Organization: Computing Technology Services, Michigan Technological Univ.
Date: Monday, 9 Nov 1992 10:42:06 EST
From: <JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET>
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Re: Problems heating with wood





Organization: Computing Technology Services, Michigan Technological Univ.
Date: Monday, 9 Nov 1992 10:01:00 EST
From: <JCLEWIN@MTUS5.BITNET>
Newsgroups: poster
Subject: Re: Problems heating with wood

I'll give you my two cents on fires.  I have been burning wood for two years
now, not much time, but I've learned quite abit by trial and error (talking
with those that know better, also).

1) Building an all night fire - I don't know about fire place inserts, but
I find with the wood stove the trick is to burn some good seasoned wood for
for several hours before night time, then load it up for the night.  This
generally leaves me good coals in the morning... stir them up, and walla a
fire.  I also find it helps to push the coals to one side before putting the
last load in for the night, it tends to hold the coals better.  We generally
close the air vents down completely (we don't have damper, just an air vent
and the door for the ash bin).  Actually, I have been told that a medium
fire (one with some flames and lots of coals) is actually more efficient than
a  racing hot fire (more heat goes up the flue- I would think this is
especially true with an insert).  Can you adjust the thermostat for the fan
to stay on when the fire is cooler ??

2) spliting wood.  I cut my own wood with a chain saw.  I learned very early
that flat sides make splitting _much_ simpler.  Yet, I find I can usually
balance must off cut wood on my splitting block (if you have one block which
is uneven, you can often balance really odd shaped pieces).  However, you
have to be _much_ more careful about hitting the wood dead on, or it can go
flying every which way.  I prefer my 8 lb maul.  Most wood (especially
red oak :)) will spilt by swinging the pointed end squarely   into the
end.  If cutting some knotty maple, or the wood doesn't split in two or three
blows, I put a 6 lb wedge into the cut and pound it in with the flat side of
the maul.  This gets it down to burnable size (I also usually get lots of
smaller stuff that doesn't need to be split - we get lots of end and slash
from the logging opperations around here).  You could continue to split it
into smaller chunks.  Once the wood is too small to stand upright, use an axe.
Strike the axe into one end, then you can lift both the axe and wood and strike
on your chopping block.  However, I find this unecessary, and a waste of
good burnable wood (BTW, the larger the wood chunk in your fire, the longer
it will last).

3) Sources of kindling.  This was discussed not long ago (along with how
to build a fire).  My sources include: a local flooring company sells its
ends and pieces (the bigger pieces make _great_ instant heat), wood siding from
an old house, pallets (watch for NAILS with that saw), old construction 2X4's
(watch for treated wood, a big no-no), the short pieces left over from cutting
up my logs with the chain saw, and the little chunks that break off the wood
when splitting it.  Other sources might be small softwood trees that
the neighbor wants to get rid of, the real small branches from trees, etc.

Hope this helps.  Leave anything out my fellow netters?

Jeff Lewin

JCLEWIN.MTUS5.BITNET

Houghton, Michigan.  Got my skis ready, just a waiting for that Thanksgiving
snow storm.

Newsgroups: misc.rural