Air wash Ashford 25

[BKVP]

One other observation, FOR ALL WOOD STOVES, the first step in the combustion process is to deal with the water that is in the wood. As we all know, the level varies from piece to piece, therefore load to load.

If you load the stove at 8:50 p.m., shut it down at 9:00 p.m. and go to bed, you have created a "crock pot". In any stove, this is not ideal. In a cat stove, it can suppress cat temps and in secondary combustion designs, it keeps refractory or other elements for thermal destruction from getting up to temperature.

If you were to load a stove 1 hour before going to bed or off to work, run it hotter, you deal with the moisture at elevated temps.

We wood burners, caring about out own stoves, our neighbors' right to clean air and of course the image associated with being wood burners need to advocate (share) for anything that we have learned will improve performance and reduce smoke.

 

[Kissash]

Ok let me try some of the suggestions on my next load later this week. Thanks again everyone, I will keep you posted.

 

[Squisher]

Later this week? Damn those BK's do burn forever on a load!

 

[mellow]

I would try getting some wood bricks and mixing them in the load to see if that helps. Running the insert on high should clean up the glass in about 10-15 minutes, I usually did this during reloads.

The fan should be run according to what you set your tstat, ie if your tstat is set to low then your fans should be set to low, same for medium and high or you risk the chance of taking away too much heat from the cat.

 

[Sailrmike]

I had the same problem with my BK. Even burning loads of 5-10% moisture content bricks, the glass would be black shortly after turning the air below medium. It didn't matter if the load was burned on high for an hour before slowly lowering the t-stat, the glass always blackened. It caked up thick over time (edges and bottom of glass) and required a razor blade to remove.

 

[Kissash]

Wow that's disappointing to hear. It never got better?

 

[sutphenj]

I had the same problem with my BK. Even burning loads of 5-10% moisture content bricks, the glass would be black shortly after turning the air below medium. It didn't matter if the load was burned on high for an hour before slowly lowering the t-stat, the glass always blackened. It caked up thick over time (edges and bottom of glass) and required a razor blade to remove.

Did you move to the F55 it appears?

 

[Rickb]

I had the same problem with my BK. Even burning loads of 5-10% moisture content bricks, the glass would be black shortly after turning the air below medium. It didn't matter if the load was burned on high for an hour before slowly lowering the t-stat, the glass always blackened. It caked up thick over time (edges and bottom of glass) and required a razor blade to remove.

That's disappointing for sure. But owning a BK I have not seen this so I don't think this is not normal.

 

[Sailrmike]

That's disappointing for sure. But owning a BK I have not seen this so I don't think this is not normal.

My chimney isn't the best setup for a BK. The F55 is keeping clean glass, but can't hold a fire nearly as long as BK Chinook 30

 

[Kissash]

So I split room temperature wood this morning. The moisture content increased to between 25% to 30%. on the majority of the pieces. Are you telling me I can't use this wood?

 

[Woody Stover]

The moisture content increased to between 25% to 30%. on the majority of the pieces. Are you telling me I can't use this wood?

You can use it but you will have to burn in the load longer, so you will go through more wood. It still won't burn that great. You could supplement with some compressed bricks (100% wood) and mix those in with your damp wood.
I was in your position the first winter I discovered the forum and got 'dry-wood religion.' This wouldn't fly with most wives but mine let me stack half a cord in the house and blow fans on it. It was White Ash, and went from 25% down to 20 in a couple weeks. It was split small though. Then I did the same with another half cord. Finding dry wood now is gonna be hard. Maybe you know someone else who burns and has a big stash of wood that is dry? Have you got access to a wood lot? There, you could find small (<8") standing dead trees with all the bark fallen off (not Oak) and it may be dry enough to burn well.
Do you know what kind of wood it is? It's entirely possible that if it is Red Oak, and the splits are large, two years in the stack wouldn't be enough to get the wood down around 20%. Soft Maple on the other hand will get pretty dry in six months of summer weather, if not split too big.

 

[jatoxico]

So I split room temperature wood this morning. The moisture content increased to between 25% to 30%. on the majority of the pieces. Are you telling me I can't use this wood?

If we all had a nickel...
Anyway most of us have been there and why it's often the first question. It's not ideal but to make it work you can add lumber scraps or any other dry wood you can lay your hands on or purchase some compressed wood bricks. Mix the dry in with the wet wood and go.

Now that you know you're in a better position to make it work. Realize you should run with more air longer to drive the moisture out. You can also split the wood down smaller to give more surface to air and bring what you can into the house to get a little more drying. Lots of discussion on this topic.

 

[Kissash]

The wood is all maple. Some of the wood did remain under 20% after resplitting. I'm going to try gather up a tested newly split load of wood that's under 20% and retry to see if air wash issue remains. Thanks I'll keep you posted.

 

[mellow]

Stop by your local tractor supply and get some red stone wood bricks or the equivalent and try burning them, that will also let you know if it is a wood issue.

 

[redktmrider]

This wouldn't fly with most wives but mine let me stack half a cord in the house and blow fans on it

You have a great wife Woody!
Mine doesn't like the stacks outside in the adjacent 1 acre lot.

 

[Woody Stover]

The wood is all maple. Some of the wood did remain under 20% after resplitting. I'm going to try gather up a tested newly split load of wood that's under 20% and retry to see if air wash issue remains.

As I mentioned, soft Maple like Red and Silver will dry pretty quick. Hard (Sugar) Maple is slower. With experience you'll be able to heft the splits of various species and tell if they are heavy with moisture. When you are splitting you can press a fresh split to your cheek or lips and feel the coolness of evaporating water.
You'll get by this winter, one way or another, but to get a final answer to how clean the glass is gonna stay you will need some fully dried wood..

You have a great wife Woody!
Mine doesn't like the stacks outside in the adjacent 1 acre lot.

My massive stash is behind the house in the woods..'Out of sight, out of (her) mind.'

 

[Poindexter]

The wood is all maple. Some of the wood did remain under 20% after resplitting. I'm going to try gather up a tested newly split load of wood that's under 20% and retry to see if air wash issue remains. Thanks I'll keep you posted.

I agree with mellow. Get some kind of processed bio-logs. Thise generally come in around 6-8% MC. One biolog for every two splits will get you in the ball park, one pound of biolog for every pound of damp cordwood shoild put you in the middle of the sweetspot for average MC in the firebox.

It a PITA, but it is an option.

 

[Kissash]

Ok just order a bunch of RedStone 3-Pack Fuel Blocks on sale. I'll give them a try. Thanks guys

 

[Rickb]

Ok just order a bunch of RedStone 3-Pack Fuel Blocks on sale. I'll give them a try. Thanks guys

I bought them on sale last year and have been mixing them in. They are kinda hard to start but seem to burn great and last a long time.

 

[Poindexter]

And kudos to @Kissash for following through , a lot of threads like this end at post #34 above, or similar, every year.