Wood Stoves: More than just home heating

Who can resist the allure of a wood fire? The crackling of flames as they dance upon the logs; the flickering warm glow casting shadows around the room; the smell of fragrant seasoned wood imparting a sense of comfort; the feeling of warmth and security as you nest by the fire. These are some experiences that have been with us since Og first rubbed two dry twigs together and burned down a forest—thus inventing fire…and um, cooked meat.

Warming thoughts

When we started clumping together in groups in newborn urban centres we began to get away from burning wood for heat and cooking. Wood was hard to come by in cities and so the change to coal then electric and gas came about. When we moved to cities and into the resulting poverty, we lost self-sufficiency.  Let’s face it, when we give up self-sufficiency for the so-called benefits of urban living, we set ourselves up to be taken advantage of and to be gouged out of our hard earned dollars. In our rural setting outside of London, we pay more for delivery of hydro than we do our actual usage, through most of the year. That usually leads to no bill being less than $120--$65 for delivery and the rest for usage and taxes. We have an oil furnace that costs on average $900 to fill up and we use 1 1/2 tanks during a cold winter. We use an electric fireplace on the cool nights to push the time we turn on the furnace back as much as we can. The simple replacement of wood for oil would lead to tremendous savings that belongs in our own pockets.

As towns became cities and as immigration took on tidal wave proportions, safety over open fires became a serious issue. During harsh times, anything flammable was burned and many lacked the necessary equipment or the means of maintaining equipment properly for safe wood burning. Bylaws began to creep up and soon, wood burning took on a negative aspect that has never really faded. A lost of us have fond memories of huddling around a fireplace or an old wood stove after a day spent tobogganing or for myself, sitting around ours in the farmhouse kitchen, munching on my porridge before I headed out the door for school. However, today we do not consider wood as a fuel source—indeed we have been trained to believe by well-meaning yet misguided people that the cutting of trees for any purpose is morally offensive. As well, we have been taught that wood is not very efficient or at least not as efficient as gas, oil or electricity. Neither is actually true.

If you own your own woodlot or you have done your research into the practices of the business you purchase your wood from, you can be certain about what kind of sustainable harvesting is being done. As long as intelligent and chemical free management is in place, wood burning is the greenest heating and cooking option next to a solar oven. A local and small business is a great option to lowering emissions from transport as they will do a limited amount of delivering, if any. Wood is also a replenish-able resource unlike petroleum and only the sun and wind can beat wood for the ease on the bank account every month.

Search for Heat

There are many dealer of wood stoves in Ontario for both home and especially cottages—we love our summers and falls at the cottage here. There are a couple of stove manufacturers and restorers as well, most notably Elmira Stoveworks. 

The first step in locating a dealer of stoves is to search for one that has been in the business quite a few years, burns wood themselves and has a showroom equipped with burning models. Once you have found a dealer you believe you can trust, choose, with his or her help, a stove that is suitable for your needs from companies that have been around at least 20 years so you can probably rely upon them honouring warranties and having replacement parts in stock, now and in the future.

When considering a wood stove for cooking as well as heating, there are a few points to think over when choosing your new stove.

•      Avoid top loading stoves as they can be messy both to maintain and for the exhaust it spills out when loaded. Loading is haphazard at best as precise log placement is next to impossible. Also, to manage the fire you must move pots out of the way, which can be frustrating and potentially dangerous.
•       Decide if having a water reservoir is important to you. The same goes for the warming closet that is found above. Both are aesthetically pleasing to an old-fashioned type stove but they are an additional expense.
•      Consider purchasing heat shielding as it can reduce the amount of clearance needed from combustibles.
•      Look for a stove that has a north/south loading as there is less risk to logs rolling against the glass door and you can load more logs for full time winter heating. An east/west loading stove can only be filled half full due to the logs falling against the door. This type would be more suitable for milder winters or for use mainly in the cool months rather than the true cold of winter.

Hand and Home.
William Benet Seitz. Bull Finch Press Book. © 1994. p 69.

Materials

There are three main types of materials for wood burning stoves: welded steel, cast iron (with or without enameling) and soapstone. Some say that there is no difference, in modern stoves, between the cast iron and the steel but I have to disagree. Without having prior experience with a steel stove and limited exposure to a cast iron one, I am no expert but any cook can tell you that a cast iron pot and a steel one will behave differently under heat. Stands to reason that the same logic would apply to stoves.

·      Steel—heats up quickly and tends to be more economical

·      Cast iron—takes a bit longer to heat up but radiates heat longer and in greater amounts

·      Soapstone—different story. It absorbs heat and releases it slowly which equalizes heat output better than steel and cast iron. Soapstone would be a suitable choice if you are needing constant burning with not many cold starts all through the colder days of fall and winter.

