The Perfect Fire Starter.

We've had our wood burning stove for a year now.  Although I'd like to claim that I'm all knowing, I've been guessing at how to start the fire in our stove given the quick intro by the salesman as well as years of watching my father burn everything he could to start his little stove.  It would take me an hour or more before it reached a temperature hot enough to actuate the on-board blower.  Never realizing that I could be at fault (how could I be?) I was assuming that maybe there was a downdraft in the chimney or some other excuse.

That was until I searched online for hints at starting a fire.

Generally speaking, fire needs three things to exist.

1.  OXYGEN.

2.  HEAT.

3.  FUEL.

Seems simple enough until you follow that recipe without much to show for it.  I would stick a couple of twigs, lots of old newspaper and two small logs into our stove, light the paper with a lighter and wait for one, sometimes two hours before feeling any real heat emanate from the stove.  I had the heat from the lighter, the newspaper and wood bits for fuel and finally, oxygen was there as I kept the door open.  It didn't make sense to me why our stove wasn't working very well.

Several weeks ago, I discovered something.  There are more details to this three ingredient recipe.  And no, I don't mean add a gallon of gasoline, that's just insane.  It's more about how everything is physically arranged and the amount of oxygen being brought into the stove that matter.  It's not so much a 1:1:1 ratio.  The more O2 that can be given to the fire, the stronger it burns.  If you randomly stick a bunch of paper into a stove with some wood and light it, the paper will burn quickly sucking up most of the O2 and not allow the wood to catch on fire.  The twigs that I used as kindling were not large enough to produce the necessary heat to ignite the larger logs.  This left me with lots of smoke and no heat.

How you arrange the kindling, the type and size of it and the stages of burn will either help you or burn you.... (yes, the pun was intended).  So, after a long winded introduction, here's my secret recipe to get a large stove working quickly:

1.  Make your own kindling.  Our local grocery store sells a bundle of kindling for $6 per a pack of 16 sticks of dried wood.  You already have dried wood from your wood pile.  Why waste the money?  Use a hatchet or an ax/maul and split the already dried wood into slivers.  Each sliver should be no bigger than an inch square.  They do not have to be perfectly shaped.

2.  The night before you plan on making a fire, bring some wood from your storage pile indoors.  The coldness of winter will make it harder for the log to ignite if left outside.  It's core is too cold to catch fire.

3.  Collect a few sheets of newspaper.  Never use shiny, wax or plastic-like paper.  Take one sheet at a time and fold it in half, then crumple it into a tube and twist it to make it as dense as possible, like a cigar.

4.  In a clean stove (doesn't have to be perfect), place three bits of kindling across the bottom.  Place the pieces of twisted newspaper between each piece of wood kindling.

5.  Make a second layer similar to the first with the wood rotated 90 degrees to the first layer.  Place the twisted roll of newspaper in-between the kindling like the first.

6.  Now a third layer like the first layer.  This one should be 90 degrees turned to the second layer or parallel to the first layer.  No newspaper is required from here on wards.  A fourth layer of kindling may be added if you have a large stove.

7.  Pick a small split log and place on top.  If there is bark on it, make sure that the bark is facing away from the kindling.

Four layers of kindling, three sticks per layer, 12 sticks used.  Cost?  Pennies, if that.

8.  Light one of the bottom twisted newspaper rolls.

9.  Slightly close the door on the stove leaving about an inch open.  Make sure the damper and air control are fully opened.

Top Arrow (pulled out) - Damper fully open.
Bottom Arrow (pushed in) - Air control fully open

10.  Wait and watch.  Within a few minutes, you'll have a bonfire.  With my massive stove, in less than 30 minutes, I was at operating temperature.  Notice the door is slightly open.

Fire Start Time:  8:29 AM (T = 0 Minutes)

T = 5 Minutes.  Note the thermostat sensor is the gray colored plate on the bottom left of the stove.

Blower On, 8:51 AM (T = 22 Minutes)

Once the fire becomes established, poke and add more logs, close the door and damper   Allow the fire to grow and adjust the air intake to control the fire.

