A Fire A Day

[WFM]

As im looking at the outside temp at 6 pm being 11*f , I really push the wood stove to get a good bed of coals before bedtime then add a couple big sticks of dry red oak to go as long as it can into the night. Every winter here in Maine we have lots of house fires. I assume most all are from a heat source of some kind. This winter as odd as it sounds we have one house fire a day here in Maine. Of course were a big state from north to south. But still it seems very excessive the amount of house fires we have.
And minutes ago the waterfront in Portland has several buildings on fire tonight.

 

[skeets]

Sad to say too many young people forget or dont know how to clean the chimney, or old folks that no longer can do it, and figure one more season it will be OK. Back in the day like the 70s when wood was a big thing cleaning a chimney was just a normal thing. And good aged wood was normal. But the kids grew up and forgot the old ways and only remembered wood burning as nice heat. They forgot about wood cut this year should be burned maybe next year, so it seasons. And they have forgotten how to burn a stove so it gets warm and lats all night.

 

[Daren Todd]

As im looking at the outside temp at 6 pm being 11*f , I really push the wood stove to get a good bed of coals before bedtime then add a couple big sticks of dry red oak to go as long as it can into the night. Every winter here in Maine we have lots of house fires. I assume most all are from a heat source of some kind. This winter as odd as it sounds we have one house fire a day here in Maine. Of course were a big state from north to south. But still it seems very excessive the amount of house fires we have.
And minutes ago the waterfront in Portland has several buildings on fire tonight.

We come close to going up in flames last week. We're in our camper on our property until we can build.

Last Monday night, the electricity flickered and then smoke filled the bunk room in the middle of the camper

The 50amp service shorted between the 2 hot pins in the quick connect where the power cable connects to the camper.

Instead of tripping a breaker, it sent 240 volts to one half of the breaker panel.

Burned up the power converter and the fridge. We spent 4 days running the 12 volt side of the camper (lights, heats, and hot water) using a battery charger powered off an outlet on the temporary power pole with the 110 power shut down.

Repairman couldn't figure out what was going on, so I had a friend come out and help me figure out what was going on. Had it traced to that power plug where the main power cable ties to the camper. Then I had to run to town for a new cable and plug.

Got the fridge replaced today. That was interesting, but went way easier then any of us expected. The fridge eouldn't fit through the camper door. It's 28" wide and 26" deep. The door is 24"

We went out the back window/ fire exit. That was 27" wide by 30" tall.

Parked the tractor under the window with a pallet on the forks. Took 4 men to get it out and the new one in. Two men outside, two inside. We slid it out the window and onto the pallet. Then moved it with the tractor.

Then layed the new fridge on the pallet, picked it up with the tractor and slid it through the window.

Fridge is running off the inverter for now. The breaker burned up when the fridge got fried. I figured that out when I turned the breaker on to power up the fridge outlet. So tomorrow I gotta pull the breaker and run into town to find a match.

 

[Botamon]

Sad to say too many young people forget or dont know how to clean the chimney, or old folks that no longer can do it, and figure one more season it will be OK. Back in the day like the 70s when wood was a big thing cleaning a chimney was just a normal thing. And good aged wood was normal. But the kids grew up and forgot the old ways and only remembered wood burning as nice heat. They forgot about wood cut this year should be burned maybe next year, so it seasons. And they have forgotten how to burn a stove so it gets warm and lats all night.

^This!

Some years ago when I was a member of a small-town volunteer fire department, one of the services we provided was to clean chimneys for free. That extra work for us was better than having to jump up at 2 in the morning and fighting a chimney or house fire!

 

[The Evil Twin]

Neighbor house caught on fire. Fireplace was the culprit. Seems they were trying to cheap out and used pine for heat.

 

[skeets]

In reality pine will burn cleanly if it has been seasoned, its the green stuff that gets you in to trouble. Think about where they have very little hard woods but lots of conifers back in the day you burned what you had to keep warm. So seasoned soft woods were used I mean really seasoned at least a full year

 

[L35]

Any wet wood will get you in trouble, not only pine. There plenty of places where all they have is softwoods. They do light up quicker so you have to not be distracted and have flames racing up the chimney but softwoods like pine and spruce are viable firewoods when properly seasoned.

