Another new OWB owner with a quick question

[TNCECIL]

I am totally new to burning wood for heat and bought a Woodmaster 4400 (dealer is very close, nice, and helpful).

I have been burning some Chesnut Oak lately and it is leaving a bed of coals around 6"-8" deep. Is this coal bed too deep and I and should I remove some and use them in the grill :msp_smile:, or should I just leave them and keep adding wood as necessary?

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[Circle B MN]

It is fairly easy to feed the boiler more than what it needs. On warmer days or the weekends that I plan to be around I like to let the boiler burn just the coals. It will all turn to fine white ash given time to burn. Once they get burnt down a bit reload as normal and enjoy the heat.

Don't forget....Seasoned, dry wood only.

 

[mybowtie]

x2..in time u will figure out how much to add for a more complete burn. Took me a month or so.

 

[TNCECIL]

Thanks

I bought it in late February and have burnt a variety of wood species in it. You see I didn't have any from last year and didn't want to buy wood from CL or the paper and buy their green wood being sold for seasoned. I burnt a lot of dead standing trees, some black walnut, a little bit of red oak, poplor, and some pine. I've just never seen coal bed like I have now.

I've taken this week off work so I will play around with it. I've got wood split in 10" wide pieces x 24"-26" long, and I've got rounds that are 12" across and as big as I can handle. Time will tell I guess.

 

[Laird]

This time of year I only load wood to the back and rake the coals to the front first, and some days I'm doing the same as the above and only loading wood once a day in the evening.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I always rake the coals to the front - then add the new wood to the back. I load my Woodmaster once in the morning and just before I go to bed - and I only add enough wood to get me to the next loading period. I consider my guess at how much wood to add a success when I come out and the blower is on and all that I have left is a few glowing coals. Not only do I get less coals to fuss with when using this method - I also get less creosote build up on the inside of the OWB. On the weekend I will rake coals and keep turning the unburned coals into ash and sometimes I can get hours of heat without adding any wood. I have the most coal build up when using small diameter wood - especially Locust. I have much less coal build up when the wood pieces are large, and I only split the wood small enough to make it reasoanble to lift and throw into the OWB.