Monday, September 29, 2008

A Little About Woodstoves

I guess this is really a little about my woodstove but, you get the idea. I have posted about this stove before but thought this might be a good time of year to bring it up again. We were looking for a used fireplace insert last summer without any luck. There were some out there but not what we were looking for. When it seemed all hope for a used one was lost a call came, it was Liv's uncle back in West Virginia. He asked if we had ever found a stove yet, no we hadn't. He then proceeded to tell us that a friend that I had went to school with back in the day had one that he said we could have for FREE !!! Liv's uncle Scotty looked it over and said it looked to be in great working condition, just needed a little paint. So I was off to WV on a stove run. My friend (Conrad) who had the stove said he was just goning to haul it to the junk yard because he couldn't find anyone that wanted it. Think about that, no one was willing to just pick this stove up for free. Well after I got home with the stove I cleaned it up a bit and spray painted it with heat resistent black paint and it was ready to go. Fit our space perfect and looks pretty good too.
There is a 10 inch lip on the top that can be used to cook or just heat water if need be. By turning the blower off the top of the stove gets really hot fast. This could be a life saver in an emergency situation. We keep this old iron pot filled with water during heating season to put a little moisture into the air. Another thing to consider when purchasing a stove is the blower. Ours has one and it is wonderful to sit in front of the stove on those cold nights and mornings. The hot air warms your bones and the room too. A stove without a blower is not as bad as you may think though. You can just set a floor fan in front of the stove and it helps to pull the warm air through the house. Another thing to keep in mind is the draft control, this ofcourse controls the amount of air that the stove takes in through a vent somewhere on the stove. Ours is on the sides near the bottom. The more you open them, the more air goes into the fire box. And we all know that a fire needs air to burn, more air, more fire. Once your fire box gets good and hot it will pull air (draw) into the fire. At this point you can close your draft a little so your fire dosen't get too hot or just burn up fast. At night I load my stove with good dry hardwood, let it catch up and get good and hot and then close the draft almost completly. This allows the fire to just sit and smolder all through the night. The next morning, open the draft, poke it a few times and your back in the heat. Keep in mind that all stoves operate differently, even 2 of the same exact stoves will have their own personalities. If you're purchasing one for the first time, like my friend Marie and her family, just keep a close eye on the fire and the stove and you will soon learn how to use your stove to keep your home and most importantly your family nice and warm this winter. Always use CAUTION!!!!
There is an ash pan in the bottowm behind a small door to remove the ashes, these go into the compost pile and on the garden area in general. Wood ashes are a very good amendment to your soil, adding, among other things, lye. If one is ambitious enough you can use these ashes to make lye soap also.



9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Scavenger,
Welcome back. i was hoping everything is fine with y'all. I enjoy reading your posts. we seem to visit a few of the same blogs. Looking forward to more posts in the future.
Nathan from MO.

Anonymous said...

Wow! A free stove?!? What a great deal! Wish we could have one here. That stove's going to feel awful good in a few weeks, won't it? :-) Gen--IL Homesteader

Marie said...

That is a nice-looking stove! Thanks for including all the great information--like you mentioned, it is particularly useful for us right now. I like the pot of water on the lip idea (wish we had as much space as you do, but hey, we will have some :) and maybe we'll be able to use fans in a way to distribute the heat further in the house. So much to learn... Thanks for a great post!

Throwback at Trapper Creek said...

No wonder you go by the name Scavenger, that is a great find, and just in time too for colder weather!

I've been too busy to answer my comments, so I thought I would come by and say HI and thanks for always leaving such thoughtful comments on my blog!

The Scavenger said...

Nathan, Thanks, Glad you enjoy my ramblings. More posts in a day or two.

Gen, If it's free it's me. lol The stove has be inplace since last fall and it is GREAT!! We couldn't have ask for anything better.

Marie, hope this post helps you a little anyway. Had you in mind when I posted. The pot on the lip of the stove works great to put a little moisture in the very dry cool air of winter. Fans work great to move that warm air around too.

MOH, I am a true Scavenger for sure. haha!! Love reading your stuff, sounds like you live the kind of life I that I long for. I know it's hard work but it's good Honest Hard Work.

Thanks to all for your comments.

Chris

Anonymous said...

Scavenger, your stove looks alot like my Buck if it is the control lever on the lower right is your air intake and the one on the left is for the air wash for your glass door. I use to get alot of residue (smoke film) on my glass when I would shut both down some during the night. Then I was looking through my manual and found out the one on the left should be left open all the time when in use. Just FYI!

The Scavenger said...

Anonymous, that's what mine is then, not sure of the model number though. Mine has a control on both sides at the bottom too. Could you please let me know the model # so I can find a manual online or something. My glass door gets really nasty looking sometimes. Thanks for the heads up.

Anonymous said...

Scavenger, my Buck stove is a Model 91 Bay Heater. I bought mine at Wood Energy Warehouse in Lexington, if you can't find it anywhere else they can probably get it for you. There # is 859-252-0441

The Scavenger said...

anonymous, that is the very stove that I have, thanks, I never knew what model was. Was able to find more about it on the net thanks to you. A BIG THANK YOU !!!


Chris