Wood stove heat

I know that wood storage set up is some kind of a grey area. That's how they advertise it and what it's meant for but I'd be curious as heck to read it described in the manual?
 
OK so day 3 with the pe summit.

Pulled out our old jotul and fired her up. Wife and daughter decided they wanted the jotul back in as they don't like the looks of the summit!!!!

I on the other hand am pretty impressed, easy to light and get cranking and puts out way more heat with virtually no smoke. We have yet to fully appreciate it as it still hasn't got cold here yet so as we speak our window in the bedroom is cracked....
 
Interesting thing , Oil and Gas are Low as Cordwood remains high. Many nice second hand stoves on the sale around here. Good deals really considering new prices.
 
Looking good Paul! A smart man I see with a thermometer and all.


Altissimus. Never hurts to have a spare or two!
 
On that stove pipe .I have a glass front Lopi insert ,3/8" plate steel .It was originally inside an arched fireplace with a 9" clay lined chimney which was creosoting .I put a 7" 22 gauge single wall stainless liner inside the clay liner and stuffed insulation around the pipe .That eliminated that problem .
 
squisher said:
Well it's like anything, depending how crazy you want to get about it, there's lots to know.

Second to safety the most important thing is the wood. It is after all the main ingredient. You want less than 20% moisture content measured at room temperature on a fresh split. So a little two prong moisture meter is pretty handy but. Getting a year or three ahead on your wood and having it cut split and stacked under cover in most areas will pretty much guarantee cured wood.

As for safety I prefer multiple smoke/co detectors and don't forget to check them for batteries and age. Most co detectors have a expiry tag on them in the 5-7 year range and most smoke detectors are good for 8-10. With the smoke alarms it's a good idea to write the date on them with a sharpie or something(on the backside) so each year when you check(really should just replace them annually but atleast check them) you can see how old they are.

And a IR gun should be a must have for a wood burner. If you've ever wondered if that combustible mantel, trim, or whatever near your appliance is getting to hot. Check it out. A rule of thumb is 100f over ambient(room) temperature is the max you want to see. Wood starts to pyrolize above those temps and over decades can lower its combusting point down to under 200f. That's how places that have 'burned this way for forty years!' suddenly burn down.

I'll field any questions I can, part of the fun of the chimney work for me is the learning process. I'm just scratching the surface so far.
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I finally warmed a piece of wood and split it. My tester said 20% right before i broke it :dur: I only got to test a soft wood, have to get another and check hardwood.

My mantle is rocking 117 degrees at the hottest point.


squisher said:
Yah. Looks it. If any of that stuff leaning against the chimney is combustible, I'd move it. Also where that shed/addition is framed out I'd look closely where it abuts the chimney to see if there's any clearance.

This is the chimney in your new place? Do you clean it yourself or hire in a pro? If you hire in I'd ask a few questions about how the creosote that's swept down the chimney gets cleaned out?

A insulated liner top to bottom would solve all concerns,then combustibles can be right next to the exterior of the chimney. And also you would see much better performance from the stove(easier starts, better draft, less creosote buildup in the chimney). Obviously a fair decent expense too though. But it would vastly improve safety as well in the event of a chimney fire.
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71 degrees on the chimney where it comes into the shed
 
Willie. The clearances that you're measuring from your appliance to say your mantel you mention, sound good. Well under 100 above ambient. But don't apply this to checking out the actual masonry chimney. Under normal conditions your masonry chimney will be quite cool as you noted and there is no concern and clearances aren't a concern. The 1" exterior chimney and 2" interior chimney clearances are for a worst case scenario. Chimney fire. So under normal conditions your flue temps might peak out at 900f interior exhaust gas temps, but during a chimney fire will sore to over 2000f.

As a sweep I don't ever use the words safe or unsafe. It's simply to code or not. I'm not here to say that every installation that doesn't meet code is unsafe. But i will say that if a installation meets all appliacable codes it's as safe as it can be.
 
What do y'all do regarding ash disposal. Its nasty stuff. the city doesn't even want it in their dumpsters. it says so right on the bins. The Garden doesn't like it. Im amazed how long it can hold a hot fire starting ember. Its kind of like handling a toxic waste. Its definitely advisable to use a fine dust mask, the vacuum cleaner hates the stuff. What do you guys do. what have you found that works?
 
My neighbor's daughter emptied the ashes into a paper bag and set it out on a wood porch. It got the floor boards and supporting 2x8 framing members glowing and charred down through quite a way without going up in flames overnight. Good luck was with them that night.
 
I have two air tight cans about like the old tater chip cans. It takes a week to fill one so by the time the second one is full it's safe to empty the first. Lots of NaOH is in wood ash so keep it away from valuable metal.
 
We empty the ash tray from the stove into a steel 30 gal garbage can. We have to empty the garbage can 4 to 5 times a year. Dispersed on the land it causes no problems as it is just the chemical residues of wood. That said, ash composition will vary greatly depending not only on wood type but also how it was burned.
 
I leavethe big red coals in the wood stove, ash in a steel pail on concrete till the next time i need to clean out. Then i go spread that cold but horrible toxic waste on mossy parts of my lawn and under my spring flowering trees and shrubs.
 
I gather a lot of soot/creosote in my travels and then I throw it into my huge burn pile and I'm like wow? That's nothing!

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I let them cool in a metal bucket and then use a push spreader to disperse them on my road. Help out the township a bit since I have a bridge right against a RR crossing.
 
I put a thermometer on my stove pipe finally. I can't keep in the 230-475 range with out keeping my house way to warm. I've decided my wood burner is to big for my tiny little house. It's not all that cold out yet but my attached garage is 70 degrees and I have the kitchen windows open right now.
 
I also clean the glass when I've closed the damper down and blackened it.....
And some times i throw it in the chicken coop , they like to dust bathe in it
 
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