Problems W/ Honey Locust in my Hardy

[fpc310]

Hello,

I have a Hardy H4 OWB. I heated with it last season with a mixture of woods without any major issues.

I have about 10 cords of honey locust that were felled about a year ago and split over the summer. I've been having some problems with the furnace going out when heating with this wood.

I know it has higher BTUs, so that explains why the damper fan cycles more often when burning. The problem is that sometimes the fire will go out before the furnace cycles back on. Even the coals go out! The wood is split into some pretty large chunks, so I am not sure if this is part of the problem.

Any thoughts?

 

[Mntn Man]

We had a cool, wet summer here, perhaps it isn't as dry as you thought. You can try to split it into smaller pieces and see if that helps. You may have to mix it with something else if you can too. Good luck.

 

[Woodcutteranon]

Only you know how seasoned the wood is...that being said...I would recommend you run a higher ash level to keep the coals closer to your grates. If your fire is petering out between burns it could also be caused by your logs not resting fully on the grates. Sometimes if I use a goofy shaped log it fails to rest fully on the grates and can't catch an ember to relight. I try to go with a pattern of logs when I fill the box. I put three small rounds down, then two bigger on top of them followed by three smaller rounds. At times when the top logs start their descent for their turn to sit on the grates, they get wedged against the walls of the firebox as the coals beneath them burn away. Result...your fire goes out.

It wouldn't help to split your wood into smaller pieces until you master your Hardy's personality.

Click on my blog below and search for an older post called "Hardy Ash Maintenance" It will give you some more ideas to keep the fires burnin.

Good luck.

 

[1harlowr]

I have better luck with my H4 when I don't clean it as often or take out just ash to keep below the grates free to get air from the blower. The first time I cleaned mine, I took most of the hot coals out. My fire had a hard time staying lit.
What's your water temp set at? To low and it isn't cycling enough.
With the cold weather we have coming, I doubt you'll have the problem of it going out. Even if the wood isn't as dry as you think, doubt that is the problem.
An OWB in Powell??? Probably one of the few. :greenchainsaw:

 

[itn]

i burn a lot of locust in my cb. i find it best to add it before the coals are all the way down. maybe mix it with some other wood as well. it is the best wood for an owb in my opinion.

 

[fpc310]

Well, last night was about 13F so that was a good test to see how the rest of the winter will go. The furnace was about half full this morning after 12 hours.

I've also noticed the ash removal causes some performace issues. I've been careful to only remove a little at a time so the coals don't fall all the way through. My main problem is the wood getting stuck as it falls. I just have to be really careful when I load it in. My wife, on the other hand, doesn't have much attention to detail. I usually get a call complaining about the furnace being out.

I am pretty sure I am the only one in the area who has an OWB. Of course, I live in an area with only septic, well, and propane as my choices. I do get a lot of slow drivers wondering what I have going on though.

 

[iCreek]

I had a problem with my Hardy going out last year... Asked my FIL who has used a Hardy H2 for 20 years, and BIL H4 5 years, they don't understand, they have never had a fire go out. Found out I was 'cleaning' the grates a litte to often, and the coals were dropping into the ash pan and not staying on top the grates to keep the wood burning. So after that I just stir from the top a little when I 'top off' and maybe every few days clean a few slots from below. Since that no more fires have gone out.

 

[chewy78]

The hardy h4 that i run never really goes out. There are two sheet metal screws that are in the damper flap on top of the blower fan in the back. You might want to take them out to help keep some of the coals hotter. And keep at least an inch or 2 of hot coals under neath your grates. Make sure your hole where where your air comes in is unobstructed. You never want to clean on top of your grates, just below them enough to get a good air supply to your hot coals on top of your grates in the fire box.

 

[Lignum]

This is the first year for burning Honey Locust and I have a Hearthstone Homestead. I haven't had much pleasure burning the stuff. Mine has been seasoned for 2 years along with the Pin Oak and Black Locust, and like others said, I have to mix it in with other woods, unless there is a huge pile of coals it doesn't like me that much.

 

[Wood Doctor]

This is the first year for burning Honey Locust and I have a Hearthstone Homestead. I haven't had much pleasure burning the stuff. Mine has been seasoned for 2 years along with the Pin Oak and Black Locust, and like others said, I have to mix it in with other woods, unless there is a huge pile of coals it doesn't like me that much.

+1. Mix it, mix it, mix it. I use maple, cottonwood, and elm for the mix with locust, oak, and mulberry. The softer woods will keep the harder ones going in the fire, especially if the really hardwoods have any moisture at all. Locust takes about as long to dry as oak and mulberry, especially when cut in the spring after the tree has drank its fill. Yes, it is tough to burn it.

My opinion remains that overall, ash is still the best firewood of them all--dries fast, burns hot and with no fast-burning mix required.

 

[fpc310]

It is definitely burning better now that it's colder. It's the 30 to 40 degree days that have it cycling more and flaming out. I am going to try 1/4 slab wood and 3/4 locust mixture. The wood stuck again last night as it fell to the bottom, but it didn't go out. It's pretty annoying.

