Playing in your Fireplace

[Andrew Smith]

Does anyone have the same problem as me? Trying to make the fire in your house fireplace HOT and poking it every other minute and even using a hairdryer every now and then to make it hot. My family kinda laughs at me and tell me I just like to play in the fireplace . I hope I am not just a goof ball that plays in his fireplace.

[Thomas Dean]

Yep, definitly a goofball. ;)

[pkrankow]

I'm going to make a few assumptions here, first this is a masonry fireplace(well, maybe a prefab metal/brick job, but definitely not a stove), and second it is on an exterior wall with the chimney outside the building envelope. There is nothing you can do about the exterior chimney unless you rebuild the wall. The exterior chimney causes cold air to fall into the house, and negates stack effect, requiring the chimney to be primed with hot air. Prime using a wad of newspaper lit and held at the flue till you feel a strong draft, then light your kindling. You may need to continue priming for a few minutes after lighting the kindling in older brick arrangements.

Start here
http://woodheat.org
Remember to use dry, seasoned wood, preferably already at room temperature.

If you have a faulty fire grate of whatever type then you are screwed to start. You need a good grate or andirons (fire dogs) to even have a go at this. I recommend a grate wall of fire and own one myself. They are expensive. I also recommend a fire back that goes all the way up to reflect heat out. The fire back that is sold by Grate wall of Fire is a protective fire back, but will support a reflective fire back.

http://www.gratewalloffire.com/index.html

If this is too rich for you then get a common grate from your local home improvement store. The ember catcher (expanded metal screen below the bars) is nice, but will burn out in a year or two. If you can get 3/4 inch bars then pay extra for them since you may never need to replace the rack again. Do not get less than 1/2 inch bars. Closer spacing is better. Beware of cast grates, and make sure they are 1/2 inch thick in the thin areas or leave them alone.

Lastly, build top-down fires. Put a few small logs on the grate, then some sticks, then some starter kindling, then light the kindling. You may need to prime your fireplace chimney with a rolled up newspaper first. After the logs start lighting and before your sticks are consumed, add some smaller additional wood.

If using a the above mentioned Grate Wall of Fire top down fires work excellent, but you start a small fire then build it up. It is easier than the directions given on their website, unless you get the newspaper and can burn an entire section or two to light the fire.

http://www.woodheat.org/tips/topdown.htm

The only downside of the Grate Wall of Fire is that the fire is blue and not bright, but the exposed ember bed really kicks out heat.

I have a masonry fireplace. I put a #11 sheet steel fire back in as well, and that also made a huge improvement on heat output. It is the width of the deepest part of the fireplace, and the height of the opening in the brick. I still loose more heat than is produced unless I feed the fire all day and all night, or set the house down to 50F.

I will be replacing my Grate wall of fire with a stove type insert when I can afford the expense($2k-$5k installed). I have too many air leaks from a damaged cast iron flue, the problems with an exterior chimney, and have to pack the flue with insulation to keep my furnace performing properly in both cold and hot weather. I can only have fires in the spring and fall, even though it only take a few minutes to unpack my flue if I want a winter fire. I use 2 trash bags full of fiberglass insulation held up by PVC pipe to seal the flue inside the fireplace. The bags and pipe become invisible when the doors are closed.

Hope this helps, and Yes you are a goofball too (but I never used a hair dryer, just a paper plate)

Phil

[beth]

no you are totally not a goof ball - its one of the most basic drives to mess about with the fire, but i, like phil never use a hairdrier ( thats v goofy) im more aligned with the paper plate style, although am blessed with great lungs so a good puff is all it takes B)

[pkrankow]

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/02/02/how-to-build-an-upside-down-fire/

Another set of "top down" directions. I haven't used this exact technique, but it seems sound.

Have fun! It's FIRE!

Phil

[Mainely,Bob]

There are only 2 circumstances when I will mess around with the fire.
1-If I`m alone
2-If I`m with somebody

No really,the only time I mess with the fire is to get it going or to throw some of that stuff in that makes the flames turn colors to entertain the grandkids(we have a window in the door and can see the fire).
We use the wood stove as our primary source of heat so it runs pretty much continuously from November till April so I guess I take it for granted.

Fooling with the fireplace?That`s just goofy.
If I want to fool with fire that`s what I have a forge for.Now that`s a fire!
We don`t need no stinkin` hairdryers.We got BLOWERS,haa,ha,ha,ha,haaaaa!
Quick Igor,bring the hammer!

[Andrew Smith]

I just got through forging a tomahawk and I read this and saw that I have some supporters and several who say I'm just goofy. Well I just have a few comments,

1) If you think I am goofy then I forgive you because I'm a forgiving fella, also you can call me whatever you want, just don't call me late for Dinner.

2) I never heard of the burn down method, It really was neat. I am going to try that next time we get a cold front down here. It was in the fifties or sixties today, no need for a fire.

3) A hairdryer is the handiest thing I had around, I didn't feel like getting my blower.

