Well boys, what's your temperature like now?

[CBeck]

Off topic, but I have an older Sears Craftsman (Poulon) I want to replace. Stihl or Husky or something else?

I’m a forester and work several logging crews….stihl and Husky both will serve you well but I prefer husky. Ergonomics are better to me, down to the fuel and oil caps. Both run strong at the end of the day I would say whoever has the best service and availability in your area.

Get big enough but not too big, big equals heavy, heavy equals fatigue and fatigue equals accidents.

If you don’t use it often, I suggest running nothing but the pre-mixed fuel in a can that has stabilizer…

 

[CJW]

Creosote comes from moisture, oils, resins, unburned gases, poor flue flow, low flue temp, etc. You can get it anywhere from any wood. Burn wisely and you'll likely never have an issue, though I would always recommend a sweep and occasional inspection as often people don't realize they have a problem until it becomes a problem. Practically every chimney has the start of creosote in the form of powdery or even a tissue paper thin ash layer somewhere in their chimney but a good hot fire can blow it out from time to time. Lots of times it only the top few feet of your chimney.

Or you get an outdoor burner and those guys like a good chimney fire to clean things out.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I have never had a chimney sweep clean my chimney and never had a fire. In the deep south, we burn hardwood, typically oak. I am wondering if there is less or no creosote (pine resin) build up. I can remember as a kid in Spokane, Washington and northern Idaho, burned a lot of pine, spruce and fir. Had to clean the fireplace every couple days as the amount of ash was considerable, but never remember having a chimney sweep clean the chimney.

Even hardwood will build up creosote. The key to limiting buildup is heat in the chimney/stovepipe. Smoldering fires have cooler smoke allowing creosote to condensate on sides of chimney. The house/tent gets too hot and the damper is closed. Fine if the fire is coals but if fresh wood is in the box, it's gonna make creosote. I actually preferred jackpine for our furnace. It burned hot and fairly quick as opposed to birch which though it burned very hot (IF thoroughly cured), it burned very slow. So the house would get too hot quick and thermostat closed the damper. Then the dense logs in the box would smolder. Better to throw pine in the fire as needed and let the oil burner kick in at night. "Banking" fires in the stove overnight (throwing in extra logs and closing the damper) is a recipe for creosote buildup = recipe for chimney fires. Pine is high on creosote but if the fire is kept hot it goes up the stack fast and less will accumulate in the flue. About once a week I stuffed a bunch of paper or couple pieces of cardboard through the stovepipe damper (flapper) and lit it. Made a helluva roar and horrible stinky plume of smoke shot out the chimney. Spooked the neighbors until I explained I was eliminating a fire hazard. I could control the burnout closing the dampers. In worst case scenario there was utility sink and garden hose four feet from the furnace.

 

[Woodcarver]

I have never had a chimney sweep clean my chimney and never had a fire. In the deep south, we burn hardwood, typically oak. I am wondering if there is less or no creosote (pine resin) build up. I can remember as a kid in Spokane, Washington and northern Idaho, burned a lot of pine, spruce and fir. Had to clean the fireplace every couple days as the amount of ash was considerable, but never remember having a chimney sweep clean the chimney.

The type of wood burned plays a big part. Aspen is one of the worst for creosote. My sheepherders stovepipe has to be cleaned a couple times in a week of hunting if we're camped where the majority of the stove wood is aspen. Pine usually will let us get through a week before we have to knock the excess out. Here at home, most of what I burn is elm, which doesn't leave a lot of buildup in the chimney either, but there's enough pine & aspen that I make sure to burn the boxes periodically. Somewhere around here I have a chimney brush, but it's been a long time since I needed to use it.

 

[Gluff]

0 currently and -2 tonight.
It is warmer In Alaska….what the heck!!!!

 

[Vashper]

It's warm in Eastern Europe right now, around 0C. Journalists cackle about global warming. And last year, at the same time, the oaks were bursting from frost. A friend sent me a photo from last year, we were in a truck, and I froze my nose off.

 

[Vashper]

F..., why is this happening? Is it because cows in Iowa are farting more intensely this year than last year?
And the bolt on the chimney needs to be made. Of course, this will create inconvenience for Santa Claus, but it is necessary to keep the heat in the house, not just for safety. Otherwise, the heat literally goes down the drain.

 

[thriller]

We just broke a 130 year old record for snowfall. Strange for the gulf coast

 

[BourbonTrail]

9F (-13C) here right now. Pretty cold for here, supposed to get down to -4F (-20C) tonight.

