henfruit said:
I use your method now with no paper , handful of cedar kindling and then the rest maple. Works awesome ! Dont have to open the primary chamber to add wood while the fire is lit. No smoke . Might not need my smoke hood now.
Huff
Fire starting 101 - how did I not know this before this year.
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I use your method now with no paper , handful of cedar kindling and then the rest maple. Works awesome ! Dont have to open the primary chamber to add wood while the fire is lit. No smoke . Might not need my smoke hood now.
Huff
In the Garn, about 1 square foot of cardboard, one lumber cut off or a handful of slash off the floor (bark, shards, etc. from moving in a cord...that pile lasts a week or so), a piece of pine, and the torch for about 15 seconds. Close the door and go get more wood, looking for smaller splits first. Open the door, insert, close door. Get more splits to fill the belly of the whale, then walk away. Really no more than 5 minutes...and likely could be 2.
I was worried about starting a fire everyday....but it really is no big deal. Different though from the October to April eternal fire in the woodstove inside....but nothing to fear.
I was worried about starting a fire everyday....but it really is no big deal. Different though from the October to April eternal fire in the woodstove inside....but nothing to fear.
nrford
Minister of Fire
JP11 said:
Yellow birch is, in my experience, excellent in my gasification boiler. It seems to contain a lot of heat, maintain a good coal bed, and burn for a long time. Have found nothing else better, few things as good.
I did make the mistake when I first got my boiler installed and fired up the first time. Stacks of newspaper, and lots of cardboard is actually very counterproductive. It lights and seems to go like crazy initially, but like Hinderligger was saying the boiler starts woofing and rumbling, but then the large sheets of burned paper ash "insulate" from the logs and they never light.
So my revised and "wife" safe lighting plan is. 5 sheets news paper, or few shreds of cardboard, 6-8 pieces of lathe circa 1922, criss-cross on top. (I am slowly remolding my house, so I have free kindling practically 0% moisture, for another 5+ years). 4 paper towel roll size splits. criss-cross on top. Close upper door, light through the lower door. 5-10 min activity (make the coffee, prep dinner, take a shower, etc) head back down stairs (boiler is typically already about 145-150, circ pump hysteris is 155) Toss 4-5 normal splits on the charred kindling, fan on, bypass closed, and we are gassing. 30 mins later, when I check, its in full gas, so I pack it up and leave it for a couple hours, or the rest of the day if I am off to work. I typically dont see boiler temps past 170-180 for a few hours, but thats also because I have storage that takes a while to heat up.
So my revised and "wife" safe lighting plan is. 5 sheets news paper, or few shreds of cardboard, 6-8 pieces of lathe circa 1922, criss-cross on top. (I am slowly remolding my house, so I have free kindling practically 0% moisture, for another 5+ years). 4 paper towel roll size splits. criss-cross on top. Close upper door, light through the lower door. 5-10 min activity (make the coffee, prep dinner, take a shower, etc) head back down stairs (boiler is typically already about 145-150, circ pump hysteris is 155) Toss 4-5 normal splits on the charred kindling, fan on, bypass closed, and we are gassing. 30 mins later, when I check, its in full gas, so I pack it up and leave it for a couple hours, or the rest of the day if I am off to work. I typically dont see boiler temps past 170-180 for a few hours, but thats also because I have storage that takes a while to heat up.
Ablue, I've found that criss crossing the wood can lead to bridging and is not necasary with the fan like it is on a wood stove.
Try putting it all longways once and see if it still works for you.
Try putting it all longways once and see if it still works for you.
my 2 cents for my no smoke in the room method, place 3 sheets of crumpled up news paper in the primary fire box along with 2 or 3 dry cedar lath kindling sticks, then a few pieces of small hardwood splits, then larger splits until firebox is full, close primary door and open secondary door, light the propane torch, insert it up through nozzle 20 to 40 seconds and light your fire, in about 3 to 5 minutes a crackling fire is going, close the secondary door and turn the blower fan on, walk away. In this mild winter I can go 2 to 3 days between fires with 806 gallons of storage. sweetheat
My Econoburn 150 is in 24 by 32 shed 100 feet from the house. I started my stove like the examples on this thread and the water temp is in the 50's. What about cold water return protection? It takes quite a while for the water to heat up to 155 when the second pump comes on. I normaly let the fire burn for a while so when I turn the switch on the water is in 135 to 140 area. It does smoke a lot this way. Which way is better for a longer lasting boiler?
infinitymike
Minister of Fire
The wood gun is insane... its like an inferno.
