I may already know the answer to the question but I am going to ask the experts. I have been asked to put together a list of wood stove/heating safety tips for the upcoming heating season for our property owners association. It is a mix of year round and weekend users. So can you help me out? Hope so and thanks in advance.
Top 10 Wood Heat Safety Points???
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1. Make sure you appliance is installed to the manufacturers specs honoring all clearances to combustibles and all parts are in good working order.
2. Make sure your chimney Is in good working order is installed properly honoring all clearances and that it is clean.
3. Burn only dry wood.
4. Have working smoke detectors and co detectors installed correctly.
5. Read follow and understand any and all instructions that apply to your appliance.
I am sure there are more that others will add but those are the main ones that come to mind
2. Make sure your chimney Is in good working order is installed properly honoring all clearances and that it is clean.
3. Burn only dry wood.
4. Have working smoke detectors and co detectors installed correctly.
5. Read follow and understand any and all instructions that apply to your appliance.
I am sure there are more that others will add but those are the main ones that come to mind
-- Install stove and chimney to manufacturer's specifications -- paying close attention to clearance requirements and hearth requirements. Going with the "close enough, I don't want to give up too much floor space" or "Who cares about R value -- I just want my hearth to look good" thoughts will invariably result in a visit from me at some point down the road . . . probably not right away, but eventually.
-- Know how to run your woodstove . . . this isn't your grandpappy's woodstove and it's not quite as simple as toss wood in and let it burn. Some stoves have by-passes . . . most EPA stoves with secondary burns run the opposite to what most people think (i.e. to gain more heat you close off the air vs. giving it more air).
-- Smoke detectors, CO detectors and fire extinguishers are a good thing . . . even better is to make sure everyone knows what to do if they hear the smoke detector sound at 2 a.m. Having the smoke detectors without a sound safety plan is like having a really good looking car with no engine -- it may look good when you look at it . . . but it's getting you nowhere fast.
-- Seasoned dry wood is essential. Older stoves may "get away" with less than optimal wood (at the expense of gunking up a chimney oftentimes), but modern stoves really need dry, seasoned wood. How long wood takes to be seasoned depends a lot on the type of wood, how it is processed (i.e. stacked) and area. In general, most wood needs 12-24 months to be ready -- but sometimes wood can be seasoned in a shorter process. And yes . . . even older smoke dragons can benefit from seasoned wood.
-- Pine is fine . . . with the truly fine print being . . . as long as it is seasoned.
-- Maintaining a stove is important. Fortunately, this is relatively easy in most stoves -- checking to insure it is clean (namely the chimney, stove pipe, smoke path, etc.) and the gaskets all are decent at the start of the burning season. During the burning season for new burners I generally recommend checking the chimney monthly if at all possible . . . and sweeping whenever there is a 1/4 inch or so of creosote built up.
-- A good set of hearth gloves can be wicked useful -- and a godsend if you ever need to re-position a split or round while it is on fire.
-- Give yourself time. Getting a fire established -- whether from coals or from a cold start -- is not as easy as simply turning up the thermostat. The last thing you want to do is attempt to load a stove when you need to leave the home within the next 15 minutes. Doing so often results in too much air and an out of control fire . . . or a choked off creosote generating fire.
-- Chimney fires. They happen . . . but if you burn seasoned wood, use the woodstove correctly and check/sweep the chimney there is really a slim chance of this happening. However, if it happens . . . call 911 . . . after that it is a matter of choice as to how you may wish to proceed -- folks report success in using damp newspapers, opening the woodstove door (sounds strange, but it works), putting sand or ashes on the fire, etc.
-- Best bit of advice . . . most fires I have seen that are woodstove related have been due to the improper disposal of wood ash. Treat all wood ash as if there is a live coal hidden in the ash. Do not put the ashes in a plastic bucket, cardboard box, paper bag, etc. and leave it in the home, on the porch, in the garage, etc. Best disposal is to perhaps place the ashes in a covered, metal pail away from the home and combustibles and leave it there for several days to weeks before the final disposal.
-- Know how to run your woodstove . . . this isn't your grandpappy's woodstove and it's not quite as simple as toss wood in and let it burn. Some stoves have by-passes . . . most EPA stoves with secondary burns run the opposite to what most people think (i.e. to gain more heat you close off the air vs. giving it more air).
