A very close call today

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mtaccone

New Member
Jan 18, 2008
101
schenectady, NY
I have been burning my new insert for about a week now with no problems at all that was until today. I let it burn when im home or not as I feel comfortable now with it. My wife stayed home today and I went to work so I gave her the tutorial again on loading and burning the thing. She calls me @3pm says shes on her way out put wood in and the fire is high and the air is all the way closed. I told her just close down the air before you go then if its buring that much (she know what too much fire looks like I thought.) Then about a half hour later I had the thought come acrossed me that what if the door was left open and my heart begins to pound. I called her on the cell and asked did you close the door and latch it? she says yes I always check it twice, I said did you close the air down she says no only half way it seemed ok. I then said ok then you are sure tthe door is latched? Yes pretty sure.. So i raced home to find all the wood burned to just coals in a matter of an hour with the door half open. We might have had a chimney fire and I dont know it as of yet but it coulda happened with that torch burning for an hour or so, a log coulda rolled out onto the carpet (I do have the proper hearth area but still) and burned the house down. She has no clue even after I said all this. Coulda came home to nothing no money no dog no cat no home nothing. SO from now on no one will touch the stove I guess.. Thank god nothing happened and thank god I was not to far away.......Sorry for all the story line here but this is buggin the hell outta me.
 
Fires in the house and firearms. Two things in life that you pretty much have to be as close to perfect as you can get. Thanks that most of the designs have a margin of safety built to make up for some of us. Hate to leave doors open for any reason.... never leave the area, even to the degree of keeping your hand on the door handle, while it's open.
 
Glad all is well.
My wife burns better than me. I'm always fussing with the air to get it "just right".
Every night I come home and go right to the stove and it's always burning sweetly.
She seems to have a sense where it should be for that load and it just cruises perfect most every time. Women's intuition ?
 
You know what they say, "a scared man can't gamble and a jealous man can't work". What does one say when they can't trust the wife to latch the door? I hope it doesn't turn into an OCD thing where you get half way to work and have to go back home and check to be sure.

Around my place the wife is the obsessive one. Anytime I'm burning down a brush pile, she's freaked until the last coal is out. She doesn't want me to ever let it out of my sight. I mean those things can go for two or three days.

Anyway, go easy on her and let her operate the stove while you're at home to build your confidence.
 
I think you're over obsessing... but then ;-)

She just needs an edumacation.

Teach her.
 
mtaccone said:
My wife is a dope this is why the firearms are very separate from the ammo.
LOL. My wife is a better shot than me, too. The neighbor's dog had better stop pissing on our wood pile or she's gonna take him out. lol
 
Erase your cookies and don't let your wife see this post, even the board, at all... "Hell hath no fury...." ;)
 
mtaccone said:
I have been burning my new insert for about a week now with no problems at all that was until today. I let it burn when im home or not as I feel comfortable now with it. My wife stayed home today and I went to work so I gave her the tutorial again on loading and burning the thing. She calls me @3pm says shes on her way out put wood in and the fire is high and the air is all the way closed. I told her just close down the air before you go then if its buring that much (she know what too much fire looks like I thought.) Then about a half hour later I had the thought come acrossed me that what if the door was left open and my heart begins to pound. I called her on the cell and asked did you close the door and latch it? she says yes I always check it twice, I said did you close the air down she says no only half way it seemed ok. I then said ok then you are sure tthe door is latched? Yes pretty sure.. So i raced home to find all the wood burned to just coals in a matter of an hour with the door half open. We might have had a chimney fire and I dont know it as of yet but it coulda happened with that torch burning for an hour or so, a log coulda rolled out onto the carpet (I do have the proper hearth area but still) and burned the house down. She has no clue even after I said all this. Coulda came home to nothing no money no dog no cat no home nothing. SO from now on no one will touch the stove I guess.. Thank god nothing happened and thank god I was not to far away.......Sorry for all the story line here but this is buggin the hell outta me.

I hate that , My wife is pretty good with the stove since we have been burning for 20 years . But my son started helping with the stove and left the flue open and cracked my VCDW . Now i have a HS Equinox . I have a friend living with me and my wife has a day care in the house so the girls load some wood if it gets cold . I tell them to just drop a few splits in and close the door . I just keep my fingers crossed .
 
