Wood Articles

What to do with your leftover BBQ ashes? Why not use it in your garden? Ashes are leftover 'un-burnable' minerals such as potassium. It will help your garden, especially if your soil is too acidic. On the other hand, you should not add wood ash to your soil/garden under the following conditions: If the ashes…

Orchids seem to thrive in a porous material. In Asia, most orchids are sold in coconut husks filled with charcoal. Orchid growers swear by it and list the following reasons: To keep the "mix" sweet. To filter impurities. Laboratory tests show that charcoal possesses a remarkable ability to: Keep nutrients in the soil, increasing soil…

Wanting to open a can of worm, are you? The question is, is charcoal grilling/smoking hazardous to your health? The short answer is yes… but then again, most things are done in excess harm to our health, including drinking too much water. It should not pose any long-lasting effects if done occasionally as a treat.…

Typically, 10 to 30 minutes depending on a variety of factors. But a quick way to determine if your coals are ready is by fine white ash covering them. If most of the coals are still black, it may release 'coal dust' on your food. While not necessarily dangerous, it may taint your food taste.

We assume without chemicals, right? And by "best," it really depends on your definition. Cheapest method, how fast to ignite, the best value, etc. Here are some time-proven ways to light BBQ charcoal. Paper (newspaper, paper towel, etc.) soaked in cooking oil. This pretty much tells you everything. Place the oil-soaked paper on top of…

That's like asking what's the best truck; a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge? You may have a strong opinion on this topic, and some have strong ideas on the type of wood-burning stove. But there are pros and cons to everything, and wood-burning stoves are no exception. A steel stove heats up quicker than cast iron…

If you buy a new wood stove today, it must comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2020 New Source Performance Standard emissions for clean air. This standard requires manufacturers to limit emissions to 2.5 grams/hour or less for cordwood. The overall efficiency rating of today’s modern wood-burning stoves is in the low 70% to…

A new wood-burning stove, insert, or fireplace will emit smoke and fumes during the first couple of start-up fires. This is normal and is called “off-gassing.” As paint cures and oils from the manufacturing process burning off, strong odors and smoke may occur. These fumes are non-toxic and may be objectionable to some. You will…

Whenever something is burned, there are ‘leftovers” from the process.  It really doesn’t matter what is burned, wood, natural or LP gas, fuel oil, kerosene or coal.  These leftovers, or by-products include:  water vapor, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and other particulate matter.  Indoor air quality will be affected.  It can be…

This is a question that comes up periodically.  And, the answer is always the same:  NO!  Never do this.  The damper to your fireplace must be completely open when there is a fire burning.  If you close the damper, even slightly, you are running the risk of allowing smoke and other dangerous contaminants from the…

It’s called a “wood” burning stove for a reason!  The only thing to burn in your stove is: wood!  Yes, use a few wads of newspaper to get kindling going from a cold start, but never burn the following in your wood stove: pressure treated lumber particleboard plywood or chipboard wood with nails or screws…

This is the black pipe that “connects” a wood stove to the chimney system.  It’s often called stove pipe or black pipe.  Connector pipe can be the standard single wall black pipe that many are familiar with.  Or, it can be a double wall, close clearance pipe.  Your stove requires specific clearances to combustibles.  Oftentimes,…

The literature on wood-burning fireplaces, stoves and inserts will provide lots of information.  Included with these details will be the size of the firebox.  The size of the firebox in wood-burning equipment is expressed in “cubic feet”.  The larger the number, the bigger the firebox.  And a larger firebox means longer burn times and more…

The goal is identical, to keep you and your loved ones comfortable by using wood as the fuel.  However, this type of equipment differs significantly and has different types of applications. A wood burning fireplace can be built using masonry materials or a zero clearance (ZC) unit, designed in a factory and built into a…

That depends on the quality of the wood you’re burning.  Aiming for a moisture content of <25% will significantly reduce the amount of creosote that builds up in your chimney.  Ensuring that your stove, insert or fireplace is well maintained will help too.  The standard of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) states that all…

Yes, you can, provided certain conditions are met.  The first thing to do, is to make sure the stove has been tested and approved by HUD (Housing & Urban Development) to be installed into a mobile or manufactured home.  Other items include: 1) An outside air kit must be installed.  2) The stove most be…

Adequate floor protection, or an approved hearth pad, is critical to a safe wood burning stove installation.  You must protect a combustible floor with a non-combustible material.  This floor protection must extend beyond the front, back, and both sides of the stove.  Hearths pads (floor protection) are designed for ember protection or thermal protection.  Ember…

Most wood burning inserts today operate with efficiencies in the mid 70% range. A properly sized and operated wood burning insert can heat a couple thousand square feet of living space. Older, open burning fireplaces are not rated for any efficiencies, but most dealers would agree that if you’re getting 15 to 20% of the…

It’s a small device about twice the size of a deck of playing cards.  There are two probes or pins on one end of the meter that penetrate the wood to check the moisture content.  If you’re a wood burner, you know the importance of burning dry wood.  How dry is dry?  Wood with a…

It’s best way to keep children and animals away from your fire by fitting glass doors or using a sturdy screen. You can get different styles of screen and some are transparent so you can still enjoy the view of your fire while keeping kids and pets safe form the heat and flames.