Its winter in North America and nothing gets you warm all the way through like wood heat. Yes, its kinda messy but I like the smell and the look and the feel. I have an interior wood stove, made by Earth, and its very efficient. A friend of mine has an exterior wood system that they seem rather happy with. I would enjoy seeing some discussion from you all about interior vs exterior and your experiences.
To the inexperienced fire builder any old wood will do, but we know this is not only a false statement but potentially dangerous. My favorite wood to burn is oak and hickory, a nice dry elm is good too. It has been my experience that walnut burns fast and makes lots of ash. Hedge is dangerous in interior wood stoves and fireplaces because it burns too hot. My exterior stove friends tell me they can get away with burning hedge in their stove, just not super big pieces of it. Some of the stickier woods, those known for really gooey sap are often bad choices because they cause creosote to build up in the chimney. Also the greener (less dry/seasoned) the wood is the more potential for creosote. Ones to particularly stay away from are pine, sweet gum and green cedar. Other things to watch out for are burning toxic plants with your kindling. Oleander is poisonous when burned, the smoke from poison ivy can give those that are sensitive to it a bad outbreak and they won't even know where they got it. This is not a comprehensive list and I encourage readers to share what you know. In fact I have a question, has anyone had experience with hackberry? How did it burn? Did it make a lot of ash or creosote? Please feel free to report on any other types of wood you have had experience with.
Thanks for stopping in!
When I lived in South Florida, other than a Yule Log in Decembers, really all we burned in our fireplace was bundles of hardwood from the grocery store, or else those fireplace logs wrapped in paper. We were burning for atmosphere rather than necessity, but were pleased with all, especially the hardwood bundles.
ReplyDeleteHere in TN, I have not been able to use my fireplace due to a reported chimney problem.
I have always enjoyed a good bonfire outdoors, and will move my outdoor fireplace to my new patio when I move soon. My new place offers a convertible fireplace, either gas or wood in small quantities. Enough to cook on in case of emergency. I retained my small cauldron, but sold the huge unliftable one when leaving FL.
I'm glad you reminded everyone of the dangers of burning certain plants. There is the store of the dead boat people who drifted into one of our lovely beaches and began cooking somethiing over an open fire. They used oleander which was growing in abundance above the shore line. Made their hotdogs the last things they ever ate.
Dear Crafty Chick,
ReplyDeleteI have a bit of a conundrum.
As a long-time recycler and re-user, I know re-use comes before recycling and I would like to find a reuse for this:
I forgot about the orange pineapple cake that was in my 9x12 covered aluminum cake pan, and it sat there at the back corner of the counter obscured by other items for several months.
Well, the mold was so bad I had to put on a bandana over my nose while I cleaned it out. Here's the real problem: Moldy cake eats holes in aluminum. Now I have a cake shaped sieve. Can you think of any useful purpose for this? The easy thing is to just put it and it's wonderful sliding lid into the recycle bin. But I feel sad and guilty about it and wish I had another use for it. WWCCD? (What Would Crafty Chick Do?)
sorry that wasn't related to wood burning, but maybe you could add a Q&A gadget....
ReplyDeleteVictoria, yes, that was in no way related to wood stoves, I will consider the Q & A gadget suggestion. Perhaps take a vote on it. Crafty I may be but Heloise I am not,(lol) so lets not get carried away seeking advice on random topics. As for your holy pan, were it NOT aluminum you could drip ashes into lye, but that is a bad idea with aluminum. You could use it to start seedlings in, you could use it for a covered carrier for smaller dishes. You could hang it on the wall near the fridge as a reminder to clean it out. Think outside the box and let go of clutter, if you must think this hard on how to use something you probably don't really need it.
ReplyDeleteThanks! All feasible ideas, but the last line is most significant for me in my life right now
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite blog, other than my own!!!
I love what you are doing here!
There are a broad range of accessories available for wood burning stoves, some of which you will find essential.
ReplyDeleteContemporary Stoves