Why you need a Wood Stove Thermometer

If you own and use a wood or coal stove, then you should have a wood stove thermometer. The stove thermometer will tell you if your wood stove is operating efficiently at just a glance.

The Rutland stove thermometer is designed so that you can easily see if your stove is burning at a temperature that can cause creosote build up.

Installation instructions for the Rutland Stove thermometer are as follows:
Install thermometer on the vertical single wall pipe of your coal or wood stove.
The recommended placement of the thermometer is not more than 6" above the surface of the stove. However, the thermometer may also be placed on the top surface of the stove.
A safety wire is provided to prevent the unit from dropping if it becomes overheated.
The most efficient burn zone may vary, depending on specific stove or area of stove or pipe surface being measured.
Be sure to consult your stove owner manual for proper burn temperatures as each stove can be different.

DIY Pine cone Firestarters

Pine cones make great firestarters, if you aren't up to making your own you can purchase firestarters at http://www.woodstove-outlet.com/fireplace/startmatch.htm.

Items you'll need:
Pine Cones
Fine Candle Wick
Paraffin, Candlewax, or beeswax
Newspaper or wax paper
Cheap pot that you won't use for food after this project, deep straight sided pot is the best.


The first thing you need to do is gather your pine cones. If the pine cones are too dry then they will be brittle and tend to break as you handle them. Pine cones that are too wet need to be allowed to dry for seven to ten days in a weather protected area.

Next wrap the wick around the pinecone tightly being sure to leave a "tail" at the tip of the pinecone so that you can use this as a handle for when you are dipping the cone.

Melt down your paraffin or wax in the pot. While it is melting set up your dipping and drying area. Line your drying area with newspaper or wax paper. This is the area that the pine cones are going to rest on while they are drying. If you want them to come up easier, we recommend going with the wax paper, the pine cones will stick to the newspaper some.

Be sure to keep your eye on your wax during the set up so that it doesn't burn. Your wax needs to be liquid, but not so fluid enough that it just drips right off of your pine cone. If it is that fluid you will want to let it cool a bit before you start dipping your pine cones in it.

After you've dipped your pine cone let it drip over the pot for a bit before putting it in the drying area, this just helps to keep from making a huge mess by having wax drip everywhere. You may need to dip some of your pine cones again after they've dried for a bit. The wax needs to lightly cover the pine cone all over:

While waiting for being used as firestarters these pinecones make a lovely decoration when displayed in a small basket.

There are other methods to creating pine cone fire starters. Some use cupcake tins for an interesting take on this project. A quick search will give you tons of various tutorials.

Some Chimney and Fireplace Keyterms

Sometimes knowing the lingo to your chimney and fireplace can help when you are shopping for items, cleaning, or explaining things regarding your chimney and/or fireplace.

Air-to-Fuel Ratio: The ratio of air to fuel in an appliance that burns solid fuel. If you are burning 1 pound of wood you typically need 35 pounds of air.

Andirons: Two pieces of metal that are usually decorative in nature that support your firewood in the firebox.

Ash Pit: Typically located in the chimney base, it is a storage compartment for ashes. There is usually an Ash Pit Door that allows access to clean it out, the ash pit door is also called the Clean Out Door. Most wood stoves also feature an Ash Drawer, it serves the same purpose as the Ash Pit.

Back Puffing: this occurs when there is a negative pressure draft created in a venting system.


Blower: a fan that forces air that is under pressure.

BTU: British Thermal Unit. One BTU is the amount of heat energy that is  needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is approximately the amount of heat produced by one lighted kitchen match.

Burn Rate: number of pounds of fuel that is consumed in one hour of combustion.

Chimney: One or more vertical passageways for conveying flue gases outside of the home.

Chimney Cap Or Flue Cap: a factory-fabricated appliance that is installed on the top of the chimney in order to protect it from water intrusion, birds, leaves, and other debris.

Clearance:  the minimum distance that is required between a wood stove or fireplace and any combustible materials. This is defined in your local fire and building codes.

Combustion: rapid oxidation of fuel that gives off heat and light. Also known as burning.

Creosote: deposits in the chimney and/or flue that originate as condensed wood smoke having three stages. 1st stage is soot, 2nd stage is lumpy and crisp, 3rd stage looks like roofing tar and is smooth as glass.

Damper: A moveable blade located in the throat of the fireplace. Designed to disrupt the air flow into the chimney.

Double Wall: chimney constructed of an inner liner and outer shell, reducing conduction of heat to the outside. This allows the chimney to be installed without the danger of combustion to support materials.

Draft: pressure difference caused by rising gas, which draws combustion air into the appliance and expels the exhaust gas outside through the chimney.

Efficiency: expressed as the percentage of heat that goes toward actually warming the room as opposed to being vented outdoors.

Firebox: The area that contains the grate or andirons upon which the fuel is arranged for burning.

Firebrick - heat refractory brick used in the construction of a firebox.

Fireplace - includes the hearth, firebox, fascia, and chimney.

Flashing - sheet metal used to make a water-tight seal between the chimney and the roof.

 Flue: passage in the chimney that moves the products of combustion up and out of the chimney.

Flue Collar: main point of connection between the chimney and the vent.


Flue Liners: materials that add protection to the inside of the chimney, protecting it from intense heat.

