More ash = more heat?

[crh704]

I was lazy today and didn't remove any ash from the insert. I feel that it is burning hotter and staying there longer than it usually does. Could this because of the extra ash? I usually clean some out every day so that I can fit more wood in there. This seems to be working better though. Maybe the 36 inches of show that we got last night are going to my head.....

 

[BobUrban]

I think most stoves run best with a good ash bed - I only clean mine when it gets up to the lip. Or, it may be all that snow insulating you home??

 

[Hogwildz]

An inch or two of ash is usually recommended by the manufacturers. Too much ash creates unburnt coals that get buried under the ash, and take up room that could be used for more wood load.

 

[crh704]

The snow is definitely helping, its about 80 in here and I usually have trouble hitting 70. Would the snow insulating the house Hall the stove itself run hotter?

 

[LAndrim]

I always keep a thin bed of ash, just enough to fill in the cracks in the bricks...acts like a blanket of insulation.

 

[Hogwildz]

The snow "insulating the house" is helping reduce heat loss, thus keeping the house warmer.

 

[Dix]

What Hogs said.

I clean out ash as needed, but try to leave some.

Aside from tomorrow, when I'll let the stove burn down, fill up the ash can, and then dump that onto my icey/slushy/frozen/snow incrusted drive way

 

[BrowningBAR]

An inch or two of ash is usually recommended by the manufacturers. Too much ash creates unburnt coals that get buried under the ash, and take up room that could be used for more wood load.

I agree with Hog. Also, with the VC stoves, too much ash seems to prohibit good air flow.

 

[littlalex]

+ Snow

Littlalex

 

[StihlHead]

The snow is definitely helping, its about 80 in here and I usually have trouble hitting 70. Would the snow insulating the house Hall the stove itself run hotter?

Yep. I noticed that last year after several snow dumps here. Snow insulates and keeps the heat in the house from radiating out as fast.

 

[firecracker_77]

I was lazy today and didn't remove any ash from the insert. I feel that it is burning hotter and staying there longer than it usually does. Could this because of the extra ash? I usually clean some out every day so that I can fit more wood in there. This seems to be working better though. Maybe the 36 inches of show that we got last night are going to my head.....

Good grief. 36 inches! Chicago had 10-15 inches one night 2 winters ago. I didn't have the Honda snow beast that I have now and really struggled with that amount. 36 inches would cause severe anxiety for sure.

I clean out every few days leaving as little ash as possible. While having ash helps keep coals going overnight, it limits firebox capacity as BrowningBar pointed out. More of an issue when you are 2 cubic foot as opposed to the bigger 3+ cubic foot stoves some are burning. I'm not sure that the ash helps reach higher stove tops. For me, it helps the fire burn a little longer as it slows combustion some on the coals down in the ash.

 

[HDRock]

A good bed of ash definitely works better in my stove, I do have plenty of room for wood with an 8 cu ft box

 

[StihlHead]

I found that running my OWB with a layer of ash helped with the heat and the fire. Same with my older Earth Stove. That has a large firebox though, as does the Englander. I always leave a layer of ash in the stove myself.

As for 36 inches of snow, that has an actual snow loading factor of 36-54 pounds per square foot (depending on how wet the snow is). I built my new garage to 30 pounds per square foot of loading, which is the requirement here. I would be up there shoveling snow off my roof if I got 36 inches here. Last year I got an 18 inch dump overnight and that was "epic." Lots of roofs caved in last year around here under that snow loading.

 

[SteveKG]

In late winter of 2003, we had a "hundred year" snowfall here that dropped over 60" overnight. Made getting out to the wood pile an expedition. However, we burned very little wood in two stoves. The house stayed warm, five feet of good insulation added to the roof helped a bunch.

 

[firecracker_77]

In late winter of 2003, we had a "hundred year" snowfall here that dropped over 60" overnight. Made getting out to the wood pile an expedition. However, we burned very little wood in two stoves. The house stayed warm, five feet of good insulation added to the roof helped a bunch.

Oh my 60". Do you live far from the Overlook Hotel in Colorado made famous by the Shining. You'd need one of those plows with tracks to clear out of that mess

 

[firecracker_77]

I found that running my OWB with a layer of ash helped with the heat and the fire. Same with my older Earth Stove. That has a large firebox though, as does the Englander. I always leave a layer of ash in the stove myself.

As for 36 inches of snow, that has an actual snow loading factor of 36-54 pounds per square foot (depending on how wet the snow is). I built my new garage to 30 pounds per square foot of loading, which is the requirement here. I would be up there shoveling snow off my roof if I got 36 inches here. Last year I got an 18 inch dump overnight and that was "epic." Lots of roofs caved in last year around here under that snow loading.

Yeah...that's alot of weight to support. Would be a great insulator though!

 

[dougand3]

Oh my 60". Do you live far from the Overlook Hotel in Colorado made famous by the Shining. You'd need one of those plows with tracks to clear out of that mess

Cinematic license here. The "Overlook" was Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, OR.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We typically cleans ashes when it gets up level to the door. Leave a few inches in though. Only time we clean all the ashes is during the summer cleaning.

As for weight on the roofs, when we lived at Gaylord, MI, it was usually a weekly chore to clean the roofs. Much better than repairing.

 

[Wood Duck]

i sometimes feel like my stove runs better with ash in it than without ash, BUT no ash generally means a cool stove. On those occasions when i remove all the ash before the stove is cool, I don't see as much difference between ash and no ash. I guess ash doesn't really make much difference with my stove. My stove is small and doesn't hold much ash without the ash having a large impact on the amount of wood that fits inside, so I remove ash every two or three days, and when I remove ash I typically remove it all.

 

[StihlHead]

Cinematic license here. The "Overlook" was Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, OR.

The outside shorts of the Shining were filmed here at T-line where I ski patrol not far from my house. The inside was shot in studios in England.

 

[dougand3]

The outside shorts of the Shining were filmed here at T-line where I ski patrol not far from my house. The inside was shot in studios in England.

Yeah, and I think long road scenes were filmed in Montana...No part of that movie was anywhere near Colorado. LOL.
When living in Portland, we sure enjoyed Mt Hood Meadows skiing.

On our regularly scheduled topic...I think 1/2-3/4" ash make my fires burn better.

 

[StihlHead]

Back off track: Supposedly many scenes from the Montana shoots form Kubrick's The Shining movie were used at the end of the long version of Blade Runner.



Heeeeeeeere's Jonny!