Now you're probably thinking, "Gee, 30 minutes to start a fire is a long time."  Yes, I agree.  The time is more for the thermostat controlled blower to actuate.  The fire was well established after 5 minutes as the above photo attests to.

I am not too keen on the thermostat for the blower.  As far as I can tell, there's no adjustment for it.  It turns the blower on well after the fire has established, yet stays on well after the air leaving the blower is cold.  I'll have to figure that one out in time.

Either way, there you have it.  A sure-fire way (haha) to have a strong fire producing heat.

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Chimney and Stoves, Part III (Finally)

It's DONE!  Our secondary source of heat is finally installed.The crew from Fireworks Hearth and Home of Haddam, CT, arrived around 10:30 AM on February 10, 2011.  They completed their installation around 2:00 PM.  Thanks to my wife, the following are photos depicting the installation:

Mounting the roof:

Liner installation:

Damper removal:

The stove!

...being installed:

Connection to the liner:

Liner ready to be trimmed:

Bracket for liner at chimney cap:

Thanks to the crew, here's an awesome view down our 250 year old chimney showing the bracket and liner installed:

The Avalon 1190 installed and working: 

The original plan was to install two liners.  One for the fireplace and another for the oil boiler.  When the crew took off the 7" exhaust, it was immediately noticed that the clay bell that received the 7" pipe was not large enough to accommodate the liner with a 90 degree bend.  The installation of the larger liner was cancelled.  The owner was frustrated that he was unable to complete the job, but was kind enough to remove the cost of the large 7" liner and it's installation cost from the final bill.  Although he could not return the liner to the manufacturer, he may be able to use it on another job.

Starting the stove was a bit difficult at first.  There are also fumes from the paint that are given off in that first burn.  My pregnant wife left our home for 2 hours to avoid smelling them.  She was instructed to go spend money... luckily she didn't take it so literally.  Two hours later with a new addition to her maternity attire, she arrived.  The fume smell persisted, however, for the next two days.  I only hope there is no impact on her.

This stove is a monster.  It took about an hour to get the stove up in temperature, but once it was, the heat output was awesome.  With the oil heating off and the outside temperature in the mid to low 40's, inside, the library's thermostat read around 50 deg and the kitchen around 45 deg (bare minimum setting on the thermostats).  With the stove running at full power for a couple hours, the temperature in both locations climbed a minimum of 10 degrees.  Now, there is a more even temperature distributed throughout the home.  It's an incredible feeling to not have to put on the liquid gold and still be warm... hot in fact.  We can walk into the kitchen without dreading it.

Efficiency wise, we'll have to see over time, but some quick math found the following.  I purchased three boxes of hardwood from Walmart ($6.24 per 0.75 cu. ft.) then another 10 cases from the local Stop and Shop (2 for $12 at 0.75 cu. ft. each).  The boxes from Walmart had mold growing in them, Stop and Shop kept there's outside and had two different brands.  One brand was covered in mold and the other dry without mold.  I am on the lookout for a supplier of seasoned hardwood.  Pricing should be around $250 per a chord (128 cu. ft) which should equate to $1.95 per cu. ft.  These small bundles from our local stores are at $8.00 a cu. ft.  We went through three cubic feet of the store bought hardwood from Friday night and then relighting for all of Saturday.  Assuming we have a mild winter the rest of the season, we'll go through 9 cu. ft. a week, one chord should last us roughly 14 weeks.  Obviously we'll go through much more wood as temperatures are more winter like.  

Let's compare this to oil.  Now, of course, please take into account the rather mild winter that we are having and the power outage in October/November.  We spent $2503.99 on heating oil since moving in on October 1, 2011.  That's $1,321.24 since winter started on December 21, 2011, 53 days ago.  If we offset the oil heating with our new wood stove, burning 9 cu. ft. of wood per 7 day period, each day will cost $2.51 (using a bulk buy of $250 per chord).  Over the same 53 day period, we would've spent approximately $133.  That's an insane difference!  Another thing to keep in mind is that our heating system also heats the hot water.  So regardless, if we used wood everyday, we'll still use the oil for hot water.  I'm curious to see how this fair during a bitterly cold winter.

