Driveway burn, pros and cons

If it was crated up real well I would probably just put it in and burn it with the windows open, Not a big deal really, if youre worried about the kids just send everyone out for pizza or something and let er rip while there gone.

Heck we were exposed to all kinds of stuff thats bad for ya now and we turned out alright RIGHT???? :lol:

I did my PE in the house and it did not amount to a hill of beans but some of other brands of stoves might be worse.

We did the break in fires inside with the windows open when we installed our new Fireview. We never really were run out of the house by fumes. My installation included about 6 feet of pipe painted by Woodstock to match our stove, so a driveway burn wood have done only some of the job anyway. I kept the stove on its handy pallet with the cardboard over it until it was in the house.

I kept both mine in the crate, move it inside, hookem up and burned with all the windows open. I thought about curing my Keystone outside but didn't like the idea of moving the stove in and out of the garage every day for 3-4 days then move it one more time into the house without the stability of the crate. It's going to take 3 or 4 burns to break it in, cure and remove most of the stink.

Being a soapstone stove I would think there is allot less surface area of paint to cure as well as the stone should be less harmful. Your break ins should be small fires one at a time with the load and temps increasing. There will be moisture in that nice looking new rock of yours. Don't make to much steam all at once so it doent have rapid flashing in the pores of the rock.
Todd will chime in soon.

I did my burn in fires inside with the Oslo . . . it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Did the three small fires in early Fall so I simply kept the windows open.

I've installed two Fireview's in my house, both were moved into the house in/on the factory crating. I think it would be a bit harder
with out the crate. If you do un-crate you could lighten it up a bit by removing the top lid, side door, the (4) firebrick in the bottom.... that's about it. The burn off smell was a bit annoying, keep in mind that each time you reach a new high temp you get the smell again so a driveway burn probably won't fully cure it anyway.

BrotherBart said:

I burn all of mine in on the driveway. Piece of cake. Then I wrap the stove in a furniture pad and move it into the house or the basement.

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My cousin would bring it inside and open all the windows, similar to everyone else's comments. This is a different way that I might have to try if I decide to purchase one. I had always thought opening the windows would be a good and easy solution.

jlasserton said:

BrotherBart said:

I burn all of mine in on the driveway. Piece of cake. Then I wrap the stove in a furniture pad and move it into the house or the basement.

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My cousin would bring it inside and open all the windows, similar to everyone else's comments. This is a different way that I might have to try if I decide to purchase one. I had always thought opening the windows would be a good and easy solution.

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With a large PAINTED steel box I wish I had punted the BK outside to cure that black paint. New stove pipe is bad enoufe.

I burned both my stoves for break-in right where they sit today...on their hearths inside. Not all that big enough a deal to make moving the stoves another time worth it. Open some windows to ventilate. Smoke detector in the workshop went off once or twice. I actually don't mind the smell all that much...but then, I was a teenager in Berkeley in the 1960's. %-P Rick

fossil said:

Ibut then, I was a teenager in Berkeley in the 1960's. %-P Rick

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:lol:

Had a little smell during the three breakin burns and the first full burn. No biggie with the windows open. Actually, I think much of the smell came from the new stovepipe elbows which were improperly painted from the factory (all the paint blistered off over the winter, leaving absolutely bare steel!).

For me, there was a big disadvantage to attempting a driveway burn. The dealer was delivering the stove into the house and placing it on the hearth in exactly the right spot, for a very reasonable price. Had I opted for an outside burn, that deal would have been off!

sksmass said:

I am just about ready to pull the trigger on a Woodstock Fireview. Now I am thinking about how to break it in.

So, if I do a couple of light driveway burns I'll be forced to uncrate the unit which (I think) would make it harder to ultimately move the unit into my house. Once it is out of its crate I would have to worry about scratching the cast iron against the dolly, etc. But the advantage would be that I'd burn off a lot of the paint-curing fumes outside. I have heard those fumes are kind of nasty.

The alternative would be to forget about driveway burns and just move the FV into the house in its crate, which would be easier to move, and then just do the first break-in fires with the windows wide open during the shoulder season.

Does anyone have experience with driveway burns? Are they worth it, or just a pain in the butt?

And the fumes...are we talking just unpleasant or are we talking brain damage (I have kids)?

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Congratulations on the decision to get the Fireview. It is a great stove.

For moving the stove, yes, it is much easier to leave it in the crate until it is next to the hearth. As for smell when breaking it in, the only smell we got was from some new pipe we installed at the same time. We noticed no smoke or odor from the stove.

On the break-in fire, be sure to do it right. Here is how we did it:

1. Start the first fire with kindling only. Do not add anything but let the kindling just burn itself out. End of first fire.
2. Second fire start with kindling but then add 2 small splits. Let the fire burn out.
3. Third fire, add 3 or 4 splits and let it burn.
4. You are now finished with the burn-in.
5. Enjoy the heat and the good looking stove!
6. Save the extra wood you would have burned with a different stove and you have a good start on next year's wood supply.

Good luck.

On moving the stove, we did take the stove in the house fully crated. After uncrating the stove, we then removed the top lid (watch it, that thing is heavy), the firebox door and the firebrick. This makes the stove a lot lighter. For moving the stove, we used a furniture dolly and it worked great. We had some planks to roll it up onto the porch (3 men. Rope around crate and a man on the end of each rope. The other man pushing and guiding from the bottom), then used those same planks for rolling it through the door.

how about a fan in the window pointing out ?

rustynut said:

how about a fan in the window pointing out ?

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Well if you are gonna get technical on us you better have another window open to let the air in that you are blowing out.

I think I'd un-crate it before the burn. Y'know, to reduce the smell.

Don't worry about it.........install it and fire it up!! Our Avalon didn't give us any noticable fumes or smells, even though the instructions said it might. I just opened a couple of windows, IN CASE it did..............I can't say that I noticed ANY smells during the first fire up.

Lighting it up in the driveway, your neighbors might call the guys in the funny white suits

I installed my Fireview last fall and did the break in fires on the hearth. The stove didn't smell that bad but the painted pipe I got from woodstock gave off a smell and smoke during the latter break in fires. My stove was left in the garage all summer in 100% humidity so I brought it in and had several small break in fires to get the moisture out. Every time the fire was allowed to get a little hotter a higher point on the pipe's paint would cure and you would get a strong smell. Happened the first 4 or 5 fires and then it was done. I recc you do it in the fall or late summer when you can leave the windows open and you will be fine.

The pipe will be your source of paint fumes if you get any at all. The stone stove only has small bits of paint on it that won't make much stink at all. Driveway burns are for all steel painted stoves and only if you're particularly sensitive.

thought he had those windows open already ?
no really...........
Isn't that like a new car smell ?
;-)