Recommendations on a stove
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But the total volume of the firebox is the same?
I'm just saying, when the layer of ash on my Chinook (also 3" below door) fills up to that level, quite a lot less wood can be loaded into the box. Even worse when there's a layer of coals. So if the Ashford's firebox is the same size, volume wise, I wonder how you can actually fit a reasonable amount of wood in there when the ash is up to the door...
BKVP
Minister of Fire
The lower dome position of the Princess make it more difficult. But in shoulder seasons you don't need to max out capacity. My King is 9", I just emptied it for second time this heating season. The first emptying/duration included 9 weeks of mild weather....the second was 6 weeks of higher burn rate. The frequency is influenced by how much you burn (weather), type of fuel (hardwood vs softwood) and depth of stove.
Even the King at 9" requires more capacity when it get cold. I just filled a 5 gallon metal bucket with ashes. Now, it's running on low again until end of season.
NOTE: When burning hardwoods, the emptying interval increases by 3X.
BKVP
Even the King at 9" requires more capacity when it get cold. I just filled a 5 gallon metal bucket with ashes. Now, it's running on low again until end of season.
NOTE: When burning hardwoods, the emptying interval increases by 3X.
BKVP
Meaning less frequent?
The pine we burn is ok regarding ash production, but I have had some gum trees in there, and man, those make a huge amount of ash.
As a bigtime softwood burner I can confirm that the ash emptying interval is much much longer when burning softwood (douglas fir) compared to hardwood (maple).
I also really really like the deep ash belly of the princess. 6" is a lot of ash and since the dome bottom of the princess is just about level with the top of the door you can utilize the whole firebox volume. If there is more distance between top of door and bottom of dome on the scirroco or the other 30 box stoves it would seem to be awfully hard to utilize for loading wood.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
With hardwoods and the coaling properties, you wind up emptying the firebox more often than if you are burning softwoods.
Anyone that burns hardwoods knows that at higher burn rates you burn off the volatiles quickly and you have a firebox full of coals. Often those wood burners write about "raking" coals forward.
With softwoods, they burn quicker, but the coaling properties are much lower. When I burn softwoods, I can goes 8-10 weeks between emptying out ashes as opposed to having to do so much more frequently with hardwoods.
BKVP
Likewise. Burning doug fir I empty the ashes only twice in a season. Burning soft maple, it's every few weeks.
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