Grate: a raised grid-like metal (most used metal being cast iron) structure where fuel is placed in the firebox.

Hearth: area that surrounds the stove or fireplace, mostly created from non-combustible brick or tile.

Seasoned Wood: wood that has been allowed to dry from 6 to 12 months. This type of wood burns more easily and emits fewer particulates than freshly cut wood, which results in less creosote build up.

Vent: continuous passage from the flue collar to the draft hood. Flue gas temperatures at the outlet do not exceed 600 degrees.

What are Fireplace Andirons

If you've been looking at accessories for your fireplace you have probably come across fireplace andirons. Most andirons are made in a way that they look very nice and decorative, but they are more than just a pretty addition to your fireplace.

Andirons are for holding logs in the fireplace so that they do not roll out into the floor; they also keep the logs lifted so that air can get around the logs and help to feed the fire in your fireplace.

Most people have replaced the andiron with a fireplace grate. When holding smaller pieces of wood the grate is preferred as it has more surface area for the wood to rest upon. But some people prefer andirons, since they allow the fire to be closer to the bottom of the fireplace, in a smaller fireplace this is sometimes necessary.

Andirons are considered by most to be prettier in a fireplace than a grate. Andirons began to be made in a more decorative manner during the Italian Renaissance.

Wood Stove Smoking into Room

Are you noticing smoke inside your home when the stove is burning or when you've opened the door to load additional wood.

Here are the things you need to check:

• Chimney Cap: these can become clogged, most chimney caps have spark screens and cold, wet, damp weather can cause the screen to attract more embers than it should and it will then clog up.
  -Issues that can add to the clogging of the chimney cap include: wet wood, small fires, and damping down the stove too early. But this is an easy solution. Clean your chimney cap and the smoke should go out.
• Draft: if the issue is not with the chimney cap, then you may not have a good draft. This could be due to the flue being cold. Some recommend to "pre-heat" the flue prior to lighting the fire.
• Dirty Chimney: This can cause decreased room for the smoke to exhaust. Keeping your wood stove and chimney clean and properly maintenance will help to prevent this. You should clean your wood stove and chimney a minimum of once a year, but it is recommended to have your chimney cleaned for every 2 cords of wood that are burned through your wood stove.

Edit we have had a tip added in a comment on this pin on Pinterest:
Quote from Aaron J. on Pinterest: "Great advice, one other thing that might cause back smoke is an incorrectly sized chimney liner or a cracked liner."

Thanks for the tip Aaron!

Fireplace Cleaning

It is the time of the year to be using your fireplace, before you start using it you will want to be sure that your fireplace is clean. Ideally, you should clean your fireplace in the summer when you won't be using it for some time, but if it has not been cleaned, then there is a risk of having creosote or soot cause a fire.


Now you will want to be sure that all the ash has cooled before you go about cleaning your fireplace. 

To remove the ashes you can use fireplace tools such as shovels, brooms, ash rakes, etc. 

Once the ashes have been removed you will need to take out grates, andirons, fire-backs, etc. I recommend taking these to the yard to clean with a wire brush, then you can use a specialized polish on them to restore them to look practically new. Now is also a good time to clean your fireplace accessories.

You will want to use a wire brush to remove any build up of creosote and tare on the damper and lower part of the chimney. Shovel or vacuum this debris out of the fire box.

To clean the firebox you can use solvents created for cleaning fireplaces, you can also use washing soda, vinegar, or TSP with warm water. Use a stiff bristled brush on the inside of the firebox once your cleaning solvent of choice has had time to soak.

If using hot water & vinegar or hot water & washing soda you will want to scrub the liquid into the firebox and let it soak for about 20 minutes or so. Come back and scrub your firebox and fireplace with a generous application of this cleaning liquid.

Once your fireplace is clean you will want to rinse it off with warm water. Let your firebox air out and dry. Close your damper to prevent the fireplace from sucking air out of your home. But be sure to open it before starting a fire.

You will probably want to go ahead and clean your chimney at this time, also suggested reading: Chimney & Fireplace Tips

History of the Fireplace

Fireplaces have been around since the invention of fire. They were originally found in caves, but with no chimneys or ventilation. Evidence of man-made prehistoric fires exist on all five continents.

Fireplace grates came into play around 1678 when Prince Rupert raised the grate of the fireplace which improved the airflow and venting system.

The fireplace as we think of it today really came about during the Victorian Era. The main design of the fireplace really hasn't changed that much since those times, they consist of two main elements: the surround and the insert.

There are many accessories for fireplaces today; grates, fire screens which originated as a form of furniture that was a shield between people and the fireplace. Fire screens help protect the room from open flames and flying embers. Andirons hold up the fire wood so that air can more easily pass around it, the Italian Renaissance saw the andiron go from plain to more decorative works of art.  The fireback was first seen in the 1500s, these tools help to hold the heat and project it back into the room instead of allowing it to be lost up the chimney. Fire irons or fire pokers have been used with fires since the paleolithic period, these allow you to stir up the fire. Bellows help to get a fire started by give blasts of air to feed the fire. These are just a sampling of the tools and accessories that can be used with a fireplace.

 Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireplace#History
http://www.fireplaces-fireplaces.com/guides_Fireplace-History.htm