Heating With Wood 2

[Jim_Alaska]

Firewood selection:

Depending on your location you may be limited in the types and quantities of firewood you can harvest. Many communities as well as agencies have strict permitting regulations regarding this.

Your selection of wood should reflect your needs as much as possible. For instance, if you are using wood as your main heat source you will want specific quantities and types of wood for your needs. You will need dry wood, preferably conifer (spruce, pine, fir) for fire starting and fast intense heat. Then you will need hard wood for long lasting fires and holding fire overnight. Hardwood can be any that you have access to in your location. If you are allowed to cut green (live trees) firewood it will burn the longest. But understand that some green wood has some creosote residue buildup issues. This will mean cleaning out your chimney more often than using dry wood.

In Alaska our hard wood selection was limited to Birch trees. Birch was the only kind of hard wood that grew there. I used green Birch and it worked well for holding fires over night. I used dry, split Spruce for starting fires and if I needed a hot fire in the morning. Other than that I burned Birch whenever possible because it lasted longer, which translated to less trips to the wood pile. Dry split wood is convenient when the weather gets warmer and you only need a fire for morning or other times when temperatures may dip. There are times when you only want a warm up and not a fire burning all day.

 

 

[Ukulelemike]

Okay, I changed this to just give a link, as the initial picture of the video shows the lady in it bending down to pick up some wood and cleavage happens. So I invite you to go look at the video. And, if you can ignore it, this gives some interesting info on the rocket mass heater. This is a quick, ugly one, (the stove, not the lady) but they can be made much more attractive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4usXIAoy9us

 

[Jim_Alaska]

7 minutes ago, Ukulelemike said:

Sorry, I forgot this lady is showing a bit too much cleavage. However, if you can ignore it, this gives some interesting info on the rocket mass heater. This is a quick, ugly one but they can be made much more attractive.

Bro. Mike, there is a way around posting videos without posting the actual picture of the video when the picture is objectionable. Simple post a link to it. I do realize that it is a lot easier to post the actual video and easier for folks ot just click on, but thought I would mention this since you addressed the "cleavage" issue.

[Ukulelemike]

Sorry. It isn't excessive, but the initial picture OF the video shows her neding over to pick up some wood-poor timing for the picture. Video-wise it's not that much. But you're right. I can change that if you like

[Jim_Alaska]

I tried to edit my previous post to add info about creosote problems, but it was evidently too long and wouldn't post. So this is an addition to the post .

As I said above, some wood contains more oils that build up creosote than other wood. In Alaska, Birch was that wood. It has a very oily bark that puts off a dense black smoke, especially at lower burning temperatures. This always happens when trying to hold a fire over night, you bank it so that it buns slowly.

Creosote can be very dangerous and is the culprit in most chimney fires. Chimney fires can burn down your house. Creosote is formed on the chimney walls when the fire temperature is low, like when trying to hold a fire over night. Once a thick layer of creosote is formed all it takes for a chimney fire is for the fire to get hot enough to ignite the creosote. I have seen these accidental chimney fires get so hot that the entire stove pipe glows cherry red, this has the potential to ignite any wood in the roof where the chimney goes through the roof or trusses. This is just one reason to use double wall insulated chimney pipe, it reduces the danger from a chimney fire.

Wherever possible the stove pipe needs to go straight up with no bends or elbows. These create areas that slow down the chimney draft, making stove operation more difficult and allowing for places for creosote to build up.

I have found that the most efficient way of dealing with creosote build up is to periodically burn it out before it becomes thick enough to be a problem. I did this by starting a hot fire, using dry, thinly split Spruce or Pine. I cross-hatch the wood so that it burns intensely. This will intentionally start a controlled chimney fire. I say controlled because you have done it before the creosote gets thick enough to be dangerous. Once the creosote in the chimney catches fire it sounds scary, there will be a slight roaring sound and there may even by some fire exiting the chimney at the top.

This is the only method of removing creosote that I am aware of, other than replacing the chimney pipe itself. Creosote is so oily that it can't be simply brushed out, like soot can. I learned this the hard way. I never knew about the creosote problem in the beginning. It built up to such a point that it ignited. The result was frightening to say the least, I though I was going to lose the house. It was night and when I heard this loud intense roaring noise  and the chimney turned cherry red, I went outside to see if the roof might be in danger. What I saw I will never forget. The chimney was cherry red all the way to the top, but even more amazing was that there was a four foot blast of fire coming out of the chimney. It looked like a giant blow torch and 
sounded like a jet plane.