So for the last couple of days Ive had what I believe to be some major coaling issues. I cleaned the stove out last night loaded it up and let it go this morning I found a large amount of big chunks/coals in the stove so I spread them out loaded the stove up again and went to work. My wife put another load in around 11am and nothing since then just now I I opened the stove up and found a huge pile of coals it looked like the stove was full again and I just cleaned it out yesterday. What could be the cause of this what can I do differently to prevent it? My wood is decent for the most part theres a few pieces that arent seasoned so well but Ive been trying to mix them with the better stuff Im guessing that the wood is the problem but could it be something else?
When the stove keeps getting reloaded, it happens. If your there, rake coals forward and open the air up. Add a split for a faster response with added heat output. Check out this recent thread......... http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/index.php?threads/coal-burn-down.1500/#post-30851
My standard response to coal build up, is to set the draft higher. Seems super simple and has always worked for me. The higher the draft setting, the faster the wood will burn down and the longer the coal bed can burn before the next refill. Same principle as longer burns between reloads. The only problem I can see is over-fire for tube stoves early in the burn. It's the obvious solution for me. Does it not work for everyone else?
Thanks I missed that post theres some good stuff in there though and I do believe that Im closing the stove down to much Ill keep it open a bit more than it has been.
That part in red is no doubt the cause of the excessive coaling. We've found that just before the burn gets down to the all coaling stage that if we then open the draft full, the stove will hold the heat and the coals will burn down. At least this is the way we've done it for years but we also have good dry wood....
Coaling happens for two reasons: 1. Wood isn't dry enough 2. Stove isn't big enough You said you loaded the stove up before you went to work. I'm guessing that was somewhere between 5-7am. Then you said your wife reloaded the stove at 11am. Seems like a short burn time for a Fireview.
Full of coals this AM Wind died down from 40s to 15 mph sometime over the night, effected the draft. Mixed / burning on high now. Lots of heat, no flames, typical charcoal burn . Wind is the toughest for me to set for the night burn, any changes & the setting ends up way off. I think wood type effects coaling too , seems my birch coals more than the spruce.
I have found that if I try to set it and forget it, I end up with too many coals. If I Adjust the air after couple of hours After loading it turns out much better
When I come down in the morning I always have a nice bed of coals, but sometimes they are just large enough that I would like to burn them down a bit more to gain more room int he box. Depends what my plans are for the day. If I'm around it's no big deal, and sometimes, depending on the temp I just won't refill for a while. But if I do want to maximize space and burn the coals way down, I just open up the draft fully, and depending on how hot the house already is, I may even open up the cat bypass. With the Fv that will really add so much air to the box, that the coals disappear quickly. However, doing that just sends most of the heat up the chimney so I don't do it, unless it warmed up a lot, like in shoulder season in the afternoon.
Would'a / should'a burned well if the wind kept the draft strong. House up to temp now 72°, but the furnace kicked on before I got up. Set to 69° at 5:30. Don't always hit the perfect setting & had gotten spoiled with the 20° temps the past 10 days. up to 16° today, forecast 4° tonight, "the norm"
Ive been setting it around half but I think thats a bad idea now. I load it between 430-5 she will usually load it up again between 9 and 2 Im having a hard time convincing her that its ok for it to die down. She wants to make sure that the house doesnt go below 75* but when Im home I will let it go all the way down to little coals and then reload. Yes Dennis I believe thats playing a big part in the problem.
All right so after leaving the air open a bit more than I have been the issue seems to be a bit better. I think that after the responses I got here and reading in another thread that my biggest problem now is the wood itself. I hope that one day I will get ahead and have a whole burning season of properly seasoned wood but the way things are going I dont see that happening any time soon Ive been working non stop and havent been able to do any scrounging or splitting of the stuff Ive got.
