It ends today!

[Whitespider]

I got up this morning at 5:00...
Checked the temperature... 17[sup]o[/sup] outside, 67[sup]o[/sup] inside...
Poured the coffee and walked down the steps to toss a few splits in.
When I opened the door I instantly knew I would never be putting another stick of firewood in that pain-in-the-azz the way it is now... this was the last straw. I could lay my hand on the steel plenum surrounding it! I could put my hand inside the firebox and hold it there for 8-seconds before it became uncomfortable (and that's only because the door was open so air could get to the coals). I measured the depth and found over 10-inches of coals and ash! Air supply coming in the top of the firebox and passing over the top of the coal bed is the silliest thing I’ve ever seen… flat azz stupid really.
So I stirred up the coals, left the door cracked open (so air can get to them), walked back up the steps, and turned on the gas furnace... I'm done! Temps are supposed to drop tonight, and not even make it out of single digits tomorrow… and I ain’t puttin’ up with that crap anymore.

Today the firebrick comes out of the floor. The boost air (or pilot hole) is getting blocked off. The secondary air supply is getting disconnected from the main control. I’m installing the grate and drilling holes to divert at least half the primary air (door air wash) directly under it. The EPA can kiss my butt.

 

[brenndatomu]

opcorn:



Surprised it took this long...

 

[flyboy553]

opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:

this one's gonna be interesting!

Ted

Oh! Merry Christmas Spidey!

 

[redoakneck]

Yeah, last time I checked heat rises, so getting the draft to the bottom or underneath the coals would make sense. Unless the laws of physics have changed, yer on the right path.

 

[c5rulz]

But how do you really feel about the design???


Actually I think you are onto a cure.

BTW, we need pics.

 

[Big L]

Not up on what everyone has for stoves ... is this a fairly new one? Indoor down in the basement? Outdoor furnace? How often do you clean out the ash? What make is it?
Sounds like a poor design to EPA standards? Gasifier?

yeah ... you're right, too many damn questions for Christmas eve

Enjoy the simplicity of fosil fuel for a few daze ...

 

[trophyhunter]

Ugh! Spidey dont do it, those gubment types might be at your door (think Waco / Ruby ridge). :msp_biggrin:

Seriously though, there are still some stoves made that are the exact same stove I used to put in for the crowd that burned both wood and coal.
The only difference is that today, they are no longer being advertised as having wood burning capability.

But they have all the nifty features you desire like cast iron shaker grates, lower door air controls etc...-Just sayin.

 

[ft. churchill]

I think your holding back your true feelings, you know the smarty pants brain shrinkers say that it is bad for you.:jester:

 

[Dogsout]

I thought the sun was rising a little early in the east here in north central Iowa this morning. Now I see why the eastern horizon was so bright, it was the same time Spidey glowing red when he found out his burner was not up to his liking. Make it work Spider and keep us up to date.

 

[Fred Wright]

Something like the Riteway Model 37 would be a lot better to fool around with.

Ash pan plus 7.5 cubic ft. firebox!

Wood Stove/Outdoor Furnace



I've got one I bought new in 1979 sitting in the shop out back.

Yup, had a similar model in the basement when I lived in VA. Air intake flapper was at the bottom of the reburn chamber though. Those Riteway stoves weren't pretty to look at but man they crank out the heat. They're coal/wood burners if memory serves.

I hear ya on the air wash design... makes sense for keeping the door glass clear but not much help when you get a good layer of ash.

 

[Mac88]

I think I'll just stick with my old airtight VC.

 

[stihl023/5]

Good luck try to get pics during the re-design

 

[Blazin]

Always 70+ here inside, it "ended" 7 year ago when I put the OWB in

 

[Whitespider]

Well the deed is done. Pictures will/would be tough because you wouldn’t see anything but some cast iron grates lying in the bottom of a firebox.

So here’s what I did…

1. Shoveled out near 5-gallons of coals and waited for the thing to cool off
2. Removed the firebrick from the floor and cleaned the thing out
3. Plugged the “boost air” and removed the angle iron baffle for it
4. Drilled five 23/64[sup]th[/sup] holes in the tube (that feeds the door air wash) below the door, holes facing firebox
5. Cut firebrick to the proper width to support sidewall brick with enough protruding to support grates above drilled holes
6. Used two cast iron grates from the old smoke dragon (width was perfect) – (I have a new grate that will need cutting if I decide to use it)
7. I did not disconnect the secondary air control from the primary (yet?)

Anyway there’s about 3-inches of firebox floor in the rear still covered with firebrick because of the grate size… and I’m hoping it will hold coals for re-starting the fire. The grates are sitting about 2-inches above the floor, which will require ash removal pretty often, but that’s got to be better than what I had. And the modification cost me well less than an inch of vertical firebox capacity.

