Читать книгу The Self-Sufficiency Handbook - Alan Bridgewater - Страница 31

• Hardwoods, like oak and maple, burn better than softwoods. It is a good idea to split the logs so that they dry out more quickly.

• Only burn well-seasoned wood, which contains just 20–30 percent water, because it burns more efficiently than freshly cut wood. Well-seasoned hardwoods provide a long-lasting, high-temperature fire.

• Never burn plastic waste (such as packaging) in the stove because it will create potentially dangerous fumes.

• Make sure that the chimney/flue is at least as big as the stove’s outlet.

• Wood smoke is potentially harmful, so get a modern stove that is capable of decreasing the level of harmful emissions by up to 90 percent.

• Efficient burning is indicated by white or steamy smoke as opposed to gray or black smoke.

• Be wary about “damping down” (partially closing the damper) for the night. It does enable you to keep the fire in, but it is one of the factors that creates a buildup of creosote in the chimney.

• Open all air vents when starting up the stove so that the resultant brisk fire burns away creosote and pre-warms the chimney.

Lighting a Wood-Burning Stove

• Crumple up half a dozen sheets of crisp, dry newspaper (ordinary cheap newspaper, not glossy magazine paper).

• Take about twenty pieces of dry, split kindling and build a raft-like layer on top of the newspaper.

• Take two small, dry half-logs (logs that have been split down the middle) and set them down flat on the raft of kindling.

• With the door(s) wide open, and the air controls open, light the newspaper at as many points as possible.

• Leave the doors and vents open until the logs are well lit.

• Allow the fire to burn vigorously and brightly until the logs are well charred and then add more logs and cut the draft down in stages (or according to the manufacturer’s instructions).

Wood-Burning Stove Glossary

Baffle: A wall around which the smoke and gas must flow in its passage through the stove; wall designed to control the airflow.

Creosote: A sticky mix of highly flammable tars and oils that can build up within the smoke pipe and chimney lining and then ignite, causing a chimney fire; it is the result damping down too frequently.

Damping down: The act of closing down the vents to keep the fire going overnight. Damping down hastens the buildup of potentially dangerous creosote.

Downdraft: A system of baffles and vents that results in the gases being forced down through the body of the fire before they are allowed to go up the chimney.

Emissions: Harmful by-products. A good modern stove produces relatively low emissions.

Firebox: The containment that holds the body of the fire.

Flue: The chimney, pipe, or vent.

Hearth: The fireproof base (usually made of concrete, tiles, or metal) on which the stove stands.

Kindling: Thin, dry wood (usually softwood) that is used to start a fire.

Seasoned: A term used to describe logs that have been allowed to dry for six to twelve months. Seasoned wood burns more efficiently than freshly cut wood.

Secondary air: A system that introduces a stream of air above the body of the fire, which results in the gases being forced down through the fire before being allowed up the flue.

• Always refer to your stove manufacturer’s guidelines because design and air-flow systems vary from one stove to another.