That's exactly what I do. I've made it a habit to rake the coals to the front when I put more wood in. The stove is designed to pass air over the glass to keep it clean. That air next hits the coals and burns them up.
Dok
Too many coals building up! Burning full blast
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That's exactly what I do. I've made it a habit to rake the coals to the front when I put more wood in. The stove is designed to pass air over the glass to keep it clean. That air next hits the coals and burns them up.
Dok
TJ-Bill
Addicted to ArboristSite
I just scooped 1 1/2 bucket loads of red ho coals out of mine last night. I could barely put 2 pieces of wood in due to the coals.. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more heat and longer burn times now..
That's how my dad used to clean out the stove. One of us would work the door to the house.
I have the coal buildup and I just split my wood smaller. But I'm not trying to keep a fire going all night. This house gets too warm.
palmrose2
ArboristSite Operative
Nope. They use coal when it's available. Do you think every Smith across this great land has/had coal available to them? Coals/charcoal have been used for eons.
A little quote from this website. http://primitivepoint.blogspot.com/2007/11/blacksmiths-fuel-charcoal.html
"During the three thousand year history of blacksmithing charcoal was the smiths fuel. It's only in the last 100 years that coal has almost totally replaced charcoal as the blacksmiths fuel of choice."
The coals in anybody's stove are basically charcoal and have the capacity to burn hotter than the initial gasses that come off raw wood. They just need O2.
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Justsaws
Addicted to ArboristSite
If the coals are big enough fill up an air-tight steel container, seal it up and start making your grilling fuel during the down season. They are also handy for metal working, ceramics, etc..
I do not have an this particular issue with coals but it would be convenient for me if I did. Charcoal is a good thing and it always seems wasteful to make a batch in the summer.
I do not have an this particular issue with coals but it would be convenient for me if I did. Charcoal is a good thing and it always seems wasteful to make a batch in the summer.
MarylandGuy
ArboristSite Operative
I saved all the leftover charcoal last season. My hope was that I didn't have to buy store bought charcoal in the summer.
It really didn't work. It would light, but would go out shortly. Eventually I started with store bought stuff and poured my homemade stuff over top of it. That worked pretty well.
I second the practice of raking the coals to the front and opening up the air a little. You can then load more wood behing the coals. The coals will burn up and the new wood will start to burn.
It really didn't work. It would light, but would go out shortly. Eventually I started with store bought stuff and poured my homemade stuff over top of it. That worked pretty well.
I second the practice of raking the coals to the front and opening up the air a little. You can then load more wood behing the coals. The coals will burn up and the new wood will start to burn.
merc_man
Addicted to ArboristSite
Agree not good idea to use coals for extra heat. My stove has the ash drawer witch is great in fall spring when it can burn down to pretty much nothing before adding wood. i was using it up untill i had to start puttng a few coals down ther then about an hour later the two co detectors were going off. I figured the same thing the heat from coals would still be inside heating.
Best to add small wood to burn up coals faster or just shovle out and put in metal pail and cover with metal plate so wind cant blow hot ambers all over.
Sorry for opening a old thread. lol.
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Mere-Man, several have hit the nail squarely here in this old thread. More air flow is needed! Clear the coals that are restricting (choking) the stoves internal air flow by banking them, add two or three small splits, and open air controls fully. By removing the coals from the stove you are doing the same thing, adding unnecessary steps and loosing some good btu's.
When home, I no longer fill the stove completely, unless it is at night. Mornings there are a deep 5" bed of coals in various states left from the previous nights full stove at 50% air control. When home I burn a small hot fire, rather than loading completely and reducing air flow. This assumes burning seasoned wood, and that the coal build-up in not due to burning green wood.
When home, I no longer fill the stove completely, unless it is at night. Mornings there are a deep 5" bed of coals in various states left from the previous nights full stove at 50% air control. When home I burn a small hot fire, rather than loading completely and reducing air flow. This assumes burning seasoned wood, and that the coal build-up in not due to burning green wood.
merc_man
Addicted to ArboristSite
I find that burning hickory leaves a lot of coals. I try to mix ash with it rather then straight hickory or i will have six inchs of coals in am when go to fill stove.
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Yes true but they are pumping air from below to achieve the high heat
kingOFgEEEks
Out, standing in my field.
Just re-enforcing what some others are saying - open up your air and put a small amount of fresh wood on top of the coals. They will reduce down, while the burning wood still throws heat. Keep adding small amounts of wood every 1-2 hours, until it burns down enough to fit a full load of fuel into your firebox.
I have found that in general, filling the firebox 2-3 times a day creates less of a coaling problem vs. adding a little bit of wood every few hours. However, once you get the buildup of too many coals, you have to shift your strategy, or else it won't get better.
I have found that in general, filling the firebox 2-3 times a day creates less of a coaling problem vs. adding a little bit of wood every few hours. However, once you get the buildup of too many coals, you have to shift your strategy, or else it won't get better.
