A very close call today

[John_M]

This response almost seems like it should be a separate thread but here goes: About ten years ago I am coming out of a grocery store in Idaho and see a woman getting into her car. Her bumper sticker reads "Grow your own dope; plant a man". Did she just end a relationship? Was it her fault, his fault or shared? I am getting longer in the tooth and, thank goodness, have never been married so I am unable to relate to "marital bliss". I do, however, have a reverential respect for women. Indeed, I believe that in most cases, theirs is the voice of reason and the "glue" trying to hold our dissolving families and this disjointed planet together. Sometimes they and we need help learning about each other and things with which we are both unfamiliar.

Many years ago I personally experienced a house fire and a school fire. These two fires cemented in my mind a position of "Never Compromise on Safety". Am I perfect in following this rule? Absolutely not! I just do my best and remind myself when I begin straying into unsafe waters.

I can certainly relate to the legitimate fears one might have when uncertain about the knowledge and competence of the person(s) left attending a wood stove during his/her absence.

Best wishes, good health, and safe burning.

John_M

 

[Burd]

who's the dope? the one who tought the one to leave the door open.Our the one who left the door open.
So why was the door open? It should never be left open! Im not sicking up for your wife our any thing but it sounds like you leave your door open at times.
you need to practice safer burning
Burd

 

[LeonMSPT]

Situations will vary. However, the way the VC insert I am using now is set up, primary combustion air enters on the bottom on each side in the front. Secondary air comes into the bottom in the rear, right at the base of the firebrick in the bypass area. When you close the bypass plate, the chimney area over the firebox is closed completely and the exhaust is directed past those air intakes and between two layers of firebrick that lay right against the surface of the "blower box".

If I open the doors more than a crack, with the bypass open, it breaks the draft and although the fire roars and is scary, it cools the insert off. The wind is blowing over the fire and going up the chimney. You don't open the door at all with the bypass closed as you do tend to get some smoke and hot gasses coming out of the top of the door opening if you happen to make a mistake and do so.

Maybe really dangerous to leave the door open, or not. Depends on the situation, insert, and wood load.

 

[savageactor7]

Very close call mtaccone...you got lucky that time.

 

[ketoret]

yeah, women-folk can be a bit spacey at times (is she blonde?) but they also have that feminine thing going on. If that don't float your boat, then try going out with a guy for a while. But you'll have to deal with someone else's stinky socks. Sounds like you need a vacation. Folks make mistakes. the stupidest mistakes are the ones your spouse makes. that's all the web wisdom i have at this time.

 

[drizler]

As this progresses ever downward Nostrodrizler here predicts just a couple things. First, leaving the door open is not a good idea at all and all you can do is instill the knowledge of CHECK, Then CHECK AGAIN, before leaving the house. Thats a no brainer. Secondly, I can see a couple of you guys not gettin any this week if you know what I mean if the little woman reads this site. That may or may not be a good thing depending........ A few more of you might be getting some boogers, cat or dog hair or may be a few dust bunnies in your chow tonight. Bon Appetite.....

 

[Dix]

As this progresses ever downward Nostrodrizler here predicts just a couple things. First, leaving the door open is not a good idea at all and all you can do is instill the knowledge of CHECK, Then CHECK AGAIN, before leaving the house. Thats a no brainer. Secondly, I can see a couple of you guys not gettin any this week if you know what I mean if the little woman reads this site. That may or may not be a good thing depending........ A few more of you might be getting some boogers, cat or dog hair or may be a few dust bunnies in your chow tonight. Bon Appetite.....

 

[fossil]

My wife knows how to operate both of our woodstoves every bit as well as I do. She also splits, moves, and stacks wood. She also knows where the WD-40 is, and she knows how to use it. She would also approve of me moving this thread to the Ash Can. Rick

 

[Dix]

My wife knows how to operate both of our woodstoves every bit as well as I do. She also splits, moves, and stacks wood. She also knows where the WD-40 is, and she knows how to use it. She would also approve of me moving this thread to the Ash Can. Rick

I like your wife She's probably fit right in with the "girls" here. Out of 5, 3 are wood burners , and one wants to be :coolsmile:

 

[oconnor]

I once read Begreens suggestion of using a timer whenever you reload the sove - after making my stove glow red one night while answering a post here on the forums, I now use a timer - got it in my sock for Christmas from my wife '

 

[oconnor]

wonder why they aint springloaded in the first place

Wives, timers, or doors?

