Rose Cottage Ltd

In two words or less, burn pine.

I worked really hard for the last few weeks to get enough wood chopped to get through the coming ice storm of January 25th and the Winter 2013 in general. I’d had someone do the chainsaw part of several large trees so all I had to do was chop and haul the wood to the outside stand and get it under cover.

One of the downed trees – which was so dead it had no remaining bark – was apparently pine. I’m no wood grain expert so all I needed to know was that I could split it without too much trouble. And when I burned this particular wood in the wood stove for a day or two – it really put out some massive heat. Good, right?

Wrong.

I started a fire this past Saturday mid-day to find – some 15 minutes later – that the interior of the stove was full of smoke. I checked the cap outside on the roof and sure enough smoke was coming out there too. But apparently not as intended. As it built up in the stove it began seeping out of one of the interior pipes – filling the house with smoke.

Fortunately, I was able to play Junior Fire Brigade, toss some water into the stove and get the fire out. It wasn’t burning that well anyway – mainly smoldering. I had a look outside and the cap and vent area seemed black and full of well, crap. Fortunately, the State of North Carolina sent me a 70 degree day today so up on the roof I went. Sure enough, the cap and the wire mesh basket inside the cap were nearly 100% blocked with what I gather is creosote from the dratted pine!

The good news is that the pipe/stack for the stove is on a fairly shallow roof since I’m not great with heights. I also have the chimney brush to clean the pipe and had removed the cap for cleaning once before. Here’s how it looked after about 20 minutes of scouring with a Brillo pad:

I wish I had taken a “before” picture but I can tell you that you could not see the wire basket nor could you see light through it. It was totally blocked. I’m not sure how any smoke was getting out.

So the moral of this story is #1, don’t burn pine and #2, get better about identifying wood grain.

I expect to have another wood stove moment here before the coming weekend. Fingers will be crossed that I’ve gotten enough out of the chimney pipe and have cleaned the cap well enough to not have any further issues. Although it is a lot of work, I miss my little stove when I can’t use it.

I wrote a post back in January 2012 about some wood stove maintenance I’d need to do before the Fall/Winter stove season began. Even though there was one 82 degree day in Central North Carolina which made it seem silly to spend the day working on/with the wood stove, by the 38 degree morning yesterday, I was glad I had.

You’ll see from the January post that the stove’s gasket seal around the window needed replacing and that I also needed to replace some of the bricks that hold and process the heat. It took me about 2 hours to accomplish this work since I had already ordered the gasket roping, the “glue” to hold it in the stove’s window channel, and the bricks.

Based on yesterday’s and this morning’s burn, I apparently got the seal tight enough and I also think the new bricks are making for a better fire.

I also bought a little chimney sweep tool from Lowe’s. It looks like a Brillo pad on steroids and is attached (sold seperately,) to a snaky piece or two of narrow aluminum tubing that extends about 20′. I got up on the roof, ran this thing up and down the vent a few times, and then removed the outside vent cap and cleaned the creosote from that with some steel wool. I’m lucky to have a low roof so this was all accomplished quite safely in about 30 minutes.

My stove was purchased from Lowe’s in 2007. You can read some info about it – and the year-over-year savings since its arrival.

This particular model is hard to find now five years later, but I have linked some wood stoves that are similar here. Further down that same page is an interview with the stove’s installer with a few FAQs AND a few useful wood stove accessories.

I’ll be updating the savings enjoyed by using this wood stove for heat soon but I can tell you here that I made it through all of last year’s and the early 2012 heating season on one tank of LP gas. Prior to the wood stove, I was using at least one and one-half tanks to get through the cold months.

Today’s high is to be right about 49 degrees with very windy conditions and some rain. This is a perfect time to heat the house via the wood stove. I’ll set my central heating on 60 degrees, and probably not have it run for the rest of the day. All I’ll hear is the wood stove blower versus the quarters dropping every time the central heat WOULD be kicking in.

Music to my ears…

I mentioned in a prior post that at the middle of Year 5 of the life of my Century Hearth wood stove, it is time to do a bit of maintenance.

Part of the gasket seal – that webbed-look stuff that lines the front window – has shredded and split. Since I burn fairly “hot” fires, some of the stove’s fire bricks are also showing some wear. Fortunately, finding what I needed proved easier than I at first thought it might be.

There are quite a few YouTube videos that show the basics of making the actual repair – here’s a good one for you…

But I still needed the “stuff” to make this repair. Off to Woodman’s Parts Plus. They have everything I need now – and a few things I may need in future.

