How many times do you burn yourself?

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What the heck are you guys doing to be burning yourselves like that?

I have burned myself once or twice in around 20 years of heating with wood. Not so far on the Blaze King.

I think I need to use my welding gloves with the kitchen stove though. Burned myself pretty good on that about 3-4 months ago.
 
I'm courting fate, but no serious burns yet. Yeah, I also have a little worn pair of welder's gloves nearby, but I reserve the use of those for those times when I want to completely rearrange my fire in the middle of a burn cycle. Routinely, I add wood and adjust splits without them. I'd say the key is a good pair of tongs and a poker, and years of practice. The other night my wife was horrified to see me reach down and pick up a cherry coal off of the floor, pinching it between my thumb and forefinger, and flicking it back into the firebox. Really, not much of a trick. It just takes callouses and quick reflexes. (O.K., one or two beers doesn't hurt either). By the time I could have gotten to the tongs, opened them and tried to get the coal it would have already scorched the floor. Also, get down to the level of your firebox when tending it. Yes, it is tough on the knees if your stove is low, but you can't see what is going on by bending over.

I'd say that the best investment you can make is in an alloe vera plant. For minor burns, you can't beat it. Don't think that the stuff that comes in the bottle is the same. It isn't. It is as different as lightning is to a lightning bug for minor burns.
 
When you do, remember to leave those hippie ointments the heck alone...COLD WATER is your first line of defense when it comes to burns. Topical ointments can help with pain AFTERWARDS, we use a product called cool gel at work where burns are a common occurrence.
 
I use a pair of welders gloves that come up above my elbows....I got them for xmas and since then no arm burns.
I got 2 nasty burns early in the season....it is that friggin latch on the 30 that would git me every time dammit... :shut: (when the door is open)

I don't mess with the wood once it is in there...I learned my lesson last year..I messed with it and a friggin log rolled out... >:-(

Usually the wood ignites before I shut the door so I let it do it's "thang" ...and don't disturb it..
the door is not opened for about 12-14 hours later....

I am "prone" to mishaps as everyone knows here...
I can't bend my knee today...hmm...wonder how the hell that happened.... :gulp: :lol: :smirk:
 
KodiakII said:
When you do, remember to leave those hippie ointments the heck alone...COLD WATER is your first line of defense when it comes to burns. Topical ointments can help with pain AFTERWARDS, we use a product called cool gel at work where burns are a common occurrence.

I agree....but I've know a lot of welders who swear by fresh alloe leaves. You split one open and lay it on. It draws the pain right out of it. Try it sometime.
 
No burns here yet.....normally wear the welding gloves. I'm still waiting for the mother in-law to forget and lean on the stove like we use to.
 
No burn for 5yrs! And this last week.

No pain....no gain!
 

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At a remote cabin I once frequented we had an old Fischer. When we found a particularly interesting rock while out in the woods, we'd bring it back and display it on top of the stove. We referred to this as our "I.Q. tester." It was amazing how many visitors, while enjoying the piping hot stove, would simply reach down and pick up one of them to look at it. Invarably, everyone of them would then say, "I can't believe I just did that."
 
I work on ovens at work, so ...yeah.

With our stove, just a couple of times... I use welder's gloves.
 
Through the years I've had a few burns but only one that was bad. I still have just a slight scar from that one. But after burning wood for so long, I simply created the habit of reaching for the gloves FIRST. If you have gloves but don't use them, they are like buying a tool and letting it sit idle. The tool is worthless if you don't use it.

Being lazy is no excuse. It is a matter of creating a habit. You've created a bad habit by not wearing gloves and the way to get over that is to create a new habit; wearing gloves EVERY TIME.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Through the years I've had a few burns but only one that was bad. I still have just a slight scar from that one. But after burning wood for so long, I simply created the habit of reaching for the gloves FIRST. If you have gloves but don't use them, they are like buying a tool and letting it sit idle. The tool is worthless if you don't use it.

Being lazy is no excuse. It is a matter of creating a habit. You've created a bad habit by not wearing gloves and the way to get over that is to create a new habit; wearing gloves EVERY TIME.

I totally agree with Dennis (again ;-P ). Took 2 nasty burns in 2 days (one on the PE & then one, like Gamma says, on the door latch of the 13. That scars finally starting to fade and it's over a year. For a long time it looked like the latch. It's the one that made me change my habit quick.

I cannot, how ever relate to the "hair on knuckles" side of it :)

Put them on, just do it. I go through a pair about every 2 years. It's a high pay off investment. They also allow you to pick up hot things that may roll/fly/explode out of the stove with out saying "damn it, I sholulda put the freaking gloves on" and getting ticked.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Through the years I've had a few burns but only one that was bad. I still have just a slight scar from that one. But after burning wood for so long, I simply created the habit of reaching for the gloves FIRST. If you have gloves but don't use them, they are like buying a tool and letting it sit idle. The tool is worthless if you don't use it.

Being lazy is no excuse. It is a matter of creating a habit. You've created a bad habit by not wearing gloves and the way to get over that is to create a new habit; wearing gloves EVERY TIME.

