I can hardly go outside. They're choking me from the next block over! A giant pile of freshly cut rounds, with an axe sticking out of the round they just split a piece or 2 off of to burn.
Thanks for listening.
Thanks for listening.
neighbors splitting green rounds as needed
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FatttFire
Member
I have a guy three house down from where i work, that does the same thing! He got a load of wood delivered, and he goes out there cuts off a couple of chunks, and then splits it with an axe, and takes in side AS HE NEEDS IT. I wish I could stop by and take a picture of his new house, with exterior chimney, with black "sap" running out of it! I also wish I had a flier that I could drop in his mail box, something that read something in the lines of "future chimney fire"! Just to be a nice guy, but I don't like getting into peoples business so, we see!
Hey, just an idea, but you guys might want to casually mention that you are fellow burners and mention this site. It can make a friend and maybe they will get an eye opener all on their own. May just save a life.
Cearbhaill
Feeling the Heat
The other night I smelled smoke and my eyes burned, so of course I thought I had a problem (understatement). When I got outside my neighborhood was literaly blanketed in smoke.
I RAN far enough back to check out my chimney and of course it wasn't me. We walked around front only to find people milling around wondering who it was. In time there were firefighters walking the streets looking for the house- it was so thick it was hard to determine exactly where it was coming from. They finally said they found it three streets over- green wood. Gack. I can still smell it.
I hate that. It gives all of us a bad name, and I have tried to the complete best of my ability to burn as cleanly as possible. I would be upset if even one neighbor thought for even one minute that I would do that.
I have no idea which house specifically, or I would give them this website.
I RAN far enough back to check out my chimney and of course it wasn't me. We walked around front only to find people milling around wondering who it was. In time there were firefighters walking the streets looking for the house- it was so thick it was hard to determine exactly where it was coming from. They finally said they found it three streets over- green wood. Gack. I can still smell it.
I hate that. It gives all of us a bad name, and I have tried to the complete best of my ability to burn as cleanly as possible. I would be upset if even one neighbor thought for even one minute that I would do that.
I have no idea which house specifically, or I would give them this website.
eightpilot
New Member
Just what we need a few more "woodstove" fires. Up here in WI it seems like once a week they are reporting another house burning to the ground on the 10 o'clock news. Then at the end of the report when they give the prelim. cause... you guessed it "woodstove" At this rate we won't be able to afford the insurance rider for our new Oslo. lol I spent an hour trying to educate my insurance guy on how much more efficient and safe my woodstove is over my old ZC fireplace. All this is started to shoot holes in that theory... 8
FatttFire
Member
:down: I hate being nosey! Now I will have to go over there, he does have kids, and they are from " the city " .............. his white siding is black on the chimney ........................ ( this is me muddering to myself ) ................................................. FINE! I will go! :sick:
Todd
Minister of Fire
Cearbhaill
Feeling the Heat
Once a week?eightpilot said:
Try daily.
In my location I get news from Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. Lately every single day there is another home burnt to the ground due to a wood stove.
I'm going to get in touch with my news channel and try and find someone willing to do a positive story on how to safely burn with wood and emphasize installation and maintenance. That and buying decent equipment to begin with. Some folks are probably scrounging stove parts like I scrounge wood, and slapping them into a wall without thinking twice.
Scary!
GaryS
Member
I love the sizzling sound of green wood on hot coals. Those little steam jets are just fun to watch. Hopefully they learn before it's too late.
FatttFire said:
You da man...you might get a fat lip OR you may prevent a horrendous fire. I can tolerate stupid/uninformed people being stupid/uninformed but can't do that when a third party has no control of it. Bring up the kids and he'll probably listen.
woodzilla
New Member
My next door neighbor likes to cut green trees from the state park across the street. After contacting any and all officials to try and stop this , I had to be the bad guy. Told him that if one tree disappears from my view I would video tape and turn him in. I get the smoke and lose possible tree stands. Ugghh!
woodconvert said:
There is a possibility that he is as green as his wood and is struggling to get the fire going well. If he's not a butthead, invite him to come by and see your setup and how to burn well. Show him your flue and the lack of smoke. And invite him to log on here at Hearth.com for further questions and info.
