Firewood Kindling, Kindling Collection

Unless you plan to keep your wood stove going 24/7, there will be plenty of occasions when you'll re-start a fire from scratch. Start stocking up now on dry sticks and twigs blown down from Summer storms, you will go through them very quickly. The same goes for newspaper. Have a paper birch near-by? Use the sheddings as a great fire starter.

Like to Burn Wood? Join the Arbor Day Foundation

If you like to burn wood, you owe it to yourself to join the Arbor Day Foundation. Membership not only supports the planting of trees, they'll also send you 10 free tree sproutlings as part of your membership! You'll feel good supporting a worthwhile organization and know you're ultimately replenishing the resource you love.

Happy heating!

Fire Extinguishers, Buy One!

If you have a wood burning stove or fireplace, you should have a fire extinguisher...period. My kitchen floor is singed in half a dozen places due to popping/flying embers. Don't think a fire-screen is going to protect you either, the embers fly over & around. Chances are you will never need a fire extinguisher, but better safe than sorry. Keep it in the same room as the stove, but don't store it next to the stove itself. The high heat can cause undue pressure on the tank risking a malfunction. Make sure and test your fire extinguishers every year as well.

Happy heating!

Wood Burning Stoves + 30 Percent Tax Credit

If you've been toying around with the idea of adding a wood burning stove for your home heating needs, the 2009/2010 seasons IS the time. You can realize a 30% tax credit on your next return up to $1500 per item, in this case a wood stove with at least 75% efficiency. A tax credit will reduce your taxable income dollar for dollar. There's a great Q&A on the Woodstove.com website.

This is HUGE... to draw a comparison, it's like having another child without the long term expense. :-) Parents with children realize a $1000 yearly tax credit.

More Off-season Shopping, Humidifiers

During the heat of Summer, the last thing on your mind is, "how can I add more humidity to the air?". If you own a wood burning stove though, now is a great time to pick-up a humidifier and humidistat for a little less.

When you heat with a wood stove, you wick the moisture out of the air VERY quickly. Several times the humidity in my house went so low the humidistat didn't have a reading. This is bad for numerous reasons... it's not healthy, particularly with air-born rhino viruses in the Winter. Moisture in the air will help cling to floating particals and draw them down. Overly dry air will dry out your skin and nasal passages making you more suseptable to sinus infections. Bottom line, get some humidifiers!

Hot steam or cool mist is fine and if the room is pretty large, it can't hurt to have two. More moisture in the air will also make the room feel warmer. You've heard of 120 degree temps in Arizona and the people say, it's tolerable because it's a "dry heat". The opposite is true in this situation, you want more moisture so the room feels warmer. If you have a free-standing woodstove (not an insert), you can place a pot of water on top of the stove for some abient steam. Use this as a supplement though, not a primary form of humidification.

Invest in a humidistat as well. It not only monitors the temperature in the room but also the humidity. The humidistat will give you a visual read-out when the heat/humidity is out of whack.

Burning Wood Pallets for Firewood

For most businesses wooden pallets are a menace. They add up quickly and are expensive to haul away. As such, you'll often see "free wood" signs close to factories with stacks and stacks free for the taking. Pallets are generally pine but you'll often find oak as well. Out of curiosity I took a few home for my stove. Let me tell you, it's a pain in the butt. The pallets are full of nails and by the time you saw away the un-nailed sections, you aren't left with much! It's like picking a scrawny chicken, not much meat. Don't get me wrong, the wood is extremely dry and burns nicely, but I question the time/effort to benefit ratio here. Unless you have a stove designed to burn the entire pallet nails and all (you can find these!) there's not much value. You can however use old pallets to keep your good firewood off the ground. Why use good split firewood as a base when you can use pallets? If you're really lucky you'll find some old pieces of plywood, these are great for covering the tops of your pile to keep the rain away.

Happy heating!

Prep for the Winter with Yard Sale's

Spring is upon us and so is yard selling season. This is an excellent opportunity to find some cheap gear, including firewood rings and firewood tools like shovels, brushes, pokers, etc. Never buy new unless you have to! People convert their fireplaces from wood to gas or buy a new home and have no intention of using the fireplace. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Happy hunting!