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[intensedrive]

I have been running a wood boiler for 2 years so I'm still green.  So here is what happened.  Woke up 7am, plenty wood house was warm, added a few logs.  I work later shift but, I get up to make sure the boiler is running smoothly was cold near 1-3 degree.  I went back to bed, got up around 1:30pm.. Good hot bed of coals no worries, outside temp around mid twenties... added my wood like I always do fire was roaring temps were good, I only had to be away for 8 hours.  I come back to ashes and small coal bed.. What the Heck?  First time in two years I miss judged this.  The outside temps actually warmed up.  I have no way to explain how this could have happened.  It was not windy,  very pleasant day.   

The water temp was at 100 degrees!!

[intensedrive]

Update 3 hours later,

Adding wood pretty much snuffed the fire out... had to pull all the wood out i added a hour ago.  It took 30 minutes splitting the dry wood into the smallest pieces and adding them slowly to bring up the fire.  I'm ready for bed, has to be the worse case scenario for any OWB owner.  Temps at 140... hopefully I can get to bed by 4:00am EST.   

[slimjim]

The last time that happened to me was when the 40 mph winds blew my unlatched man door in the garage open, I have no idea what your scenario was but it might be worthwhile to have some bio bricks or perhaps some kindling on hand, maybe even soak the kindling in a bucket of fuel oil for quick start ups.

[Chas]

Check your inside damper, maybe it got slid open when loading?

[kommandokenny]

Ya sounds like small air leak,, to the other green guy on the forum.

[CountryBoyJohn]

An air leak would have other symptoms.  Boil over, low water level, etc.  Just running out of fuel is a symptom of a large demand, like Slim leaving a garage door open. 

Also, what wood were you using?  Did you switch to a different species in your pile?  I've done that before.  I loaded for 12 hours of oak, but put in 8 hours of maple. 

[mlappin]

An air leak would have other symptoms.  Boil over, low water level, etc.  Just running out of fuel is a symptom of a large demand, like Slim leaving a garage door open. 

Also, what wood were you using?  Did you switch to a different species in your pile?  I've done that before.  I loaded for 12 hours of oak, but put in 8 hours of maple.

Size matters too, at least on mine it does. Back is still jacked up so bought about four pickup loads of wood at the hay auctions, split smaller than I like but price was right. I could fill mine full of the small splits and it wouldn't last the night, smaller pieces burn faster and hotter which means more heat escaping out the stove before the water can capture it. If I mix in two or three 12-14" rounds no problems lasting the night.

[kommandokenny]

Did he have to add water,,??? that would solve the air leak issue???
Outside temp was cold,, maybe it did not quite boil over.
But any leak would probably boil it over?
Just throwing it out there.

[atvalaska]

same thing happen to me yesterday/last nite !   I take news paper and roll up about the size of a d battery  put a rubber band on it ......I then take a quart of used oil and a quart of "bad" gas  mix it in a homedepot bucket and place the paper on ends in said bucket .....it sucks it dry ...I put a lid on it outside my boiler shed and I grab 1 or two>  to start my fires quick ! its like a big candle  and no it don't go poof..it just works 

[Wood Nutt]

a 50/50 mix of used oil and stale gasoline is our recipe for drip torch fuel around here.  Works great for purposefully lighting the great plains on fire in the spring too!

One of my neighbors grew up in California  and think us local Kansans are nuts for lighting our country yards on fire in the spring.