Fireplaces & Wood Stoves

[Mountain_Witch]

'Tis that time of year when the temps dip and start nipping at your nose. And the air smells sweetly of ..............wait a minute. What's that odor? It's not from WWRatOut scratching and sniffing trees, that's for sure. Smells like plastic burning or could it be? Yup, another person burning something in their fireplace that they shouldn't ought to be doing. Tisk, tisk tisk......If we don't watch what we burn up here and how we burn, we could end up choked out like other communities and end up with burn restrictions. And that would stink more than the burning trash I smell from time to time. Well, I just thought we need to remind ourselves and others to please burn clean. And most importantly, burn safe this season. I'll add a few tips and I think if anyone else has any helpful tips or FAQs on wood burning please be sure to share your knowledge.  

[Mountain_Witch]

Check the top of your chimney; if the smoke is dark or smelly, your woodstove is not burning right. Dark or smelly smoke indicates that your wood is not burning hot or clean enough.

Smaller pieces of wood burn cleaner because they have more surface area exposed to the flame. Split wood to a maximum of 4-6 inches in thickness and 2-4 inches shorter than the size of your stove's firebox.

Build your fire slowly, building a good, hot fire takes 15-30 minutes. Start with kindling and crumpled paper, than add small pieces of wood. Gradually increase the size of the wood as the coals build up.

Never burn garbage, or wood that is painted or chemically treated. The burning of these will create toxic substances that effect the air you breathe and reduce your stove's heating efficiency.
Stack your wood outside. It dries best if you keep it off the ground and covered. Allow room for air to flow under the stack, and to circulate between the pieces.

Don't store wet wood in your house. The moisture leaving wood as it dries will increase the relative humidity of the air in your house in the winter. Higher humidity levels increase mould and mildew growth, both of which can cause severe allergic reactions, asthma attacks, and increase the number of colds and flus in your household.

Dry your wood for at least 6 months. Sizzling wood indicates that the wood is still wet. Wood should be properly dried before burning to reduce creosote buildup, excessive smoke and heating costs


Use a stovepipe thermometer to make sure your woodstove is operating at the right temperature.

Adding smaller loads of wood more often ensures a healthier fire. Smaller pieces of wood, added in small amounts, burn cleaner because they have more surface area exposed to the flame. This keeps your fire burning consistently clean and hot.

Properly load your wood. Keep the air in your neighbourhood clean; avoid smouldering fires.

[headchat]

Thanks for this excellent info., M-W!  Some folks near me have only the woodburners for heat and on some days it is just terrible.  I thought it was the shifting of the wind but it may be what they're burning.  Your info. should be published in the paper as a public awareness article.

[johnNjeri]

Thanks witchy woman!

T'was wondering if you know how often one should have their chimney cleaned. I'm concerned with creosote building up...

Do you have any opinions about the chimney cleaning logs that some hardware stores sell?

[Mountain_Witch]

Thanks witchy woman!

T'was wondering if you know how often one should have their chimney cleaned. I'm concerned with creosote building up...

Do you have any opinions about the chimney cleaning logs that some hardware stores sell?

I would say it all depends on how often you burn and what kind of wood you burn. I've heard that you can go two to three years, but just to be on the safe side I have mine cleaned every season as it's not that expensive. I used to pay anywhere from 60-70 bucks for a local chimney sweep. Now that we have upgraded to an insert, it's a lot easier to clean ourselves. I'm sure when we get older we just might have to call the sweeper man again. Although I miss him, his broom was better than mine.


As for the logs you are inquiring about, I've never used them so I wouldn't know. Maybe someone else on the board can give us their opinions about them.

[Mountain_Witch]

OK, While I'm here I might as well get my question in before I forget to.

I've been reading on the Internet about those new DuraFlame Logs that are supposed to be cleaner burning and have a longer burn time than that of regular wood. I know the hardware store has them and was wondering if anyone has used them. Do they really have a good heat output that some people say they have?

[Wrightwood]

OK, While I'm here I might as well get my question in before I forget to.

I've been reading on the Internet about those new DuraFlame Logs that are supposed to be cleaner burning and have a longer burn time than that of regular wood. I know the hardware store has them and was wondering if anyone has used them. Do they really have a good heat output that some people say they have?

Mountain_Witch.. thank you for all your nice postings.



http://www.ncsg.org/members/sweeping/duraflame-august-2001.htm

[RobertW]

As for the difference between fire logs and real wood, there is a BIG difference.  We burn Wood when in Wrightwood, as we use the fireplace to help warm the cabin.  When at our full time home in Burbank, we use fire logs.

Fire logs are convenient.  You light them and forget about them for 3 hours.  We use them for atmosphere only.  You can not use them for heat as they do not put out nearly the heat that burning wood does.  They also give off a "waxy" smell and do not smell anything like a wood burnig fire.

Again, great for convenience and atmosphere, but that is about it.

As for helping to keep the chimney clean, there are chemical packets that can be thrown on the fire and it will help lift the soot out of the chimney, to be deposited on the ground outside.  I believe the hardware store still sells these packets.

They really do work, as I can stand outside and visibly see soot deposits landing on my shoulder.

[Mountain_Witch]

Aw shucks guys, don't thank me. Thank everyone that makes this place click. I couldn't ramble on without 'em. This site is a wonderful addition to our community. 'Tis been a real pleasure reading and sharing opinions, interest and ideas with all the friendly folks on here.

Thanks for the info Wrightwood and RobertW. I'm glad I didn't just start burning those logs in my insert, as I guess it's not good for it. Since this is our full time home and we rely on wood heat all winter long, I guess I'll stick to the real stuff then.

