From: johnc@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU (John Cooley)
Subject: Re: Problems heating with wood
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 19:18:46 GMT
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523
Followup-To: misc.rural

In article <1992Nov9.161610.26443@ornl.gov> de5@ORNL.GOV (Dave Sill) writes:
>In article <9211080128.AA0045i@bpc.UUCP>, bernie@bpc.uucp writes:
>>Well, amidst general calm here on the farm I'm discovering that if I don't
>>get a LOT better at managing the fireplace it is going to be a long,
>>cold winter.  I've run into a handfull of problems, for which I'd
>>appreciate advice, suggestions, wisdom, etc.

>>I've instantly observed two things about heating with wood:
>>  1) it is a dirty business.  It messes up the house, and keeps me pretty
>>  messy, too.  [the mess is not from the heat, but from the effects of
>>  carry loads of wood about, messing with the ashes, futzing with the
>>  logs on teh fire, etc].

This is going to amuse some people.  I use primarily _peeled_ wood from a
local log home builder.  Very little mess.

>>  2) it requires a fair amount of attention: if I ignore it for two

A number of people have mentioned the size and design of your insert as
being possible problems, and this is true.  Another factor may be the
wood that you have.  Hardwoods (Oak, maple, beech, etc.) burn well, burn
for a long time, and produce a lot of heat.  They are not available
everywhere at a reasonable price, however.

I burn pine.  It's what I can get.  It burns hot and provides plenty of
heat, but compared to hardwood (which I burned years ago when I lived
elsewhere), it goes up like tissue paper.

Contrary to an assertion by another poster, pine does not cause a creosote
problem in my chimney.  I heat almost exclusively with wood for 5 to 6
months per year.  I use about 4 cords per year.  This summer, a professional
chimney cleaner only got 1 gallon of creosote out of a 30' chimney.  Why?
No bark (see above);  Catalytic converter, which burns off much of the
creosote in the flue gases, especially under the slow fire conditions that
encourage the formation of creosote deposits.  The man wanted to know if
we had cleaned the chimney in mid-season (no, we hadn't).

>>2) How do you split logs?  I wandered over to the local hardware store and
>>picked up a maul [6#] and some sort of wedge, but I'm not exactly sure quite
>>what to do about it.  ...  Now, I _think_ that
>>"all" you have to do ["all", hah!] is stand the log on end, position the
>>wedge over its center, and pound the thing in.

Doing everything with the wedge is entirely too much work.  Use it only
when you have to.

(Good advice deleted.)

>4) Drive the splitting maul with full force in an overhand swing onto the log
>in the intended spot.

>5) Repeat (4) as necessary.  (You'll get better at this with practice.)

>6) Repeat (2) through (5) as necessary.

>Note: you should rarely, if ever, need to use a wedge to split firewood.

How often you have to use the wedge is dependent on your skill and the kind
of wood you have, among other things.  Some woods with knotty, wavy grains
will require you to call upon the wedge quite often.  Others, like the
lodgepole pine I use, will require the use of the wedge "rarely, if ever,"
as the man sez above.  It's been a couple of years since I used mine.

>>In general, how do you split the things, and specifically, how do you
>>hold up a log so you CAN split it.

>Try propping it up with another log or two.

Other posts have mentioned the chopping block, and the advantages of having
it slightly off level.  If you buy firewood cut to length, the ends should
be flat enough so that you can stand the pieces on end to split them.  Or the
firewood should be very cheap.

>>3) Where do you get 'kindling' from?

>Kindling R Us?  No, you can either go out in the woods and gather sticks off
>the ground,...(rest of sentence deleted).

Yes, I just go and pick it up out of my, uh, "back yard."
 
I also keep a plastic trash can or other container in my splitting area.
I pick up many of the splints and chips that magically appear as I split
and put them in the container.

You can also pick up small stuff at residential construction projects.  The
builder may welcome someone who is willing to haul away a pick-up load of
scrap lumber.  You have to finish cutting it to length yourself.
(Can you spell "saw?")

>>4) What is the right strategy for setting up the fire for overnight [or
>>if I'm going to be gone all day or the like]?

>Get a good fire going, pack it full of wood, and partially close the
>vents/draft to slow the burn.  Make sure you're burning good, dense hardwood
>like oak, ash, or hickory.

This may be difficult with your insert, depending on its design.  Also, in
inserts or stoves without catalysts, slow fires promote creosote formation in
the chimney.  Catalytic converters, on the other hand, thrive on slow, smokey
fires, as long as they're above the critical ignition temperature for the
converter.

>>It doesn't seem quite possible to keep the house warm all night
>>AND still have useful-fire left in the morning...

It's difficult with pine, too, but I usually manage.  Our stove draws well,
so it requires very little to get it going.  Our house has large qantities
of thermal mass (log walls), so if the stove goes out for a while, even in
very cold weather, it's no big deal.

>Right.  A pellet stove could do that, but you probably don't want to buy a new
>stove and have to buy pelletized wood.  You might want to consider something
>like a kerosene or electric heater for the bedroom.  I've used kerosene
>heaters before--they put a lot of heat and don't smell too bad, but you need
>to consider the fire hazard.

A pellet stove requires electricity.  I need to be able to heat during
extended power outages.  I refuse to have a kerosene heater in the house,
mostly because of toxic combustion products.  Our house is quite tight, 
and the kerosene heater is not vented to the outdoors, unlike the wood
stove.

Pellet stoves are efficient and clean, and provide a good solution for
many people, although I don't think they're any more "romantic" than a
furnace.  For atmosphere (and the atmosphere) and romance, a gas fireplace
is good.

Wood heat is not for everybody.  It's a lot of work (you could be mowing
your lawn instead! ;-)), and older stoves and open fireplaces are neither
particularly efficient nor clean.  Some new stoves (notably some from
Vermont Castings, although there are others that do well, too), are both
efficient and relatively low polluters, but they're still a lot of work.
People in some locations must buy wood at high prices.  There are a 
number of factors to consider before plunging into wood burning.

       John Cooley

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