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optimistic
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2020 19:33
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I have a ton of dead trees. Some still standing and some fallen. Some of the fallen ones, once cut with chainsaw, will have a very nice looking and hard middle? Can these be used?
The standing dead ones - majority are pretty skinny. Like 6-8 inches. Do I still need to split at the diameter?
Lastly, this is the stove I got https://www.englandswoodstovestore.com/englander
17-vl
I was never even close to getting a full night burn without needing to feed again. Max I went was 4 hours which is a joke. Is this because it is so small or is it something else maybe?
I think my wood was split too thin.. It was 16" long but quite narrow and I think I should try and get bulkier pieces. I'll see this winter. I'm not counting on it for heat during the night. I'll use my ductless as for that but would be nice if I can figure it out
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bugs
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# Posted: 27 Sep 2020 19:47
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Ummm What species is your wood????? Each burns differently.... google cooking/heating wood stove... It is amazing how one species of tree differs from the other.... In our fireplace we only use birch cause that is best and cleanest we can get for heat....
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Brettny
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# Posted: 28 Sep 2020 07:20
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Before you go do bed put a nice green round log in there. Slower to catch and slower to burn.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 28 Sep 2020 10:00
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Not sure I agree with the green log advice unless you want to clean your chimney a lot. But bigger logs burn slower. Split if needed to dry and fit in the stove but no more other than kindling to get it going. I save my dry oak logs for night and use the other stuff I have during the day when I’m around to tend to it
Be careful cutting standing dead trees. They have a lot of hazards to watch for
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 28 Sep 2020 11:46
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I to 100% disagree with burning green logs. That adds a lot of creosote to chimney. Your first chimney fire can be your last. Chimney fires are hard to put out.
Plus, with the high moisture content of wood a lot of the heat content extracted from burning will go right up the stack in vapor. Water can absorb a lot of heat.
I too save my seasoned oak for the night time stoking of the fire. Oak burns slow and makes a long lasting embers. Ironwood is good too if you have that but boy, there's never been a better name for it. Hard to split and dulls chainsaws quickly.
And FishHog is also correct on the dangers of standing dead wood. I've had to clear a bunch for a pole barn project. I quickly learned about death from above. It's not unusual for a large piece of wood to drop from high above when you mess with them
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Brettny
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# Posted: 28 Sep 2020 18:17
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Green wood does add creosote. Any time you have a cold, masonry or 90* you also add creosote. I assume this is a weekend place and you know how to burn out a chimney that is built to code.
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optimistic
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2020 14:51
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Thanks for the tips. Yes I heard about the danger of dead tree falling. Mine are small so hopefully less danger but I'll start with the ones fallen already then test moisture level using gauges
I do not know the spices unfortunately. I'll take some pictures but I do have many different spices since that is why a local guy told me.
Any thoughts on using dead trees that have been down for a long time (have green moss on them)? I slices some and inside they are hard wood...
Oh and I think I should clean my chimney pipe? that's the correct term? I have a double wall stainless steel that goes through the roof. I put it in myself 6 years ago. Pulls a lot of air. My stove has an outside air inlet installed as well. I didn't use this stove much but will eb using it a lot this winter which is why I want to clean it. Any recommendation on cleaning kit? the one that connects to the drill seems good?
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2020 16:05 - Edited by: hueyjazz
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Six years is a long time to go between cleanings. There can be other problems other than creosote. Birds, wasp nest, whatever. You'd be surprise what finds it way into seldom used pipes
To clean you get a wire ball that looks like a sea urchin. These are sized to the interior pipe size. There's two ways depending on your setup.
Easier way to do it if you can is to remove section of pipe that connects to stove and screw in sections of rod. Rod section are usual 3-4' long. As you go up you screw in another rod. I recommend you attach a HD garbage bag to main pipe a poke a little hole in bag for rod to sit through. This is a very messy job and the dust is nasty.
If you can't do it this way you have to go on roof and remove cap. This method allows for either a chain to be dropped down and ball pulled through which is preferred or push the wire ball down with rod which is very hard to do. Again, pipe that connects to stove removed and garbage bag taped to main pipe.
You'll be amazed how much crap you get out.
The pipe you took off which is usually single wall will need to be cleaned too.
The last thing you would want do is "Burn it out" That's just asking for a chimney fire. Google that and you come up with all the reason why that isn't a good idea or safe.
Creosote is like a hard tar when cold. When heated it becomes gooey but quite flammable. When it catches fire it burns like tar. A chimney fire can burn like a blow torch and even burn through your pipe. I've seen a chimney fire. Really not pretty
Moss on wood means at least the outer layers are wet but if you split it to dry and hard wood you should be good. How much BTU by wood does relate to species. Generally the tighter the grain pattern the harder the wood and the better it is to burn.
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optimistic
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2020 16:23 - Edited by: optimistic
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GREAT POINTS!
Keep in mind that in 6-8 years span of no cleaning. I wasn't there for 4 1/2 years. So not a single fire. And when I was there on a weekend I made only a few fires. This stove was rarely used. But this winter it will be used for days probably every weekend. I agree that I will find quite a few surprises in there.
I can't do through the roof since my pipe is like 8ft above my roof line...
I remember when I installed this - the last pipe that connects to the stove was an adjustable piece? and the guy who sold it to me told me it makes ti easy to remove and access for cleaning?
can you give a link to the pipe cleaner? I will try to find the order I placed to see what size pipe I have or maybe you can figure it out from the stove I got?
I will do this cleaning next time I go
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Brettny
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2020 20:25
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6yrs..yes time to clean it. When is the last time you cleaned the stove and took a look around inside it?
DONT get a wire brush for a stainless chimney. There for masonry chimneys. Get a plastic brush, it wont scratch your expensive stainless chimney.
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 30 Sep 2020 07:47
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https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/rutland-chimney-sweep-6-in-round-poly-chimn ey-cleaning-brush
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/rutland-18-ft-chimney-brush-extension-rod-k it-3198080
Brett is correct, wire is for masonry and plastic is preferred for metal. The adjustable piece you mention is common. It's two pipes that slide to make different heights. There should be a screw you need to remove and they will slide down to make pipe smaller. There will be a stainless donut piece on top of this that mates into your double wall.
From your description it shouldn't be a hard clean but I would still get a light and inspect interior of pipe. I do this before every heating season. That adjustable piece is also a consumable. At some point that needs to get replaced so annually inspect that good.
Happy burning.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 1 Oct 2020 07:11
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Moss on locust just means its prob good and dry. That stuff hardly rots. It's got nearly as high btu as oak.
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