First time/night impression wood furnace: Not good...

[6brnr]

Last night was our first time burning wood in our newly setup Clayton wood furnace. It is an older model, like from the nineties, but the previous owner bought it new and never used it but a couple times. I am not new to "burning wood", I was grown up around it and had an open face fireplace myself. Most uneffcient fireplace but I still had hot burning coals in the morning unlike I did this morning with my furnace. Anyway, about 12 o'clock lastnight, I stuffed it full of split red oak, prolly about 6 good sized splits. Pushed the slide damper almost all he way, turned the damper on the ash door almost shut also. I did not have the induction fan running at all cause I have read where it just burns through the wood with it on. The temp in the house was 77 when I went to bed, outside was around 30-35. I woke up at 6:30, low and behold, it was 69 in the house, (not bad), but no hot coals. To say the least, I was dissapointed. I figured I would have woken up to hot coals so I would just have to throw some logs on, not have to restart the whole thing.

Now with that all being said, and being a noob to wood furnaces, what do I need to do different? Or is this normal?

 

[applefarmer]

For your last fill at night rake your coals flat put some splits on the bottom then some larger full rounds on the top. The rounds burn slower.

 

[6brnr]

I suppose that would do it if I had some rounds! DOH! I only have splits cause all the wood I have are just big rounds.

 

[b1rdman]

Last night was our first time burning wood in our newly setup Clayton wood furnace. It is an older model, like from the nineties, but the previous owner bought it new and never used it but a couple times. I am not new to "burning wood", I was grown up around it and had an open face fireplace myself. Most uneffcient fireplace but I still had hot burning coals in the morning unlike I did this morning with my furnace. Anyway, about 12 o'clock lastnight, I stuffed it full of split red oak, prolly about 6 good sized splits. Pushed the slide damper almost all he way, turned the damper on the ash door almost shut also. I did not have the induction fan running at all cause I have read where it just burns through the wood with it on. The temp in the house was 77 when I went to bed, outside was around 30-35. I woke up at 6:30, low and behold, it was 69 in the house, (not bad), but no hot coals. To say the least, I was dissapointed. I figured I would have woken up to hot coals so I would just have to throw some logs on, not have to restart the whole thing.

Now with that all being said, and being a noob to wood furnaces, what do I need to do different? Or is this normal?

First burn I'm guessing you had little or no ashes...you may get better results once you get a decent bed of ash.

 

[Coldfront]

I have a wood furnace and if I don't get up and add wood it will be totally out by morning, I figure I can get about 5-6 hours max and still have coals. My house is well insulated so it is ok if it goes out, it takes me about 10 mins to start a fresh fire if needed in the morning. My fire box is only about 16"W X 15"H X 19"D So I just can't add enough wood at one time to get more than that out of it. When it gets below zero I get up about 3:00am and stoke it, it's no big deal I usually get up to take a piss anyway, it's almost like sleep walking..

 

[howellhandmade]

I'm sure there's a learning curve. I've learned over the years not to be TOO disappointed with anything based on one try.

Jack

 

[6brnr]

I'm sure there's a learning curve. I've learned over the years not to be TOO disappointed with anything based on one try.

Jack

True, true!

I figured I had everything in it's right place. Guess I'll have to find coal and throw a few scoops in there before my bedtime nap. Just don't know where to get it around St. Louis. I usually don't wake up. I sleep like a bear in winter so I won't be waking up in the middle of night. Other than that though it works great!

 

[6brnr]

First burn I'm guessing you had little or no ashes...you may get better results once you get a decent bed of ash.

I started burning around 4 o'clock so the ashes were their, unless their should be more...?

 

[Nosmo]

Make Rounds from Splits

Try the method a previous poster said - rake the coals flat and lay 3 splits on the flat side . Then take 3 Rounds a lay across them. Make three rounds by taking 6 splits and placing them face to face. These should last a lot longer.

