For once it was too hot with the fire last night. I had to open the window before bed, but got up to close it around midnight. This kind of fire was perfect when the weather was -40 outside because the intense heat took longer to disspate. But now it is wasteful, and uncomfortable (lesson learned). It’s still 63 degrees in here!
My morning ritual regarding the Vogelzang wood-stove; First I open the door on the front and reach my hands inside. I feel around for any residual warmth and carefully grab the embers with my bare fingers and place them in a metal bowl. Then sift through all the ash and remove any hard black coals and also place them in the bowl. Soon there is nought but fine ash, which is shoveled into a bucket. I use the ash as ice-melt on the porch stairs. I need to find a magical purpose for it since there is so much ash and not much ice left.
My way to construct the fire usually goes something like this:
- Part of an egg carton. This is a good foundation material. It doesn’t burn up as fast as other papers, and it isn’t plastic coated like most other packaging cardboards.
-Tinder, the best being shavings from carving projects
-Axe hewn small fuels, ranging in size from pinky width to 3 inches in diameter
-Logs/split wood around forearm width
When arranging the foundation for my fire there are key elements to keep in mind. Fire is like a triangle. The three legs are fuel, heat, and air. If any one of these legs is too strong, or too weak, your triangle collapses. I build my fire sandwiching flat layers vertical/horizontal etc. I don’t build fires in a tee-pee shape as the woodstove isn’t big enough for this, and it doesn’t work as well as sandwiching in my opinion.
If the fuels are packed too tightly for air to flow, there will be smoldering, but no flame. Too much space between fuels- and air blows the flame through quickly and it cannot establish a foothold. It takes practice to build an efficient fire that doesn’t require relighting and babysitting.
I start with the flues wide open to the wind, creating a good draft from the stovepipe. Strike a match and light the lowest possible corner of the egg carton foundation. Heat travels upwards, so to give the flame best access to its feast of fuels, you want to start it as low as possible. After closing the door on the stove I open the draft tray, and listen. Fire starts to climb, suction of the draft creates a rumbling, then a roar. In this stage small fuels become a bed of coals and volatiles burn off (if not hot enough these will leave creosotes/residues to build up in the stovepipe). The heat inside will feed off of the small amount of air it now has access to. This very hot bed of slow burning coals, eats away at whatever log is on top. With flues closed, heat doesn’t escape, but radiates into the home, filling the thermal mass of our log walls so it stays at a consistent temperature longer.
Our Vogelzang boxwood stove’s firebox is about 24 inches long and 18 inches high. The top has a lid that swivels off, inset with two round cooking surfaces (amazing for bacon and tea omg). I usually swivel the lid off to put in large logs since it is difficult to slide them in the front over bed of hot coals without crushing them out. The door has a metal handle. We keep a metal rack near the stove that stock with fuels of varying sizes, a ceramic pot filled with old man’s beard, the steel bowl for hot coals and varying tools to include:
-Wildland fire gloves: These are utterly indispensable. Sliding them on and reaching straight into the embers and fire makes you feel invincible. You can hold on to a burning log for about 15 seconds before the heat starts seeping through.
-Pokers. We have one poker with a sharply angled end, one with a right angle, and one that is straight. Good for scooping embers and maneuvering fuels around or removing the round cooking surfaces
- An iron shovel with a long handle for the morning ashes
-Small hatchet, Large felling axe, and a large splitting axe. (we keep the handsaws in the back room)
-File and steel brush for keeping the cutting tools sharp
It is work but it is rewarding and sooooo much cheaper than heating with oil (which is ofetn 4$ per gallon). A woodstove creates a comfortable routine. Being in practice with fire means that anytime I am in the wilderness, making a fire will not feel alien. Of course I have soot and ashes all over my clothes, and I probably smell of smoke but it is worth it.
