I have a Quadrafire 1500 insert. Stove works great, however, maximum heat is done during the wood/smoke burn state then I have a bunch of coals that take forever to burn down unless I open the door, and then it still takes awhile. I am burning seasoned and dry beech. I sometimes burn Locust too. The stove is fine with the coal burn when it is above 30 degrees, but now that it is 17 outside I can't get enough output to keep the heat pumps off unless I am in the burn stage. Any ideas on how to get that coal bed burned down faster/hotter?
Quicker coal burn state ideas
- Thread starter HokieHeat
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Here is what I have done but my fire box is pretty big.
If I have a lot of coals and I want to reload I just bring most of the coals towards the front where my primary air is...sort of to the front but off to the sides,
so I can get the wood in east to west then spread the coals across the front .
Worked better on my old BK..the primary air was in the back.
If I have a lot of coals and I want to reload I just bring most of the coals towards the front where my primary air is...sort of to the front but off to the sides,
so I can get the wood in east to west then spread the coals across the front .
Worked better on my old BK..the primary air was in the back.
Thanks, I have been raking them around with the door open to get them to burn down. They provide pretty good heat if you leave the door open. From reading other threads on the forum I see that the coal accumulation amount is pretty common. When it is really cold I would like to have an additional blower or something to introduce more air to the coals to get a faster burn while waiting for a re-load. Experimenting, if I point my old hair dryer, that I use to get the fire started fast from scratch, at the coals they light up quicky and hot. I need a "thing" that does that for me. This isn't a new problem, last year I had the same problem when the stove was new (chimmney new too, new house). I was wondering if someone had came up with a device.
Pull them to the front center of the stove, open the air control and put a single, small split on top of them.
I rake them to the center in a N/S pile, right in front of the doghouse, throw a small split on top, air wide open, stove will run at 300 or so for hours, till they burn down. add another split if needed.
Good idea, I'll try that tomorrow. Already loaded solid for the night (actually only ~4-5 hours at full burn) it's 15 here now! Where's global warming when you need it???
Welcome to the forum HokieHeat.
Your problem is typical for new wood burners. Yes, there are some small tricks for burning the coals down but also be aware that if your wood is not as dry as it should be you will have more coals than you would with good dry wood. Also, almost every new wood burner has wetter wood than they think they have. Most buy wood from a seller who states the wood is good and seasoned and will burn well. Their statement is usually worthless chatter. So please bear that in mind. Also, next year's wood should already be put up and drying out in the wind now.
Just before the wood gets down to the coaling stage, try opening the draft full at that point and this usually takes care of the problem. Sometimes people also place a small split on the coals or some kindling and then turn the draft wide open. We usually turn the draft wide open sooner and get along just fine.
Your problem is typical for new wood burners. Yes, there are some small tricks for burning the coals down but also be aware that if your wood is not as dry as it should be you will have more coals than you would with good dry wood. Also, almost every new wood burner has wetter wood than they think they have. Most buy wood from a seller who states the wood is good and seasoned and will burn well. Their statement is usually worthless chatter. So please bear that in mind. Also, next year's wood should already be put up and drying out in the wind now.
Just before the wood gets down to the coaling stage, try opening the draft full at that point and this usually takes care of the problem. Sometimes people also place a small split on the coals or some kindling and then turn the draft wide open. We usually turn the draft wide open sooner and get along just fine.
Thanks,
The beech tree I am using actually fell early last spring and I cut and split it and put it in the barn at that time, so it should be fairly dry. I think my biggest problem is that I am too impatent to get back to maximum heat putput with the stove. I am trying to heat ~3500 sqft with a couple of 20' ceilings and cathedrals, so I probably need 2 stoves. It works well down to about 30° outside - coal burn is sufficient to keep the HPumps off, but below that it only heats good enough when it is in full burn. I leave the door open on the stove and the coals burn down better, is there anything wrong with that approach? I realize some of the heat will go up the chimmney that way, but it seems to throw a lot of radiant heat out with the door open during the coal burn state.
