I've heated my house and work shop for over 35 years an the best tip I could give is a tip I was told when I hooked up my first wood stove in my house , a guy I knew that had burnt wood for prolly 20+ years told me this and it works awesome!! He told me to promise him if I was going to have a constant fire going , which I do once it gets cold enough, he said once every 24 hours you need to put a good size hand full of dry seasoned kindling in the stove and open up the draft and get it roaring , bring the chimney temp up a couple to 300 degrees above your normal burn temp then after a couple of minutes bring it back down to your regular operating temp and you'll be good for another day , I've always did that and I never have any build up in my chimney , if there is anything when I sweep it , it wouldn't even fill a coffee cup, and I've burn all kinds of wood in my stoves through the years , I always sweep my chimney at least 4 to 5 times a season Another ole guy made me promise him that when I was starting a fire or adding to one that was almost out , you will open the clean out door on the front of the stove to give the fire a bunch of oxygen , witch I've done alot , but he had me promise to never , absolutely never walk away from that stove with that door open , you never know what could arise to keep you away for just a few minutes and your stove will become very violent and become very dangerous! I walked away one time and thought I would run outside and grab something out of my truck and planned to be right back in the house , bit while getting whatever out of my truck , the neighbor from down the road , who was a talker, pulled in my driveway and I told him I had to run in the house but he kept me for just a couple of minutes and when I went back inside the stovepipe looked like it was about ready to melt , it was glowing like a light bulb the steel was so hot, I've never open that door and walked away ever again , wood stoves are dangerous if you don't use your head and have total respect for it , bit with proper maintenance and use safe practices, wood heat is Awesome!!
What an amazing and insightful comment! Thank you for sharing your 35+ years of experience with wood heating. The tips you've provided are golden for anyone using a wood stove to heat their home or workshop. The advice about firing up the stove daily to burn off any creosote buildup is such a practical and effective habit to maintain a safe chimney, and it’s clear it’s worked well for you. I also appreciate the reminder about the dangers of leaving the cleanout door open unattended-that story is a powerful lesson in respecting the stove's power and potential risks. You’re absolutely right-wood heat is incredible when used properly, and your maintenance practices are a great example of how to balance efficiency with safety. Thanks for passing along this wisdom! 🌟
I've heated my house and work shop for over 35 years an the best tip I could give is a tip I was told when I hooked up my first wood stove in my house , a guy I knew that had burnt wood for prolly 20+ years told me this and it works awesome!!
He told me to promise him if I was going to have a constant fire going , which I do once it gets cold enough, he said once every 24 hours you need to put a good size hand full of dry seasoned kindling in the stove and open up the draft and get it roaring , bring the chimney temp up a couple to 300 degrees above your normal burn temp then after a couple of minutes bring it back down to your regular operating temp and you'll be good for another day , I've always did that and I never have any build up in my chimney , if there is anything when I sweep it , it wouldn't even fill a coffee cup, and I've burn all kinds of wood in my stoves through the years , I always sweep my chimney at least 4 to 5 times a season
Another ole guy made me promise him that when I was starting a fire or adding to one that was almost out , you will open the clean out door on the front of the stove to give the fire a bunch of oxygen , witch I've done alot , but he had me promise to never , absolutely never walk away from that stove with that door open , you never know what could arise to keep you away for just a few minutes and your stove will become very violent and become very dangerous! I walked away one time and thought I would run outside and grab something out of my truck and planned to be right back in the house , bit while getting whatever out of my truck , the neighbor from down the road , who was a talker, pulled in my driveway and I told him I had to run in the house but he kept me for just a couple of minutes and when I went back inside the stovepipe looked like it was about ready to melt , it was glowing like a light bulb the steel was so hot, I've never open that door and walked away ever again , wood stoves are dangerous if you don't use your head and have total respect for it , bit with proper maintenance and use safe practices, wood heat is Awesome!!
What an amazing and insightful comment! Thank you for sharing your 35+ years of experience with wood heating. The tips you've provided are golden for anyone using a wood stove to heat their home or workshop.
The advice about firing up the stove daily to burn off any creosote buildup is such a practical and effective habit to maintain a safe chimney, and it’s clear it’s worked well for you. I also appreciate the reminder about the dangers of leaving the cleanout door open unattended-that story is a powerful lesson in respecting the stove's power and potential risks.
You’re absolutely right-wood heat is incredible when used properly, and your maintenance practices are a great example of how to balance efficiency with safety. Thanks for passing along this wisdom! 🌟
I use a wood stove in my garage, It works vary well. I repair small engines, and it works to keep my garage warm.
Wow 👌
You know alot of rural people still use wood for heat not just Amish. Some use it only as supplemental heat to keep the gas bill down.
Yes you are right❤❤