How hot does your wood stove get?

[Mad Professor]

Cutting in the early winter accomplishes the same thing as the sap is in the roots that time of year. Wood also splits better when it's near zero degrees.
When I lived in Upper MI I tried to get most of my firewood cut in January and February if I was taking down live trees.

You can also girdle the trees in spring after they have leafed out. The leaves will pull out the moisture and the whole tree is off the ground. Give it a month or two or wait until fall to fell it.

 

[Mad Professor]

Read thru what you said in depth, we are 10+ inches from wall, I might get a longer pipe which comes out of wall to the first bend. The woodstove is fire brick lined.
I wish we had this stove when we were in the uk, all we had was an open fire with a water jacket round it now I understand most of the heat was going up the chimney, saying that we did not own the property but onlyif we had had a burner instead.

You are on the right track.

Get the stove farther from the wall. Then a larger sheet of metal with non-heat conducting/flamable insulators to space it ~1-2" away from the wall. Make sure you also have good coverage on the floor on all sides. The fire bricks protect the inside of the stove from warping, but don't help the wall.

The diagrams I posted are the safe way to do it, from national fire code in USA.

 

[PEK]

You are on the right track.

Get the stove farther from the wall. Then a larger sheet of metal with non-heat conducting/flamable insulators to space it ~1-2" away from the wall. Make sure you also have good coverage on the floor on all sides. The fire bricks protect the inside of the stove from warping, but don't help the wall.

The diagrams I posted are the safe way to do it, from national fire code in USA.

Gotch ya, the reflector I just removed it, on the back of it it is cool, it seems to be made from some type of ali and a covering on the back and also quite light weight.
Also the stove has been going nearly 12 hours today and no heat in the reflector and hardly any on the brick wall.
Thanks for all your help.m

 

[Wood Doctor]

My Federal Airtight 288 has a thermometer that measures the temperature of the exhaust gases that go through the catalytic, secondary combustion chamber. On a cold day with a good draft, it can reach 1400 F in there, and the chimney kicks out no visible smoke:

The wood stove flue is on the far right. It's a heckuva stove:

 

[user 122190]

My Federal Airtight 288 has a thermometer that measures the temperature of the exhaust gases that go through the catalytic, secondary combustion chamber. On a cold day with a good draft, it can reach 1400 F in there, and the chimney kicks out no visible smoke:

The wood stove flue is on the far right. It's a heckuva stove:

So no creosote problems. How often, if ever, do you have to have the chimney cleaned?

 

[Cantdog]

FrannyK thanks for posting this thread a nice change from the arguements on the oil threads
Drop your trees on the ground in early spring leave them they will fill out with leaves when the leaves turn brown buck it up .It really speed s up the drying.
Kash

We call that "Wilting Wood" but generally drop the desired trees in early to mid July when fully leaved out. Leaves turn brown in a couple months and by mid Oct I go in and fit and split right where the tree fell and forward the processed wood out with my bucket loader. It can be burned the same year. Not only do the leaves draw the moisture from the wood but more importantly in the process of tree trying to keep the leaves alive it draws the most all of sugars out of the bark and sapwood which is where most of the creasote comes from. Ever seen a pie boil over in the oven?.....Ever seen creasote? If you have the time and your own woodlot it is a very good way to make firewood.

 

[Wood Doctor]

So no creosote problems. How often, if ever, do you have to have the chimney cleaned?

I could likely go two years without any problems, but I burn 3 to 4 full cords of good, dry hardwood a year: ash, oak, elm, maple, etc. So, I usually clean the chimney shown above every year. I never burn conifers: pine, cedar, fir, etc.

 

[SS396driver]

On average it runs between 300 and 500 . No need for a heat shield as the wall behind it is poured concrete. I have left the air open and it went to 700 + .

Wood is two to three years seasoned . Mostly oak and hickory I’m working on 26/27 seasons wood now

 

[Mad Professor]

I could likely go two years without any problems, but I burn 3 to 4 full cords of good, dry hardwood a year: ash, oak, elm, maple, etc. So, I usually clean the chimney shown above every year. I never burn conifers: pine, cedar, fir, etc.

I do that with my 40 year old boiler plate "smoke dragon". Post #5.

My "cat" is under the stove. (Last home)

 

[Smitty Smithsonite]

My old kitties used to love our handfired stoves.

 

[Patrick1903]

Whatever you use for wood, to get a good hot fire it needs to be dry. The quickest way to dry wood is to cut it into 4-5 inch thick cookies- if you cut up some wood in the spring, it will be dry by fall.

You have to get used to stacking cookies, think of them as short splits and arrange so the air can circulate around them. Any wood I cut now that is over 10 inches in diameter gets cut into big cookies.

Got any pictures of what that looks like stacked? Cut up a big red oak last spring and cut pretty short pieces so we could move them easier and split them. They’re chunks after splitting. Looking forward to hopefully burning in a year from now.

 

[Patrick1903]

My old kitties used to love our handfired stoves.

View attachment 1038131


View attachment 1038132

View attachment 1038133

How expensive is coal up there? And readily available?

 

[OM617YOTA]

I'd like to try coal, it's just not available here in practical fashion. Can be had in 50lb bags for blacksmiths, but $$/BTU it's way more expensive than firewood. It's more expensive than Kingsford charcoal.

 

[Mad Professor]

I'd like to try coal, it's just not available here in practical fashion. Can be had in 50lb bags for blacksmiths, but $$/BTU it's way more expensive than firewood. It's more expensive than Kingsford charcoal.

Be careful it will FU a wood stove fast. You can cut some in overnight when it is going slow/

 

[user 122190]

Be careful it will FU a wood stove fast. You can cut some in overnight when it is going slow/

To hot?

 

[Hard_Yakka]

To hot?

yes, coal burns hotter

 

[user 122190]

yes, coal burns hotter

Coal ignites at a temperature more than 100 degrees higher than wood, and it requires a hot bed of wood coals to get it started. Being far denser than wood, coal burns more steadily and longer. What temperature does coal burn at? The ignition point of coal is roughly 660 degrees F., about 100 degrees higher than the...

How Hot Does Coal B…​

bikehike.org

 

[user 122190]

I thought it would be hotter. Doesn't seem to be so much more that it would hurt a quality wood stove.

 

[Mad Professor]

I thought it would be hotter. Doesn't seem to be so much more that it would hurt a quality wood stove.

Should only be used in stoves designed for coal. Will warp and/or crack others.

As I said a little bit added in might be OK.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Be careful it will FU a wood stove fast. You can cut some in overnight when it is going slow/

I thought it would be hotter. Doesn't seem to be so much more that it would hurt a quality wood stove.

My understanding is that coal has hotter hot spots than wood, needs air flow underneath to burn correctly, and some kinds of coal can be acidic, so stainless flue materials are suggested.

I was going to put a grate in the bottom of my stove, so coal was held above the bottom for airflow + insulating space. The pipe from the stove to the chimney is steel, and the rest is stainless, so not worried about that part, and yes start with very small amounts and see how it goes.

Best source for coal I found in this area was $10/40lbs, then $19 delivery charge to a local store for pickup. If I saw it in the store for $10, I'd probably grab some just to experiment with, but I don't care enough to pay the extra delivery fee.

I don't think there are any local coal mines; wood is much more available in this area.