 

[Iron Mike]

Trees dont have any more water in them in the spring than they do in the winter.

 

[ericjeeper]

Trees dont have any more water in them in the spring than they do in the winter.

I totally disagree. Especially Maple trees. In the winter the sap is down.. When the freeze thaw cycle begins in the late winter. The sap is pushed up.

 

[Iron Mike]

The volume of water in the tree cells does not change with the seasons. When the tree goes dormant the movement of water from root to leaves obviously stops, but the sap doeas not go down and come back in the spring. That is a myth. Please read this. Gene Wengert is a proffesor at University of Wisconsin , Madison.:

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Seasons_and_Logging.html

 

[Wood Doctor]

The volume of water in the tree cells does not change with the seasons. When the tree goes dormant the movement of water from root to leaves obviously stops, but the sap doeas not go down and come back in the spring. That is a myth. Please read this. Gene Wengert is a proffesor at University of Wisconsin , Madison.:

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Seasons_and_Logging.html

I read it all. Wengert says, "Think about all the water in the tree; where could all this go?"

Ans. It evaporates and recedes down. Wood is a porous substance. Wengert is firing from the hip and apparently does not cut and try to season wood from very many trees. I do, and I probably have more formal education and actual experience cutting firewood than Wengert does. Take it from there.

Eric Jeeper and I are both correct. Mike, write a letter to Wengert and ask him how many mulberry, ash, elm, beech, and oak trees he has cut down (1) in the late spring and (2) in January. Has he ever compared the weights of the rounds in each case? Where does he think that extra weight comes from in the late spring?

 

[traestree]

Black Locust

This is a perfect example of why a guy should keep some soft wood around, linden or maple will do throw that under the locust or walnut and you wont lose any sleep over it anymore.

 

[Iron Mike]

I read it all. Wengert says, "Think about all the water in the tree; where could all this go?"

Ans. It evaporates and recedes down. Wood is a porous substance. Wengert is firing from the hip and apparently does not cut and try to season wood from very many trees. I do, and I probably have more formal education and actual experience cutting firewood than Wengert does. Take it from there.

Eric Jeeper and I are both correct. Mike, write a letter to Wengert and ask him how many mulberry, ash, elm, beech, and oak trees he has cut down (1) in the late spring and (2) in January. Has he ever compared the weights of the rounds in each case? Where does he think that extra weight comes from in the late spring?

I am sure you are a very experienced woodcutter. Here are Genes qualifications...what are yours?

"Dr. Gene Wengert (the Wood Doctor) is Professor Emeritus in Wood Processing, Department of Forestry, at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) and president of The Wood Doctor's Rx, LLC, through which he provides educational and consulting services to lumber processing firms.

Dr. Wengert is technical advisor for WOODWEB's Sawing and Drying Forum and our Value Added Wood Processing Forum. Click on the links below to read his many articles and contributions throughout WOODWEB."

I'll bet he has weighed a piece of wood or two.

I know the real world of firewood is where all knowledge of wood drying comes from, maybe you could direct me to some of your writings on the web.My seven years of logging ,sawmilling and kiln drying northern hardwoods have tauaght me nothing...please enlighten me more.

evaporates....

 

[Wood Doctor]

"I am sure you are a very experienced woodcutter. Here are Gene's qualifications...what are yours?"
---------------
The last thing that I would want is to get into a "Qual" contest. If you want to know who I am or what my specs are, Google can tell you.

-Edwin
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
M.S.
Ph.D.
All from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana
45 years of wood cutting and woodworking

I think that is enough. Mike, if you have truly cut that much wood, then you have already formed your opinions and beliefs. You likely do not need my advice, nor Wengert's. It would appear that you are trying to pit Wengert and me against each other, and that is nonsense. Good luck. I'm shaking my head.

 

[stint]

From a peon who only has an MBA, but has been heating with wood for 45+ years, may I unequivocally state that wood (especially sugar maples) weigh one bucket-load (of syrup?) less in late fall/early winter than the rest of the year.

Also, try an empirical test...just cut one when sap is running and watch how much weight bleeds *up* thru stump before stopping

When the esteemed Doctor can explain what causes the extra weight if not sap, please let me know.

Best regards

 

[Iron Mike]

"I am sure you are a very experienced woodcutter. Here are Gene's qualifications...what are yours?"
---------------
The last thing that I would want is to get into a "Qual" contest. If you want to know who I am or what my specs are, Google can tell you.

-Edwin
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
M.S.
Ph.D.
All from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana
45 years of wood cutting and woodworking

I think that is enough. Mike, if you have truly cut that much wood, then you have already formed your opinions and beliefs. You likely do not need my advice, nor Wengert's. It would appear that you are trying to pit Wengert and me against each other, and that is nonsense. Good luck. I'm shaking my head.

All I did was put a link to a site that supported my position, with a comment by a well respected industry academic. You were the one that started the "I'm better and smarter and cut more and weighred more....blah blah." If you didnt want the comparison you should not have gone there.