Timers and wives tend to come that way.....

 

[mtaccone]

I have cooled off quite a bit at this time just it seems that whatever it is, in this case it was the door being closed and latched The 1 thing I say DO NOT DO EVER is the thing she does. Oh well I am just glad I got that "preminition" and checked it. Maybe I have to take some more train the trainer lessons and train her again. I don't have the door open unless I am starting or loading the fire. I get jumpy being as I have cleaned up after fires, floods and dead bodies and I don't want to do that type of work at my own home. (the dead body restoration was done here once already) Again thank god nothing happened and I shall chalk it up to negative experience.

 

[woodgeek]

To the OP--if YOU had left the door open and had to drive home, (we all make mistakes) would your wife (and hearth.com) have even heard about it? If she found out, could she consider banning you from burning the stove (unsupervised by her)? It's her house too, fair's fair.

 

[LLigetfa]

My guess is that both the OP and spouse engage in the practice of deliberately leaving the door open at times. On a stove not designed to operate with the doors open, it is a dangerous practice. One should never leave the room without the door latched.

I'll probably get flamed for saying it as I'm betting there are a lot of members that do leave the door ajar, probably because they're burning wet wood and that's the only way they can get it going.

 

[cityevader]

I have cooled off quite a bit at this time just it seems that whatever it is, in this case it was the door being closed and latched The 1 thing I say DO NOT DO EVER is the thing she does. Oh well I am just glad I got that "preminition" and checked it. Maybe I have to take some more train the trainer lessons and train her again. I don't have the door open unless I am starting or loading the fire. I get jumpy being as I have cleaned up after fires, floods and dead bodies and I don't want to do that type of work at my own home. (the dead body restoration was done here once already) Again thank god nothing happened and I shall chalk it up to negative experience.

Then tell her DO NOT EVER help you stack wood, or give you a massage afterwards, or a beer, or "special lovin"...NEVER EVER EVER give the "special lovin"!

 

[SAABMaven]

Erase your cookies and don't let your wife see this post, even the board, at all... "Hell hath no fury...."

Firefox/Opera. Set to clear all private data on closing the browser, disable confirmations.

I know how to disable most of the new annoyances in Firefox version 3 that make it more like IE, let me know if you have any specific questions.

Nothing like the Internet to blow off some steam now and then!

 

[firefighterjake]

I've got to chime in here and say I trust my wife completely to run the woodstove . . . and I have learned not to come home and start fiddling around with the air control (after the fifth time in a row she informed me that if I felt compelled to adjust things every time she had the fire going and running well that she could simply opt to never touch the stove again and I could come home to a cold house . . . yeah, I got the hint on that one. )

In terms of safety she's great . . . and she helps stack the wood . . . and helps split the wood (I do the felling, bucking, etc.) . . . and she taught me to use Liquid Wrench instead of WD-40 as a lubricant!

About the only two shortfalls I have with her is that a) she is still insisting that the punky, soggy, half-rotten wood I threw aside (and she stacked up neatly) will be OK to burn once it dries (which I doubt it will) and b) she tends to throw on more wood before the coals burn down thoroughly . . . two things I can live with though in return for knowing our house will still be standing when we come home from work and it will be warm.

 

[karri0n]

^^^ Punky wood burns quick and hot when dry. Works just fine in a load of mixed other wood, or like softwood on warmer days.

 

[rustynut]

that timer idea sounds pretty fool proof
just what the doctor ordered
and i have yet to have a piece rust using liquid wrench
switched off the wd40 myself because of rusting problems when used ?
only problem is finding the origional type (which is what i got used to)
they now have multiple flavors................
got to find the wife one of those timers
rn

ps: no rustynuts since!

 

[firefighterjake]

^^^ Punky wood burns quick and hot when dry. Works just fine in a load of mixed other wood, or like softwood on warmer days.

True, true . . . but the punky wood that I threw aside was sopping wet and probably will only become dry if I can ship it to the Gobi Desert . . . and even then it will probably be a decade or more before it will be dry enough to burn.

 

[neverrude]

Always keep in the back of your mind that one word too many and SHE GETS HALF OF EVERYTHING!. Before the lawyer bill.

:lol: Found that out about 20 years ago.