What Is In Your Stove Right Now?

[Ashful]

My answer for the last cord or so has been "hickory", a great wood for high BTU punch, but a terrible wood for ash accumulation and sparking embers when reloading. Well, in cleaning ash out of the stove tonight, a twice-per-week chore when burning hickory, I finally got bit. Hot embers were spraying out everywhere, and one managed to shoot from the stove directly into my right eye.

It seemed to get me in the white of the eye, not any critical area, and vision is not impaired. However, it is terribly uncomfortable, feeling like I have sand in my eye. I think the eye is clean, it's been tearing for a solid half hour, I think I'm just feeling burned tissue.

I might start keeping a pair of safety glasses near each stove! Never had this problem with oak or ash, but hickory is nasty stuff.

 

[Caw]

It's been a little warmer here over the last few days so I haven't been running the stove. Today it got colder again so I fired up a load of mostly sugar maple running E-W with a couple of cherry sleepers running N-S underneath. This is my first E-W burn in this stove. Took a little longer to get going and fully up to temp, but its cruising along now at around 820° flue temp right at the flue collar and just over 450° STT.
View attachment 319718

Only 450 STT?

 

[zmender]

Currently 30F, going down to low 20s tonight. Tomorrow will also be in the mid-30s and cloudy.

The half load of ash kept living room at a cozy 68F all evening. Fully reload with mostly black locust with a few oak splits, and 2 biobricks stuffed to the side for good measure.

 

[Solarguy3500]

Only 450 STT?

Yeah, I'm not sure how accurate that is. It's one of those magnetic stick on thermometers that is supposed to go on a stove pipe. I have it stuck on the stove top on the inner part just ahead of where it disappears under the outer jacket. It definitely lags behind the Auber flue probe, and could be just not very accurate at all. That's why I like having both.

 

[NickW]

My answer for the last cord or so has been "hickory", a great wood for high BTU punch, but a terrible wood for ash accumulation and sparking embers when reloading. Well, in cleaning ash out of the stove tonight, a twice-per-week chore when burning hickory, I finally got bit. Hot embers were spraying out everywhere, and one managed to shoot from the stove directly into my right eye.

It seemed to get me in the white of the eye, not any critical area, and vision is not impaired. However, it is terribly uncomfortable, feeling like I have sand in my eye. I think the eye is clean, it's been tearing for a solid half hour, I think I'm just feeling burned tissue.

I might start keeping a pair of safety glasses near each stove! Never had this problem with oak or ash, but hickory is nasty stuff.

Sorry @Ashful, can't "like" an ember in the eye! Hope you are correct that it's not serious.

 

[thewoodlands]

It's 20.1 out tonight, the temp in the basement is 73 and the temps up here are between 68 to 71. I'll run the pellet stove overnight and then go back to the wood stove in the morning.

 

[Solarguy3500]

Just put in another mixed load of cherry and maple for the overnight.

 

[Caw]

Yeah, I'm not sure how accurate that is. It's one of those magnetic stick on thermometers that is supposed to go on a stove pipe. I have it stuck on the stove top on the inner part just ahead of where it disappears under the outer jacket. It definitely lags behind the Auber flue probe, and could be just not very accurate at all. That's why I like having both.

Definitely seems low. Do you have an IR to check deeper in? The hot spot for my Osburn is just under the jacket. Easiest to get with the gun. Though none of this matters if you have an accurate flue probe lol.

 

[ABMax24]

Still burning spruce with some pine. The furnace hardly runs, and I'm not even pushing the stove yet.

I have no idea where winter is, we got a little snow in late October, but that all vanished by Halloween. It's been warm ever since with no precipitation of any kind. Daytime highs and lows are right around freezing. It's supposed to get colder tomorrow night, and then go back to daytime highs about freezing temps for the next 2 weeks. I don't mind the mild weather, but it sure doesn't feel like the end of November, can't believe Christmas is less than a month away.

 

[Solarguy3500]

Definitely seems low. Do you have an IR to check deeper in? The hot spot for my Osburn is just under the jacket. Easiest to get with the gun. Though none of this matters if you have an accurate flue probe lol.

Oddly enough, when I just checked with the IR I got pretty close to what the magnetic was reading.

It could also be that the flue probe reads a bit high since I think it's supposed to be installed 18" up from the flue collar, but since I have an insert and a block off plate I had to install the probe just above the collar in the stove top adapter.

