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Make sure your firewood is properly stored

You know the importance of properly seasoned firewood: It allows your fires to burn hot and efficiently, returning as much heat as possible to your home and reducing the amount of creosote the builds up in your chimney. Improperly stored wood also is susceptible to mold growth, which can infest your home when you bring the wood inside. If you take the time to properly season you firewood or make sure to purchase properly seasoned wood, that work is going to waste if you’re not properly storing your firewood during the winter.

When determining how best to store your firewood for the winter, there are a few factors to consider.

How much space the wood will require

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The amount of wood needed to burn fires all winter can take up a considerable amount of space. The average home with a woodstove burns three cords of wood each winter. Each cord of wood takes up 128 cubic feet, or an area that is four feet deep, four feet tall and 8 feet long.

When determining where to store your firewood, you’ll first need to determine how much space it will take. Do you burn the average three cords of wood, or do you burn fires less frequently? Do you purchase all of your wood at once, or do you purchase one cord at a time, as needed? Make sure you select a space to store your wood that will suit your wood-burning and purchasing habits.

The ideal conditions for storing wood

Once you’ve determined the area you’ll need to accommodate your firewood, you’ll need to find an ideal space for that wood. First, the wood should be stored away from your house, as firewood stores adjacent to a home can introduce pests like termites. That means you should never store more than a day’s worth of wood in your garage or home.

Wood ideally should be stored in a protected area, like a barn or a woodshed. If that’s not possible, keep your wood at least six inches off of the ground with wood pallets or a firewood stacker. The woodpile should be at least partially covered with a tarp. If the wood does get wet, make sure you dry it out thoroughly before attempting to burn it.

Knowing if wood is dry enough to burn

You’ll be able to tell if your wood is dry enough to burn in a few ways. Wet wood will feel heavier than dry wood. If you bang two logs together and hear a heavy thud, you’ll know your wood is wet. Once you start a fire, you’ll instantly be able to tell if your wood is properly dry. Wet wood will be difficult to ignite, and once lit, it will let off a hissing noise and heavy, blue smoke.

Dry firewood is a matter of safety. Make sure you follow our guidelines for properly storing your seasoned firewood to make sure that you’re burning hot, clean, efficient fires this winter.

By Joe Sauter on January 29th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , | Leave a Comment

Fire Safety Tips

A fireplace or heating stove can help to heat your home during the cold winter months while also helping you lower your home heating bills. But fireplaces and woodstoves also can bring a home fire hazard. In fact, the majority of home fires occur during the coldest months: December, January and February. Fortunately, you can keep your home and family warm and safe by following some fire safety guidelines.

Practice proper fireplace maintenance.

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According to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), a good portion of home-heating fires are caused by dirty chimneys, fireplaces or stoves. In wood-burning fireplaces or stoves, flammable creosote can build up on the walls of a chimney, posing a fire hazard. In other types of fireplaces, debris or animal nests can block chimneys. Gas and pellet stoves should have fans and vents cleaned from dust and debris. In all types of fireplaces or stoves, cracking chimneys or malfunctioning parts can lead to a home fire. Because of these dangers, the National Fire Protection Agency recommends that all fireplaces, stoves and chimneys be cleaned and inspected by a certified chimney sweep at least once per year.

Prep your fireplace or stove before lighting a fire.

Before you light a fire, make sure your fireplace or stove has been properly prepared. Clear out any ash from previous fires. In a pellet stove, make sure there isn’t any debris. Make sure your damper is entirely opened to allow for proper ventilation of the fire and to prevent smoke from billowing back into your home. If you have an open-hearth fireplace, build your fire on a metal grate. Glass doors should be fully opened when a fire is burning, and use a metal screen over the fireplace opening to prevent burning embers from flying out into the room. Never leave your fire unattended.

Never burn other materials in your fireplace.

Never burn anything other than the intended fuel in your fireplace. That includes cardboard, wrapping paper, trash, plastics, coal and Christmas trees. These can all cause a flare up that could lead to a chimney fire, or release toxic fumes into your home. In a wood-burning stove or fireplace, only properly seasoned, dry firewood should be burned to prevent an excess of flammable creosote from building up.

Create a safe area around your fireplace.

Make sure you create a buffer between your fireplace and the rest of your room. Flammable materials, such as décor, books, pillows and furniture, should be kept at least two feet away from a fireplace. Consider installing a safety gate around the hearth to keep pets and children a safe place from the fire’s flames or the hard edges of the hearth or stove.

Be prepared for a potential home fire.

Practice recommended home safety guidelines. Keep a fire extinguisher on hand. Have operating smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on all floors of your home, especially outside of bedrooms. Create a fire evacuation plan and make sure all members of the family have the plan memorized.

By exercising common sense and following a few safety guidelines, you can enjoy your fireplace or stove all winter while keeping your family safe.

By Joe Sauter on January 11th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , | Leave a Comment