oldspark said:
Wood Duck said:
I find it hard to believe that water has any role in forming clinkers. Clinkers form in the ash, and long before the wood becomes ash the water should have been evaporated. Of course I have never seen those things in my stove so I'm speculating.
Incomplete combustion so I guess there would be many reasons for the formation of the clinkers.
Quite the opposite. Combustion is so complete and hot that it fuses the trace elements and silicas in the wood into a solid form. You'll see this more if you burn bark which contains a lot more silicates, wind-born dirt and sand.
"The mineral content of clean wood of temperate
tree species is 0.1% to 06% and that of bark 3%
to 5%. Mineral matter in wood consists mostly of
salts of calcium, potassium, and magnesium. but
salts of many other elements are also present in
lesser amounts...
...During combustion. the mineral ions oxidize
and volatilize or form particulates. The char
surface is hotter than the gas or the interior of the
particle. and ash particles tend to form on the char
surface."
http://marioloureiro.net/ciencia/ignicao_vegt/ragla91a.pdf