 

[Caw]

Oddly enough, when I just checked with the IR I got pretty close to what the magnetic was reading.

It could also be that the flue probe reads a bit high since I think it's supposed to be installed 18" up from the flue collar, but since I have an insert and a block off plate I had to install the probe just above the collar in the stove top adapter.
View attachment 319749

Yeah huh. I'm just surprised the 3500 is happy at 450 STT and firing secondaries. Just seems low for a non cat. My 1600 runs best around 650-700. Every stove is different!

 

[zmender]

24F outside, 61F in living room. A load of mostly locust just went in.

 

[Garbanzo62]

If you need to pull from the oak/beech stack, check the beech. It seasons way faster than oak.

They are separated.. Beech is in its own bin. I try not to mix different woods or even the same wood type cut at different times so I have MC consistency in each pile. Had to borrow my friends splitter to do the beech, I picked up all of the shreds for kindling. Just for laughs I lit a piece and it took right off (it was wafer thin). So I got the feeling that it dried faster than Oak. My wife helped pick up the shreds and she threw some of the Bark into the bin. I've been putting some of the kindling and Bark in for the morning re-loads. to help gt the splits going a little faster. it just cuts down on the smoke a bit in my opinion.

 

[NickW]

They are separated.. Beech is in its own bin. I try not to mix different woods or even the same wood type cut at different times so I have MC consistency in each pile. Had to borrow my friends splitter to do the beech, I picked up all of the shreds for kindling. Just for laughs I lit a piece and it took right off (it was wafer thin). So I got the feeling that it dried faster than Oak. My wife helped pick up the shreds and she threw some of the Bark into the bin. I've been putting some of the kindling and Bark in for the morning re-loads. to help gt the splits going a little faster. it just cuts down on the smoke a bit in my opinion.

I do something similar, but not completely separated by species. Shoulder season wood all stacked together, quick seasoning hardwoods together (ash, cherry, walnut) and the premium together (oak, hickory, sugar maple, ironwood). Beech is by itself as it's a quick seasoning premium. I keep a drawing of my stacks showing date split and species.

There is nothing like splitter debris for kindling.

 

[zmender]

Still burning spruce with some pine. The furnace hardly runs, and I'm not even pushing the stove yet.

I have no idea where winter is, we got a little snow in late October, but that all vanished by Halloween. It's been warm ever since with no precipitation of any kind. Daytime highs and lows are right around freezing. It's supposed to get colder tomorrow night, and then go back to daytime highs about freezing temps for the next 2 weeks. I don't mind the mild weather, but it sure doesn't feel like the end of November, can't believe Christmas is less than a month away.

Does the chinook winds have an impact on your local weather that far north in AB?

 

[ABMax24]

Does the chinook winds have an impact on your local weather that far north in AB?

They do. But this isn't from that, it's been quite calm the last few months. Just in seasonably warm air sitting over us.

 

[thewoodlands]

We had a low of 18 this morning, the pellet stove kept the basement a steady 74 degrees overnight with the temps up here between 67 & 69.

I shut the pellet stove off this morning and we're back burning pine today.

 

[zmender]

Spent the evening burning down coals with small splits of ash. 30F outside and 65F in living room, which was warm enough for a jamming session in t-shirt.

Low tonight will be mid-20s. The stove got a fresh load of locust and ash.

 

[thewoodlands]

It's 26.1 tonight with the basement temp starting off at 70, the temps up here are 69 to 71 and the sleeper is 68.

I'm having a 4 & 4 fire tonight, 4 ash & 4 pine splits should do the job.

 

[zmender]

28F outside, 61F in living room. Going up to 46 today.

Reloaded with ash and locust.

 

[Garbanzo62]

Ash Ash and more Ash. Came down at 6:30 loaded up the box. Back of the house ranges from 72 to 77 , Front of the house is 66 or so. It is a Center stair colonial so to get significant heat down the hall and up the stairs is a challenge. Heat still kicks on, from time to time, but thermostats are set on 65 m. Most of that is because of the upstairs zone. Was 23 this AM.

 

[Garbanzo62]

28F outside, 61F in living room. Going up to 46 today.

Reloaded with ash and locust.

What part of CT are you in ?

 

[Rusty18]

Ashes…going to be 50 here in an hour or so. Just letting the heat pump do its thing.

 

[zmender]

What part of CT are you in ?

Guilford, what about you?

 

[Garbanzo62]

Guilford, what about you?

Cheshire.. My son works in Guilford.