| How do I buy wood? Always buy hard woods, Ash, Oak, Beech, Birch, Hard Maple, Pecan and Dogwood. These woods are high in heat, easy to burn and usually do not pop or throw spark. This wood should be seasoned at least six months.You need to know the length of the wood you will need. We suggest you buy early, preferably August. On the average you need one to three cords of wood for the season. To make sure you get a full cord, set up an area where the wood will be stacked at least 5 - 10 " away from the house and use stack-it-brackets w/wolmanized 2x4's (deck wood). Build an 8 ' long x 4 ' high x 16 " - 24 " deep (face cord) or 4 ' deep (Cord) storage frame so that you can accurately determine if you have received the proper amount of wood. |
The average fireplace is using the heated air from your house as oxygen for the fire to burn and then it goes up the chimney. This is very inefficient.We would suggest getting fireplace doors to reduce the loss of heat from the house. Glass doors can be kept closed as long as you burn your wood at least 6 " away from the glass.When the glass doors are closed they will offer more safety when burning, reduce loss of heat or gain of cold air into the house. If you wish to leave your doors open, you can, but you will be losing more heat that way. |
If you have a wood stove with a catalytic combustor, your benefits are, reduced creosote, increased efficiency and less smoke. All of this is good if your catalytic is not plugging, peeling or cracking. With an average life span of 12,000 hours or 7 - 10 years, it is important to check your catalytic every year at the end of each winter season. Most catalytics are warranted up to six years. If damage occurs within two years the catalytic would be replaced at no charge. Beyond the second year, it is prorated, the longer it lasts the less warrantee dollars are offered toward new catalytics. If the catalytic is not inspected once every year for damage, you could lose warrantee dollars or possibly a new replacement catalytic, also the performance of the stove will be greatly affected. |
Fireplaces are very wasteful, therefore need large amounts of heated air from your house and large chimney flues to allow smoke to exit. Inserts (wood) are very efficient up to 78% and require a very small amount of air to feed the fire, therefore only needing a small chimney, as small as 6 " round to the top of the chimney. Since airtight inserts are so efficient, the exhaust temperatures are substantially lower which makes it difficult to get a good draft. Inserts with catalytics have the lowest of temperatures when the catalytics are engaged. The need for a stainless liner from the insert to the top of the chimney, is to reduce the flue for a better draft. The stainless also creates a dead air space in the chimney creating an insulating barrier from exterior cold weather. A stainless liner means you never need to remove your insert or liner to do a proper cleaning. Just sweep from top to bottom right into the insert. The liner will also mean cleaner chimneys over longer periods of time, less maintenance, and better performance. |