[Greenbuilding] Starting Wood Stoves

[RONALD CASCIO]

Building a fire in our stove has become somewhat of a Zen to me over the 
years. It's how I transition from day to night, work to self/family time. 
It's how I unwind.

First rule... no paper/one match. Everything must be dry. A sharp hatchet 
and chopping block are the tools of trade, and indispensable in the task. 
Start with something very light on the bottom like the fuzzy layer of stuff 
between the bark and wood of black walnut trees, or shavings of softwood 
from a block plane. Then matchstick sized pieces stacked into a teepee, 
softwood first and then hardwood. Leave enough room for air  to circulate. 
Prepare more and consecutively larger diameter sticks and set aside to be 
ready as the fire quickly builds.

Light the lower level. One might want/need to to add some oxygen by blowing 
lightly on the fire or opening the ash pan from below. In a matter of 
minutes the fire is hot enough to add pieces as large as 2 X 2s, then 2 X 
4s. Get a good bed of coals going, then add the big stuff.

Step back and give thanks to the trees for storing the solar energy released 
in your fire. Consider all that the wood saw and all that it was to the 
forest ecosystem in it's time... as it gives itself up to you. Enjoy the 
primal satisfaction of the warming hearth. Be grateful for being a part of 
such a wondrous system.


Ron



----- Original Message ----- 
From: <YankeePerm at aol.com>
To: <greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 2:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Starting Wood Stoves


Well, what I use depends on what I have.   We have a very small Jotul
cookstove, as befits our small heating needs in Florida and our small 
cooking needs
for just two people.   The largest dimension is a bit longer than 12 inches
with the cross section about 6W X 4"H.   I've used many materials for 
starting
fires in my more than 3 decades, off and on, of heating with wood.   (Well I 
was
also a Boy Scout--always the one the troop entered in the fire starting 
event
of local jamborees.) About 99 percent of the time, or more, I use the
petioles from palm leaves that have fallen.   I run the tops through the
chipper-shredder for mulch and litter, using the petiole as a handle. Then I 
toss it onto
the pile to be stacked at under the eaves of our little wood shed.   The 
high
and dry location is critical for kindling.   For tinder I normally use
newspaper if I can get it. (We don't subscribed.)   I've used oily paper 
bags from
the egg rolls we get at the Chinese restaurant, fiberboard type egg cartons 
too
beat up to use to sell our surplus eggs, etc.   Non-corrugated cardboard
boxes, packing paper, etc.   But plain black on white newspaper is best. 
In a
pinch, I can gather the tufts of fiber formed with palm petioles split at 
the
base due to the increase of diameter of the growing shoot to which they are
attached.   This looks like brown fiberglass wool and is incredibly easy to 
ignite,
but a pain in the posterior to gather.   Squirrels (my sworn enemies), 
birds,
etc., concentrate it for nests, so those are prime concentrations to 
harvest.
  I use a wooden match--one.   If there are coals, I may not use the match,
if I am not in a hurry.   (No, I don't take the stuff from occupied bird 
nests.
  Screw the squirrels!)   The best tinder I've ever seen is a produced by a
kind of kapok, or similar tree, that I encountered in Mexican highlands. 
The
fruiting pod opens to release a wad of fluff sort of like a cotton boll.
When it falls on the ground, it is always covered with insects. (I 
recommended
gathering the pods and emptying them in poultry yards!)   It has a texture 
like
silk, with very strong strands.   I did some flash tests to see if I would
recommend that my students investigate using it for clothing. It went up 
like it
had been soaked in nitroglycerine.   Well, I guess it can be a boon for
tropical arsonists.   I also use small diameter bamboo twigs, which, because 
they
are relatively smooth, pack into the little firebox better.   They burn very
hot.   I just cut fresh garden poles every year and in the fall or winter 
cut the
old ones to length on my radial arm saw, which has the correct length marked
on the fence.   In fact I do all my small diameter fuel on that saw.   It is
easier and safer than trying to cut small diameter fuel with a chain saw. 
I
tend to manage for small diameters when possible, given the size of our
firebox.   However, most of our fuel ends up being dead wood that has fallen 
from
trees, especially really old live oaks that are constantly shedding branches
bigger than many lesser trees.   I also keep a bucket handy for small bits 
left
over from splitting and from bucking on the radial arm saw.   These nuggets 
are
handy in fire starting also--lots of surface area for a quick bed of coals.
If I burn cherry laurel or one of the kinds of oak we have here, I often 
have
a bed or charcoal in the morning, after I rake the ashes through the grate.
That makes all the difference between a very fast fire and an ordinarily 
fast
fire.   We have a thermometer on the stove pipe and I can get up to cooking
temperature, about 300° F, in 5 or 10 minutes.   I'll get up at 5:30 a.m., 
start
the fire, put on the kettle and frying pan and have tea and eggs ready for 
my
wife, who has to leave for her job at the hospital around 6, no problem.
The propane stove is slightly faster.   Part of the key to a fast start is 
to
know your wood.   I might use some fast-burning, low calorie wood to get
started, but move in some hot-burning bamboo or cherry or oak quickly and 
then the
really hard oak, not the local water oak (Q. nigra) which is OK, but not 
tops.
Since I cut and split all our wood myself, I know what each type is.   I 
tend
to stack it in plastic crates designed to hold 4-gal of milk.   If the wood
fits these crates it fits my stove.   I have at least two creates and a 
bucket of
nubs working at any one time so I can pick and choose my wood, fill a little
cavity with a nub (for a hotter fire), etc.   The propane torch idea is
interesting but I think I'll pass.   I suspect I can start a fire faster 
without
one.