So, how much did this cost us? (I hope the store won't mind this part...)

Avalon 1190:              $2,000.00

Optional Cast Iron Legs:    $100.00

Optional Blower:            $200.00

6" by 35' Liner:            $650.00

Custom support bracket:      $25.00

Black exposed pipe:          $50.00

Installation Fee:           $600.00

Taxes:                      $230.18

Grand Total:              $3,855.18

So was it all worth it?  Absolutely!  The pricing was quite reasonable since other places charged more for all the items listed and installation was questionable due to the nature of the home's age.  Fireside completed the work as promised with no major damage to our historic home.  I am very pleased at this point.  The stove looks the part and functions quite well.  We'll eventually buy a cauldron and stick it on the arm over the stove, just to add to the look and perhaps even put a pot of water on the cook top surface for humidity.  I do plan on having Fireside come back for an annual cleaning.

Now onto the next project!

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Chimney and Stoves, Part II

Being completely distraught by Part I, I haven't dealt with another vendor for several weeks. Speaking with a co-worker, another stove store in their locale was brought up. I paid a visit to their establishment and met with the owner. He was the only other seller of the same stove that we saw previously in our area. Through our conversations, we found out that the Travis made Lopi Laydon is poorly made for heavy use, cosmetically, it's very attractive, but is not built to handle heating a home.


We became dismayed but were drawn to a stove that had a huge glass front, with plenty of surface area to cook on, should it be necessary. This is another Travis product, however, this one is built for heating, not for looks. It's the Travis Avalon 1190.

We received a price that was the same as for the Lopi Laydon but the performance of this beast is greater than that of the Laydon. We also wanted the blower, cast iron legs and front door options. The pedestal look doesn't seem to flow well in a 250 year old home so these options made sense. We had the store owner give us a quote for the installation. The first trip out was by his son who gave a quote for the stove install only. We also needed a quote for a liner in the basement. So a second trip was made by the owner to examine exactly what was needed.

From our home inspection, we found out that we had a Crane oil furnace. Online searching revealed that the Crane company ceased production of oil furnaces in 1968, leading me to believe that our furnace is at least 44 years old at the time of this writing. We had a chimney inspection which also revealed that we did not have a liner for our very old boiler. Thoughts of leaking CO are a major concern with it venting past our bedrooms. In that second trip, the owner came himself, as we discussed the options, I wanted to know if it were possible to get some of the other fireplaces working back to original. We planned on a third visit where he would bring his mason in.

The mason arrived with the owner and they went over the chimney briefly. The conclusion was that YES! it is possible; however, we would never be able to get all 5 fireplaces working due to the current codes limiting space in our chimney. I'll take what I can get, but first our stove.

The final quote for the stove I'll reveal later as it is not installed yet and anything can pop up. The scheduled installation date is February 10, 2012. Look for an update after that date.

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Chimney and Stoves, Part I

My wife and I are looking on spending between $5,000 and $6,000 year heating our home with oil.  Our furnace is approximately 60 years old, and in fact on 12/2/2011, I had the oil tank filled costing us $694.33 for 185.7 gallons.  Last time we had the tank filled was on October 12.

On the weekend of 12/3/2011, I had the chimney inspected.  I was a little disappointed with the inspection.  I had to wait a month for the appointment and when the two man crew came in, they spent 15 minutes walking around as I took them to each fireplace.  After the walk through, the attic was seen, then the basement.  Finally, one man climbed to the roof and looked down the chimney.  That's it.  I was charged $150 for a visual inspection (Level 1) and all they told me was what I already knew.  That my chimney is unlined.  Yey, thanks for wasting my money...  Not only did I waste a month, waste $150 for information I already knew, I also received a citation from the chimney sweep that I have a code violation.  Now that's a WTF moment if anything.

