of the beauties of fir.

 

[weatherguy]

I just had one today when I cleaned out ashes, I have cleaned for a week so maybe that contributed. I've been burning oak and black birch.