-- Smoke detectors, CO detectors and fire extinguishers are a good thing . . . even better is to make sure everyone knows what to do if they hear the smoke detector sound at 2 a.m. Having the smoke detectors without a sound safety plan is like having a really good looking car with no engine -- it may look good when you look at it . . . but it's getting you nowhere fast.
-- Seasoned dry wood is essential. Older stoves may "get away" with less than optimal wood (at the expense of gunking up a chimney oftentimes), but modern stoves really need dry, seasoned wood. How long wood takes to be seasoned depends a lot on the type of wood, how it is processed (i.e. stacked) and area. In general, most wood needs 12-24 months to be ready -- but sometimes wood can be seasoned in a shorter process. And yes . . . even older smoke dragons can benefit from seasoned wood.
-- Pine is fine . . . with the truly fine print being . . . as long as it is seasoned.
-- Maintaining a stove is important. Fortunately, this is relatively easy in most stoves -- checking to insure it is clean (namely the chimney, stove pipe, smoke path, etc.) and the gaskets all are decent at the start of the burning season. During the burning season for new burners I generally recommend checking the chimney monthly if at all possible . . . and sweeping whenever there is a 1/4 inch or so of creosote built up.
-- A good set of hearth gloves can be wicked useful -- and a godsend if you ever need to re-position a split or round while it is on fire.
-- Give yourself time. Getting a fire established -- whether from coals or from a cold start -- is not as easy as simply turning up the thermostat. The last thing you want to do is attempt to load a stove when you need to leave the home within the next 15 minutes. Doing so often results in too much air and an out of control fire . . . or a choked off creosote generating fire.
-- Chimney fires. They happen . . . but if you burn seasoned wood, use the woodstove correctly and check/sweep the chimney there is really a slim chance of this happening. However, if it happens . . . call 911 . . . after that it is a matter of choice as to how you may wish to proceed -- folks report success in using damp newspapers, opening the woodstove door (sounds strange, but it works), putting sand or ashes on the fire, etc.
-- Best bit of advice . . . most fires I have seen that are woodstove related have been due to the improper disposal of wood ash. Treat all wood ash as if there is a live coal hidden in the ash. Do not put the ashes in a plastic bucket, cardboard box, paper bag, etc. and leave it in the home, on the porch, in the garage, etc. Best disposal is to perhaps place the ashes in a covered, metal pail away from the home and combustibles and leave it there for several days to weeks before the final disposal.
Something I have seen several times but isn't mentioned often is fire extinguishers in a location that has a good chance of being inecessable in the case of fire. A properly working fire extinguisher can prevent a catastrophe if a fire is caught by someone in time, providing they can get to it.
I think it's human nature to want to put an extinguisher where they expect a fire has the most potential of occurring but it may be wiser to locate it somewhere the fire won't be.
I think it's human nature to want to put an extinguisher where they expect a fire has the most potential of occurring but it may be wiser to locate it somewhere the fire won't be.
Some great tips guys, thank you very much for your input. It is appreciated. I will give credit to you folks when the article is sent out to the membership of our group.
Yes jakes point about ash disposal is a very good one. That is one of the leading causes of house fires due to wood burning without a doubt.
BradleyW
Burning Hunk
1. Read hearth.com.
2. Have a stove top thermometer and a stovepipe thermometer. In combination they tell you pretty much everything you need to know.
3. I like the mention of opening the door the whole way if a fire gets a little hot--saved my bacon a couple of times.
4. Sometimes you have to plan your fires around your life and your life around your fires. If you don't want to do that, turn on the furnace.
2. Have a stove top thermometer and a stovepipe thermometer. In combination they tell you pretty much everything you need to know.
3. I like the mention of opening the door the whole way if a fire gets a little hot--saved my bacon a couple of times.
4. Sometimes you have to plan your fires around your life and your life around your fires. If you don't want to do that, turn on the furnace.
I just wanted to thank you guys again for the input for my property owners group newsletter. I down loaded all the comments put them in a (hopefully) easy to read format and published it. I gave credit to the site and suggested that people have a look if they are truly interested in stoves and stove operation.
Again thank you for your comments and time. Appreciated.
Again thank you for your comments and time. Appreciated.
1. Use the search feature and read hearth.com for a minimum of 10 hours prior to lighting the first fire.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Then where would we get our "New Stove Worked Fine For A Week And Now It Is Filling The House With Smoke When I Open The Door HELP" comedy threads?
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