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Thread: Wood burners

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Originally from Malaysia, in Wellington since May 2005
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    558

    Default Wood burners

    We are totally new to heating especially wood burners so have a few questions...

    If you have a wood burner going, what do you do with the ash?

    Do you put if off at night before you go to sleep or let it go off by itself?

    Thanks for any answers.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Auckland
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    560

    Default ashes

    we let it cool down over night, and put it in the bin in teh morning

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Howick, Auckland
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    265

    Default

    We've made a decision to clean ours out once a week - just put the ashes into the normal bin (of course once they've cooled down though)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Wellington
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    288

    Default

    In a previous house where we had a woodburner we were told it works better when you leave the ash in. Just make sure you don't let it build up too much (see how you go, once a week, maybe fortnightly should be more than enough) and only take it out the next day and put it in a fireproof container for a day or so before you use it as mulch in the garden. Provided you use untreated wood ofcourse!
    I started with cleaning it out every day but the fire really is more efficient with a bit of ash in there.

    You will probably have a damper on the fire, a lever to control airflow, if you want the fire to die down slowly and have some heat during the night, put the damper on low airflow and with a bit of luck it will still be going in the morning so you can just put in more wood and it will go again.

    Have fun experimenting!

    Miep

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Wapping 2 Waiheke, now Sydney
    Posts
    306

    Default

    Seems to work best with about 1" (25mm) of ash in the bottom - primarily when starting the fire because it provides some insulation. When the fire is going well this becomes irrelevant. Clean out about once a week - maybe when the ash gets about 2" deep, but keep the partially burnt charcoal like bits of wood these will light quickly when relighting.

    If you want the fire to keep going over night you will need to give it enough fuel (wood) to do so, but you need to reduce the airflow so as not to having a roaring furnace for an hour followed by a cold fire in the morning. This is the most difficult thing to judge because depending upon the type of cowl on the chimney and the wind strength and probably the direction of the wind the amount of suction up the chimney will vary considerably. Lots of wind in the "correct" direction with a good cowl and you'll have a furnace a blacksmith would be proud of, - needing the vents to be closed almost completely off for the fire to last all night. No wind wrong directon and a not efficient cowl and the vents will have to be open a lot wider for the fire to remain alight.

    Tip remembered from Moorf's chimney sweep - use a damp cloth dipped in the ash from the fire to clean the glass door - gets the black sooty stuff off a treat. Better than anything else I have tried.

    Jon
    pyromaniac

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Originally from Malaysia, in Wellington since May 2005
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    558

    Default

    Thanks everyone!

    Very useful and now needs lots of experimenting with...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Dunedin
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    274

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jonSE
    Tip remembered from Moorf's chimney sweep - use a damp cloth dipped in the ash from the fire to clean the glass door - gets the black sooty stuff off a treat. Better than anything else I have tried.
    oooh thats useful to know!
    Thanks will try that :smile

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Inland Canterbury, NZ
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    8,390

    Default

    We've finally cracked it with our woodburner and haven't had to "light" a fire for 3 days in a row as we've managed to keep it damped down with glowing logs - enough so that we can chuck a couple of offcuts on and it bursts back into action.

    This only been possible to do since our new wood arrived - previously we had macrocarpa (which was a good burner) - we now have blue gum and it's marvellous as it burns alot slower.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    christchurch (formerly essex)
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    2,749

    Default

    the denser and heavier the wood the longer it will burn for. can just see you hefting the logs to work out which ones are going to last all night.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Inland Canterbury, NZ
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    8,390

    Default

    The building and maintaining of a fire is a new ritual and competition for us - we take turns in building them to see who can do it the fastest / hottest etc and it's a case of "if you built it, you maintain it" ( ALL night )

    It's also a good way to chill out after work :P

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