I guess this wouldnt be as big of a deal but it is the tip of a very big iceberg. I agree with cutting her off and the jealose man cant work I can trust her not to do the no no's but cant trust her to do things. Let me tell you this stove puts out a hellish heat with the door open or even the draft wide open Looks like 2 oil burners firing into thin air. Didn't seem to phase her when I told her I guess that is why I am more upset. Maybe I should go bring her to move in with my parents for a week to simulate what it would be like without a home .............. Better yet to my grandparents house that'd fix her!
 
I always said that someday she will kill herself with stupidity and I guess the more I see the more likely it is. 1 time it was with a gas cook stove the was on fire the other was when she was younger and got mesmerized by the snow flying off the back of her car and floored it right into the back of a stopped tow truck.
 
Always keep in the back of your mind that one word too many and SHE GETS HALF OF EVERYTHING!. Before the lawyer bill.
 
BrotherBart said:
SHE GETS HALF OF EVERYTHING!
You mean half of whatever is left after this recession. I'm telling you, this recession is worse than a divorce. I've lost half of my assets and the wife is still here.
 
Seems like if you know that your wife is a bit spacey, then perhaps it's your fault for expecting her to tend the fire without supervision? Cut her some slack, maybe try working a bit more with her on days when you are home all day. Let her tend the fire, but check up and offer good guidance if it is not right. There's a lot to the art of good wood burning and to the art of teaching. If you find that she's not cut out for fire tending, then don't depend on her to watch the fire.
 
If you treat people as incompetent, they often will live down to your expectation.
 
My wife got the door off loading my Blazeking I was at work. Thot I was going to call F.D.
next year Broke glass (me at work) did not fall out fire contained.
P.S.
wife only looks from now on. Everyone now happy!
 
Sign on the wall in Dickey's Barbecue in Dallas"

"Never question your wife's judgment. She married YOU didn't she?"
 
BrotherBart said:
Sign on the wall in Dickey's Barbecue in Dallas"

"Never question your wife's judgment. She married YOU didn't she?"

Can I put that on my tombstone?
 
Sure.

Better than my wife is a dope.
 
Male or female, there aren't too many people I'd trust to run my stove properly or safely... even with printed instructions.

But then, I'm 55, lived mostly alone for twenty five, thirty years and never married. I guess I've never *had* to trust anyone else.

Some might think burning wood is easy or 'intuitive'.

I say it's a calculated risk, even for an experienced user.

Peter B.

-----
 
wellbuilt home said:
mtaccone said:
I have been burning my new insert for about a week now with no problems at all that was until today. I let it burn when im home or not as I feel comfortable now with it. My wife stayed home today and I went to work so I gave her the tutorial again on loading and burning the thing. She calls me @3pm says shes on her way out put wood in and the fire is high and the air is all the way closed. I told her just close down the air before you go then if its buring that much (she know what too much fire looks like I thought.) Then about a half hour later I had the thought come acrossed me that what if the door was left open and my heart begins to pound. I called her on the cell and asked did you close the door and latch it? she says yes I always check it twice, I said did you close the air down she says no only half way it seemed ok. I then said ok then you are sure tthe door is latched? Yes pretty sure.. So i raced home to find all the wood burned to just coals in a matter of an hour with the door half open. We might have had a chimney fire and I dont know it as of yet but it coulda happened with that torch burning for an hour or so, a log coulda rolled out onto the carpet (I do have the proper hearth area but still) and burned the house down. She has no clue even after I said all this. Coulda came home to nothing no money no dog no cat no home nothing. SO from now on no one will touch the stove I guess.. Thank god nothing happened and thank god I was not to far away.......Sorry for all the story line here but this is buggin the hell outta me.

I hate that , My wife is pretty good with the stove since we have been burning for 20 years . But my son started helping with the stove and left the flue open and cracked my VCDW . Now i have a HS Equinox . I have a friend living with me and my wife has a day care in the house so the girls load some wood if it gets cold . I tell them to just drop a few splits in and close the door . I just keep my fingers crossed .

Hey wellbult you have PM
 
When I think of asking my wife to do anything out of her area of expertise, I always go back to this story. She called me and said "I'm going to Wal-Mart, do you need anything" I said "A can of WD-40". She came back with a quart of Pennzoil 10W-40. Nuff said?
 
LOL! Those are some classics...

My wife helped me with the stove....she picked out the color.
 
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