lots of ashes

[xlogger]

I've been burning lots of old boards mostly pine in  my cb5036 in the past two days trying to get rid of them. The ashes are piling up lots faster than burning log form, they don't seem to be burning way down to ashes as much, mostly looking at small chucks of coal. Is this normal for what the rest of you see?

[thecfarm]

I burn a few ends that I get off from my boards,but not a steady diet of feeding my OWB with boards. I do burn slabs steady and notice no difference. But I wonder too if the fire can not get to the boards? What I mean it's almost like trying to burn a big block of wood. No way for the fire to get in between the boards to really burn them?? I don't know. Just some odd idea of mine.  : The pine that I have,white pine,leaves very little ashes too. Probably you are burning a hard pine?

[r.man]

When I had a OWB without grates I used to shovel out small coals with the ashes. If you want to cut down on what you are getting rid of you need to rake your ashes more and manage to sift out the pieces either before removal or after. If it is after you can put the burning or burnable back in the stove. A friend of mine made an interim ash storage can to help control hot ash that was taken out of his OWB and he said that it also greatly cut down on the amount of ash he had to haul away. He took a small barrel, cut the bottom out, mounted a fairly fine grate part way up from the bottom and punched some air holes in the side above the grate. This barrel stood near the front of his stove raised on blocks and had a lid. He shoveled the hot ashes from the stove into it and claimed no matter how coarse the product that went in that he always only got a smaller amount of fine ash out.

[Ivan49]

I am also getting a lot of ashes and I am burning oak and beech. I only need to add wood at night and during the day I rake everything forward and later on push it back to bring up the coals to the top. This is getting rid of 90 % of mine. I think a lot of it has to do with the weather because during the really cold spells I did not have any cols to speak of.

[woodmills1]

less than dry hardwood makes ashes, all else dry seems to burn well.  Dry pine makes no ash or coals and will go out when done, green hardwood makes tons of coals but sometimes not much heat.  Green pine will just plaine go out exactly when you don't want it to.  Please ask me how or why I know this.

[Al_Smith]

I don't have a clue about an outside burner .On a regular old wood stove if you take a poker and stir the coals before you add more wood you'll pretty much just get powder .

Now you might think I'm pulling your leg  but this season after probabley 5 cords of oak I doubt seriously if I've toted out enough powdered ash to fill the average garbage can .

I only scoop out about a coal bucket  and a half about every 10 days -two weeks .So there you go about half dry firewood and dry .

It not just with oak either because I've burned just about everything .Even Swamps  precious maple and it burns to powder too. It does okay just doesn't coal up as nice as Ohio oak . ;)

[r.man]

I'll bite, James, how do you know green pine will go out?

[Ivan49]

My wood was seasoned 2 years so I know it was dry. And I can tell you green pine won't go out as I have burned a lot of it. When we have temps done below zero or slightly above I don't have many ashes as I think the stove burns most of them up. When the temps get up in the 30 degree  and about I start getting a lot of coals and get rid of most of them by raking them out several time a day

[xlogger]

Maybe my problem is with the weather warming up some here, near 60 during  the day.

[woodmills1]

so well some where around two tree inda morning I am ouside with my slippers, my winter coat and my less than PJ PJ's and dere it is, just like dat   da green pine she beoutagain

Then there are the green pine loads that burn quite well, but just blaze a cavity through the middle, and when the boster fan goes off the fire gets too cool before it collapses and when the booster comes on again it blows it out

[r.man]

James, I gave up on the middle of the night thing a few years ago. If my air temp is down and I happen to notice I try to go out first thing but we live with the temperature otherwise. My OWB is notorious for bridging, which it did it last night. Went out this morning and had to light it after knocking down the wood that was hung up above a burnt out hole. We are adaptable people and I would rather wake up to a house that is 60 degrees than be at the stove at 4 in the morning.

[Al_Smith]

 :DOh 4 in the morning isn't a big deal . I don't know too any people over 50 years old that don't have to pee sometime in the night .

[Roger2561]

:DOh 4 in the morning isn't a big deal . I don't know too any people over 50 years old that don't have to pee sometime in the night .

I resemble that remark...

[r.man]

Oh I'm up, I just don't want to get my outside stuff on and go out in the cold.

[jimparamedic]

Its been said hot fires leave little ash slow cold fires leave alot of ash. also when burning slabs the bark makes alot of ash no matter how hot the fire. Its just something that has to be lived with.

[woodmills1]

so how long before this one turns into a food post? :D

[woodmills1]

is that bark up + ash and bark down + no ash?

or is it then the other way

OCD  O look there is a squirrel

[r.man]

The percentage of bark in slab wood is very high compared to body wood. What kind of food? Speaking of which does everyone know that there is a food category now. Scroll down from firewood and wood heating three categories to Food, Food, Food.

[Al_Smith]

 :D Oh horse feathers .You could fill the whole thing up with bark and burn it off to powder .

You folks with those fancy OWB's and forced air induction ,they work off temperature .It makes sense if it doesn't call for heat it obviously doesn't get much air .No air,no hot fire ,no hot fire no powder .

Try not filling so much wood in it at one time and see how that works out .

[woodmills1]

I will say ifin I couls fill mine up with bark it would heat, but I bet I smoke the street

side note
yesterday early I got up to P and my well didnt work, so guess what I did from 8 untill 3

[Al_Smith]

Composed a novel maybe ? Wrote a Broadway musical  play perhaps ? ;D

[woodmills1]

bought a well pump got a friend to help and put the darn thing in did ya miss some thing


well I am only mad about the cost
not some post :P

[woodmills1]

actually both my play and my novel got regected

[Cat-Face Timber]

I burn cords and cords of Ponderosa pine here and very very few ashes.
I have a regular indoor stove though, not a OWB.
Granted, all the pine I burn is as dry as possible.

[clww]

actually both my play and my novel got regected

For content or spelling?