Too many coals

With much of the US getting hit by minus temps. Seems like it causes issues with coaling or too many coals.
I know when I use hickory is coals more than other type woods. I also think we like to reload sooner in very cold weather and we dont give the stove time to burn down the coals.

One trick I have found is after raking coals forward to the front of the firebox so that they can get more air , i throw on top of them some of those wood pellets. The fire up nicely and cause more air flow thru the coals to get them burnt down quicker.

Any other thoughts on the coaling issue? Tips? Tricks?

 

Too many coals seems to be a common problem when folks are pushing their stoves during colder weather. We were just discussing this on TurboDiesel's thread, http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/index.php?threads/battling-with-bad-cat.2018/

 

That's what I do, with small splits, or lumber scraps , put in enough to get the SWpipe temp up to 300 and so stove will put out some heat

 

How about moving all your coals to one side..... Load in some wood and shovel as many coals as you can on top of the new wood,,,, making a top down fire.. Without a slotted ash grate and ash pan, you really have no way to get the ash away from the coals so the air can get to them so they can burn down...That's a tough situation... Like I said I'd make a flat area of new wood and shovel all the coals on top... see what happens... they'll be up in the air more and maybe burn up better plus you should get some useable heat... Laying on the bottom in ash seems like a no win situation... Good Luck....

 

Get a coal sifter. I have one that is made from a French Fryer and has an insulated handle. Best $25 I have spent on stove care.



http://www.burnban.com/embersieve-wood-stove-accessory-ash-and-ember-separator-regular-size/

 

Yea
I rake to get the charcoal out of the ashes,
Rake them to a pile in the front
lay a split or 2 E/W in the back, middle of the pile of coal & air on high.
Get lots of heat & the coals burn down pretty fast.

Trick is to get thru the cold snap, you may have lots of charcoal mixed in with the ash
, but the first average temperature day you get , do a clean out .
I notice lots of small coals in the bucket, but that's normal after a few days of several high heat burns.

 

Charlie, I have been doing exactly that during the cold spell we have had (since early December, it seems!). I rake the coals forward, clear the air inlet in the lower front, put a small split in, and shovel some coals on top of the split. Just tried it for the heck of it. It works. Don't know whether it works better than the old way (just putting the split on the coals), but it is always interesting to try something different.

 

Dennis I can tell you , it's nice to have the ash pan on the PH as you never have to wait to burn down the coals, you can always just go ahead and load your wood... If you ever get another stove, definitely go for the ash pan..that's made life easy for sure... Almost left Woodstock without one...would have been a big mistake..after seeing how it has worked out..

 

I also find that Hickory tend to coal a bit more than a lot of other woods. It always seems to leave these fine almost round coals.

 

Kind of a nifty idea! Might have to try that. I would really love to have one of Scotty's coal sifter shovels though as they seem to be the cats meow!

 

Dennis I know you have it down burning the coals up , plus I know you burn really dry wood...seems not to be an issue for you for sure.

 

Not having an ash pan means one less thing to break or get stuck.

 

Have an ash pan on this stove and have never used it.....probably never will.

 

I was told to let the pan fill up, then forget about it.

 

Mine has no grate just a heavy steel trap door in place of one of the firebricks so no need to fill the pan here.

 

I've seen that on some stoves. That is probably the best option.

 

I have been raking the coals forward as soon as the temps drop below 450F STT and opening the doors for about 20 min. Throws a ton of heat into the room and burns down the coals enough for a reload before the house starts to cool.



Hard to tell there but I normally rake until there is about 3-4" of bare floor in the back so I can lay the first piece down behind the coals.

I have a grated ash pan and love it! I empty mine every couple days just so there's not a mess to clean up. Easy and quick to do when it's not a lot to mess with.