It took a while but I think I got it.
Completely cold, cleaned out, no ash, no nothing. Water at 50*
I put about 10 pieces of 2x12 doug fir framing scraps that I cut to about 12" long and split to about 3/4", about 6 pieces of oak flooring scraps that are about 2"x3" then I lay some small cedar siding scraps on top of that, then I crumple up about 15 sheets of newspaper. I light paper with propane torch, then I turn fan on and shut the door. I can't open the bottom door as it interrupts the air being pulled by the fan. The fan pulls the fire over and through the kindling and has it going in seconds. In 3 minutes the wood is almost all coals, I then throw another handful of the framing kindling and close door. Five minutes later a throw a 3"-4"split right in the center with a split on the left and right sides. I come back 15-20 minutes later water is up to 150*. Fire is roaring. I then will put 6 more splits in. Thats about a 1/3 full. Finally 15-20 minutes later I will put 3 more splits. That will last me for close to 8 hours. But the temps have been stupid mild here.
Next morning I will have a nice bed of coals. I rake them out and from there I will put a hand full of the framing splits and about 4 splits right away. Fire is roaring in minutes. In 20 minutes I will load it up with 7 or 8 more splits and leave it till I get home from work and its the same as the morning.
I have found that with the outside temps of about 35-40* I can get 8-9 hours out of 11- 12 splits.
We have had a few nights that dropped to low 20's and I put 15 splits in and that lasted about 7 hours.
It took a while but I think I got it.
Completely cold, cleaned out, no ash, no nothing. Water at 50*
I put about 10 pieces of 2x12 doug fir framing scraps that I cut to about 12" long and split to about 3/4", about 6 pieces of oak flooring scraps that are about 2"x3" then I lay some small cedar siding scraps on top of that, then I crumple up about 15 sheets of newspaper. I light paper with propane torch, then I turn fan on and shut the door. I can't open the bottom door as it interrupts the air being pulled by the fan. The fan pulls the fire over and through the kindling and has it going in seconds. In 3 minutes the wood is almost all coals, I then throw another handful of the framing kindling and close door. Five minutes later a throw a 3"-4"split right in the center with a split on the left and right sides. I come back 15-20 minutes later water is up to 150*. Fire is roaring. I then will put 6 more splits in. Thats about a 1/3 full. Finally 15-20 minutes later I will put 3 more splits. That will last me for close to 8 hours. But the temps have been stupid mild here.
Next morning I will have a nice bed of coals. I rake them out and from there I will put a hand full of the framing splits and about 4 splits right away. Fire is roaring in minutes. In 20 minutes I will load it up with 7 or 8 more splits and leave it till I get home from work and its the same as the morning.
I have found that with the outside temps of about 35-40* I can get 8-9 hours out of 11- 12 splits.
We have had a few nights that dropped to low 20's and I put 15 splits in and that lasted about 7 hours.
Gasifier
Minister of Fire
Turn boiler power on, fan begins to run. Place small kindling size splits, with some twisted newspaper between them, on top of nozzle. Place larger splits on top of that. Take one of the twisted rolls of newspaper and lite it. Use it to light some of the other paper in the pile, then throw it in between the larger splits and close the door. All done. 2-3 min.
With heat demand from my house, garage and DHW, I have been burning 24/7 for quite a while. Even with the mild temperatures. I do not remember when I had to light a fire last. Depending on temperatures, put in appropriate size load of wood on top of coals twice a day, three times when real cold, and that's it. All done.
Mike, it sounds like things are going better for you with the Wood Gun. Glad to hear it man. Sounds like everyone has a process that is very easy to start their gassers up.
With heat demand from my house, garage and DHW, I have been burning 24/7 for quite a while. Even with the mild temperatures. I do not remember when I had to light a fire last. Depending on temperatures, put in appropriate size load of wood on top of coals twice a day, three times when real cold, and that's it. All done.
