Managing coals

[stihly dan]

I have the opposite problem now. Small fire, so I don't heat myself out of the house. But when I realize the temps dropping to load more wood, No coals, just ash. I have to relight a few times a day at the moment. Furnace is still hot with no coals, burnt myself this morning scraping the ashes.

 

[farmboss45]

Owning a fireplace insert can be a continuing learning experience. This year, I started leaving ash in the box to promote keeping coals longer and it sees to work in my stove. I get up in the morning and open the door, stir the coals around and let it sit till I' ready to walk out the door, then add woods and shut ti down for the day, repeat when I get home 11 hours later. Last year i always shoveled it out, works better the way i'm doing it now. I have a Napoleon with dual blowers and a bottom draft.

 

[farmboss45]

I have the opposite problem now. Small fire, so I don't heat myself out of the house. But when I realize the temps dropping to load more wood, No coals, just ash. I have to relight a few times a day at the moment. Furnace is still hot with no coals, burnt myself this morning scraping the ashes.

Try my new method dan, sees to hold the coals longer, just stir the before adding wood....

 

[smokee]

Owning a fireplace insert can be a continuing learning experience. This year, I started leaving ash in the box to promote keeping coals longer and it sees to work in my stove. I get up in the morning and open the door, stir the coals around and let it sit till I' ready to walk out the door, then add woods and shut ti down for the day, repeat when I get home 11 hours later. Last year i always shoveled it out, works better the way i'm doing it now. I have a Napoleon with dual blowers and a bottom draft.

I have a Napoleon designed insert made by Wolf Steel in Ky. My manual suggests doing just that... leave an inch or so of ash in the bottom. I'm a late-nighter so I usually fill it up around 2am and I'm up 7:30-8:00 am so there's always something still going. I work from home too so I can nurse it along all day. I agree, leaving an ash layer keeps coals better.

I have the opposite problem now. Small fire, so I don't heat myself out of the house. But when I realize the temps dropping to load more wood, No coals, just ash. I have to relight a few times a day at the moment. Furnace is still hot with no coals, burnt myself this morning scraping the ashes.

I noticed when it warmed up a few days ago and I tried to keep it going without a ton of heat that my glass blacked out. So, what's the secret to a lower temp while keeping buildup down... or is that an oxymoron?

 

[farmboss45]

open draft, fan off is how I manage that problem.

 

[smokee]

open draft, fan off is how I manage that problem.

Just don't load it, right? I was adding stuff that I was splitting trying to keep a good hot burn going without having it heavily filled. It seemed to work till night when I loaded it but there wasn't a lot of coals in the bottom so it smoldered and blacked out the glass.

 

[farmboss45]

No, I still load it, just not as full, maybe one piece at a time, I also have a very open home with a very high ceiling, maybe that makes a difference

 

[smokee]

No, I still load it, just not as full, maybe one piece at a time, I also have a very open home with a very high ceiling, maybe that makes a difference

The high ceiling will help, along with an open floor plan. My insert's down stairs on the ground level in a room with one door to the upstairs. It stores up down here.

 

[rmount]

As far as I’m concerned, the coal buildup “problem” you’re having is the reason I’ll never have another “EPA” firebox… the huge PITA ain’t worth the (supposed) benefits in my opinion. There ain’t nothing “efficient” about the way they “burn” the coal bed… I’d much rather have those coals burn fast and screamin’ hot instead of smoldering at little or no heat output. ...

I don't know what "simulated" environment the EPA stoves are tested in but I suspect they are designed to work best in well insulated, air tight homes. My mother-in-law lives across the road from us, we have similar sized houses, both approx. 1200 sq. ft. and both have Pacific Energy EPA stoves, different models, same fireboxes. Her house, although newer than ours, is poorly insulated with a lot of air infiltration. Our place is over 100 years old, but when I totally renovated 5 years ago I put 4-5" high density spray foam on all walls plus 1.5" foam sheets on the outside under stucco with energy efficient doors and windows, roof has 6" spray foam. MIL always has a problem with coal build up, emptys coals and ash every few days and often throws out good coals to make more room for wood. She also runs with the draft 50% or more open most of the time to try and get more heat out of the stove. I remove a bucket of very fine ash once a month, leave the draft open for 5 to 10 minutes to get a good blaze then shut it right down. She burns better than 5 cord a winter, I burn a little over 2. I think her stove is simply too small for the heat she is needing to get out of it, and I wish that I had bought the smaller model of mine. I have never seen a stove manufacturer address this, they all give approximate square footage the stove will heat and give big disclaimers that this will vary depending on wood species etc. but they never give info on how air infiltration and insulation will affect this number. This needs to be given more consideration when choosing a stove than it currently gets.