Any special considerations for burning oak?

Another option for dry wood is to get a fuelwood permit for El Dorado National Forest. Here's some info from their website. According to weather.com, there has been less than 1/3 of an inch of rain in the area. Not sure if Pollock Pines is close by but that's the location I looked at. Should make for some dry standing dead and and down trees. Good stuff to mix in with the oak..

Don't know what your tool situation is like, but a small chain saw for $200 and a splitting axe for $50 should get you started. That plus $30 for 2 cords of wood in the National Forest and you'll be good for this year. Don't worry about using an SUV or car for scrounging.. Get the word out to friends and family that you've started a new hoarding habit and need their support.

Woodcutting Permit
General Information
Woodcutting permits allow you to cut firewood on National Forest land. Any wood removed/transported from national forest land to private property must have a fuelwood permit. Permits do not transfer between National Forests and expire at the end of the year. With your permit you will be given information about the specific rules and regulations for the Eldorado National Forest including information about where you may cut. It is your responsibility to know where you are cutting, as well as, to know and follow the rules and regulations governing your permit.

• Cost: $15 per cord. Cash, credit cards, and checks are accepted.
• Quantity: Minimum 2 cords.
• Season: Year-round. Permit expires on December 31 of the year purchased.
• Size limit: Standing dead trees less than 10 inches at eye level can be cut otherwise look for dead and downed wood.
• Access: Vehicle use on roads is allowed only on the routes shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map issued with your permit.

 

I'll get some specific information about the flue this afternoon(maybe pics will help). But looking at the manual, it is calling for minimum of 3 foot from the roof exit. The 2 foot I was quoting was CA code for minimum height above nearest roof line within 10 feet. I did not find a minimum lining length.

NOTE: House was constructed in mid 40s and had some sort of update in mid 50s. There is nothing to make me doubt that the fireplace is that old.

StuckInTheMuck, unfortunately, I am VERY familiar with Pollock Pines. Under two weeks ago we wrapped up the Kings forest fire(~90k acres burned) I'm under 10 miles away

For the daves , the outside temp was probably in the 50-55F range. Obviously not so cold I really needed a fire but I want to "master" my technique before we do get the 30s.

A couple of pictures to help.
Here is start of break in fire:

Here is old chimney before reword(propane insert):

No, the tree is not next to the chimney. ~15 feet away across a creek

Here is chimney with new insert from the backside of the house:

On top of the tubing is a "trap". The piece of terra cotta off to the side was not remounted(may be causing issue with proper draft)

 

If that's the case, I suspect that the wood in the forested area that didn't burn is probably pretty dry.. Need to get your hands on some of that!!!

 

The minimum flue height for that stove is 13'. Looks like you've got that covered.
Is the liner insulated? Is that terra cotta capped in any way? Hard to tell from here.
What the heck is a "trap"?

 

Might be worth asking your installer if he had to comply with some special spark arrestor code based on where you live. If by "trap" you are referring to a smaller opening spark arrestor, that could decrease the flow of smoke/air out of your chimney. Here's a little info on the "California chimney cap"

 

When you say "is the liner insulated", what do you mean?

The terra cotta did get capped with flashing. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product

The top of the liner is also capped with a spark arrestor.

I blame lack of proper coffee intake for saying "trap". It should have said capped... and the better term is a spark arrestor similar to the middle picture. I'll see about getting a better picture of the top of the chimney if I'm not getting sprinkled on

 

From the Clydesdale manual, "This Fireplace Insert requires a minimum chimney height of 13 feet (4 m)." Sounds like an easy-breathing stove, so that's good. Hard to say without measuring, but I'm not sure you have the 13'. I wonder if it would be possible to add a 2' section of chimney and still be under 5' above the chimney, so you wouldn't have to brace it. Others with more expertise may chime in. You may need a little extra stack in that moderate climate to get good draft. It might look a little funky but maybe there's some way to reduce the visual impact? That's if it will fly with mama...

 

Couple different ways of doing it.

1. Double or triple walled pipe.. (much more expensive and usually for an exterior chimney)
2. Wrap around insulation kit that goes around a flexible liner.
3. Non flammable insulation dumped down the chimney between the terra cotta and the chimney liner. It is stopped by a block off plate in the vicinity of the smoke shelf.

http://www.rockfordchimneysupply.com/articles.php?article=Is_Chimney_Liner_Insulation_Necessary

 

Yeah, what stuckinthemuck said.

 

In looking at the invoice, it used right at 13' worth of tubing. It appears to be 6" diameter. My quick tape pull on the stone portion of the chimney does look correct(~9 to 10 foot from top of stone to about where the top of the wood insert wood be) So if I guestimate that the terra cotta is ~12" to 18", I'd say that from the top of the stone adds another ~3 foot.

