# All Nighter burn time and ashes



## yankeesouth (Jan 3, 2012)

Oh before you answer....please be gentle I am a wood stove virgin...  I bought a Mid-moe for my cabin but have yet to install it.  However, after reading several posts on burn times and other issues I have a couple of, what most of you will think will be, common sense questions.  
1.    How does one empty the ashes and how often out of a Mid-moe? (I don't see an ash pan just fire brick in the fire box.)
2.    Without an ash pan how does one keep the thing lit 24/7 without having a stove full of ashes?
Base your answers on the assumption I am burning well seasoned wood, oak, ash, poplar, maple, etc.   Also, if I go to bed at say 11:00pm and wake up around 7:00am will I have a flame, coals, or nothingâ€¦.  Chances are I will be up at some point of the night watering mother earth after a night of fermented grains so I could put another log or two on. 

Cheers!


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 3, 2012)

Yankee, emptying ashes is very easy and it is also easy to NOT make a mess. Just handle those ashes like they are very fragile eggs. That is, don't overload the shovel, move slowly, lower shovel into ash bucket and then do not dump the ashes off the shovel. Instead, slowly slide the shovel out from under the ashes. No dust that way. 

For the task itself, I just slide the coals to one side using the poker. Then empty some of the ash but not all. We like to leave 1-2" of ash on the bottom. When you finish one side, then slide the coals to the other side and finish the task. Of course this might be best done in the morning when the coal bed has burned down a bit. 

How often just depends upon your stove and size of the firebox. With ours, even in mid-winter we empty only about once every 4th day. Less often now for sure. 

Question:  If you are a virgin, how do you now that wood is good? Are you aware those types of wood you list take different amount of time to dry? Wood also will not dry much until after it has been split so count drying time only after the splitting.


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## LLigetfa (Jan 3, 2012)

I made myself a combination ash hoe and coal rake.  I push everything to the back with the hoe and then use the rake to separate out the coals and pull them forward.  Then I gently shovel the ashes into a coal hod.  I like that the hod has the wide mouth so that I can lower the shovel to the bottom and carefully pull the shovel out from under it.


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## atcomo (Jan 3, 2012)

I also had a mid-moe.  If the coals are hot - push them to the side. I used to place a
galvanized bucket in the stove. Then just dump a shovel of ash into the bucket. No need
to worry about ash getting into the house because it goes up the chimney because the
bucket was in the stove. 
When the bucket was full of ash I would put a cover (piece of plywood) on the bucket and
then take it outside.


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## pen (Jan 3, 2012)

I'd say by 7am it'd be rare to have many flames left.  You should expect mostly good hot coals.

Keep an eye on that chimney to make sure that accumulations are building up.  On a pre-epa stove I say a once per month cleaning (at minimum inspection) is wise until you get a grasp on how much creosote is accumulating.

I'm going to move this over to the classic stove room.

pen


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## Grannyknot (Jan 4, 2012)

Mid-moe's are cool stoves.  11pm-7am, you should have a good bed of hot coals under a thin layer of gray ash.  I would open the door, scoop out the ash that has piled up next to the door, skim some ash off the top of the hot coals, and use a coal rake to bring those coals to the front, creating a slope of coals that builds as it comes toward you.  You should be able to fill it with seasoned wood, shut the door, open the vents, and listen to it flare up.


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## yankeesouth (Jan 5, 2012)

Thanks for the feedback!  Like I mentioned....being I paid so little for it I would like to keep the stove and make it work for me.  I'll most likely use the thing 8-10 times over the winter for weekend getaways.   On a side note, how long does it take for the mid-moe to start cranking heat?  I know a lot of that has to do with type of wood , draft, size of fire etcâ€¦ It is the sole source of heat for the cabin so when I arrive there is the very real possibility it will be 6-7pm and tempos in the low 20â€™s.  Any suggestions for getting it hot fast?  I have a blower for it.


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## pen (Jan 5, 2012)

Only way to find out is to run the piss out of it.  My pre-epa stove that I used to have in my house (and the ones in my cabin that I still operate) could heat things up faster than my modern-epa stove could ever dream off.  For a cabin, it sounds like you have the right stove IMO.  You aren't going to hurt that thing so long as the sides are not pulsating red it's so hot!  Just make sure your clearance to combustibles are met or exceeded and of course that the chimney is legit and clean and then have at it.

That thing should be giving you heat in 20 mins if your fuel is in good shape and you know how to build a good fire.  How fast the cabin gets heated up will depend on the cabin itself of course.

pen


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