Dan H.

In a message dated 11/25/07 10:21:59 PM, LLile at projsolco.com writes:


>
> How do folks start your woodstove fires? How long does it typically take?
>
> I've gone through quite an evolution: At one time I had a "Warm Morning"
> brand coal stove that we valiantly tried to use as a wood stove. It took
> forever to light and always filled the house up with smoke. We finally 
> junked it
> and made a 50 gallon drum barrel stove that was pretty successful. At the
> time, I had a huge pile of pine lath (1/2" x 1.5") boards left over from a
> demolition job. He who Laths Last, we would say, Laths Best and this stuff
> would really start fires fast. A few wads of newspaper and a lighter (I 
> always
> hated the stench of sulphur matches) would do the trick.
>
> In the next house, with no lath (I guess they had the last lath there) 
> We'd
> use paper, cardboard, egg cartons, toilet paper rolls (fold up 4 or 5 of 
> them
> and stuff them inside one another, pretty good fire starter) or whatever 
> was
> at hand, but sometimes it took forever to get a fire going properly.
> Usually I have some amount of pine blocks laying around, all shop scraps 
> or
> construction scraps, and they can catch the oak going. Paper was always 
> required,
> and the process was less than consistent.
>
> Now I am using a well made airtight Fisher stove. I have a big pile of 
> pine
> scraps left over from building the house, and I can get more from a friend
> of mine at a trailer plant anytime. I have a lot of 2X12's that are about 
> 8"
> long. Every few days I'll take the hand axe and split a milk crate full of
> these guys, or if I'm behind on that chore I'll just grab a stack of pine
> blocks. But then here is the kicker: no paper at all. I have a propane
> blowtorch (the kind plumbers use) that I play over the pine blocks. It has 
> a little
> trigger on it that lights it, sorta like a cigarrette lighter on steroids.
> I can usually get a roaring fire going in under three minutes, without
> fooling around with paper and cardboard.
>
> Propane is obviously a fossil fuel, and therefore not so good. But I
> haven't used much of it, a single bottle (the same kind as you use in a 
> camping
> stove) has lasted two seasons so far. When my plumber friend first told me
> about lighting a woodstove with a propane torch, I thought he was 
> cheating, but
> in a hurry on my way to work I am always grateful for a few extra minutes.
>
> --Lawrence
>





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