BeGreen said:
Hence the uninformed but I should have said OR. He just may not know any better but the end result could be the same. Best to nip it in the bud for all parties. Could you imagine waking up in the middle of the night to see the bright light and fire trucks at the guys house?. That would wreck me for a long time if I didn't at least try to give him a hand.
KateC
New Member
Our neighbor, with whom we're very friendly, burns green wood (''you don't want it too dry or it burns too fast'') in an old hand-me-down smoke dragon. Early this fall he was mentioning he needed to get started putting wood up and i mentioned I had the sweep coming that week---to which he replied that he's NEVER cleaned his chimney. :bug:
''It's STAINless steel'' he said. I said "I will miss you''. I have tried countless times in countless ways but he just rolls his eyes at me.
''It's STAINless steel'' he said. I said "I will miss you''. I have tried countless times in countless ways but he just rolls his eyes at me.
Henz
New Member
WHY DONT YOU JUST TELL HIM ABOUT THIS WEBSITE AND THAT HE SHOULD VISIT IT. LEAVE THE ADDRESS IN A NOTE AND LEAVE IT ATTACHED TO HIS DOOR
KateC
New Member
Adirondackwoodburner said:
I did. He laughed. He's a good 'ol seasoned woodchuck who don't need to be taught nuttin'. Then his wife asked me why I stack my firewood so far away from the house. You bang your head on the wall until you realize it feels good when you stop.
I have an older Wood furnace that smokes pretty bad when you load it up and choke it down really good for the night. It usually clears up within 5 minutes or so. But I have to get up on the roof and clean the chimney cap once a month, and I've looked down the pipe and its not creosoted up bad, just on the cap when it hits it in the cold air. I burn a creosote log once a week, and do need to do the mid-season cleaning soon.
Anyways, I ripped the woodwork out of my living room because I'm remodeling. Its about 100 years old and has an old oil stain and varnish on it. Without thinking it through, I cut a few pieces up and chucked them in the furnace. About 10 minutes later I looked out back, and I'd smoked up a good 2 blocks of my neighborhood. Oops....Won't be doing that again.
Anyways, I ripped the woodwork out of my living room because I'm remodeling. Its about 100 years old and has an old oil stain and varnish on it. Without thinking it through, I cut a few pieces up and chucked them in the furnace. About 10 minutes later I looked out back, and I'd smoked up a good 2 blocks of my neighborhood. Oops....Won't be doing that again.
fattyfat1
New Member
This past weekend I saw fifteen different truck with firewood stacked in them Home Depot chainsaw and axes in the back and homeowner types in the front. They had been (probably) Gathering wood for this winter. They laugh when I am doing the same in March and April. The really funny part is....Half of them had VFD tags on the trucks.
Let them Burn the wood. Let them smoke up their home. When I say anything they say I am a wood snob.
Let them Burn the wood. Let them smoke up their home. When I say anything they say I am a wood snob.
Adirondackwoodburner said:
Aha! Thanks, I was dreading the conversation with this guy, but this might work. I can say I tried, without having to endure glares, like the ones from the neighbor who thinks I'm a jerk because her dog barks at me in my own backyard. (The rest of them are great, BTW.)
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
You can offer advice, suggest folks check out hearth.com . . . but trust me . . . you can tell folks over and over again that unseasoned wood will lead to an excessive build up of creosote . . . and you can tell folks over and over again that the key to preventing a woodstove/chimney fire is by following the manufacturer/NFPA installation instructions in terms of clearances and combustible protection, cleaning out the chimney regularly, properly disposing ashes and keeping combustibles away from the woodstove
. . . and yet time and time again you will have folks who believe that they know better since they've been burning "forever" . . . or they think they just don't have the time to build the proper floor protection or they'll just throw down a cheap, pre-made pad without checking the R value . . . or they figure the stove is far enough from the wall and that a few inches will not matter since putting the stove the proper distance from the wall would require reading the manual and/or would result in a loss of space in the room . . . or they figure they'll clean out the chimney sometime next week/month/year when it's not so cold or snowy . . . or they figure putting in a proper chimney is just too expensive so they'll use their existing chimney . . . or they figure that the ashes look dead so why bother putting them in a covered metal pail outside, away from the home when it's much easier to just put them in a paperbag and put them out on the wooden deck.