 

[CoElkHunter]

The type of wood burned plays a big part. Aspen is one of the worst for creosote. My sheepherders stovepipe has to be cleaned a couple times in a week of hunting if we're camped where the majority of the stove wood is aspen. Pine usually will let us get through a week before we have to knock the excess out. Here at home, most of what I burn is elm, which doesn't leave a lot of buildup in the chimney either, but there's enough pine & aspen that I make sure to burn the boxes periodically. Somewhere around here I have a chimney brush, but it's been a long time since I needed to use it.

My ex neighbor would throw a couple chunks of coal into his enclosed wood burning stove before he went to bed to prolong the fire. Good idea or not?

 

[JimP]

If it's a cast-iron stove it'll help. But I have also seen cast stoves glowing red from coal to the point that anything near them might ignite.

No way would I do it with a steel stove

 

[Woodcarver]

My ex neighbor would throw a couple chunks of coal into his enclosed wood burning stove before he went to bed to prolong the fire. Good idea or not?

As long as the grate was cast, and the interior has the proper brick lining the firebox or the stove is cast, it works. Coal burns slow & long, but hot. Put coal on a steel grate and your grate will literally melt & disintegrate. Without the brick lining, a steel firebox will burn out in very short order. Mine is a regular fireplace, so coal is not an option. Just have to bank the coals to keep it going through the night. Elm makes good coals and burns slow but hot, so this works well.

Edit to add- The coals being banked are not the black chunks of mined coal your neighbor used. And @JimP is spot on. Even with a cast stove or with a proper brick liner, caution is advised as coal (the black chunks) burns very hot.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I just read where Jackson, Alabama received 10.8" of snow over the last 24 hours. Wow! Not safe to travel there in the winter either. LOL

 

[MS 9x56]

-4 here in central NY -12 with windchill. Downright balmy mates! So much for global warming.

 

[CoElkHunter]

If it's a cast-iron stove it'll help. But I have also seen cast stoves glowing red from coal to the point that anything near them might ignite.

No way would I do it with a steel stove

I threw some coal chunks into a campfire ONCE. It burned hot but the fumes were overwhelming. Sounded like a good idea at the time. LOL

 

[Vashper]

Why not? The Japanese are heated by charcoal braziers, without any stove.
But it's better to be careful about coal if the furnace is not suitable for it, but woodcoal is safe.
When I visit my dacha in winter (and the house there is about the same as the American one in terms of thermal insulation, that is, in no way), I throw thick logs of heavy wood, oak or birch into the furnace at night. Anyway, sometimes you have to wake up at 5 a.m. to light a dead stove. I have seen stoves of German design, there is a hermetically sealed door, and the firewood there does not burn, but smoulders, with almost no air access and no heat leakage into the atmosphere.
Aspen and willow are strange woods. They give almost no heat. As we say, "osina (aspen) does not burn without kerosene" (it rhymes with us)

 

[CoElkHunter]

Why not? The Japanese are heated by charcoal braziers, without any stove.
But it's better to be careful about coal if the furnace is not suitable for it, but woodcoal is safe.
When I visit my dacha in winter (and the house there is about the same as the American one in terms of thermal insulation, that is, in no way), I throw thick logs of heavy wood, oak or birch into the furnace at night. Anyway, sometimes you have to wake up at 5 a.m. to light a dead stove. I have seen stoves of German design, there is a hermetically sealed door, and the firewood there does not burn, but smoulders, with almost no air access and no heat leakage into the atmosphere.
Aspen and willow are strange woods. They give almost no heat. As we say, "osina (aspen) does not burn without kerosene" (it rhymes with us)

The coal I threw into the campfire was from a coal tender car behind a steam locomotive. It's a tourist train up in the mountains and we picked up the coal off the railroad tracks that fell off the tender. The fumes were horrible coming from that open campfire. Probably not the same as charcoal, which I think is burnt wood?

 

[CBeck]

I just read where Jackson, Alabama received 10.8" of snow over the last 24 hours. Wow! Not safe to travel there in the winter either. LOL

Never thought I’d see this in Destin Florida

 

[Grandpa Moose]

-44C yesterday morning dog and cat refused to go out in blast of air at door. Lord only knows what wind chill was TV said in the -50’sC

 

[Tbitty]

We used to burn a lot of Hedge (AKA Osage orange in some parts) in wood burning stove that heated the old farm house I lived in growing up. It burned hot and slow and was the best wood we could use. But it crackled and sparked a lot, so we wouldn't use it for camp fires or any open flame applications.

I think I learned Tetris game best by stacking wood in the stove for maximum fill.