am i burning too much wood per day?

[weatherguy]

I go through 20-22 splits a day but as has been said your splits are small. Also depends on type but I have all hardwoods mostly being ash.

 

[Rich L]

very good question. i think i see what youre asking. maybe theyre too small? moisture reads at 12% on the surface 17% on the inside.. so maybe too dry too??

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I'd put in a pipe damper to extend the burn.I remember burning a cord of wood twice as fast because the wood was so try.

 

[woodey]

. I have a computer controlled wood furnace made for dummies like me.

The way you have that Kuuma fine-tuned I gotta believe you're no dummy, but I have been known to be wrong plenty of times.

 

[Dobish]

thanks. no. id like it cooler but thats one area i guess im not sure about. how do i adjust the heat temp in the house with a wood stove? if i lower the air intake, the flames/secondary burn die out and create smoke and just smolder making the glass hazy. if i dont load it to the brim with wood, i feel like i end up using even more wood.

and im not sure what a 'split' is defined as, but my pieces are more in quarters than split down the center as in halves of a whole log.

I think this is part of your problem, as you are not getting good secondary burns. A thermometer would really help so you can know what the temperature of your stove top and stack are. Your stove is designed to be able to get it up to temp, then lower the air intake so it will burn with less air while continuing to ignite the secondaries. If the stove is not hot enough, then you get no secondaries.

I think what is happening is that your stove is actually not up to temp as it should be, and you are killing the air too quickly. This is is choking out the fire, and causing it to smolder. I am also going to guess that your wood is not really 17%. I would check a few pieces that have been inside for a day or two. I would also try to turn the air down gradually.

Another aspect is a lot of people have catalytic combusters in their stoves, allowing them to burn for longer. Your stove has a different combuster design.

From your stove manual:

We recommend use of a magnetic stovetop thermometer to monitor the surface temperature of the stove. Locate the thermometer directly on one of the corners of the top plate. The optimum surface temperature range for most efficient combustion is between 400° and 700° (204°C -371°C). Chimney draft should be in the .05 - 1.0 w.c. range. 1. With the Primary Air Shutter in the full open position (to the right), start with several sheets of crumpled newspaper placed directly on the grate. On top of the newspaper, place several pieces of small dry kindling * (1” - 2” in diameter or less) with two to three larger logs (approx. 3” to 4” in diameter) on top. 2. Light the fire and close the door. Allow the chimney to warm and establish a strong draft. Use your stove glove and slowly build the fire by adding larger and larger logs. Be sure to follow the break-in procedure (Sect. 5.6) before creating a hot fire that might damage the stove. 3. Once the stove has reached a surface temperature range of between 400° and 700°, (204°C -371°C), adjust the primary air control lever as appropriate to generate the desired heat output and burn time.

 

[Hogwildz]

If you want longer burn times, split the wood larger, which will equate to less pcs, less air space & longer burn times. With what you have, try and pack it as tightly as you can, meaning less air space between the splits.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Size matters as Hogwildz advised. Cat stoves need good size splits on there to keep the secondaries going for extended periods of time without too much off gassing. Found this outage hard way with my VC Encore. Kevin

 

[Tar12]

If you want longer burn times, split the wood larger, which will equate to less pcs, less air space & longer burn times. With what you have, try and pack it as tightly as you can, meaning less air space between the splits.

Larger more uniform splits makes all of the difference in world for burn times! Years ago when I first started out I split stuff pretty small but each year found me splitting larger and larger splits... splits in the 6-8 inch range are a beautiful thing in the depth of winter!

 

[wooduser]

This kind of question is where a flue gas analysis would be helpful.

Knowing the stack temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide level would help to figure out if this is a combustion problem or not.

 

[TJ1]

If your trying to keep the flames high enough to keep the glass clear then you are literally pouring heat out of the stove and up the smoke stack.
After 3 years of learning with our stove I can keep the glass 80% clear for one day but if we run the stove for 3 days in a row the glass will basically be covered in soot. And this is burning 2 + years old white oak.

 

[Dobish]

If your trying to keep the flames high enough to keep the glass clear then you are literally pouring heat out of the stove and up the smoke stack.
After 3 years of learning with our stove I can keep the glass 80% clear for one day but if we run the stove for 3 days in a row the glass will basically be covered in soot. And this is burning 2 + years old white oak.

I have found that 3 years seasoning I get very little black on the stove, even when burning on low. Obviously, sometimes it still happens, but I haven't cleaned the glass all season this year.

 

[Chas0218]

I get mostly fly ash on my glass. I have had it a few times get black in the corners if I get pieces too close and at the very beginning of a burn before the flue heats up.

 

[weatherguy]

I always get fly ash too, easy enough to get off.

 

[xman23]

I never payed much attention to how much wood we burned each day. But my wife knew, 25 large splits. Because when the side porch wood is out she would have to go down one level for more wood. Before that happens she turns up the thermostat.