Wood burner or more practical spending?

beetlebum_2

You have a job on yesterday then hethmar . My thermometer sits on the base of the flue pipe (so I can see it while sitting down). I keep it around 250C, so that will be burning the wood at a decent temperature, right? I do find that softwood gives out quick heat. I then plonk on a bit of hardwood once nice and hot. Still working out the optimum way of burning wood.

hethmar

Jobs 7 days a week since last August beetle - even Christmas eve Shouldnt complain, dont know what this year may bring.

Lotus-eater

beetlebum wrote: »

You have a job on yesterday then hethmar . My thermometer sits on the base of the flue pipe (so I can see it while sitting down). I keep it around 250C, so that will be burning the wood at a decent temperature, right? I do find that softwood gives out quick heat. I then plonk on a bit of hardwood once nice and hot. Still working out the optimum way of burning wood.

My gauge shows optimum temperatures to be between 235 and 470 degrees. I tend to keep mine around 300 - 350, this seems to be the best for me in between keeping a fair heat going to warm the room and not using too much wood.

I start the fire with hardwood as I figure that this is the time when maximum deposits will form on the liner as the flue is not up to working heat. Then when the fire is around 300, I put on the softwood.

btw your thermometer should be 12" above the top of your stove. Any lower and it will be showing an artificially high temp.

beetlebum_2

Lotus-eater wrote: »

My gauge shows optimum temperatures to be between 235 and 470 degrees. I tend to keep mine around 300 - 350, this seems to be the best for me in between keeping a fair heat going to warm the room and not using too much wood.

I start the fire with hardwood as I figure that this is the time when maximum deposits will form on the liner as the flue is not up to working heat. Then when the fire is around 300, I put on the softwood.

btw your thermometer should be 12" above the top of your stove. Any lower and it will be showing an artificially high temp.

I take it you're talking degree F here. The manual for my burner states an optimum flue pipe temperature of 250C which equates to the stove box temp of 400C. Alas, I can't put my thermometer any heigher up, as it would be inside the chimney breast.

I find that putting on softwood first gets the temperature up really quick. I then put on hardwood and maybe some bits of smaller softwood mixed in as sometimes the hardwood seems to burn too slow. Maybe the chunks I'm putting on are too big and need to be axed down a bit. I'm still learning!

hethmar

Glad its all going well for you. Try to buy ash wood.

debbie42

beetlebum wrote: »

I find that putting on softwood first gets the temperature up really quick. I then put on hardwood and maybe some bits of smaller softwood mixed in as sometimes the hardwood seems to burn too slow. Maybe the chunks I'm putting on are too big and need to be axed down a bit. I'm still learning!

That's pretty much what I do. I have a ready supply of pine kindling and offcuts, and use that to get a good draw up the chimney before putting on the hardwood logs.

My log supplier delivers mixed stuff by the truckload. It's mainly hardwood, but some softwood. I've never asked him for woods of one type, e.g. ash, as he keeps it all mixed in a barn to season. I can recognise some of the woods by the bark as ash, beech, oak, birch, fir, cherry but not all of them. It all ends up on my stoves though and keeps my house warm .

Lotus-eater

beetlebum wrote: »

I take it you're talking degree F here. The manual for my burner states an optimum flue pipe temperature of 250C which equates to the stove box temp of 400C. Alas, I can't put my thermometer any heigher up, as it would be inside the chimney breast.

I find that putting on softwood first gets the temperature up really quick. I then put on hardwood and maybe some bits of smaller softwood mixed in as sometimes the hardwood seems to burn too slow. Maybe the chunks I'm putting on are too big and need to be axed down a bit. I'm still learning!

Well I start mine off with small hardwood twigs and slightly larger pieces of hard/softwood till it gets going, then put on the hardwood.

I have found that chunks of hardwood should be maximum of around 100x100mm and all wood should be at least halved from the round to burn well.
Maybe a cheap moisture meter would be worth investing in for you? Tells you the moisture content of the wood, I use mine alot when I'm picking a pile to use.

Hardwood should burn well, either your wood is too big, too wet or the wrong type of wood.

beetlebum_2

Yes, I think I have been putting on too large pieces of hardwood. I have now invested in an axe, so now put on smaller pieces of hardwood. I do mix in some softwood (pallet wood) too. I do have a moisture meter to make sure all my seasoned wood actually is.