Nosmo

 

[hanniedog]

Welcome to the club I have a Harmon wood/coal boiler sitting in the garage. It too will not make it all night with out an 4am or so fill up. Just something you have to get used to. I will take the short burn time so as not to be out in the rain, snow or cold to tend to it. Mosey out into the garage in my shorts put in the wood and back to sleep.

 

[clutch25]

I have roughly the same stove in the garage. Like you I split all my wood down to what I thought would be reasonable size. Now I leave it in rounds if it is smaller than 8 inches or so. You have a big firebox....stuff that thing!

I have been heating with mine for over a month now and just the last couple of days have got the all night burn....stuffed the firebox with big rounds, all dampers shut fully and chimney only open about 1/2 inch. Last night I stuffed it full of boxelder rounds and witht he fluffly ash cutting air off from the ash grate, I still had some nice coals this morning.

Bottom line....this stove REALLY goes through the wood....

Leave the pieces big, long and no air to the fire....

 

[traditions]

I was thinking about a wood furnace and did a little research on them and some of the manufactures sell a plate with holes in it to go in the bottom over the grates for burning wood.Most of the furnaces are combos for wood and coal and have grates that allow alot of air up thru the bottom of the fire and alot of the coals fall into the ash pan.A friend has a Newmac wood furnace and he just put a piece of sheet metal down the middle of the grates so the ashes still fall down around the edges when raked,but allow for a build up to lengthen the burn and hold some hot coals.

 

[mga]

i heat with a fireplace, altho i made some alterations.

we usually go to bed around 11 to 11:30. i'll add a few logs and when we get up at 5:30, there are enough hot coals and partial logs to throw a few in and get it going real quick.

 

[Coldfront]

I have the big grate at the bottom also where the ashes and small coals fall though into the ash box, I am going to try making a steel plate with smaller holes and lay over the grate and see if that helps make a longer burn, it's worth a try. I don't get up every night I just let it go out usually, except when it's really cold out it would be nice to not have to get up and still have coals in the morning. I'll try it.

 

[olyman]

First burn I'm guessing you had little or no ashes...you may get better results once you get a decent bed of ash.

yupp--as the bed of ashes--acts as a "insulator" so the rest lasts longer--

 

[6brnr]

Great ideas guys! I shall try it tonight. Now when you have all the dampers closed, I've noticed my flue temp runs around 300 or a little below that. Isn't that too low with creosote build up and all? How do remedy that?

 

[ericjeeper]

Great ideas guys! I shall try it tonight. Now when you have all the dampers closed, I've noticed my flue temp runs around 300 or a little below that. Isn't that too low with creosote build up and all? How do remedy that?

When you get up in the morning. Toss a big handful of kindling in there. Get a rip roaring fire going that flows up the chimney. This will clean up any deposits from last nights smoldering burn.
Ok I have said this before.. If your house uses two fillings during the day to keep it warm. It is going to need the same amount of wood overnight. roughly 8,000 btus per pound of wood.If your house requires 100,000 btus per hour at 30° . That means you need to consume roughly 18 pounds of wood per hour to heat it.. That is taking in to consideration an in efficient woodstove/furnace.

 

[laynes69]

The higher the chimney, the more draft you will have. Its not uncommon to consume that much wood with a woodfurnace. Our old one I would load 5 8" rounds and a few splits to fill it. We would wake up with a decent coal bed after 7 hours. The bad part was it consumed alot of wood on cold nights. Now I can throw in 3 or 4 large splits and wake up to alot of coals in the firebox after 8 to 9 hours with maple. Wood furnaces are great, but some will consume alot of wood to keep a home warm. You'll have to play with the thing to get down its operation. And by all means, keep an eye on the flue pipe and the chimney.

 

[6brnr]

Gotcha! So basically just get a rippin hot fire every so often..

 

[bowtechmadman]

I'd agree the ash bed should help some. After reading the long OWB vs Woods stove thread I don't remember anyone mentioning having to wake up in the middle of the night as a downside to the wood furnace.