A beginner guide to woodburning...

[BrotherBart]

I may have gone a little nuts but after having to make four trips back into the house because of the smoke and flames I am now the only homeowner I know that has a Scotts AirPack like the firefighters have. I live too far out in the sticks not to put up a fight if this place lights off again.

Wood stoves don't burn down the majority of houses kitchen stoves, candles and clothes dryers do. Go clean the lint out of that dryer vent pipe right now!

And when are they gonna start requiring permits for candles?

 

[michaelthomas]

I store a cord or so wood on my sreened in porch which is out of the weather but on the other side of the house from my wood stove. The wife likes the stove and the heat but not the mess from hauling wood throught the house. So this year I bought one of those 1000# capacity garden wagons and put 1/4" plywood on the bottom and sides to keep the bark and stuff in it and not on my wifes lovely floors. I can roll the wood through the house and park it on the other side of the hearth out of the way and store 2-3 days worth of wood in it. I think it will work out well. I just have to figure out how to keep the kids out of it when it is empty?

 

[Sundeep Arole]

Wood Burning for Dummies.

If I take myself as a example, I'm afraid there is quite a bit of redundancy in that statement

 

[lepp]

Proper Ash Disposal - a recent thread included some great tips & precautions: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/2775/P30/

 

[iburnpine]

Some points I'd like to make:

1. Read the manual that came with the stove. There's nothing like using the draft control incorrectly. I had a LOPI stove hooked up in my old house and wasn't there while my in-laws were breaking it in. When I showed up, they were saying the stove wasn't working well. One look at the draft control told me everything. Checking the manual would've helped
2. Get a thermometer and put it on the stove so you know at what temp you should be burning. I can't imagine burning without one. Putting the thermometer on the pipe might not reflect the true temperature of the stove.
3. Break-in your stove outside of your house if possible to avoid fumes.

 

[BikeMedic2709]

I am "pumped" to read the fire extinguisher comments! That is the single most important thing to remember when we use flame. The Fire Dept. I work for we have used the ChimFex to aid in extinguishing chimney fires. But... If the stove/fireplace was really roarin'... they didn't work all that great. We now use a one gallon zip-lock style freezer bag filled with dry chemical extinguisher powder. (What is used to fill an ABC extinguisher.) We just access the chimney (top) without falling and drop the bag down in. Bag melts. Disperses the powder.... A couple in the stove/fireplace... One or two down the flu...Voila'... Actually, works very well. (As a side note. I do not advocate not calling your local F.D. However, many of us that heat with wood live a considerable distance from a F.D. and this could potientially save your home/lives.)

 

[senorFrog]

I may have gone a little nuts but after having to make four trips back into the house because of the smoke and flames I am now the only homeowner I know that has a Scotts AirPack like the firefighters have. I live too far out in the sticks not to put up a fight if this place lights off again.

Dangerous, there are nuances to using those and and space can turn totally dark at any moment.