 

[trikepilot]

I have been heating since 1995 with a woodstove and never had a chimney fire. As noted, properly seasoned wood is key. Yearly cleanings at a minimum is also important. A 6in brush with fiberglass rods is a good investment for wood stove owners. But I also swear by the Creoaote remover from Rutland. A couple of scoops a week is cheap insurance and preventive maintenance for wood stove burners.

Creosote Remover

RUTLAND Creosote Remover is safe for use in all chimneys and wood-burning appliances. Turns sticky, tar-like creosote into brushable ash with weekly use.

rutland.com

 

[Seane1987]

Most of the house fires in our area come from people running electric space heaters on extension cords or power strips. There are not as many people burning wood as their used to be around here, and of the people that burn wood, I would say over half have outdoor boilers.

 

[John T]

I really push the wood stove to get a good bed of coals before bedtime then add a couple big sticks of dry red oak to go as long as it can into the night.

You should look for a better wood stove.

I was very resistant to get rid of my giant Warm Morning coal/wood stove... at the time, I Thought it heated great .... but the wife wanted a glass window and a nicer looking stove.

So after long research I bought a Jotul Rangeley and couldn't be happier.
It IS EPA compliant however it does not use a catalytic element... Instead it uses SS perforated piping for the secondary burn chamber (lifetime warrantee)

This stove will burn all night and then some.
I've actually let it burn overnight then not touch it in the morning and the whole next day... That evening I can rake around a bit and find plenty of red embers still burning

Once I start the stove at the start of winter, I never have to start it again...

Burns less wood than the old stove also.

I build a spare slide out ash tray for it so clean out it a 2 second deal.

Jotul is designed in Norway and made in Maine USA

Can't say enough good things about Jotul.
Concerning chimney cleaning, I have an insulated pipe running up the side of the house.... It is always just fine dust falling down to the cleanout... whenever I brush it out.

 

[John T]

I just noticed in the picture you can see the secondary burn happening....
The flame at the top is the secondary burn..

Secondary burn is basically burning the smoke that would normally go up the chimney in a normal stove.

Once the fire is established this stove barely emits any smoke at all.

 

[chim]

Daren's story reminded me of something that happened around 1969 or so. I was a newbie electrichicken working for a small 4-man residential contractor. At the end of a very cold workday I was about to head home when a service call came in and the boss asked if I'd go along and help with a problem on a mobile home.

It had been cold enough to freeze and break the waste line under the trailer. The trailer had a cord that plugged into a large receptacle in a non-weatherproof box that was laying there in semi-frozen glup. That box had another cord that went to a fuse panel on a pole nearby. The waste had entered the box and cooked the connections. So there we were, crawling around in who-knows-what making up splices in the (somewhat cleaned up) metal box so the lady and her kids could have heat.

After Spring had sprung, or maybe it was early Summer, the boss said "remember the trailer with the sh!t box?" Heck, I STILL remember that. Anyway he said he sent the lady a bill for $10. He thought the chance for her to pay even a small amount might allow her some dignity. She had not paid even months later.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

The “Fake News" claims that “peaceful protesting” apparently causes the majority of liquor store fires in Portland.

Up at our cottage we have a newish (3 yrs?) Buck wood stove that has those “re-burn pipes” that @John T is referring to.

They seems to work pretty good

I have a hard time getting "all night" out of it though, instead, I get “most” of the night.


I also bought one of these to connect to a cordless drill.

I clean it every spring/summer.


It seems to work pretty well.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

In the old house (double wide trailer) we had a wood stove.
That took a lot of work to keep up with heating that fine home.
It was always a battle to keep enough heat going to last all day of being gone.

One day we loaded up the wood stove got it going good and choked it down to smolder for the day.
Headed out for the day, got about 5 miles up the road and realized I forgot something (wallet?) turned around headed back home, opened the back door to be meet by a wall of smoke!!!!
The wood stove door had popped open, most likely from a back puff, and filled the house with smoke.
We had 15 dogs / wolves at the time and pure luck that the smoke was still high enough that no one got hurt.
Got rid of that wood stove that spring and got a pellet stove, much safer and would burn for days and the house would stay warm all the time.

New house is 100% hydronic / propane heated and it's wonderful!
No mess, very little maintenance, and warm everywhere and super efficient.

