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Romanovs_Penguin t1_iwrn99t wrote

> We fill a 20-gallon metal can with ash and charcoal every 7-10 days

That's a remarkable amount of ash for 10 days! I might generate that much ash in an entire year, burning 4 cord. I can't imagine how you'd be generating so much.

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vtham t1_iwrttv3 wrote

Wet wood will do it.

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peachboot828 OP t1_iwwadc1 wrote

It’s seasoned but yep, it may still be a bit damp! Only been stacked properly for a month.

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vtham t1_iwwmmvz wrote

Unfortunately, July and August are when you get most of the drying done. A month at this time of year is minimally effective at best. You may have to buy some kiln dried wood, which will burn like a torch. Mix that with what you have and you should be okay. What you don’t want is to try to heat your house with wet wood when subzero temps arrive. The stove will never get hot enough.

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Dr_JackMeoff t1_iwt98gu wrote

Maybe he meant 2gallons? 20 gallons seems impossible, no? That's A LOT of ash.

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MuddyGrimes t1_iwtnh0g wrote

Its sounds high, but when you consider OP is using it as their primary heating, not just a Woodstove to supplement other heat it seems realistic to me.

Plus a 3000 sq ft 1850s house... probably burns a lot of wood.

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Dr_JackMeoff t1_iwudhiu wrote

Good point. It's hard to fathom when I look at my five gallon bucket haha. It's just so much ash.

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peachboot828 OP t1_iwwanrg wrote

I keep a “log book” (a record of how many logs we burn, hehe), and we’ve averaged 12-15 22” long logs per day on days when the temperature stays below 40. It’s a hungry house, heat-wise. But it still seems like a helluvah lot of ash/charcoal!

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Romanovs_Penguin t1_iwwdhc6 wrote

> we’ve averaged 12-15 22” long logs per day

How many cord to you burn in a year? How many cord do you have stacked?

What varieties of wood are you burning? If you're burning spruce or something like that ... that could be part of the problem.

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peachboot828 OP t1_iwwabf2 wrote

Well, it’s that much between ash and charcoal. Not sure of an efficient way to sift the charcoal out for further burning, so that combination adds up pretty quickly. And I did overestimate a bit, but not much…we fill that can every 14 days.

How are you generating so little ash?! Our stove is marketed as one of the most efficient ones on the market. Maybe we’re not burning our fires hot enough? I see that someone else said wet wood…the wood is seasoned but has only been stacked for a month, so it may still be a bit damp.

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Romanovs_Penguin t1_iwwc7j8 wrote

If you're generating that much, something is very wrong. And you certainly are not burning as efficiently as you think you are. I'm concerned that whatever you're doing is creating a lot of creosote buildup in your chimney. This is the cause of a lot of chimney fires.

95% of what you scoop out of your stove should be very fine ash dust. There should be very little charcoal.

Charcoal is simply wood that hasn't burned completely.

What is the moisture content of your wood? It should be below 20%. You can buy a moisture meter or you can borrow them from many local Vermont libraries.

Perhaps you're not burning hot enough. It's hard to know. I'd definitely find a knowledgeable friend or neighbor who can come to your place and see what you're doing in person.

20 gallons of ash and charcoal every 14 days is really concerning.

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MeanFluffyBunny t1_ix8jrel wrote

I have the same stove, just one step down size wise. I also generate tons of ash, and I have minimal creosote buildup. I mean, these stoves reburn all the smoke produced to the point there’s 0 smoke coming out the chimney.

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