In the meantime it's back to......
.............Throw a nother lawg on da fire.......
......Cook me up sum bacun n sum beans..........

[Mountain_Witch]

Just passing along another good site for more info on wood heating. The Canadians have the market on the websites when it comes to wood heating info.

woodheat home
http://www.woodheat.org/

[naturalist]

Last winter (or was it the winter before?) Jensen's had these great boxes of recycled wood/fire logs.  They burned nice and hot for about 3 hours and really clean, too.  I would like to see those come back.  I agree that the DuraFlame type logs are worthless for actual heat, but these were great!  And no waxy smell, either.  I can't remember the brand, but it wasn't the Bengal Tiger one--those are even smaller and wimpier than regular DuraFlames.  These were in large cardboard boxes that you put directly into your fireplace and lit the cardboard and had and instant fire!  Very convenient.  

[naturalist]

Don't store wet wood in your house. The moisture leaving wood as it dries will increase the relative humidity of the air in your house in the winter. Higher humidity levels increase mould and mildew growth, both of which can cause severe allergic reactions, asthma attacks, and increase the number of colds and flus in your household.

Are you kidding?  Humidity in Wrightwood could only be a good thing!!  Has ANYone here EVER had any mold or mildew problems?  I've never lived anywhere as dry.  I like to hang my laundry inside in the winter just to help humidify for a few minutes before it instantly dries...

Good info in your message, though!!  THanks!

[Mountain_Witch]

Well, considering most the information you find on the web about wood and heating comes from Canada, that would probably explain the part about the humidity. But I know one thing for sure, if anyone knows about heating a home in cold weather those Canadians would surely know.  

[naturalist]

You betcha!  And when I had a wood stove up in Humboldt county, mold was an issue there for sure!  But here, nah.  I like to hang my clothes outside sometimes in the winter--they freeze and get stiff instantly, and you can tell when they are dry when they get soft again!  For some reason I find that extremely amusing.  Simple minds...

[Mountain_Witch]

I used to do the same thing when I lived in Iowa as a kid. It always used to amaze me. The thing that always cracked me up was if it was really windy the night you hung them out, you would wake up in the morning with socks frozen in one direction and shirts in another and my brother always worrying about his clothes breaking in two.  

[eastcanyongirl]

Does anyone have a recommendation on where to buy firewood in bulk up here? This is our first full winter up here and I'd like to buy a half cord or a cord for immediate use (er, not all at one time). In other words, I don't want to have to wait six months for it to dry out! I've asked several neighbors who have brought in wood and all of them have told me they would not recommend the source where they got their wood! :-/ Anyone have a wood source they actually like that sells at a reasonable price?

Also, is it okay to store my firewood in my garage? It is cemented and clean, and I have space for it.

Thanks for any info you can share.  

[Mountain_Witch]

Well, I used to have one place that was good last year, but this year they really dumped some bad wood on me. Way too many branches, and lots of cuts over 3ft that I had to cut to use in my insert. It's been hard to find someone that sells decent split half rounds or stove wood for that matter.
Other than that, good question. It seems every time I think I've found one they turn out to be a disappointment.  

[Mountain_Witch]

*Wiping ash from her face and flickering her now singed eyelashes*

Well, yup. 'Tis the burning season alright.

Just fired up the insert for the first time this year and ....
Well....I forgot about the part that when you go to add more fuel to the fire, to make sure and slide the air intake knob to the fully open position..... and...



Have you ever watched that movie BackDraft?

[naturalist]

I recommend buying your wood for next year now... the stuff I bought last year was a little green but just right this year.  If you find a good source, let me know!

[Mountain_Witch]

Types of Firewood
Generally the most popular burning wood is oak. There are innumerable varieties widely available throughout the U.S. Oak is long burning (1 to 1 hours per log), smells nice and splits easily, but tends to be a bit more ashy and more high priced than other good alternatives. Unfortunately it's a rare find around this area. Depending on the region of the country, ash, beech, cherry, dogwood, elm, hickory, maple, pinion pine, pine, eucalyptus, mesquite and juniper are also popular. There's plenty of Citrus, eucalyptus and avocado to be had in the local wood dealers around here.
Having a good mix is handy, soft wood for starting and quick burns, heavy to medium for longer burn times and better heat output.

Sources of Firewood
It pays to be more concerned with the source than what or how much to get.

Know the dealer and make sure they have a license and sell only properly dried wood. In fact, in many states, firewood can only be sold by the cord or increments of a cord, no truckloads. At the very least get references before you buy. When you're all set for a romantic evening by the fire, there is nothing worse than discovering your supply of wood is wet and non-burnable.
 
What Is a Cord?
A cord is a measurement of neatly stacked and rowed wood that equals 128 cubic feet. The stack measures four-feet tall by four-feet wide by eight-feet long. You can purchase wood in increments from an eighth of a cord and up.

Be careful about buying wood off some guy's truck. Don't be fooled by terminology, There is no such thing as a face-cord. Before you order, there are other considerations: How long do you want the logs cut (how deep is your fireplace) and do you want whole or split logs? Whole logs burn slower but split logs start up easier. Many vendors will mix the cord with split and whole or you can split the logs yourself. It's not as hard as it sounds. There are many easy-to-use log-splitters on the market.

Make Your Own Firewood?
If you think you can save a buck by pruning your tree out front and burning it, think again. Tree prunings are too green and wet to burn. What about that old painted chair that's sitting out back? The paint on that old chair is liable to catch like wild fire and flame out the front of your fireplace causing serious damage and smoke.