I was able to order the gasket, (in less than an expensive 90 foot roll!) in a reasonable 6-foot length. Width was easily measured at the stove – in the case of my Century Hearth FW240007 model, 3/4″ gasket. I ordered the cement to attach the new gasket, and was also able to order a 6-pack of firebricks – all from the same web site. If I’d thought a bit further ahead I would have added some stove black to my order – on the list for next time…

From the time I realized I needed repair materials to the time the shipment arrived at my door was less than 2 weeks – and one week of that was me researching a source for the repair materials and figuring out sizes and lengths of what I actually needed. I am very pleased to recommend Woodman’s Parts Plus (based in New Hampshire) for wood stove accessories and replacement materials.

Really a cold week for December this year. 16 degrees yesterday morning (snowing this morning so a little warmer,) gave the lake a very cold perspective:

Brrr…16 degrees at 0600.

Fortunately, inside the cottage looked and felt quite a bit warmer thanks to my Century Hearth wood stove:

Century Hearth FW240007 wood stove

Dragon not included, but I got mine via Plow & Hearth.

It takes a very hot fire for the dragon to steam so this is a great shot on a really cold day. Humidity yesterday morning was 22% – very low and very dry for North Carolina – adding a little moisture to the air is a good thing.

Winter is nearly enjoyable with a wood stove! Read more about it on the Rose Cottage Ltd web site…

No time like the present to take the plunge into an incredibly warm Winter heating season. Here’s an attractive and efficient wood stove you’ll want to consider:

European castings and Napoleon’s advanced wood burning technology and innovative design transforms small amounts of wood into large amounts of cozy heat, easily sustaining overnight burns.

The EPA 1100C is available in porcelain enamel Majolica green or brown, or traditional painted black finish and features an elegantly arched, Early American look, single door with concealed hinges. Outstanding Performance and Safe, Clean Woodburning. Free Shipping on Orders over $199 @ HomeClick.com

Napoleon 1100C Porcelain Enamel Majolica Brown 1100C EPA Wood Burning Stove EPA Small Cast Iron Wood Burning Stove – 1100C

And Fatwood will help you “get things started” with your new stove!

More about my wood stove, the installation process, and a review.

Winter 2009 and into 2010 has been “difficult” in North Carolina.  High winds, too many unexpected mornings in the teens and 20s, and even some snow.  The keyword here is “unexpected.”  3 inches of snow in the Piedmont region and a 13 degree morning has about the same impact as 13 inches of the stuff and 0 degrees in Pennsylvania.

For this winter, having had the wood stove for half of last winter, and with the addition of a gas propane heater, we decided to let Rose Cottage go without the heat pump for this season.

February of a long, cold winter and so far, so good.

I wrote a glowing review of the Century Hearth Model FW240007 on the Rose Cottage web site so thought it might be time for a little update.

I have had the warmest winter yet in 7 seasons in this 1600 square foot house.

It has been a lot of work to keep the stove going as much as it needed to in order to get, and then keep the house warm.  This is a small stove as wood stoves go.  Logs used are smaller and burn quickly…meaning more trips to the wood pile.  But don’t be fooled by a smaller wood stove – it produces heat, and plenty of it.

There are a few things to emphasize about using a wood stove that I am finding even more important now that I’ve used one on a daily basis for the last several months.

One – you need a good pair of gloves.  My partner and I have both toasted our hands while feeding this stove and not in a nice manner!  Even if you do not see a lot of flame, these stoves generate a LOT of heat – it can be quite deceptive.

Two – you must have a safe ash can.  Lots of burning wood and high heat means a fair amount of ash – in a small environment.  Your stove needs adequate ventilation so removing ash on a daily basis is necessary.  Keep a small ash can nearby with one warning.  A closed ash can you added to yesterday morning may still have warm embers today.  Do not dump the ash can and assume all is good.  You may find a fire outside your home you were not intending.  I speak from experience here.

Three – a blower on the stove makes a huge difference.  I’m not sure why a stove would be sold without one but some are.  We have even directed a small, quiet fan near the stove to increase circulation of the warm air.  This makes a quicker job of heating adjoining rooms.

Although this stove has seemed to be a bit of a wood tyrant this winter, I wouldn’t be without it.  I figure the wood splitting and hauling is darn good exercise, my electric bills are at least half of what they would have been, and my house is warmer than it was using the gas pack heat pump.

For gloves, ash cans, and some other wood stove accessories,  items I use are listed and linked on the Rose Cottage web page. You can also see an image of the stove at full throttle posted there.

Stay warm and be safe…more about that little propane heater coming soon…