Starting A Fire

[par0thead151]

im a huge fan of the propane torch method.
dry wood + propane torch = easy fire.
not as "skillful" however for day in day out use i prefer this method. i have started over 10 fired with one 1# tank thus far, and it still has fuel.

on a side note i can start a fire without the torch. i just choose to use the easiest method.

 

[carlo]

I have a new Hearthstone Homestead woodstove. I appreciate the advice on this list regarding smoke and how to heat the flu, I have had lots of it the first week. But I have a few more questions.

1) The stove is the required 18" from the wall(drywall) but WOW does the wall gets HOT, I mean 'I can barely touch it' hot. My husband put up a temporary small brick wall behind it away from the drywall with some extras bricks we had to disperse the heat until we can get a deflector on it (had to be ordered). Next summer I will rip out the drywall and put up cement board and tile it. We had the stove put in by a professional company, now I wonder why he didn't mention this might happen or tell me to tile it. Is this "hot wall" a common problem? Should I worry or not worry? (Ok, in reality I am not even sleeping I am so worried, so that is a dumb question)

2) I seem to be having a hard time getting the stove to heat up to the optimum 300-400 degrees and stay there for a bit, (best performance per the gauge 13" up from the stove on the pipe, not a probe). I thought the point of a wood stove was it only takes a few logs a day to heat the area (1200sf), so far today I have used 5 since 2 pm to now (6pm). If I close the damper slightly it keeps dropping below the 300 degrees.

To date I have smoked up the walkout level with EVERY fire I have made, using fatwood sticks. Clearly I am no woodswoman. I did ask for the free sample of the super cedar, and can't wait to see how those work. The fatwood smell is making me ill, ick.

Thanks

Hmmm .... looks like I can be of some help here. I had the same problem with my set up last year with the sheetrock walls being burning hot when using my stove. Stove was put in by pros and according to code. In fact I had the stove installed a couple of inches further from the wall then code. If I put my hand on the wall for 5 seconds I was in danger of blistering my hand .... that's how damn hot the wall was. The Fire Marshall said it was no problem, but I was still concerned about electrical wires melting and other potential problems.

I did alot of research and decided to buy folding metal heat shields by Drolet. I was looking for a simple solution because I didn't want to go thru the expense of building a tile backsplash, and I actually like the way the stove looks against the sheetrocked wall during the months when the stove is not in use. I will tell you since I put these 2 shields behind and along the sides of the stove the walls are cool to the touch even if I'm running a super hot fire all day. It's just mindboggling how good these shields work and they were only $60 each ! I now have zero worries about the walls.

And to add ..... I think more heat deflects into the room then just being absorbed by the wall. Or at least my mind thinks that....lol

http://www.amazon.com/Drolet-Freestanding-Heat-Shield-31in-W/dp/B000UCC5II

 

[thinkxingu]

Greer,
I've learned (from here, of course) that fires should run in cycles and with a minimum of three pieces on re-load (control heat by size of wood):

Step 1: Start the fire using lots of kindling, a few splits, and a fire starter or newspaper (I've used 'em all, and I swear by Super Cedar). In any case, once that first load is going well, start to close the air. It seems counter-intuitive, but closing the air increases the firebox temp, which increases the 'good burn', which increases efficiency, etc. etc.

Step 2: When the first load has burned down to hot, red coals, open the air all the way for a few seconds and then rake the coals to the front of the stove. Place two splits stacked in the way back and at least one in front (or in triangle format for large pieces) for the coals to start. Wait until that load is burning nicely and then shut the air down--I do this in two steps, once to 1/3 closed and the second to 2/3 closed (this gets me long burn times, no junk on the glass, and great heat.

Step 3: Repeat step 2 when the load has burned down.

S

PS I used to re-load when I saw there were no flames, but the coals themselves can provide good heat for hours, which is why the stove-top thermometer is nice--I usually start to re-load when it gets down to around 200*. After that, and I have a hard time to get it started quickly.