Hearth slab is hot -- need some advice.

[Gulf]

I never saw Big Foot, The Jersey Devil, or the Loch Ness monster. But, I have "smelled that smell" .

[Gulf]

ok, going to shoot for a long, hot fire today....thanks for the encouragement Randy!

George,
How did it go?

[gastagg]

It went well guys...I had two days of fires where the air temp at 2" above the floor was around 700 degrees. Hearth slab is just slightly warm to the touch, but after the cooking and everything is done. The entire dome, down to the floor was burned off and looked like new bricks. I don't know the smell you guys are referring to, but I smelled something "very hot" the second time when it was at its hottest. I couldn't even keep my hand in the landing area. I am using split oak wood that is wrist size or smaller and about 9-10" long. So, I followed someones practice on the forum and actually started getting two fires going. And, I'm burning top-down fires. That's a game-changer right there. 10mins to get the fire going. Come back to a hot oven and just throw a bit more wood on. Done. Awesome. But man do these things take a lot of wood.

[RandyJ]

I am glad that all went well. It feels good to finally get the dome clear . It is a sign that you are pretty much done with the curing process .

Randy

[deejayoh]

I But man do these things take a lot of wood.

I find it helps to make friends with any and all neighbors that might possibly be removing a tree . I have a flowering cherry and hopefully two red oaks coming down in my neighborhood in the next few weeks. Should give me about a cord of wood to season over the winter.

[gastagg]

good idea!

[UtahBeehiver]

Like Dennis, I spread the word around to neighbors and co workers that I will take any fruit tree cuttings or most hard woods, just got a 1/2 cord of maple from a bro-in-law yesterday. I am also on the hunt after a large storm or neighbor hood annual curb clean ups. I find the best size for me is about 2-3" diameter on down then I don't have to split. I am known as the biggest scrounger around. BTW, the smell that Gulf and I are talking about is when the dome begins to clear and I think it is the carbon burning off like a creosol type smell.

[Gulf]

For me, the first year of scrounging was the hardest. I was finding plenty of wood, it just was not seasoned. That meant using a lot of dead limbs that had dried on the tree and had recently fallen from high winds. I found a few others where the tree had fallen over and harvested the limbs that had not touched the ground. Like Russell, I'm also partial to the small limbs. Aside from the splitting, the smaller the limb the quicker it will dry. For a while, I kept a large pair of loppers with me at all times.

[gastagg]

That was the smell...for an instant I was wondering who was burning railroad timbers. I have two friends that are in the tree business, but I can't bum off them too much because it's their livelihood. I have a tree that I planned to cut down this fall that will supply some wood...it's not a birch or an oak, but it will work. I'll start the scrounging! Eyeing an almost dead tree in the neighbor's yard... Thanks guys!

[RandyJ]

Wow I guess that I am going to need to split the wood I am burning a lot smaller. I have been using some pices that are at least 6" wide by 4" tall. Sometimes bigger. I will have to try to split it down smaller maby I will clear the dome in less than 2 hrs then. I always start the fire very early so it has not been an issue yet for heat up speed.

Randy

[RandyJ]

Wow I guess that I am going to need to split the wood I am burning a lot smaller. I have been using some pices that are at least 6" wide by 4" tall. Sometimes bigger. I will have to try to split it down smaller maby I will clear the dome in less than 2 hrs then. I always start the fire very early so it has not been an issue yet for heat up speed.

Randy