Wondering why you need ember protection?

[DougA]

So last night was supposed to be a bit chilly.

I packed the stove as full as I could and went to bed at midnight. 6 am I get up and the house is nice and toasty warm but half asleep, I open the door to toss a split into the wood stove and am greeted by a few cupfuls of large, red, very hot embers that dance across the floor right beside my slippers. Wow, never had that happen before.

I grabbed the shovel and scooped them up and tossed them back into the fire. Decide that this is a great way to get a face burn so people think I went to the Caribbean last night.

I guess the wood must have shifted while I was sawing logs in bed and decided to spill it's guts in revenge. Probably if I had waited to reload the red chunks would have been harmless ashes.

So now you know why you need ember protection! Sorry I didn't take any pics - was a bit too busy trying to shovel everything back in before the smoke detector went off and woke everyone up. Soapstone hearth is just fine and I'm going back to bed. Too cold to go outside.

 

[glennm]

This happens to me a lot. A bit more common with e/w loading!

 

[kennyp2339]

I get the cherry pops / after burning a full load of cherry when I go to reload, I usually take the poker and move the coals around, I get a nice fire work show and some of it fly's out of the stove.

 

[BobUrban]

And the most important reason to always have your gloves on before you work with the stove. I get a random chunk falling out from time to time when raking forward. Usually they catch on the ash pan but occasionally one falls to the tiles. All of them just get picked up and strategically placed for optimal burnage with a gloved hand.

 

[glennm]

You, gloves, shovel, poker, tongs and fire extinguisher right there!

 

[OhioBurner©]

Even worse when your stove is overfiring and your only option is to open the door... and you e/w loaded and a piece is rolled and pressed up against the glass...

 

[DougA]

Even worse when your stove is overfiring and your only option is to open the door... and you e/w loaded and a piece is rolled and pressed up against the glass...

.... that's an 'O sh*t' moment. Gotta admit, that beat mine. ... but were you wearing PJs?