You can choose a stove that either uses a catalyst to clean up smoky exhaust or a “non-cat” that uses special firebox features that accomplish the same thing. A “cat” style stove can burn cleaner but is also more complex to use and the regular maintenance costs will be higher, with more effort required form you. A non-cat is simple to maintain requiring no mechanical aptitude and allows for different lighting styles.

Placement and System Design

Whether you are installing a stove in an existing house or in a new build home, there are some system design considerations, one of which is stove placement. A stove or fireplace should ideally be located in a main room that you spend most of your time in. It should have a heating capacity suitable to the room—this is where your dealer can earn his money as heating capacity can be a variable thing to calculate and it takes a seasoned professional to know just how to do that.

To help retain and release heat well, use materials such as brick, stone or poured concrete on the wall behind the stove and for the hearth floor coverings. A non-combustible floor is required under and around the stove so why not make it something aesthetically pleasing as well as functional (rather than the option of plain grouted tile or sheet metal). A poured concrete wall would be ideal for a new build home; even better, a concrete wall that receives winter sun as this will help to further reduce heating costs.

Stove placement necessary for the straight run of stovepipe and chimney and clearance of the stove with combustible materials are two other considerations. Another, and to my mind very important, is the location of a path to and from the woodpile. Wood, especially a winter season’s worth, is heavy, awkward and tedious to carry any distance. Try to keep supply and demand on the same level and you can use a variation of the milk door to increase efficiency further. If it is necessary to store the wood on a lower level then utilizing a dumb-waiter style system would be advised.

Chimney placement and the clearance from combustibles for safety reasons, are the rather more important issues even if a sore back and aching knees are to be avoided at all costs. A chimney and stove pipe should both be on a straight run instead of one with bends and horizontal runs. Also, running the chimney inside is better than having a chimney installed outside of the house. This will cause sluggish fires and smoke rolling out into the room when the loading doors are opened.

The following points are from the Ontario Building Code and CSA

The Ontario Building Code stipulates that a wood stove can be vented into a code-compliant masonry chimney without a stainless steel liner. A stainless steel liner is typically recommended (or mandatory) when:

·      The customer is looking to improve the draft

·      The tiles in the masonry chimney are cracked

·      Chimney must clear the roof by at least 3 feet, and at least 2 feet higher than any roof line or obstacle within a horizontal distance of 10 feet (3 metres).

·      You must have working smoke detectors on hand at all times.

Main Clearances for wood stoves:

·      Loading doors: 18 inches off non-combustible flooring

·      Sides: ~ 8 inches

·      Corner or Rear: Anywhere from 4” to 48” (depends on the stove)

        Non combustible flooring:

·      Flooring such as sheet metal, grouted tile or mortared brick and stone.

From  http://www.friendlyfires.ca/html/CMFiles/101F_WoodFAQs.pdf

Firewood and Ashes

It is important to choose a stove that is well designed for ease of loading the firewood and for ash removal. Look for a stove that has a low firebox floor—at least 3 inches below the door to keep live coals and ash under control when loading new logs and raking coals. Ash pans can be convenient if they are of an adequate depth to limit spillage. Alternatively a bucket and small shovel will suffice, often with cleaner results.

Using your woodstove and fireplace

You should either inspect your chimney yourself or hire a company who specializes in chimney cleaning before each heating season begins and twice per year for a wood burning cook stove that is in regular use. In a heating stove look in the chimney for breaks, cracks and missing masonry, birds nests, wasp and hornet nests and any creosote deposits once a year before using the stove. Not burning your stove properly or not burning seasoned wood can lead to a build up of creosote. Make sure you are burning only seasoned wood. Seasoned wood is wood that has dried for at minimum six months but ideally for one year. You can buy a moisture reader to test the wood before you buy/use or you can learn the signs of seasoned wood such as cracked ends and a light gray colour.

Most modern stoves will take wood that is 16 inches in length and it is advised to split your wood into pieces that are four to six inches in diameter for better burning. Never overload your stove—add just a few pieces at a time after the fire has caught (onto wood other than the kindling).

Remove hot ashes and coals carefully and store in a metal container with a tight-fitting lid. Do not put on or near combustible materials.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of what some die-hard petroleum addicts will say, heating with wood is an efficient and lovely way to warm your tootsies. If your wood comes from a responsible supplier, and your stove is installed correctly and functioning safely, then you can rest easy that it is also a very green option.

There are a lot of gorgeous styles to choose from and the anticipatory delight that tingles through you at the thought of many nights by the warm glow of burning wood will keep you company as you shop for your hearth’s delight…sorry about that.

Hitting the showrooms can be a fun and learning experience and shouldn’t be a time of stress. Take your time to select a knowledgeable dealer, know the size of the room you want to heat, arm yourself with intelligent questions and your experience becoming a self-sufficient energy provider will be a good one.

For tips on lighting, loading and letting the fire burn see www.MotherEarthNews.com for the article linked here.