I really do not want to use any more wood this season but I have wood fuel blocks. They are Gren wood fuel blocks. I have a Jotul F500 V2. How many blocks do I use at cold start?
How many wood fuel blocks to use in Jotul F500?
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I would start with three, because some have seen a bit of a runaway when they get hot because they are so dry.
If it's controllable you can add more?
If it's controllable you can add more?
Gren recommends on their website to make a 3 block teepee in front of a low wall of blocks. The trick with compressed brick fuel is to have no air gaps. This slows their outgassing and burn.
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EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Good advice.
Looks like 12 blocks. I might try the tee-pee and a 2x3 stack behind it. These are smaller blocks. It will take a lot more than 3 to run away.
So I started with 6 and I have to say good thing I do not have to rely on them for heat. They take forever to actually get fully involved with fire. I thought I was suppose to have air gaps so that is what I did. Maybe that is why they took a while to do anything. Next time I will try to avoid air gaps. I will let the current ones burn down some and then add more.
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I find it’s hard to get blocks going and leave a bit of a gap around them. They also seem to expand a bit when burning.
I’m not a fan of the big pile of half burnt sawdust in the back, bottom I’ve gotten when tightly packed too.
Everybody has to figure out what works for them.
I’m not a fan of the big pile of half burnt sawdust in the back, bottom I’ve gotten when tightly packed too.
Everybody has to figure out what works for them.
I've used some just for fun. I added 4 at a time on top of splits. Added heat, burnt well presumably because of the splits underneath. But I disliked how much ashes they produced. Much much more than anything else I've burnt.
Weird because there was hardly anything left in my stove after burning them. I wanted to try the blocks out to see if they could be an alternative to wood for when the time comes that we can no longer handle all that is involved with doing wood.
Burned some more today. They are okay but I like burning wood so much better. Plus we have yet to have to pay for wood. The blocks are good for what I needed them for these past 2 days. Not crazy cold out. They provided enough heat to get the main level of the house up in the 70's and kept the heat pump off. Plus I really do not want to use anymore wood this season as we are getting short on dry wood and I want to make sure we have some for next season.
I think I see different behaviors with sawdust blocks but also with wood due to how it burns in my cat stove. Only when it's really cold and ali burn with flame so I see things that are consistent with the majority of comments here
Sawdust blocks can use a variety of species. Some, like maple or ash, will create a lot of ash. When I burned NIELs there was almost no ash, but they are compressed softwood sawdust.
Mine were advertised to be soft wood.
I can't verify that
Actually no, I thought I bought soft wood but I see online only hardwood now from that brand. So maybe that was the issue? Unless online inventory is different from what I bought.
I can't verify that
Actually no, I thought I bought soft wood but I see online only hardwood now from that brand. So maybe that was the issue? Unless online inventory is different from what I bought.
I tried them out this season. I went through a couple hundred pounds. After a lot of trial and error I found the best method to be a Jinga tower with a top down burn. At the top of the tower I put a decent amount of kindling and light that. In the beginning I ran into issues getting them going and keeping them there. Spacing is also important. It's best to leave a 1in gap between each block. Once they get going they expand and close that gap slowing the burn down. Too much of a gap and they freely off gas and run away from you.