I do not see a manufacturer for the part number called out explicitly but it cross references with DuraLiner(invoice showed two of 6DLR-48 and one 6DLR-60F). When I go to a site, it claims 1/2" insulation blanket on straight tube:
http://www.northlineexpress.com/6-x-48-duraliner-round-rigid-chimney-relining-pipe-6dlr-48-6054.html
http://www.northlineexpress.com/6-x-60-duraliner-round-flex-chimney-relining-pipe-6dlr-60f-6057.html

The 5 foot flex does cause a +/- to the overall length.

The cap is this guy:
http://www.northlineexpress.com/6-d...dlr-kxc18-6071.html?fee=7&fep=6071&2Bshopping

I don't know how tall a typical terra cotta piece is but it could get a second piece on top as it was originally done with the propane insert.

 

Hey Lil'John you got a nice looking stove

Sounds like you're experiencing some draft issues with the delta in temperatures being so low (we discussed this in your post back when looking for a stove)

There's a lot of air space in the Clydesdale and when I have moderate afternoon temps outside I'd get a bit of extra smoke on a cold start.
Invest in a propane torch Not only are they handy for other projects around the house, you can run the torch back and forth across the front upper exhaust exit to "create" an artificial draft.
You have plenty of woods around your house, start collecting kindling from fallen branches. I use two halves of a poly 55gal drum(cut with a jigsaw and tied rope handles to move around) As I'm breaking up branches one half gets little stuff twigs up to 1/2" the other gets limbs that I can break across my knee or on a nearby tree. You could use a couple 5 gallon buckets, I just like being able to step down on the brush and fit more in my homemade totes.

Make sure the air handle is pulled all the way open (forward)
Use 4-5 balls of newspaper, two handfuls of small twigs, and 4-5 pieces of larger limbs. Run the torch back and forth across the upper edge and then light the newspaper in several locations.
Leave the door wide open on warmer days and gradually move it closer to shut(unless you have billowing smoke), while the fire is getting established add some smaller splits of your oak(preferably the outside re-splits) If the oak does not appear to catching on fire in this time frame - you have wood moisture issues(only time will solve that). Add a few more of the larger limb pieces and close the door.
Once the blower kicks on start trimmimg the air in slowly(1/4") and wait 5mins - you'll see air forcing on the front section of the fire.
If you start throwing big pieces of oak on at that point(that aren't dry) your fire will die out.

Kindling will be your friend - collect lots of it, untreated building scraps work great as well, split dead dry pine small and use that as a starter

 

Sorry to snip down lots of good info.

Funny you bring up the blow torch... I was considering going with an industrial heat gun to get some heat in the insert.

But I'll ask the dumb question: when you say "across the front upper exhaust exit", where are you talking about? Inside the insert toward the top front edge?

 

No such things as dumb questions.
Since it's a bit cool here(56 outside 71 inside) I decided to start my first fire of the season Just to get a few pics to help you out

bag of maple limbs from the yard - it rained night before last ~2" so stuff is a little damp


Stacked up ready for fire


This is the area you want to heat - I don't stick the torch directly up in there, hold it back 4-5" and move back and forth briskly

~2mins in

sitting on the couch reveling in my pyromania, added a dry maple split and the rest of the kindling on top of it, chocked the air down a bit and the blower just kicked on


Open the door slowly if you add any wood (crack door 1" let the draft pull the smoke then slowly open further)

 

here's the split starting and now just easing it along real slow - blower as slow as it can go(burning the dust off early season smell)

 

Nicely done.

 

Longer term, I'd suggest going to a top-down lighting tactic. Flames passing by cold objects will be quenched. Often resulting in visible smoke.

What works well for me is to build a little "nest" of kindling around my fire-starter, which can be woody debris & kerosene, cardboard, rolled paper.

Smoke is un-burnt fuel.

 

I can definitely vouch for scrounging dead and downed from your National Forest. I border the Tonto NF in northern AZ , and that's where this wood comes from. Just to be safe I split it right away and let it dry for a year prior to burning, but I could burn right away if I needed to.

 

50 deg. outside temp is tough to get a good draft going most anywhere when starting with a cold flue. Even a lowly hair dryer will help warm the flue prior to lighting up. I have even used the exhaust of a shop vac to do it in a pinch.

 

basod, thank you for the step by step.

The only "construction scrap" I have is VERY wet redwood from a rotten deck Well, that and some misc bits of IPE that I think would be even worse than the oak to burn.
trooper, VERY nice. Unfortunately, right now I'm cord storage deficient I'm looking into creative methods to store wood on my lot: 1/3 acre most of it uphill

I will be taking a look at moisture content tonight and splitting a bunch of wood down for kindling. I'll make another fire attempt this Saturday.

 

Yep, the top-down start is awesome. Super clean; You get virtually no smoke from the get-go. Yank is right, it's a long-term goal because you need dry wood for it to work well. I would forgo the kerosene, though.

Kiln-dried!