I'm slowly gettin over the bad habits learned while burnin the old smoke dragon but I just cant get over the urge to open the side door and stir the far bout halfway into the burn cycle with this new stove. Or isnt that such a bad thing to do?
Quit pokin me!
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Whatever floats your brick, my man. I would guess that it could actually slow down the burn- breaking stuff up means less air spaces. But smaller pieces means more surface area. but but but
hell I dunno
hell I dunno
I don't bother poking too much . . . not until I get ready to reload at which point I may spread out the coals a bit or move them closer to the air inlet . . . then again I'm pretty lazy . . . figure why make more work for me. 
If I am loading with full splits I try never to stir it up unless I had a completely stuffed load in there. With a stuffed load, sometimes a piece will get snugged up real tight to the side of the stove, Halfway through the burn cycle, if during the day, I will pull these pieces more into the center. They instantly flame up, I believe the sides of the stove are keeping some of the gasses in and by pulling them off the side I am able to better burn off these gasses.
Otherwise, I try to leave it alone.
Not that I think there is any real harm in stiring it up.
Otherwise, I try to leave it alone.
Not that I think there is any real harm in stiring it up.
Thankfully, there is no window to the soul of my firebox, otherwise I might be tempted to think I could improve things by moving a log into a more advantageous position. Experience has taught me that this is usually the wrong thing to do, but with temptation staring me in the face I might succumb. In general, I try to avoid poking at any fire unless I'm poking it with some nice, dry firewood at the tail end of the burn.
Blue Vomit
Minister of Fire
Interesting... To stir or not to stir, just don't go to the woodshed and ask if you should cover your farwood!
Butcher said:
You need to create some new habits which will replace the old habits. Leave that poker laying. The stove will burn well without you poking around in there.
I don't stir anything until near the end of the cycle when I bring the larger coals to the front to burn down. The only time i pull out the "poker" (an old milk case hook) to move anything is when a log falls against the glass.
BlankBlankBlank
Minister of Fire
Backwoods Savage said:
+1 on creating new habits to replace the old ones. I'd like to think that rekindling a little bit of cuddling with the wife on the couch might be a good start. At least after that when the additional loads of wood start coming in for year 4 or maybe even year 5, then she might kind of like it and less likely to fuss. Heck she'll be too busy cuddling.
Agent
Member
WoodNStuff said:Backwoods Savage said:
+1 on creating new habits to replace the old ones. I'd like to think that rekindling a little bit of cuddling with the wife on the couch might be a good start. At least after that when the additional loads of wood start coming in for year 4 or maybe even year 5, then she might kind of like it and less likely to fuss. Heck she'll be too busy cuddling.
That sounds good but after over 30 years of marital "bliss" the cuddlin has all but run it's coarse. lol
BlankBlankBlank
Minister of Fire
Butcher said:WoodNStuff said:Backwoods Savage said:
+1 on creating new habits to replace the old ones. I'd like to think that rekindling a little bit of cuddling with the wife on the couch might be a good start. At least after that when the additional loads of wood start coming in for year 4 or maybe even year 5, then she might kind of like it and less likely to fuss. Heck she'll be too busy cuddling.
That sounds good but after over 30 years of marital "bliss" the cuddlin has all but run it's coarse. lol
Well just 3 years here.
We still cuddle on the couch 33 years after we met. That's not what keeps me away from the stove, though. It's those 13 steps to the basement and my 60 year old knees that makes me say, "I think the fire's probably doing OK."
Battenkiller said:
Wife is usually asleep on the couch, that is why I spend so much time here
As for the 13 steps to the basement, I use my obsessive compulsion to check on the stove as my exercise regimen.
sometimes its important to poke the fire. I burn E-W and adjusting their position can have a huge effect on the fire. As they burn sometimes they shift, and while they will still burn, a quick adjustment can make all the differece.
But I wont poke for the sake of poking.
But I wont poke for the sake of poking.
Grannyknot
New Member
I don't poke the fire for several reasons.....
Its a long walk downstairs.
If I open the doors during the middle of the cycle, I'm likely to get 2nd degree burns on my face.
Too scared to smother the fire by making things settle un-naturally.
Determination to see what the stove does on its own during the 5-8 hour cycle.
Its a long walk downstairs.
If I open the doors during the middle of the cycle, I'm likely to get 2nd degree burns on my face.
Too scared to smother the fire by making things settle un-naturally.
Determination to see what the stove does on its own during the 5-8 hour cycle.
Grannyknot said:
That may be the most important reason to me. How can you learn what the fire will do all by itself if you're constantly imposing your will on it? This knowledge allows you to learn how to best lay the wood in the stove for best airflow and for the logs to fall in a (somewhat) predictable fashion when you're not there to putz around with it. I wish I had glass in my stove to observe these things. Then again, I kinda enjoy the surprise I get every time I open the load door.
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