Trust me . . . I've been doing this job for a number of years and one thing is certain . . . you can educate some folks and you can do a bazillion interviews and remind some folks that they need to change their ways . . . but there will always be a core of folks who (for whatever reason -- laziness, pride, financial issues) will not change . . . and these are the folks who we will eventually meet face to face some bitterly cold night in January.
. . . and yet time and time again you will have folks who believe that they know better since they've been burning "forever" . . . or they think they just don't have the time to build the proper floor protection or they'll just throw down a cheap, pre-made pad without checking the R value . . . or they figure the stove is far enough from the wall and that a few inches will not matter since putting the stove the proper distance from the wall would require reading the manual and/or would result in a loss of space in the room . . . or they figure they'll clean out the chimney sometime next week/month/year when it's not so cold or snowy . . . or they figure putting in a proper chimney is just too expensive so they'll use their existing chimney . . . or they figure that the ashes look dead so why bother putting them in a covered metal pail outside, away from the home when it's much easier to just put them in a paperbag and put them out on the wooden deck.
Trust me . . . I've been doing this job for a number of years and one thing is certain . . . you can educate some folks and you can do a bazillion interviews and remind some folks that they need to change their ways . . . but there will always be a core of folks who (for whatever reason -- laziness, pride, financial issues) will not change . . . and these are the folks who we will eventually meet face to face some bitterly cold night in January.
caber
New Member
I think it is best to go the anonymous route and just slip a note in their door or mailbox from "a concerned neighbor." But I would not expect many people to change. Most people, even if they have not so much as lit a match in their life, believe they are experts the second they get started. Otherwise, they would have already done a little research and learned how to do it properly.
Cearbhaill
Feeling the Heat
Well I did just write my local TV stations news director and assignment editor suggesting a comprehensive series on burning safely and efficiently.
We shall see.
We shall see.
Cowboy Billy
Minister of Fire
Well ya just gotta try. You are going to run across the know it all's. And those that just don't know. We never know until we try!!
Maybe make a one or two page flyer that we could just shove in a mailbox.
A easy way to get more heat from your Fireplace/Stove
!
Just by drying you fire wood you will get 1/3 to 1/2 more heat from the same wood. And it will burn better and start a lot easier
Wet wood also make your fire smoke a lot more. And creates creosote that can Burn your House Down!!
(explain how to dry wood)
(explain how to identify creosote buildup)
I am sure we can come up with a lot more. And make it eye catching so it will be read and hopefully thought about
Billy
Maybe make a one or two page flyer that we could just shove in a mailbox.
A easy way to get more heat from your Fireplace/Stove
!Just by drying you fire wood you will get 1/3 to 1/2 more heat from the same wood. And it will burn better and start a lot easier
Wet wood also make your fire smoke a lot more. And creates creosote that can Burn your House Down
!!(explain how to dry wood)
(explain how to identify creosote buildup)
I am sure we can come up with a lot more. And make it eye catching so it will be read and hopefully thought about
Billy
eernest4
New Member
nyk0306 said:
Why do you stack you firewood so far away from the house??
I have my fire wood as close to the basement door as is practical for my set up.
This makes for shorter time outside in the cold & the snow when i run out of wood.
In fact ,I set up a 10 ft wide x 25 ft long portion of my basement as a indoor wood shed
where I keep about 1/2 cord of wood so that I don't have 2 go out in the cold very often or for very long.
My wood stove is in the basement, too & my indoor woodshed is maybe 25 feet from the stove.
Is the some danger that you know about that I dont??
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