LAZY???!!!, Why, if I weren't lying down right now, I'd, well.... :)

A contrarian view would be that passively relying on gloves to keep you safe instead of just paying close attention to what you are doing is laziness. If you pay close attention, you won't get burned. Ever. This is something that is within your control if you exercise the discipline to do it correctly every time. I wear full leg, head, hand, ear and face pro when I operate a chainsaw, for instance. That is because there are too many factors I can't protect myself against. A hot stove it just not in the same league, to my way of thinking. But, an occasional burn is not going to kill a body, and will serve to reenforce the lesson.
 
And I do not go to the extremes of protection when running the saw. Only the muffler is hot. But then, I grew up running chain saws before all the safety equipment came out. Gee, we even had to manually oil our chains as there were not automatic oilers.
 
Well, there's Dennis with his good advice again.
Through either sheer dumb luck or because I'm really careful, no burns in about 4 years. That one was very minor.
The time I saw the skin on my right hand trying to melt off was a little worse. Hot oil bath to the hand is bad. Just an FYI for y'all. :coolsmile: I guess that's made me cautious around hot things.
I HAD a nice pair of welders gloves that my wife got for me. The dog (puppy) thought SHE should have one of 'em as her very own chew toy (she thinks this of most things), so I now have precisely one left handed welders glove. I don't bother wearing it. It sits at the bottom of the kindling bin (which I also can't use since the dog LOVES kindling).
The only time my hand gets too close to the stove is when I'm loading E/W. Sooo, I put the wood just inside the door, then use the poker to move it where I want it. Keeps my hands out of the stove, mostly.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
And I do not go to the extremes of protection when running the saw. Only the muffler is hot. But then, I grew up running chain saws before all the safety equipment came out. Gee, we even had to manually oil our chains as there were not automatic oilers.

Well, yup, so did I. Getting burned by the muffler is not something I've ever really considered as being a risk, really. Chopping my upper incisors out of my head? Well, yeah. But, if you want to be consistent (and I understand the urge NOT to be), there are plenty of good chainsaw safetty "tools" that you are letting lay idle. KnowwudImean?
 
Have not been burnt in a long time but I have a pair of gloves that I use every time. Do not like the welders gloves as they seem to bulky to me. I have a pair of leather similar to welders gloves but not heavy lined.
As far as burn remedies the aloe vera plant works good, but I burnt myself last year pretty bad when my cutting torch was not screwed on all the way and popped apart. Found a remedy on the net. Dry white flour packed around and on the burnt area for 15 minutes. The skin callouses over and the burn does not blister.
 
lol.........good post..........
i NEVER get burned,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i i suit up in a NASA approved one piece. throw in the wood. then disrobe.........
its getting to be a PITA............lol
John
 
firebroad said:
Am I clumsy or just too dumb to reach over for the gloves? I swear I burn myself at least once a week loading wood, usually when I stumble out first thing in the morn. I know this is a lame post, but I am curious to know how many others have an assortment of brownish red scars on their hands...

How can I train myself to use the gloves instead of muttering to myself, "just this once?"

Question #1is just too loaded of a question to guess at :coolhmm: but for #2 what I do is to keep my welder gloves right beside the stove and don't use the detached handle to open the stove so I have to use gloves. I keep them on to handle the wood and don't pick up wood without them. Two year old Water Oak makes lots of splinters. Just becomes a habit, make a note & place it beside the stove until you no longer need a reminder. I also will not walk out of the room until the stove door is closed on startup or reload. Be safe :coolsmile:
 
Adios Pantalones said:
Tuff Gong- awesome screen name. With that name, however- I would have guessed a different source of heat for your burn :)

A lot of people comment on the "unique" aroma that my wood stove emits. My wood is "seasoned."
 
It usually takes me about ten or twelve days from after a minor burn until I stop wearing the welders gloves every time I reload. After I stop it is only a day or two until I burn myself again, and the clock resets. For a major burn it is more like three weeks or until the mark starts to fade. So my answer is 'pretty many times.'
 
Once so far this year ( purchased a pair of welding gloves ). I am still getting used to the depth of the box.
My dog loves to have a look and oncassionaly bump me while I am loading the stove so lesson learned, use welding gloves.
 
Some of these replies in this thread are hilarious,, probably so funny because I can relate to many of them, thanks for making me laugh. Last year was my first year with my insert and I did get burns frequently then, like many others, I got the welding gloves and the burns went away. There is no secret formula here, you have to wear protection, you don't wear it you get burned, literally in this business. I find that only putting on one glove is all that is necessary a lot of the times so there is hope for the lazy. By the way, I also invested in a long handled coal rake that I use to reconfigure pieces when I need to. It helps keep well away from the radiation heat coming off the coals and helps me keep my hands out of places they shouldn't be too.
 
Just don't do like my neighbor did. Instead of welder's gloves he just used a oven mitt. You know, the kind that have all the insulation and are thick. He used it one time, set it back upon the wood handled stove tools and left. Came back to a smoke filled house with the wood handles all burnt off. Lucky he didn't burn the house down.
 
OK. I'll tell it. First season with the 30 on the raised hearth. Swing the door out 90 degrees instead of all the way to load it for the night burn. Turn to my left to pick up a split and parked the underside of my chin right on top of that hot cast iron door. Hurt bad and hurt for a long time. :ahhh:
 
Ouch. I knew right-hinged doors were better. :)
 
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