Fireplace help

[beenthere]

Yes, you can shut the damper down, just so it doesn't smoke back into the room. That is what it is for. Open it wide when you start the fire, to get as much draft as possible. Then as the fire gets hot, and creates its own draft, you can begin shutting it down.
White oak is good, or other hardwoods will work. Stay away from the softwoods if you can, as well as stay away from the soft hardwoods.

 

[HR_Mutt]

beenthere
yes, the chimney will heat up and begin to draw/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif. All I had in mind was start-up. Thanks.
regards
Mutt

 

[Hillbilly]

A set of andiron's work better for me in a fireplace than grates anyday.They allow the wood to lay on the hearth or hot coals and will not let the logs roll out.A neighbor of mine and I made a rig out of pipe that is similar in concept to andirons except we took it a step further (pipe three inch diameter I believe) using 3 vertical pieces of piping evenly spaced on the front and 2 pieces off smaller piping on the outside edge on the bottom running towards the back of the fireplace,this way the weight of the logs will keep the whole thing from tipping forward and at the same time keep logs from rolling out on the hearth,you have to make sure you use materials that will not burn out over time.I have put pieces of wood in there at night that probably weighed a hundred pounds(backlog) and would burn all night.
But once I put a wood furnace in my efficency went up dramtically,and the amount of wood I had to cut decreased a lot,but a fireplace is nice to look when it is being used.

 

[pdxman]

Try getting a load of unsplit spruce and a splitting maul. By the time you have a few split up...you'll be warm enough/w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif .

Wood heats twice you know!

 

[beenthere]

If you can comfortably get at the top of your chimney, cleaning it yourself is not a big problem. I find that getting a wire brush that fits the flue (square, round, ? diam) and that screws to 3-4 ft lengths of fiberglass rod works the best for me. There are all kinds of other methods, from rattling chains, to weighted brushes, etc. After the debris is knocked out of the flue, then you need to get it out of the chimney, wherever it falls. That depends on the construction of the fireplace, and what is above the damper.

 

[Egon]

Ahh, you just wait till it's -40 and then all you gotta do is tap them.

Egon

 

[pdxman]

Egon; -40 degrees' ?? Won't the head of the splittling maul shatter also LOL!

 

[Hillbilly]

You ever split any Elm? You will get warmed 2 ways with it as well.

 

[Hillbilly]

I know of a guy that rattled chains in his chimney and he broke the clay tile,a feed sack with a small amount of sand will work.Notice, I said small amount.

 

[Joe_W]

You may want to hang a damp sheet in front of the fireplace when you clean the chimney. That will keep the dirt from coming out into the room. If possible, tape it to the wall surrounding the fireplace to seal it off. Black soot is a real hemorrhoid to clean up.
Joe W.