I was also given an estimate for repair.  The oil furnace has a 7" diameter exhaust that is ducted to the chimney, but is also unlined.  For $2,500, the Sweep will install a liner for that exhaust.  It's important since the exhaust, like an automobile's exhaust, contains carbon monoxide.  Being un-lined allows the gases to potentially leak through cracks in the chimney.

The sweep also noted moss growing on the chimney cap's exterior bricks.  For $475, the cap can be cleaned and sealed.

Also, for $1,200 to $1,400, they will install a stove that I buy separately whose price includes a liner.

With this knowledge, my wife and I went stove shopping.  We ended up at a large showroom with several different styles, sizes and brands.  I found out that stove makers make exclusive contracts with distributors who are the only ones allowed to sell that brand within a set radius forcing a price point that is hard to beat.  No real competition...

Regardless of the above, we saw and liked a particular stove called a Lopi Leyden.  From the salesperson we found out that the unit is made in America, cast iron and a higher quality than average.  Reviews online show a 50/50 opinion in regards to quality of build.  You can fill the stove either from the front double doors or from the top.  It's roughly 500 lbs in weight and since it burns wood, requires a 6" liner.  The larger the liner, the more expensive.

We got a quote of $1999 for the stove itself and another $1000 for the liner plus $600 for basic installation.  I tried my best to explain to the salesman that we don't have your typical setup.  We have an antique home.... somehow, when I explain this to people, they don't seem to understand.  Photos are the only way to express a thousand words:

 I sent all these photos to make sure that the salesman knew exactly what it was that he was dealing with so that there were no surprises during the installation.  I also included a photo of the exterior of our home showing the chimney.  I wanted to get an appropriate estimate for the installation of the stove as well as the cost to install the liner for the oil boiler.  With all this information, he waited a week saying that he's trying to get information...

Hi Steve, spoke with Matt my installer. He's thinking by looking at the pics and doing a quick drive by that your chimney opening is 48 x 48. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks(name)
Sent from my Samsung Captivate

 That's nice, but this was emailed a week after the photos were submitted.  I replied with:

Great, so where does that leave us with an estimate for the installation of a 7" diameter liner for the oil furnace AND updated installation costs for the wood burning stove? 

A couple days pass and no response:

(name),
I hate to pester, but I am still waiting to hear from you regarding the installation costs.
I also apologize for using your personal email, as I do not have your work email.
Thanks, Steve 

A response, finally:

Its no bother at all Steve. Monday i was playing phone tag with (name) a couple times. Either he was in the middle of an install or I was unavailable. Yesterday i was off. Im going to ask him if he could leave a approx figure should i miss his call again. Take care. I'll talk to you soon with an update. 

Ok, so I'll wait for him to get in touch with his installer......

Good morning Steve
I wanted to give you an update. I spoke with (name) briefly yesterday. He advised me that he wouldn't be able to do the job for you because he's so backed up with installs on stoves. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

This salesman is just wasting my time...

(name),
This is really disappointing.  Waiting for information for two weeks only to read that your installer's opinion on cost is that he's too busy?  That's F'd up, to be blunt.
I suppose I should take my business else where, if this is the level of service I am to expect from Dean's Stove and Spa.  We like the stove but putting a serious buyer on the back burner and showing nothing for it is ridiculous.  You could have been more professional about it and gave us a proper quote but added, "unfortunately, our installer is not available until...". No, instead you blew us off for two weeks, then had the balls to say, in essence, that your installer is too lazy to figure out a quote.  I put great effort in creating a detailed plan with photographs, I can see I only wasted my time.

A review of this business will be made.

Quite disappointing.  Good luck with your future endeavors.

Steve 

I am still planing on installing a wood stove, but not from Dean's Stove and Spa.  Perhaps I will buy one from them and have the chimney sweep install it.  After emailing the above, still annoyed, I wouldn't want to give a commission to this salesman.

There is a tax rebate of 10% for wood stoves of over 75% efficiency for the 2011 tax year.  Hence, why my time is being wasted by this salesman.

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