Faulty / Bad Electrical and Wood stoves are probably our 2 biggest fire contributors, behind forest fires.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Neighbor house caught on fire. Fireplace was the culprit. Seems they were trying to cheap out and used pine for heat.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with burning pine. It does NOT cause more creosote than other kinds of woods. That is an old wive's tale.

Pound for pound, there is almost NO difference in the creosote production from one species to another, hardwood OR softwood.

It's not about WHAT you burn. It's about HOW you burn.


Most of the country burns almost nothing else, because that's what they have available.


Pine is fine.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

So after long research I bought a Jotul Rangeley and couldn't be happier.
...

Can't say enough good things about Jotul.

I can't say I have ever heard anything but good about a Jotul, except when it was clearly operator error, but blaming the stove.


I have an ancient Grandpa Bear Fisher stove, and I get 12-14 hours routinely, stuffed full and choked down. Yes, that makes creosote. I also clean my chimney often. (It's usually not bad.) I have a fairly flat roof (4/12 pitch) and it's very easy to get up there, so that's an easy job. Top down burning sure makes a long burn. Actually, what I do is more side to side burning.

I move the coals to one side, then build as solid a base of wood as I can. Then I put the coals on top and add more wood to that side, then shift a few coals over to the new wood. Then a couple more chunks on top of that, close the door, and done! It's easier done than said.


The longest burn I ever got was when I laid down a large piece of elm as my bottom layer, then my regular wood on top of it. It was from a large hollow log, and was about 5" thick. I also split my wood thicker than most people, and that helps make a longer burn. That thing burned from evening to the second morning before it was just coals, I added wood on top of it during the second day, but the original elm went about 30 hours.

This pic was taken the second day.

 

[Sidekick]

You should look for a better wood stove.

I was very resistant to get rid of my giant Warm Morning coal/wood stove... at the time, I Thought it heated great .... but the wife wanted a glass window and a nicer looking stove.

So after long research I bought a Jotul Rangeley and couldn't be happier.
It IS EPA compliant however it does not use a catalytic element... Instead it uses SS perforated piping for the secondary burn chamber (lifetime warrantee)

This stove will burn all night and then some.
I've actually let it burn overnight then not touch it in the morning and the whole next day... That evening I can rake around a bit and find plenty of red embers still burning

Once I start the stove at the start of winter, I never have to start it again...

Burns less wood than the old stove also.

I build a spare slide out ash tray for it so clean out it a 2 second deal.

Jotul is designed in Norway and made in Maine USA

Can't say enough good things about Jotul.
Concerning chimney cleaning, I have an insulated pipe running up the side of the house.... It is always just fine dust falling down to the cleanout... whenever I brush it out. View attachment 167540

We bought a Jotul Oslo 500 about 12 years ago and love it. Has heated our house every winter since without a problem other then gasket replacement on the doors. It also has the reburner tubes that keep the chimney clean and raise efficiency. Nothing like wood heat if your house layout allows for it.

 

[The Evil Twin]

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with burning pine. It does NOT cause more creosote than other kinds of woods. That is an old wive's tale.

Pound for pound, there is almost NO difference in the creosote production from one species to another, hardwood OR softwood.

It's not about WHAT you burn. It's about HOW you burn.


Most of the country burns almost nothing else, because that's what they have available.


Pine is fine.

Do as you wish, but pine is not a good idea. I can find >1000 sources saying it's not. I'll take the word of people that know fireplaces.
Sure, you can burn anything in a fireplace. You'll just have to clean it a lot more often.

 

[Sidekick]

There are many species of pine and I understand that many burn it in stoves. Properly seasoned it just burns faster and creates more ash then hardwood. Not seasoned it is a big problem with creosote creation. I have several friends that burn it in outside burners with success also. I think southern yellow pine has one of the highest btu counts of pine when properly seasoned. I don't burn it, but many do especially in fireplaces.

 

[L35]

Any wet wood creates creosote, you have to cook the moisture out of it before it starts to produce any decent heat and that leads to cool flue gasses which create the creosote. Wet wood is not a good idea and causes the most frustration with newbie wood stove owners, as they wonder why the fire goes out or they can’t get any heat out of their stove.