New stove.. alot of big coals

[TJ-Bill]

Well I got me a new stove this year... The old stove worked good.. heated the house but wasn't air thight.. So I found s beast of a stove for a good price, was rated for 3600 sq. ft. and had a good efficency. What I'm noticing is that I'm getting alot of large coals.. It still throws some heat but not enough to heat the house. So I put more wood on, but what happens is the large coals build up and I loose alot of room in the stove for larger wood.. I mean I can get 10 hr burn time, but it's just the coals burning and they're not enough to heat my 2 floor house..

Anyway.. anything I can do beside empting the hot coals to make room??

Should I run the stove more open instead of running it closed.. I'd get more heat but shorter burn times..


Thanks

Bill

 

[PA Plumber]

Maybe I missed it...

What make/model of stove?

 

[Echo6 Sierra]

I'm having the same issue. I don't have to but I find myself shoveling out the old stuff once a day so I can make room to load it up full.

I'm running a Quadra-fire 4300 Millenium.

 

[TJ-Bill]

Maybe I missed it...

What make/model of stove?

yeah that would help

http://www.jaroby.com/index.php?page=fiche&no=26&cat=1

 

[bore_pig]

Every time you load the stove, stir the coals around. Dig down into the coals too. It will help a lot. I often push the coals off to one side of the stove after stirring them, then load the new logs in the opening. Good luck!

 

[Dok]

Rake the coals to the front so that air can get to them and they will burn. If you are getting a lot of coals the stove is trying to tell you to give it more air. You will get it, every stove takes some learning about what it likes and what it doesn't.
Dok

 

[SWI Don]

I believe one of the methods of working down coals is to stir them up, pull them towards the air source and through a few smaller pieces in. Run the stove more wide open than normal to burn the coals down.

If we are home several days in a row our stove will get a build up of coals. It subsides as soon as we go back to work. The all day runs get the coals burnt down.

Don

 

[PA Plumber]

Same wood in both stoves?
If so, likely it needs more air toward the end of the burn cycle.

 

[Techstuf]

Moister wood produces more coals, as well as wood with the bark on. I agree with Dok, give it a bit more air. Mix your woods so that the seasoned get burned with a bit of the less seasoned.



Blessings in Yeshua

 

[Old Goat]

yeah that would help

http://www.jaroby.com/index.php?page=fiche&no=26&cat=1

What make and model is your old stove there in the picture? It looks like a Fisher. The fact that your old stove was as you say not "air tight" and worked well would tell me that you are not giving your new stove enough air for what you want. More air, hotter fire, = shorter burn time, less ash and coals. This also depends on your wood. Try throwing some lower BTU wood on towards the end of the burn cycle such as fir or pine and open up the damper or air inlets.

 

[lobsta1]

I ran into the same thing when I replaced my old Russo with an Englander NC 13. The main thing I found out is that the new EPA stoves MUST HAVE FULLY SEASONED WOOD! My old Russo would burn anything with the air coming up from below through the grate. I've got wood that was cut-n-stacked under a lean-to over two years ago. Some of it just won't burn right in the NC13 If I leave it stacked next to the stove for a day; then it is no problem.

Another thing that helps is as the secondary burn dies out, start opening up the lower air until when there is no more flame, it is getting maximum air to the coals.
Al

 

[traditions]

I think its the nature of the EPA stoves.I bought a new Pacific Energy stove this year and it has taking some getting used to ,it doesnt burn wood like I am used to.It seems to be engineered to let just enough air in to burn dry hardwood.I used to burn spruce in the fall,but the EPA stove wont allow enough air to burn it alone,I have to mix it with hardwood. I have alot of coals in the morning and not alot of room for wood on top of them ,if I let the coals burn down I start to lose the heat in my house.I have been shoveling out alot of coals this year and it isnt cold yet,I even got another ash bucket because I have one outside burning hot coals.This stove would be great if it had a 6'' taller firebox.I found I couldnt heat my 2 story house with my stove in 30 degree temps.I hooked up outside air and it made a big difference ,but I still think the stoves heat output is highly overrated.