All right then, I started the first fire over three hours ago… and here are the first-glance observations…

1. When I set the flue damper I wait for a healthy amount of smoke to start being generated and leave the door wide open, close the damper until just before smoke exits door… it was set about ½ closed, now it’s ¾ closed
2. The secondary burn started within 5-minutes, well before the fire was “hot” – before it took 15-20 minutes
3. The temp sensor kicked the blower in just a minute or two after the secondary started – before it took somewhat longer
4. There is still plenty of “door air wash”, so I may drill another couple holes… depending
5. The fire is positively burning from the bottom up and it ain’t turning into a bed of coals… i.e. air is getting to the bottom of the fire and making even heat as the bottom turns to ash rather than buried coals
6. The temperature of the whole house went from 65[sup]o[/sup] to 70[sup]o[/sup] in less than 2-hours – that’s never happened before
7. At near 4-hours (I just went and looked) there is no coal build-up (ashes are falling through the grate) and it’s still heating strong

I have the air supply set at a lower setting than I have before, I have the flue damper closed more than I have before, and I’m getting a longer heating time than I have before… without the coals building up as before. I'd like to say I'm getting more heat from less wood... but it's to early to say that.

Tomorrow morning will be the true test... what will be laying in the bottom of the firebox?

 

[Jakers]

good job spidey. keep up the good work and post results

opcorn:

 

[Whitespider]

OK boys (and gals), she be makin’ heat now.
I went down a little bit ago and leveled off the coals that hadn’t turned to ash, tossed in 5 more splits. Shortly after that I could smell something a bit “hot”, went down and checked… yep, it was startin’ to over fire. So I set the air intake closed even further closed, and closed the flue damper a bit more… got it under control. I can still see holes in the grates collecting ash onto the floor… House temp is climbing over 72[sup]o[/sup]. I’ve got less air entering, less air exiting, and more heat …
Ain’t no doubt in my mind… I’m gonna’ have more complete burns with more heat burning less wood.

Should’a done this a month ago!

 

[dave_dj1]

Spidey, do you have an automatic draft? The reason I ask is that I once had a stove with an automatic draft and once I unhooked the auto part and regulated it manually I was amazed how much longer burn times I had. This was in a indoor wood add on hot water unit. I'm not a huge fan of fire above grates but hey, try it and see.
good luck.

 

[bubba3228]

opcorn:

 

[fubar2]

Ya better be careful if it has one of them there Do Not Remove This Tag tags you don't tear it off.

 

[Whitespider]

Last night, around 8:00 PM, three hours after adding wood, I walked down to have a look. It’s like the thing ain’t even the same appliance. The coals from the previous loading were gone, completely consumed. The fire was glowing bright red/orange at the bottom with flames slowly licking upwards. But the biggest difference was the secondary burn… after three hours it was still doing its thing. With the air supply and flue damper closed more than it’s ever been, the secondary was/is differently. Rather than erratic, sputtering, long jets of flame that ignite the top of the fuel load (causing it to collapse and isolate the fuel below from incoming air), all the holes in the secondary baffle had a steady blue flame about 2-inches long coming from them… like the burner of a gas cooking stove.

I feel asleep last night before filling the firebox… woke up around 1:00 AM (8-hours after last adding wood). The first thing I noticed was that it wasn’t all that cold in here (69[sup]o[/sup]). Walked down the steps and found the “stovace” still heating, the steel plenum was still hot (I could lay my hand on it, but it was uncomfortable). Just a small pile of coals in the rear (behind the grate), so I pulled them forward and tossed in 6 splits… went back to bed.

This morning, at 5:00 AM I found it still heating. The house was down to 66[sup]o[/sup], but it is only 3[sup]o[/sup] outside and dark, no solar energy to help warm things. The front half of the fire was completely consumed, nothing but ash fallen through the grate. The rear half was still a partial glowing mass… not a pile of coals, the splits have sort’a held their shape. I was gonna’ add a bit more wood, but tried opening the air supply a little first… they went bright red/orange and started to heat good. I’m gonna’ let them burn down some and lift up the front grate to see what’s under it… I’m bettin’ nothing but fine ash.

I does seem I had the air supply a bit too far open yesterday, and a bit too far closed last night… so I’ll try somewhere in between today… need to experiment a bit, find just the right setting. I am positively getting more complete burns and longer heating times… and no coal build-up what-so-ever. The big question I need to answer is how long I can go between cleaning out ashes… which means timing the fire burn-downs enough to lift the front grate (I can clean under the rear with an ash shovel).

So far… I’d say 100% success… but it’s pretty early to pat myself on the back too much.