I have a cast iron fire place that came with my parental unit's house. Its in the add-on which is kinda like a studio for me. Damn if I know how to use the frackin thing. I got it up and going the first year but it didn't retain the heat well enough or the fire wasn't hot enough or who freakin knows. Anyway, last and this year its been nothing more than an altar for my stuff. Once my room is redone (read: de junked), painted, etc etc, I want to use it as the only source of heat (even though the house has central heating/air) What is everyone's experience using these little guys? :jester:
It doesn't? Wow. Did not know that. So I guess the magical fire fairies don't really exist. Darn. SO disappointed! Anyone else got helpful tips other than baka answers? Thanks!
In the first place iron flace places are generally not as efficient as modern wood heaters. The other thing is does it have a damper plate - a hinged metal plate tha you leave open when you are starting the fire but close up once the fire is going nicely you close it down to keep more heat in. Also firewood from different trees gives off different amounts of heat. Redgum is best for Australia, but I would not know for your country.
So what you are telling me is that I should focus on learning how to use the damper properly and the best wood for long term heating? I'm not sure what is the best here-generally we purchase the wood from the store which is usually a mix of woods. Too bad there aren't books on how to build the better fire Thanks, man.
Ignore the plebian gallery Urby. 1. Learn to use the dampers and vents. This can take some experimentation and will result in filling your space with smoke at least once. Accept it, be prepared for it. Experiment and find out what works best for you. 2. Hardwoods, hardwoods, hardwoods. Softwoods (read: pine) usually have a highly flammable sap, burn too fast and too hot, leave deposits in the burnbox, flue and chimney and these can cause a fire (outside the burn box). Hardwoods have finer, tougher, fibrous grain, no sap, burn a little cooler but burn LONGER and hold heat better. Oak, hickory, poplar, maple, etc. 3. Clean out old ashes on a regular basis into a METAL bucket, not plastic. The odd hot ember can smoulder for days and in a plastic bucket or wrapped up in newspaper will start a new fire someplace you don't want a fire. PM me if you have any questions.
first what brand name is it? i expect that you have on or below the door one or two possibly screw thingies that let air in. on the pipe that runs out the top or back you should have a little handle this handle regulates the exaust, once you get the fire going you have to use both in combination to achieve the desired rate of burn if you let to much air in with out letting the smoke out you will prob. fill your hous with smoke!but once you get a good hot fire going you can usualy close both to some degree so that your fire will burn more slowly. it takes practice!! in so. cal. i expect oak is the way to go! but if your buying wood from the store i wouldent bother with it it will prob. cost more and be messy stinky and a big pain in the ass go propane or natural gas!
like zoomie said,make sure your using hardwoods.once the fire is going good,shut the damper almost all the way.not quite all the way,cuz smoke still neeeds to get out,but you dont want all your heat going out either.same with the vents,once the fire is going good,shut them about 3/4 of the way.also,in my experience,if you pack the wood in as tight as you can,you'll get a better bed of coals.coals are where your heat is,not in the flame
I don't know about USA but downunder propane gas is very expensive ie about ten times the unit cost of natural gas although natural gas has figher standing costs and is quite expensive to instal.
yeah look around for hardwood in cords if possible...buying those bundles in the store can be way to expensive .... what are they $6 for 10-20lbs?
