How to Light a Wood Stove
Before the stroke, I was an excellent firebuilder.
I love the smell of woodsmoke, soot, the dust, the coughs fits and the sneezes. Hhmm. Let me rethink that. Yeah, it's dirty. However, there's a warm, toasty feeling with a woodstove. First of all, put down the remote and get off the couch! Fresh air and sunshine is key.
I trekked into the garage and the wood guy left a big pile of wood. Fragrant wood, it's oak-key, the cherry and the black walnut. I use the wood for stacking. My left arm works quite well. I mound wood on the wall. Meanwhile, the caregiver breaks up the sticks with a big garbage can. It's good to sweat!
The Roman Emperor Hadrian said "brick by brick". Yes, a useless fact. I lift the log one piece at a time for the woodstove in the living room to the deck. It's good to exercise. Use your muscles. I have a small stove; about 10 to 12 inches.
How to Light a Wood Stove
(It's not brain surgery...)
Open the flue - This is paramount. The air sucks the fire to the chimney to the roof below.
Matches are good - Even better, a multi-purpose lighter.
Newsprint - Color bleeds with the papers. Creosote is transfered to wood preservatives, tar, and smoke with the walls of flue. Plain old paper newsprint, please. Six sheets of paper is plenty. Arranged the kindling.
Kindling - Get yourself a garbage can and have at it. Pine trees burn minimally. Oak or maple's good, or cherry, walnut and black locust. Hardwood is excellent. Break up the kindling and branches, and soon the garbage can is full. Or, fatwood is perfect for cityslickers breaking away to the cabin for the weekend. Fatwood sticks are naturally saturated with fir resin, and burn well. No chemicals. LL Bean, Orvis and Plow and Hearth; look on the internet. Fatwood abounds.
Sometimes we're cheaters - We are lazy. The starter logs are chemical-based. The foot-long log ignite both ends with a hefty match and let it burn. Six-inch logs are adequate too. Most sawdust logs are connected together, and must be pulled apart. It's tedious. Check natural pine fatwood.
Wood - Consult the Wood Guy. There's plenty of woods in the mountains, chain-saw at the ready. Oak, maple and cherry, just to make a few. Look at the Yellow Pages or the internet. A full cord of wood is 4' x 4' x 8' and the common firewood is 16 in., although 12 in., in a very small stove. The cord of varies, $75 to $125. Barter a bargain. The wood is heavy and dense. The softwood is lighter weight, for instance, locust, and perfect with oak hardwood. Use a balance and judge.
Get yourself a premier fireplace gloves - They are thick gloves, fully insulated and non asbestos with a welted seams to guard the digits. The hearth gloves are about 14" long.
Fireplace tools - A shovel and a poker and maybe a brush from the soot and your good to go. For the common folk, Amazon by Madison $30 and Jan Barboglio for the spiffy sum of $950 dollars. Pretty cool.
Wood produces ash - Sad but true. The steel ash bucket generates 2 or 3 gallons of warm ash securely. I recommend a double-steel bottom, and watch out for hardwood floors. The ash drawer works well and the plain old ash from the receptacle woodstove is acceptable to shovel it out. Leave about 1-2 in. for the next fire. It's dirty. Handy tip; ashes are perfect for roses outside. Ashes are high alkaline. Use gloves, please.
The woodstove is hot and dry - Use an humidifier or a tea kettle. The cast iron steamer is good, with just hint a spice or vanilla, fills the bill. The tea kettle goes for $25 in the store and the cast iron is pricy. Check the catalog, around $20 to $75.
Clean your flue once a year - No exceptions. The chimney sweep, with his brushes and drop-cloths and soot, is a master at wood stoves, fireplaces and general fire-building. He'll check chimney, clean out the flue for creosote and cracks on the woodstove. It's well worth it, for $75-$125.
Check out the fire extinguisher - $20 bucks at discount stores. You never know. "A" for trash, wood and paper, "B" liquids and "C" for electrical equipment and stand back 6 feet to the fire. Read the instructions, and be prepared.
Relax, put your feet up. The woodstove is clean, safe and creosote-free.
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