I have been blacksmithing for about a year and a half, I just modified an old electric motor into a blower. It spins on both sides so one side has a squirrel cage blower and the other side has a buffing wheel attachment a little odd combination huh!

[Paul42`]

You're not a goof ball Andrew! I love my woodstove & love chopping wood too! Nothing like throwing a dutch oven on with a nice roast, and letting it cook for the afternoon. Besides being delicious, it's cheaper than using the kitchen oven.

I'm also big on gadgets... the fan is a "sterling engine" which will operate non-stop as long as the surface temp is above 400*. The hotter the stove, the faster the fan spins! No electricity and no batteries. It's like having a little steam engine on the stove... very cool!

[Andrew Smith]

You seem like my best supporter so far . That fan is really cool. Did you make that yourself or did you buy it.

We used to have a fireplace like that, just a little bit bigger, in a huge Victorian style house.

[pkrankow]

Andrew, If you don't attack the fireplace with a hair dryer again I'll take back the goofball comment.

It was a high of 20F up here. A few more weeks of this and I'll think it is comfortable. I have fires till the night time low is about 20F, or if I have guests over like for Christmas and New Years, then close up the fireplace till it warms up some. As I mentioned earlier I want a stove type insert for my fireplace, and I will use it a lot more.

Paul, did you build that engine or buy it?

Phil

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Paul42's fire can't be that hot, look, he has icebergs on either side of it.

Yep, I play with fire too. I was a scoutmaster, and the scouts were constantly playing in the campfires, so I think it is a universal thing,especially with guys.

[Andrew Smith]

A.....well.....I.....uh guess I can quite the hair dryer thing. You think I can still use my forge blower

Down here in Texas nobody (including me, except for when I am forging something)likes the cold. There is a couple I know that is from Canada. They are used to the cold but they can't stand the 100F temperatures. It is fun forging in that kind of heat. (not really)

[Paul42`]

I bought it. It's made in Mitchell, Ontario - just a hour or two north of me. I can't remember the man's name, but he has sold them all over the world. Extremely well made and the only thing you have to do is oil it (with an eye-dropper) once every month or two.

He offers them on EBay...

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Stirling-Engine-Woodstove-Fan_W0QQitemZ230421741840QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a634c110#ht_500wt_1182


or you can contact him directly here...

http://www2.cyg.net/~freebreeze/index.htm


This is a good video showing the fan in operation....

http://www2.cyg.net/~freebreeze/Mov00179.mpg


As for my icebergs.... they're just two large chunks of Brazilian soapstone. I hope to carve them one day, but in the meantime they are great for thermal mass & retaining heat! :blink:

[jimbob]

I have a grate wall of fire ...I took it out and went back to the two tier fire grate I bought at Lowes a few years back the main fire is on the bottom grate a couple of logs on the upper grate the upper fire goes up the flue the bottom fire has a fire back to radiate heat into the room (I replaced the tin fire back with 3/16 plate)
I can put heat out to the end of the wall 18 feet away.
if you can't find one you can fab a fire back from plate (3/8-1/2 plate) you can find fire backs on the web but plate will work just as well ...they used these in colonial times to heat the house...
another thing is use smaller wood in your fire it will burn fast and hotter (2"x2" to 2"x4" on up to 4"x4")put the larger wood to the back smaller wood in the middle and a front log of med. size and start your fire in the middle burn from the top of pile down

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

So is the soapstone the one that you hit the clothes with, or the one the clothes get draped over?

I have seen entire woodstoves made of soapstone. They radiate heat long after the fire is out.

Sooooo, watcha waitn' fer? Forge some stone carving tools, and get to carving. There was a guy at some of the gem and mineral shows back in CA who had a vase made out of soapstone. Parents could drop the kid off for awhile, and he would let them file an area that he had laid out. I worked on a bunch of grapes. That soapstone worked like, well, like soap. Could carve it with a knife it was so soft. I'm thinking a polar bear for the large piece.

One of the items I am pulling out of the folks estate is the Timberline woodstove. It was used as an insert, but it doubles as a freestander too. That is how I will use it. It is so much more efficient than a fireplace it isn't funny. I could keep the house 70 all day on a couple of cut up pallets. That stove weighs around 400#, and when it is fully heated up it will still kick off a lot of heat after it is shut down.

[clang]

Goofball??
Nah...Perfectly normal...for a smith.
I've compulsively played with fire for over 50 years now.
Now, i'm going to assume that you want it hot cause you want to forge some small iron right there in the living room,
cause i think like that.
It's an old American wintertime tradition. Folks used to sit around the fire and forge nails when they were snowed in.
But nails get kinda boring really...But sit-down forging can be a lot of productive fun with a small hammer and anvil,
a bucket of tools and one of water, and so on.
Assuming your fireplace draws decently, the trick is to use dry hardwood and build up a good deep bed of coals.

I would strongly recommend considering this sort of thing when you are deciding who to marry.