Burning Wood in Coal Stove

xandrew245x · Post by **xandrew245x** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 10:05 am

Hey guys, looking for advice to burning wood in my stove. I ran out of coal and have been burning wood the past couple days. All the suppliers are out for the season too.

I have never burned wood before and I am worried about creosote and chimney fires. It is a masonry chimney that served a oil furnace and then my coal stove the past couple months. It is terracotta lined and I think it is 8x8. When I start a fire, I use cardboard with some pellets on top and get that going well, then throw smaller pieces on. I let the fire get roaring, usually until my flue temp is in the 500 degree range, then I close down the air to about 15-20%, the stove temp continues to rise and then I close down the manual damper. I have little smoke coming from the chimney and I don't get black glass. I just want to make sure I am burning it optimally.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 10:10 am

xandrew245x wrote:All the suppliers are out for the season too.

Did you try Wertz Coal in Mechanicsburg?

xandrew245x · Post by **xandrew245x** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 10:16 am

They won't deliver to me

xandrew245x · Post by **xandrew245x** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 10:39 am

Wanted to add, it seems to burn wood really well, I have a good supply of seasoned wood too, if I need more wood I can pick up a cord for $120.

Post by **coaledsweat** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 10:47 am

If you have a baro, remove it and cap the opening.

xandrew245x · Post by **xandrew245x** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 10:49 am

I don't have a baro, I bought one but never really needed it.

blrman07 · Post by **blrman07** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 10:55 am

Call Gettysburg stove shop at (866) 874-9131 and ask for coal delivery for you. They are 20 minutes from you. If they don't deliver then get the numbers of folks who might.

xandrew245x · Post by **xandrew245x** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 11:01 am

Wow, I never knew they sold coal there, I just thought they were a shop I have driven by it a million times. I am partially against buying more coal because I don't have any permanent storage for it and don't want any left over. I do have a big pile of seasoned wood that I got for free, that is why I wanted to burn wood.

windyhill4.2 · Post by **windyhill4.2** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 1:43 pm

You have my permission to go ahead with your plans for burning wood. Just use dry wood,burn hot,you will achieve the HOT burn by checking the stove every 2 hrs., remove ashes & reload at least every 4 hrs., including overnight. Do not let the fire die down to idle status or you will have a creosote issue. Enjoy.

northernmainecoal · Post by **northernmainecoal** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 1:46 pm

windyhill4.2 wrote:You have my permission to go ahead with your plans for burning wood. Just use dry wood,burn hot,you will achieve the HOT burn by checking the stove every 2 hrs., remove ashes & reload at least every 4 hrs., including overnight. Do not let the fire die down to idle status or you will have a creosote issue. Enjoy.

Sounds like you are missing the wood burning

With a coal source 20 minutes away I'd go that route and skip the wood

windyhill4.2 · Post by **windyhill4.2** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 2:08 pm

Nope,we are not missing wood at all,the smoke smell we do miss,but it is not enough to ever go back,except maybe someday for recreational fire viewing. My earlier post was just to remind the OP what he needs to do to be safe & warm with burning wood.

Post by **franco b** » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 4:03 pm

When starting a wood fire use the upside down method for cleanest burn. Big logs on bottom first, then medium, then kindling on top. Try it and I am sure you will like it. Much cleaner and more efficient burn. Smoke passes through the hottest part of fire.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Fri. Feb. 20, 2015 12:30 am

You Tube has video of the Upside down fire method.

ddahlgren · Post by **ddahlgren** » Fri. Feb. 20, 2015 2:05 am

franco b wrote:When starting a wood fire use the upside down method for cleanest burn. Big logs on bottom first, then medium, then kindling on top. Try it and I am sure you will like it. Much cleaner and more efficient burn. Smoke passes through the hottest part of fire.

The years I burned wood it was always done this way by me at least. There is a website similar to this one for wood burners not that there are not a bunch of those very accomplished at it here. It is the Hearth.com The biggest lacking with burning wood in a coal stove is lack of secondary air tubes and a top baffle to burn the gases off that contain a lot of the heat value of the wood and the part that can make creosote. I do have to say my wood stove of similar size made more heat in single digit weather than the Crane 404 and while about the same size it had a radiating area twice as big but had to run it like a wood burning train too.

xandrew245x · Post by **xandrew245x** » Fri. Feb. 20, 2015 12:16 pm

I tried the top down method the other day and it didn't work out to well for me. I have about 2 buckets of coal left that I have been saving to put on the fires over night. As weird as it may sound, I kind of enjoy burning wood, I love the smell, I like the work, the only thing I could do without having to get up in the middle of the night though.