Just to remind those of you who have already got a stove, that Spring is now well established and if you are planning not to use your stove for a few weeks then please remember to empty the ash out.
At the end of the heating season, it is appropriate to remove the ashes from your stove because the ashes actually have the potential to draw moisture that can cause rusting of metal components. The acidic nature of the ash combined with moisture can be very destructive to the metal components.
I'm always fascinated in learning new things about stoves and I thought I'd share this with you...... WOOD ASH SOAP Wood Ash mixed with water produces lye, which can then be mixed with animal fat to make soap. You simply have to add boiling soft water to your ash, allow it to sit for a few days, and drain the lye out of the mixture. You know that it’s alkaline enough to go forward with the soap-making process when an egg will float in it. Once you’ve extracted the lye, it’s just a matter of cooking it down with rendered animal fat. Softwood ash produces a soft soap and hardwood ash produces a firmer soap. Add salt to make it even...
Just a reminder......... Going away for the Easter? Leave the stove door ajar so air can circulate and moisture won't build up within the flue or stove. Have some wood stored next to your stove? Do not stack logs or place any other combustible materials immediately adjacent to your stove. The Fire Service has been called to many fires caused because of logs being stored against or on top of the hot external surface of wood burners. The wood can combust (without having a flame to start it) if it gets too hot! Finished burning for this season? Remove all the ash in the fire and on top of the baffle plate inside the stove to prevent rust and corrosion. Open the door for...
I have had several people asking me to remind them about the difference between wood and multi-fuel so I'm just going to run over it again so you can get the best from your stoves. First: How to identify the stove you have. NOTE: PLEASE BE AWARE THAT SOME STOVES HAVE ONE OR MORE AIR VENTS AND MAY LOOK SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TO THESE PICTURES BUT THE MAIN THING IS TO SEE IF IT HAS A GREAT. Wood Burning Only Stoves: Also called wood-fuel stoves, log burners, they solely run on wood logs, generally, as a rule, they have a solid base inside with no ash pan. Wood burns best on a bed of ash and it is therefore only necessary to...
This can happen for several reasons. Weather (Strong winds or very cold) Exposed property location (Hills, Seafront etc) Poor draw Lack of ventilation Occasionally? Sometimes your woodburner which usually behaves its self, but on occasions puffs smoke into the room, usually when lighting the fire it is probably because of a pocket of air has formed within the flue and has stopped the draw of the smoke and now is blocking the exit route, meaning the smoke has nowhere else to go but out of your stoves air vents. 😡 To prevent this from happening you can either use an extra handful of kindling and place it evenly around the firebox or put a sheet of newspaper flat on...