The beech tree I am using actually fell early last spring and I cut and split it and put it in the barn at that time, so it should be fairly dry. I think my biggest problem is that I am too impatent to get back to maximum heat putput with the stove. I am trying to heat ~3500 sqft with a couple of 20' ceilings and cathedrals, so I probably need 2 stoves. It works well down to about 30° outside - coal burn is sufficient to keep the HPumps off, but below that it only heats good enough when it is in full burn. I leave the door open on the stove and the coals burn down better, is there anything wrong with that approach? I realize some of the heat will go up the chimmney that way, but it seems to throw a lot of radiant heat out with the door open during the coal burn state.
That certainly can be a problem heating that much space. Not only the sq. ft. but also the cu. ft.!
For future information, that beech would have been much better had you left it outside. As you know, it won't start to dry until it has been split. But then.....it needs air; moving air to dry. Storing wood inside a barn or shed is great but you will find most folks first dry their wood outdoors at least for a full summer or much more before taking it inside a shed. That is because in the shed there is not the moving air and you probably also stacked the rows together. To dry that beech as fast as you wanted, it should have been stacked in single rows so the wind hits the side of the piles. Sun is nice too but wind is the most important.
So now you know part of the problem is the wood can not possibly be dry enough. You'll have to baby this thing along this winter and please do not neglect to check that chimney often. Clean it 5 or 6 times if you have to.
For future information, that beech would have been much better had you left it outside. As you know, it won't start to dry until it has been split. But then.....it needs air; moving air to dry. Storing wood inside a barn or shed is great but you will find most folks first dry their wood outdoors at least for a full summer or much more before taking it inside a shed. That is because in the shed there is not the moving air and you probably also stacked the rows together. To dry that beech as fast as you wanted, it should have been stacked in single rows so the wind hits the side of the piles. Sun is nice too but wind is the most important.
So now you know part of the problem is the wood can not possibly be dry enough. You'll have to baby this thing along this winter and please do not neglect to check that chimney often. Clean it 5 or 6 times if you have to.
HokieHeat said:
I did that the other day, with the screen on - threw some nice heat and burned some coals down. It seems like a fine approach to me - there are few gases left for secondary combustion or to crud up the flue. Having the door closed with wide open air is just going to send that heat up the flue anyway.
You are talking about door wide open, correct? Leaving the door just ajar will give you a hyper-draft. You can plow through some coals this way, but also overfire the stove.
HokieHeat said:
Unfortunately, your wood is in no way dry. 6 months in a barn won't cut it. I have some beech that came down in Jan of '09 cut and split and stacked that Feb. so almost 2 years outside, it's still at 20% when a split is re-split and tested. And you have a LOT of space to heat. I am not much on burning with the doors open, seems to add a lot of fireplace type ineffeciency to the equation, but that's just a feeling.. no proof. lol
Thanks,
I didn't realize it took so long to dry beech out. I also just assumed having the wood indoors where the rain couldn't get to it was best - what we always did since I was little on the farm. The beech tree I am working on still has several limbs and the main trunk to cut up, haven't gotten to it yet (really big tree - probably 3-4' in diameter at the bottom). I cut, split, and packed a cherry tree into a shed this summer, but it was cut green so I won't burn it until next year - that shed is only a roof so I think the air flow will get to it fairly well. The beech catches and burns really nice and quick w/o a lot of smoke, but I don't have a meter to check the moisture level - probably need to get one. I only open the door wide open during the coal burn state. I have a few locust trees on the ground that have been there for a couple of years, would I be better off cutting spitting and burning them instead of the beech?
I didn't realize it took so long to dry beech out. I also just assumed having the wood indoors where the rain couldn't get to it was best - what we always did since I was little on the farm. The beech tree I am working on still has several limbs and the main trunk to cut up, haven't gotten to it yet (really big tree - probably 3-4' in diameter at the bottom). I cut, split, and packed a cherry tree into a shed this summer, but it was cut green so I won't burn it until next year - that shed is only a roof so I think the air flow will get to it fairly well. The beech catches and burns really nice and quick w/o a lot of smoke, but I don't have a meter to check the moisture level - probably need to get one. I only open the door wide open during the coal burn state. I have a few locust trees on the ground that have been there for a couple of years, would I be better off cutting spitting and burning them instead of the beech?
2 splits of dry pine on a hot bed of coals with the air about 1/3 the way open and my stove will cruise at 350 - 450 four a couple of hours. When the pine is done burning the coal bed is pretty small and ready to go again.
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