For those who have a wood burner in the front room, Best accessory?

[jyoutz]

I don't subscribe to the paper, but the small grocery store next town over puts the unsold 1 or 2 day old papers in a basket for free, plus there are the free weeklies I pick up. I'm at the point of my life where 2 day old news is good enough.

Only need to start fires in Oct/early Nov so limited need. By mid November we're running the stove fulltime most years.

I've known people who use a torch to start a fire, but I've never had much luck with it.

I feel bad for you westerners who don't have hardwood. If all I had to heat with was pine, aspen or other less-than-great types of wood, I'd probably go pellet. I'll use that wood in my workshop because it burns hot and fast, and I'm not out there all day every day.

Most places in the west do have some hardwood trees that we use for fuelwood. Pine and fir are used for fire starter. I burn early evening with the damper open and straight pine. Then before bed I’ll throw some dense wood in like oak and maybe a juniper knot and turn down the damper. In the southwest, oak is mixed with our pine forests.

 

[oosik]

First ten years we burned pine firewood. Next fifteen years - hardwood pellets. At year 25 we went over to electric heat. Easier to control and a WHOLE lot cheaper.

 

[jjeff]

Mentioned before somewhere I think old worn out steel trowel to empty ashes in fire box works great for me, instant fire starter is a empty 12 pack box stuffed with sticks found in yard and news paper hasn't failed me yet. Not to frightened about very occasionally getting burned by hot coals when cleaning using a old steel trowel though. Have one of those stove top fans I like to think it does something but looks cool and solely works off stove heat.

 

[dodge man]

I have a coal bucket for ashes, by morning mine are usually cold or almost no coals. I have a fireplace and use fire starter blocks. I break them in half and that’s usually enough.

 

[rangerfredbob]

Is that an Etch A Sketch in the background?

Yep, and one of those old rotary viewfinder things in front of it

 

[sd455dan]

Seen most listed on this thread so one more- Dragon Wood stove steamer.

 

[MossRoad]

Yep, and one of those old rotary viewfinder things in front of it

View-Master

 

[goeduck]

With a fire brick lined stove, ashes just take up space in the firebox.

Yes, but having to clean out the ashes more than once a week surprised me. Hardwoods seem to ash more than I am used to. Our Doug Fir burns with very little ash. I mentioned above that I have gone for 2 months before emptying the ash, typically I do it about once a month. About 3 times a year I sweep down the flu while I have the stove cooled down.

 

[CalG]

Yes, but having to clean out the ashes more than once a week surprised me. Hardwoods seem to ash more than I am used to. Our Doug Fir burns with very little ash. I mentioned above that I have gone for 2 months before emptying the ash, typically I do it about once a month. About 3 times a year I sweep down the flu while I have the stove cooled down.

I started my stove about a month ago.

I'll let it cool down and go out sometime in May. Four 18 inch long "splits" is a fill. It's about four hours + to a fill to get good heat. Overnight, the coals self bank. The stove is warm, but not "warming" the entire house/ (That's fine, I'm sleeping ;-)

A "clean" of the ashes means about 6 or 7 scoops. The ashes are carried out on an old oven roasting tray (or is it the bottom part of a broiling tray, I can't tell, and I'm looking right at it. It's gray enameled anyway ;-)

We were gone to have thanksgiving diner with our daughter and our son and his family yesterday. Left the house about 9:00 am for the drive up. Filled the stove before we left. When we got home around 11:00 pm, the stove was just warm to the touch. Perfect time to scoop out a tray of ashes. So I did, and set the tray full outdoors on a large stone slab to cool. This morning, those ashes (and cooled coal "bio char" pieces went onto the compost pile.

In a couple of days, The operation will be repeated.

Our stove is much like the one pictured in a post above. Soapstone. It has secondary air , and burns pretty clean.

The brick chimney gets swept every fall. It was only a couple weeks ago now. We have enjoyed a very pleasant autumn!

 

[Oz_Kioti]

A nice pile of split kindling looks nice but I just walk through the woods with a 5 gallon bucket and pick up sticks.

Our big old Gumtree between the house and the car shed provides all the kindling we need. Approaching winter, it sheds copious strips of fine thin bark, which is ideal. It also drops small dead twigs/branches throughout the year which we just throw into the cleared area under the canopy.
House to source of kindling? About 30 seconds!