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The Functional Woodstove

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Wood burning stoves are one of the earliest forms of heating for your home, and in my opinion—the best.

The heat produced from a good, airtight woodstove can’t be beaten. It’s comforting warmth, which penetrates the whole body; a hugging warmth that just isn’t present with gas or electric heating. The stove can serve many purposes, one, for example, is herb drying—just hang your herbs in bunches above the woodstove and check on them daily, until dry.

There are many woodstove styles and brand names to choose from, including the Shepherd’s Stove, Parlor Stove, and the Ashley type stoves. But all have one thing in common which you should pay particular attention to, and that’s the stove pipe and triple wall section, which go through the ceiling, and out through your roof. Many a house fire has been caused through neglecting this important part of your home-heating system. Without the triple wall section, your dream house could become a nightmare. Always buy approved stovepipe and fittings.

A neighbor of mine had a lucky escape a few years ago, when he was informed by a passer-by, that his roof was aglow! Luckily the man hauled enough water to his burning roof, to save his house; but many haven’t been as fortunate. His stovepipe had no triple wall section at the time of the incident—but the following day; there he was, on his roof, installing a triple wall section and a spark arrestor, as well as repairing his roof! Don’t take chances regarding the safety of your precious family—do the job correctly, the first time.

In some areas of the country, one can’t purchase house insurance if a woodstove is installed within the dwelling. Personally, I think this is a ridiculous rule; a woodstove is as safe as any other form of heat—I’m certain insurance companies insure dwellings with fireplaces, which, in my opinion, are more dangerous than the economic and efficient woodstove.

If you are to cut wood for your woodstove, please avoid pinon pine. The wood produces so much creosote, that it is impossible to keep your flue clean. The build up will clog your pipe, rather like a clogged artery! Banging the pipe each day won’t help either—sooner or later, probably when you’re all tucked-up in bed asleep, the smoke will no longer be able to rise up through the chimney, due to the sooty build-up. It will stay in the stove and, ”puff, “ filling your house with carbon monoxide and dense smoke, filled with soot particles. You know yourself, what the outcome of this mishap, would be. This warning comes through bitter experience. I had no money for wood during our first year here, and a kind neighbor came by with some pinon firewood. Being a greenhorn in the firewood department, I accepted the wood, gratefully. When lit, this wood is akin to gasoline, giving off a tremendous amount of heat, and burning with intense flames. My second mistake of the day was burning it—I put a nice big piece in the woodstove, and watched in horror as it turned the cast iron into a red mass of metal. I rushed to get water to put out the fire, and chucked it in. Then I removed the log from the stove, tossing it out the door and into the snow. Apparently, I was lucky not to have cracked the cast iron when I threw the cold water on that log, as cast iron is susceptible to cracking, given drastic extremes of heat and cold.

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