automatic fire start - crazy idea?

[dimach]

I want to get an opinion about automatic start of preloaded wood stove. It seems people leave their wood stoves running unattended for hours, but do you think where is more risk for unattended starts?

The idea is to load the stove in advance and start it remotely few hours before we arrive, so place can get warm enough.

So, what can possibly go wrong?

 

[fossil]

You give no indication of just what type of stove you're talking about, but quite typically, the stove is set up for maximum draft during initial startup...meaning primary air open wide, secondary bypass (if installed) in "bypass", and possibly the door cracked with an operator in attendance. All this for long enough to get the burn up and running and the beginnings of a coal bed established, on which the subsequent reload will be placed. The door gets shut, then the bypass, then the primary throttled back to a nice "cruise". I certainly can't speak for every stove out there, and I'm not trying to dis your idea, I'm just sayin' that I wouldn't be comfortable thinking that either of my woodstoves was going to start burning without my being there. If you want automatic, then a pellet stove set up on a timer might be a better bet...but not being a pellet stove guy, I really don't know. Rick

 

[begreen]

A pellet stove, gas or oil furnace on a digital thermostat will do the job. Not a good plan for wood.

 

[dimach]

I would agree gas/pellet is better. I'm planning to upgrade the stove, so I can choose best suitable model. I'm not comfortable with this from safety point of view, but not sure why. People leave their stoves running and it is considered safe, but it is also something that took me some time to get used to.

Now say it is a best case(i.e. probably non cat with OAK). If fire is started and dies out, can there be excessive smoke in the house? What else?

 

[BrotherBart]

Let's start with basics. Just what would be starting the fire in this stove?

 

[dimach]

To start the fire I was thinking to use some fire starter and a 300-400mw laser shining through the glass door. This so far is the best I can think of ...

 

[Hurricane]

What can go wrong.

What happens if it is windy, warmer than expected and the draft does not get going right away? House full of smoke, maybe no fire.
What happens if the draft is too good and the fire takes off overfiring the stove.
Will you have enough wood in there for a few hours from a cold start. Cold start here lasts maybe 1/2 to 1 hr then needs wood.

Just my 2 cents -- oops maybe that is 3 cents

 

[SolarAndWood]

My friends 1920s era house had a gas line/igniter run to the fireplace. Very cool but for some reason the city banned them, I believe in the 30s.

 

[dimach]

What happens if it is windy, warmer than expected and the draft does not get going right away? House full of smoke, maybe no fire.

What do you think can lead to fire in this case?

 

[begreen]

I would agree gas/pellet is better. I'm planning to upgrade the stove, so I can choose best suitable model. I'm not comfortable with this from safety point of view, but not sure why. People leave their stoves running and it is considered safe, but it is also something that took me some time to get used to.

Now say it is a best case(i.e. probably non cat with OAK). If fire is started and dies out, can there be excessive smoke in the house? What else?

Pellets or gas are much more easily metered and checked for burn progress with a thermistor and high heat sensors to shut down the fire quickly if there is an overfire or no ignition. For a wood fire, safety switches and air regulation would be key issues. That and feeding the fire with larger splits once the coal bed is established.

 

[iskiatomic]

Sounds like a great idea. Whom do I send the check to?




KC

 

[begreen]

http://www.nfpa.org/

 

[atvdave]

Why not just throw a few logs on the fire before you go off to work, when you get home rake the hot coals, and throw some more logs into the stove and in no time you will have a hot fire.

 

[katwillny]

Like Hurricane said, so many things can go wrong. I mean, so you come home to a less than desired temperature in the home, so what?I rather come home to a colder home and smoldering pile of ashes. Too many things happen during the starting of the stove, it takes more intervention to get the stove going than to keep one going. Not saying that it wouldn't be great, but i think pellet stoves are years ahead when it comes to technology. Just a thought.

 

[littlesmokey]

The idea is to load the stove in advance and start it remotely few hours before we arrive, so place can get warm enough.

So, what can possibly go wrong?

Are you not telling us something here? Is this a second home, cabin, or? If you are in Ontario, how cold does it get that you would have to warm the place up for a couple of hours. Your home location would be a "shoulder season" for most of us. That presents all kinds of problems.

Based on the later post, you really think you can shoot a laser through the ceramic plate, and safely ignite an Alcohol based ignition source? Personally, this doesn't sound safe and more a "Starwars" fantasy. It's tough enough being there and making sure everything is going right. We have all, errhh most, have had overfire issues from lack of attention.

 

[LLigetfa]

Based on the later post, you really think you can shoot a laser through the ceramic plate...

I think only about 10% of the energy would actually get through it.

 

[dimach]

This is for cottage which isn't used during week days, but we do like to use it on weekends during winter months. We keep it at 50F during the week and need to warm it up to something more acceptable ...

Just to clarify - I don't need to automatically feed the stove. Just start fire with loaded in advance wood. Firestarter doesn't have to be alcohol. It can be just a single match.

 

[SolarAndWood]

If you are in Ontario, how cold does it get that you would have to warm the place up for a couple of hours. Your home location would be a "shoulder season" for most of us.

Pretty sure he is in the province, not LA.

What kind of stove is in the cottage? We have an old steel smoke dragon insert with a blower at the camp in the Adirondacks. With a load of pine, it doesn't take long to heat the place up. We also start colder as we drain the plumbing and turn the heat off. The kids are usually asleep when we get there, so we just leave them in the car for a bit while the house warms up.

Seems a safer strategy is to put a programmable thermostat on whatever is keeping the cottage at 50?

 

[tiber]

Check to see how pushbutton ignition works for kerosene stoves if you're really into this. You seriously are going to shoot lazers around your cabin but want a woodstove? Heck you could probably find a scrapped kerosene heater at a yard sale and pull the ignition wholesale off of it.

 

[woodgeek]

Rig up a (safe) kero or propane heater with push button start, ping it to start a few hours before you arrive, then shut it down when you've got the woodstove ripping. It'd be nice to have as a backup/assist/choice when you're there too.

 

[quads]

automatic fire start - crazy idea? Yes.

 

[Hurricane]

What happens if it is windy, warmer than expected and the draft does not get going right away? House full of smoke, maybe no fire.

What do you think can lead to fire in this case?

I was stating no fire in the stove, it just smolders and does not ignite to give him heat like he is expecting. Not house fire, although that is always a possibility.

 

[firefighterjake]

I agree with Quads . . . this is just a plain crazy thread and idea . . . there are no ifs, ands or buts . . . it's a bad idea and moreover I'm questioning whether this is even technically feasible . . . well technically feasible AND safe at the same time.

If you want the place to be pre-warmed it sounds like electric, oil or gas would be a better alternative to wood instead of trying to come up with some cockamanied idea on how to pre-load and fire up the woodstove prior to your arrival.

Well, I take it back . . . I can come up with one way to pre-load and warm up the place. Have a good friend who lives in the area or pay a caretaker who knows how to safely operate the stove start the fire before you arrive.

 

[Shari]

Sounds like you have a central heat system of some sort. Put your central heating system on a timer set to turn up the temp x hours before you normally arrive then shut it down when you get there and start your wood fire. Easy peasy.

Shari

 

[NWfuel]

I could see a type of single log that ignited automatically and had a burn time of say 1 hour. This could be long enough to warm the stove and be ready for occupant to feed wood as needed when arriving. I could see a Super Cedar Log that could burn hot,clean and safe for 1 hour. But I want no part of it.
Thomas