 

[Newf_Caper]

I always stir and rake the coals to the front where the air supply is and they burn away, I'll do it in such a way that I pile all the coals in the front with barely any in the back and lay some wood on top of it, it helps.

 

[getwood]

I believe you will use a lot less wood by loading the stove every few hours, rather than throwing a piece or two every ½ hour. Rake the coals forward like the other post suggested at loading.

Every time you open the doors you lose heat out the chimney and suck air into the house through every crack in the house. I would also avoid letting more air into the stove just to burn the coals up. You will get more value from your wood by selling it rather than burning your stove inefficiently. Try to learn how to set your stove to get the hottest temperature with the longest burn times to get the most value of the wood. If the coal base does not get your house warm enough, pay the gasman to heat your house the last few degrees to get your home comfortable. Running out of wood in late winter or early spring will make the gasman happy!

 

[bore_pig]

Not trying to nitpick the newbie...

If the coal base does not get your house warm enough, pay the gasman to heat your house the last few degrees to get your home comfortable. Running out of wood in late winter or early spring will make the gasman happy!

So what you're saying is pay the gasman now, or pay the gasman later? Regarding the rest of your post, he is asking how to get the hottest and longest burn time out of his stove.

One more thing, I have never lived in a house where I could come out ahead monetarily by selling my firewood instead of burning it!

 

[MJR]

Mix in some soft wood.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

A couple questions about that stove... is that fan cowling on the top removable? If not, how much room do you have between the cowling and the front of the stove top for a cook pan or pot of beans?

Ian

 

[whitemountain]

This may not be the final answer, but it might be the final solution. I read this yesterday and tried it last night. It works great! This is just one of those quirky things with EPA rated stoves. It is a small price to pay in my opinion.

http://www.woodheat.org/tips/toomuchcharcoal.html

 

[getwood]

I am not saying pay gasman now or later. I am saying pay the gasman less now rather than more later (if you run out of wood). It’s a math problem, if you have to buy BTU’s you will need to buy less BTU’s to finish heating your house from 60° to 70° rather than 40° to 70° in the spring.

If the structure you are trying to heat requires more BTU’s than the stove will produce, letting more air flow through it or throwing the coals on a burn pile is a waste of BTU’s and adds less value than what the wood is worth.

What I have found for my house is the 10 -12 days a season that the wood stove did not quite reach 70° required me to burn several truck loads of wood. Those truck loads of wood are worth more to me than few bucks I will have to pay the gasman for the last 10°.

If you are set against paying the gasman you can keep feeding the stove. You may want to split your wood smaller so you can fit more into it. You just need approximately 1.33 pounds of wood for each 8000 cubic feet for each degree day. At some point the math is against you. You run out of BTU’s that the stove can produce or you run out of wood. Adding a second stove or moving to a smaller structure would also work.

 

[PA Plumber]

I am not saying pay gasman now or later. I am saying pay the gasman less now rather than more later (if you run out of wood). It’s a math problem, if you have to buy BTU’s you will need to buy less BTU’s to finish heating your house from 60° to 70° rather than 40° to 70° in the spring.

If the structure you are trying to heat requires more BTU’s than the stove will produce, letting more air flow through it or throwing the coals on a burn pile is a waste of BTU’s and adds less value than what the wood is worth.

What I have found for my house is the 10 -12 days a season that the wood stove did not quite reach 70° required me to burn several truck loads of wood. Those truck loads of wood are worth more to me than few bucks I will have to pay the gasman for the last 10°.

If you are set against paying the gasman you can keep feeding the stove. You may want to split your wood smaller so you can fit more into it. You just need approximately 1.33 pounds of wood for each 8000 cubic feet for each degree day. At some point the math is against you. You run out of BTU’s that the stove can produce or you run out of wood. Adding a second stove or moving to a smaller structure would also work.

That sounds all scientificy and numbery.
Kinda spooky.