Too many coals building up! Burning full blast

[Billy_Bob]

New problem for me...

It's 9 degrees and I'm, burning my woodstove full blast 24 hours a day. (My old house is not built for this cold of weather!)

The red hot coals are building up in the bottom of the woodstove to where I can't put as much wood in. But just the coals are not hot enough to keep the house warm, I need to have wood burning constantly.

Normally we have warmer temperatures during the day like 40's or 50's. So I would build a big fire in the morning, then let it die out and all those red coals would turn to ash, then I can scoop that out.

But how to get rid of the red hot coals so I can put more wood in? I do have a metal trash can with a metal lid.

 

[mga]

New problem for me...

It's 9 degrees and I'm, burning my woodstove full blast 24 hours a day. (My old house is not built for this cold of weather!)

The red hot coals are building up in the bottom of the woodstove to where I can't put as much wood in. But just the coals are not hot enough to keep the house warm, I need to have wood burning constantly.

Normally we have warmer temperatures during the day like 40's or 50's. So I would build a big fire in the morning, then let it die out and all those red coals would turn to ash, then I can scoop that out.

But how to get rid of the red hot coals so I can put more wood in? I do have a metal trash can with a metal lid.

you answered your own question. just shovel them in.

after a while, coals and ashes can actually act like an insulator. clean it out real good and start fresh.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I don't know where your primary intake air comes in, but on my stove, it's down low. If I get a bed of coals that covers those holes, they seem to block the incoming air. I rake the coals away from the intake and they'll take off and burn down.

Ian

 

[woodbooga]

Open her all the way up, rake your coals, and toss in some kindling and real fine splits.

The hot fire will both keep temps up and winnow down the coal build up.

Careful with your ash can if you have small children or animals in the vicinity of where you keep it. Esp. if you go a-scoopin'

 

[slofr8]

When this happens to me I'll put a couple of pieces of fast hot burning wood (I use Popple because I have a lot if it) and leave the intake vent wide open. The small amount of wood isn't enough to be dangerous but the hot fire reduces the coals to ash.
Dan.

 

[Wood Scrounge]

I have this problem in my insert, here is how I remedy it:
during the day, when there is nothing but coals stir the coals so some of the black charcoal appears. throw in wood that does not coal very well throughout the day, I like very dry Tulip poplar or Sassafras, split fairly thin. this allows the coals to burn down but you still get a hot fire

 

[Coldfront]

I always thought the coals were what puts out the most heat not the flame. Isn't a good bed of coals what are really after for max heat, and just add wood so you keep up a good bed of coals?

 

[PLAYINWOOD]

3 choices that I know of,all mentioned
Burn softwood,less ash and coals
remove coals and ash
Lets fire sit all day with you exposing the coals to oxygen so they'll burn down.

I've done all three but I think you'll have to experiment because I believe all stoves have different personalities.

 

[stint]

If you have a *very* secure ash bucket, and a *very* safe place to keep it inside your (drafty) old home, do not overlook it as a very substantial source of heat too

 

[outdoorlivin247]

The air intake on my Quadrafire is at the middle of the bottom front....If I get a large bed of coals I rake them to the front and load wood behind them until I get them burnt down...

 

[blackdogon57]

you answered your own question. just shovel them in.

after a while, coals and ashes can actually act like an insulator. clean it out real good and start fresh.

can't say it better than that. I leave my door open a crack and open damper all the way for a while and stir the coals every 10 minutes or so then clean out.

 

[Dalmatian90]

If you have a *very* secure ash bucket, and a *very* safe place to keep it inside your (drafty) old home, do not overlook it as a very substantial source of heat too

Probably a poor idea -- think Carbon Monoxide.

Is it a problem with coals building up or ash / "clinkers" building up? (Clinkers to me is the hunks of ash that lump together).

I just push the coals to the side and remove the ash, push the coals to the clean side and repeat. Gets *mighty* *warm* sometimes while I'm doing so!

 

[Mntn Man]

I've been having the same problem. I have been taking bark and such and stiring the ash out, then leaving the ash door open for a while. When my furnace gets so full of coals, it smothers out and cools off. It isn't much of a problem until I want to load it for the night, then I can't get enough wood in it. I also found that I had a lot of the holes in the grate plugged with ash. Once I cleaned them out, it hasn't been so bad.

 

[MJR]

This is funny, at lunch today I had the same issue. Hard maple will build a thick coal bed. I added some hemlock.

 

[sly13]

Good post. I had been having the same problem pretty cold and keeping it loaded up regular. I had been trying a couple of the remedies already good to know I'm on track.

 

[Billy_Bob]

Thanks for the good ideas!

A friend came up with another idea which worked. I have a "burn barrel" out back and he suggest we dump the coals/ash in a can, then dump them in the burn barrel out back.

That worked, except it was too hot to scoop out the coals! So we used a regular long handled shovel for this. Then that shovel was *very* hot, so we were careful to place it back outside on some concrete where it would not start a fire.

 

[getwood]

I get into that problem when the temperature gets 15 – 20 below. To try to reduce the coals I try to open the doors less often. I monitor the stove top temperature and supply enough air until the stove reaches and maintains 650° (I know this thermometer is not accurate). Two to three hours later when the temperature starts dropping, I start increasing the amount of air I let into the stove. I don’t open it to much because it just moves more air up the chimney. Once the stove top reaches 400°, I push the ashes back and rake the coals forward to re-start the process. I think you will find that you will use a lot less wood.

If you do not have a thermometer you can use a pot of boiling water until you get one. It may take a few burn cycles to get the cycle correct.

 

[palmrose2]

Question Too many coals building up! Burning full blast

I can't see your stove. To me a good stove is divided into 2 or 3 spaces. Starting at the bottom is a place for ash removal under a good set of grates. Then comes the actual burn pot and maybe a heat exchanger.

If your stove is like this, keep the ashes shaken down and increase the amount of air coming from below the grates. I use hard maple and iron wood mostly. They are very good coaling woods. If I want a slow burn with lots of coals I turn down the lower draft. If I'm looking for all the heat I can get, the lower draft is all the way open and maybe the lower door is even cracked a bit. The ashes MUST be shaken down and removed for air flow.

If you don't have grates and a lower door all I can say is try to get as much air as possible to the coals. You are losing out on a lot of heat removing the coals without burning them. Blacksmiths use coals exclusively. You can get them HOT with enough air.

 

[Shine]

Thanks for the good ideas!

A friend came up with another idea which worked. I have a "burn barrel" out back and he suggest we dump the coals/ash in a can, then dump them in the burn barrel out back.

That worked, except it was too hot to scoop out the coals! So we used a regular long handled shovel for this. Then that shovel was *very* hot, so we were careful to place it back outside on some concrete where it would not start a fire.

That's close to what I came up with. I sawed the handle off of a broken shovel about 6 inches off the steel, it a lot better than my little stove shovel.

 

[howellhandmade]

SNIP
If you don't have grates and a lower door all I can say is try to get as much air as possible to the coals. You are losing out on a lot of heat removing the coals without burning them. Blacksmiths use coals exclusively. You can get them HOT with enough air.

Actually, blacksmiths use coal, the mineral. Big difference.