I got grandkids that aint as old as this thread. LOL, When its cold and I am really throwing in the wood, I just push the extra coals to the back of the stove. Sound contrary to everyone else, but my stove will take 32in long wood and I usually cut at 20in. If I push all the coals to the back of the stove and leave just a small layer near the front, I can pack the stove full of wood and have heat for about 9 hrs with coals to restart the fire for about 12hrs. Clean out time comes and all there are is ashes. I usually scoop out a couple of shovel fulls of ashes every time I reload the stove. I use a metal bucket with a lid for the ashes just in case I get a few red hots.
Throwing out hot coals ? That's crazy talk ! There's good heat in those coals the last thing I'd do is toss em out .give them plenty of air and moniter the stove temperature . Under air is best for this problem but a cracked feed door works too if you stir them up every twenty or so minutes
Clinker is actually the wood burning on to and fusing with the steel or cast iron of any wood heating device.
Looks like it's welded onto the steel and sometimes has to be chiselled off.
I solved the problem by replacing my box with one that burns on a grate... and feeds all the combustion air under that grate.
The coals can't burn if they ain't gettin' air... and if the air ain't comin' in underneath 'em, nothin' below the top layer of coals will get air.
A bed of coals in my box burn screamin' friggin' hot... the whole bed of coals, from the bottom up.
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The coals can't burn if they ain't gettin' air... and if the air ain't comin' in underneath 'em, nothin' below the top layer of coals will get air.
A bed of coals in my box burn screamin' friggin' hot... the whole bed of coals, from the bottom up.
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If I have that problem, usually when it is single digits, I leave the door open. Stir up the coals, and a couple hours later, they are greatly reduced. Plus it throws a ton of heat out. No worries of low chimney temps and creosote build up in my experience. I use a piece of expanded steel with a welded steel handle to scrap bottom and bring large coals to the top. My stove is in basement with concrete floor and no combustibles close by.
For the life of me I cannot understand the logic of no grate. The only thing I can think of is it give a longer burn time. I am a owner of a Tundra and after reading your thread on stovace I tried the grate. I made a grate out of .375 304 and I made it sit only 1 inch above the firebrick. I will say this I will never go back to burning with out the grate. No more fussing with cracking the door to burn down coals. I just load up with wood ever 8 to 12hrs (depending on outside conditions, sometimes less if it's 5degs or colder and windy) and I'm good to go. house stays within 2 degs of the thermostat setting. With out the grate I would produce so much coals once it got around 15 degs outside that I would lose 5 degs in the house while trying to burn the coal bed down, not to mention the constent messing with it. Now with the grate the whole coal bed with glow red and produce blue ghost flames when there is a call for heat. I now try to make a coal bed because it heats much more evenly with coals.
066blaster
Addicted to ArboristSite
I have this problem also when it's really cold. all the things mentioned help some but I have taken a spray bottle with water and put the coals put enough I could clean it out, and get back to heating my house. I always take my ash bucket outside immediately. I have also just put 1 bigger piece of wood right in the middle of the stove to give the coals on the sides a chance to burn down.
I also get those "blue ghost flames"... definitely a screamin' hot bed of coals when that's goin' on.
I also intentionally build and maintain a deep coal bed in my (smoke-dragon) furnace when it gets cold out... like 8-10 inches deep, and it will hold the house at a steady temp for several hours with the air flowing up through them.
I'm convinced it is as simple as meeting EPA particulate emissions regulations... because there is no heating related benefit, actually a detriment when heat demand is high(er).
If you extend the length of the burn cycle, you spread the particulate emissions over more hours... which lowers the average per hour emissions.
However, if you extend the length of the burn cycle you also reduce the average per hour heat output... even if the total heat out over the entire burn cycle is a little bit more.
That's fine if you don't need the higher, continuous, and relatively even heat output throughout the entire burn cycle... but if you do... well... you do... it-is-what-it-is.
147,000 BTUs (25# of wood at 85% efficiency) over 12 hours is 12,250 BTUs per hour.
113,000 BTUs (25# of wood at 65% efficiency) over 8 hours is 14,125 BTUs per hour.
And although 2000 BTUs per hour is significant in itself... the fact is a box with a grate heats with a more steady and even output rate over the entire burn cycle, whereas the non-grate EPA-style box has greatly reduced heat output after the secondary combustion stage (although higher at the beginning). If the box can't keep up with heat demand during the last half of the burn cycle, you load it prematurely and the coal bed becomes excessive... not to mention your (supposed) efficiency advantage is greatly reduced when you do that, and you actually use more wood. The one year I used the EPA-style box to heat my home was the year I used the most wood to date... much of it was oak... and it was impossible to keep the house at a steady, even temperature.
I ain't sayin' they won't work for the proper applications... I'm sayin' not all application are proper for them.
There ain't a one-type-fits-all of anything... and there ain't no magic neither... if you need more heat, ya' need to burn more wood at a faster rate... it-is-what-it-is.
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My stove doesnt have a grate and I dont understand the problems with coals. I fill up my stove, it theres a lot of coals I just add what wood will fit and go about my business. I like coals, red hot heat, raking them out just to add more wood just seems like a waste of wood and good heat to me. What do I know, my house is about 78* inside right now.
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