Mike, it sounds like things are going better for you with the Wood Gun. Glad to hear it man. Sounds like everyone has a process that is very easy to start their gassers up.
woodsmaster said:
I only criss cross the kindling, and really small splits when I have a natural draft through the bottom door. I rake the coals towards the nozzle, As soon as I have the fan on, and in "gasify mode" everything that goes in is North/South. I do find that sometimes when I check the boiler at about 30 mins the logs are hung up a little and off the nozzle, but one hit with the raker bar and they drop back on the nozzle.
Does anyone have a technique for when you have a full chamber to keep the logs dropping on the nozzle. I have never got a full bridge, where it goes out, but if they would keep dropping on the nozzle I am sure it would burn better.
afblue said:
I'm still new at this, but I've learned a few things. First, rounds seem to work really well. So far, the ideal log for long days or overnights for me has been a 4-6" round. However, that only comprises a small proportion of my wood pile. I've also learned that tiangular splits tend to drop down better when placed point up. The opposite seemed logical to me at first, but then I found that they tended to wedge themselves against neighboring logs when dropping down, forming bridges. Square splits are a nice compromise between the two, and I've already modified my splitting technique to get only 2 triangular splits per half round, and all the rest are squared off. Makes stacking easier too.
It might help you to read through the thread below, particularly the posts from and to JimP. Then, for more info you can reply to that one, or start a new one (especially regarding your current return water protection).greg in MN said:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/49582/
HeatFarmer
Member
I've only been burning my EKO for a few days now, but I find it really easy to start....we can often struggle getting the wood stoves going in the house using the same wood, but the EKO fires & we have hot water and gasification in minutes.
The first fire was a bit different, but trying the things on this thread sure helped. Since then I usually have a bed of coals in the boiler in the morning which still have some life in them. I rake the coals flat over the nozzles to a level depth, then throw a paper feed sack over the coals. The feed sack--or piece of cardboard--is the same size as the chamber. Then I load up, starting with kindling, then small splits, then playing card splits until the boiler is 1/2 full. I crack the bottom door as I put in the paper to help get it going. By the time I've stocked the upper chamber with wood, the kindling is lit. I can then close both doors and put the blower on. The boiler is usually in the 154º range in the morning when I approach it. I head in to get my milking supplies and as I pass back past the boiler on the way to the barn I pull the damper closed. The boiler is usually climbing towards 165 by now. When I walk past the boiler at the end of milking I stop to stir the coals and check for bridging. Then I load it with larger splits to last till lunch time. It is well over 170 with the pump running I must admit I've been a bit of a nervous hen running out and checking my chick several times a day when I'm around...my wood isn't ideally split nor dry enough so I've had to correct for bridging and I'm still gauging how much wood a load should be.
This morning I tried something different which seems to be working. Since we are still heating with a wood cookstove as well, all of our wood needs to be similar size to avoid confusing the littlest stackers.... Since this wood is roughly the width of the boiler, I've started laying the wood front to back, but with the wood length going left to right. This way there is always wood for coals over the nozzles and bridging doesn't seem to be an issue.
The first fire was a bit different, but trying the things on this thread sure helped. Since then I usually have a bed of coals in the boiler in the morning which still have some life in them. I rake the coals flat over the nozzles to a level depth, then throw a paper feed sack over the coals. The feed sack--or piece of cardboard--is the same size as the chamber. Then I load up, starting with kindling, then small splits, then playing card splits until the boiler is 1/2 full. I crack the bottom door as I put in the paper to help get it going. By the time I've stocked the upper chamber with wood, the kindling is lit. I can then close both doors and put the blower on. The boiler is usually in the 154º range in the morning when I approach it. I head in to get my milking supplies and as I pass back past the boiler on the way to the barn I pull the damper closed. The boiler is usually climbing towards 165 by now. When I walk past the boiler at the end of milking I stop to stir the coals and check for bridging. Then I load it with larger splits to last till lunch time. It is well over 170 with the pump running I must admit I've been a bit of a nervous hen running out and checking my chick several times a day when I'm around...my wood isn't ideally split nor dry enough so I've had to correct for bridging and I'm still gauging how much wood a load should be.
This morning I tried something different which seems to be working. Since we are still heating with a wood cookstove as well, all of our wood needs to be similar size to avoid confusing the littlest stackers.... Since this wood is roughly the width of the boiler, I've started laying the wood front to back, but with the wood length going left to right. This way there is always wood for coals over the nozzles and bridging doesn't seem to be an issue.
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