firewood turns to coal

[mehrkens13]

Hello to all, new to site and have found it to be great!
I do however have a problem that i could not solve by looking through forum.
When burning wood, does not matter what kind(right now its ash and iron wood),when it is below -2 or so celcius(not sure what that is in Farenheight) I am left with large chunks of charcoal (Un burnt), or if it is burnt i get a very deep layer of very hot ash. I have to empty stove daily.
run stove at 400 farenheight
double wall pipe in centre of 2 story home
pacific energy stove
When temps are adove 0 celcius stove works great complete burn
I have been told i may have to much draw on pipe and installing a damper may help.
oh i have also installed new baffles, door and window glass gaskets.
any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
thanks

 

[freemind]

Unburned wood would indicate, at least to me, that the stove isn't getting enough air in, or draw out.

 

[laynes69]

Some woods produce alot of coals, especially dense hardwoods. What I do is rake the coals towards the intake and open the damper. That allows for me to get the heat needed as well as burn down the coals. If you need more heat, then having some softer woods comes in handy. Rake the coals forward, open the damper and place a small split or two on top. One or two times should be enough to burn down some of the coals. If you are having unburnt coals in the stove, then try giving the stove a little more air earlier in the burn.

 

[mehrkens13]

Thanks, freemind and laynes69.
I seem to have lots of draw, with stove cold you can actually feel lots of draw, also stove will not run below 450 degs with damper closed, not that you would want to but with other air tights i have had you could throttle them right down? Also i could burn poplar and get the same results. as for raking coals forward i can do that except i dont usually have the time; eg. if i get home @ 5pm fire box is full of coal ,house has cooled down to 69 0r 70 deg and misses is complainig how cold it is, and it would take ours to burn down all the coals, so i shovel them out and fill up fire box with more wood, come 10pm and time for bed fire box is really full of coals and no were to put any more wood. when it is fairly warm outside i do not have this problem, over night not to much coal left, usually have to scrape it together to get fire going again.

 

[dingeryote]

When ya get home to a box full of coals, rake 'em forward and toss in a split of pine, cottonwood, or any seasoned really fast burner...Sassafrass is my favorite.

Then open up the air all the way. The split will take off, and the coals should take off as well, and heat things up plenty fast. If you do it right, one or two splits and all those coals will throw as much heat as a full stove.

I get the same thing with Red oak leaving big hot coals that like plenty of air in order to burn properly.

The new airtights like to be run HOT, and damping them down can be frustrating untill you get used to the regimen.

Good luck!!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[rmount]

I also have a Pacific Energy, Alderlea model and love it.
Agree with what has been said about raking coals forward and putting a few small splits on the pile. With the air open it reduces a pile of embers to ash pretty quick.
Another thing to try is, if someone is home during the day (cold missus maybe?), have them open the air to about halfway once most of the wood is burnt and there is just a pile of embers. Even without raking this will produce more heat and reduce the embers at the front of the stove to ash.
My MIL has the same problem as you. She also has a PE stove, but her house is not as well insulated as mine so she is constantly trying to keep a roaring fire going where I'm quite comfortable letting mine cycle through the fire to embers to ashes then fresh wood fired from a few embers. Could be you need a bigger stove for the house to keep it at the temp you want.

 

[727sunset]

I heat my house with a medium size Pacific Energy as well. The new stoves really do work well and all the suggestions given are spot on. Give them a try. There is a learning curve to go thru and with some thought and planning you (and she) really can always be comfortably warm. I'd definitely refrain from discarding hot coals as it;s unnecessary, wasteful and very dangerous.
When arriving home at 5 PM and the house is 70F immediately filling firebox isn't the best approach. Maybe try adding 3 splits. Two go in N/S and one more on top E/W. Provide adequate air and aim to get your stack temp into the upper end of safe burning. This will soon provide the heat you're (she is) looking for. Repeat later in evening if necessary.
At 10 PM you are looking to have a warm house with minimal coals so you can fill the firebox for an overnight extended burn. HTH.

 

[mehrkens13]

Thanks to all for your suggestions, i have tried them and they do work pretty well, i do get rid of coal faster, however i do not build a lot if heat while doing this say around 300f is this normal, also i am still wondering why this masive coal build up does not happen when it is relitivley warm out side.

 

[rmount]

I can only think you get less coal build up in warmer weather because you are feeding it less and leaving more time for the coals to burn down before refueling. Good luck in getting this sorted out soon.

 

[727sunset]

I'm at a loss and can see no connection between getting massive coal build up when outdoor temps are at -2 C and getting complete burns when weather is on the plus side. That range is insignificant. There's got to be something else going on here.
Are there strong winds at your house, maybe on the colder days? How does the stove act when it is windy outside? Are there drafts (eg around windows and doors) in your house? On a windy day could your heat simply be leaking away...high winds create excessive draft and wood turns to coals quickly. Stove no longer putting out the desired heat you'd expect yet it can;t be reloaded because of excessive coals.
When the baffle was replaced was a new gasket installed? Have you tried checking the door seal around it's perimeter using something thin and narrow like a $5 bill? What size chimney do you have? What is the chimney construction? What size is your double wall connector? Which PE stove do you have? Has your dealer offered any suggestions? Give us anything else that may be relevant and maybe we can help further.

 

[flotek]

like everyone said when you get a heavy coal bed your not giving the stove enough air intake and dense woods coal up quick .rake the coals up toward the front /door and add somne lighter pieces on top and dont be afraid to open up the air control more to burn them down .they will put off alot of heat for a long time this way .when its bitter cold you are more likely to damper the stove down to make the longer burn times and in that temperature range there is less oxygen in the air

 

[mehrkens13]

When i fill fire box before bed on a warmer night and wake up in the mornig there will be fine ash, not very many coals i will actually have to work at getting it goin again. When it is cold out i will wake up with 6-8" of coal, and if i just leave it and not stir it up i will have unburnt wood(charcoal).Wood does not seem to burn so much as it turns to one big coal then falls apart into lots of little coal.(hope this makes sense)
There are strong winds here at times, are they more frequent when it is cold, im not sure.
House is 6 years old and is pretty tight. I dont seem to notice a difference when it is windy.
New baffles and door and window gaskets installed at dealers request. I have checked seals with a bill and all is good.
6" chimney insulated box going threw roof line, believe it is S.S.
Stove pipe is 6" double wall going thre the centre of story and a half home.
model D Super 27
dealer has now sugested installing a damper in stove pipe.
also it has been suggested to run stove up to 800-1000f to get an extended burn, well i that scares the hell out of me because it sounds like a freight train, thats what lead the dealer to thinking maybee a damper is what i need.
thanks to all for your thoughts and suggestions, keep them coming, I NEED THEM!

 

[woodguy105]

OP- Hows your wood? I'm going through the same thing right now. We've had cold temps and lots of snow so much of the wood I'm burning is damp from snow melt and cold.

In my experience moisture seems to cause more coaling ...

 

[727sunset]

Why not invite your dealer over for coffee and cookies then demonstrate how you get stack temp to 800-1000F? It can be rather intimidating seeing the firebox so full of flames, but they are built to take it. If there is another issue it's best to have his experience present.

 

[allstihl]

ive been having the same problem this week
draft open twice as much as usual and still making charcoal
good dry wood and recently cleaned chimney

oops

bottom cleanout door on chimney left open
my bad
problem solved

 

[ray benson]

.
Too Much Charcoal? Here is the Solution

 

[wendell]

EPA stoves need really dry wood and wood above 20% will produce a lot more coals.

 

[traditions]

I have the same problem with my Summit.The thing is full of unburnt coals and all you can get in the stove is a couple logs to heat thru the night.I end up shoveling out two buckets of coals every couple days so I can get a load of wood in the stove.I have tried all the suggestions and you would end up freezing to death waiting for the coals to burn down.When I bought this stove I was told it was a big heater.After 2 years with this stove I would not reccomend it for someone trying to heat thier home.

 

[mehrkens13]

Thats were i am at right now, i have tried raking coals forward like others have said, this does work, however i have to do this 3 or 4 times, wich takes a little longer than i would like. Also i have since found 2 people were i work that had the same problem other years with the same stove and returned them to the dealer, they no longer have this problem as they have bought other brands wich they tell me do not do this? My PE was a hand me down? I had a VC stove with cat before this one and it did not do this, should have kept it, but sold it do to its large size, it was to much for the new small home we built? I did however purchase a moisture meter th check wood, i usually onle season about 8 months, i think it is going to be ok cause the VC with cat worked just fine with it.