Measure Firewood

Firewood is typically measured and sold by the cord, which is defined as 128 cubic feet of tightly stacked wood. A cord may be a 4’ x 4’ x 8’ pile or anything that adds up to 128 cubic feet. Many states require that firewood sellers indicate the amount by multiples or fractions of a cord. It is a good idea to measure the wood while it is still on the truck to determine whether you are getting an honest cord.

Other commonly used but imprecise units of measurement include rick, face cord and truckload. Some states prohibit sale of firewood using these terms.

Firewood Preparation

The most important thing is that your wood be “seasoned,” or dried to a moisture content below twenty percent. The drier the wood, the easier it ignites and the cleaner it burns.

Spring or summer is the best time to get your firewood in for winter. After you buy or gather your wood, you should split it and stack it under cover to allow it to air dry.

Firewood cut from fresh trees or trees recently infested by insects and disease can contribute to the spread of pests to nearby healthy trees. Store it away from your house to prevent intrusion by insects or mice. Many communities have ordinances to guide you in storing your firewood.

Some wood may take over a year to dry. Dry, seasoned wood is cracked at the ends, is generally of a grayer color than fresh wood, and is much lighter in weight.

It’s a good idea to stockpile enough wood so that you’re a year ahead, putting up wood not for the upcoming winter but for the following year. Supplies in some areas can be sporadic due to weather conditions, fire danger, or wood-cutting restrictions.

Your Chimney Sweep

Your chimney sweep is a good source of information about the firewood available in your area, and is ready to help you enjoy your winter fires. Again, preparation is the key. Your chimney sweep may be extremely busy throughout the autumn and winter months, so plan ahead and schedule an appointment in the spring or summer.

Reprinted, with permission, from the September 2007 issue of THE CIMNEY SWEEP NEWS, an independent trade magazine for chimney service professionals. Jim Gillam, editor/publisher. 541-882-5196. www.ChimneySweepNews.com

Each year in the United States, carbon monoxide poisoning claims approximately 480 lives and sends another 15,200 people to hospital emergency rooms for treatment.

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) would like you to know that there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself from deadly carbon monoxide fumes.

Understanding The Risk

What is carbon monoxide?

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and toxic gas. Because it is impossible to see, taste or smell the toxic fumes, CO can kill you before you are aware it is in your home. At lower levels of exposure, CO causes mild effects that are often mistaken for the flu. These symptoms include headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea and fatigue. The effects of CO exposure can vary greatly from person to person depending on age, overall health and the concentration and length of exposure.

Where does carbon monoxide come from?

CO gas can come from several sources: gas fired appliances, charcoal grills, wood-burning furnaces or fireplaces and motor vehicles.

What is at risk?

Everyone is at risk for CO poisoning. Medical experts believe that unborn babies, infants, children, senior citizens and people with heart or lung problems are at even greater risk of CO poisoning.

What actions do I take if my carbon monoxide alarm goes off?

What you need to do if your carbon monoxide alarm goes off depends on whether anyone is feeling ill or not.

If no one is feeling ill:

• Silence the alarm.
• Turn off all appliances and sources of combustion (i.e. furnace and fireplace).
• Ventilate the house with fresh air by opening doors and windows.
• Call a qualified professional to investigate the source of possible CO buildup.

If illness is a factor:

• Evacuate all occupants immediately.
• Determine how many occupants are ill and determine their symptoms.
• Call your local emergency number and when relaying information to the dispatcher, include the number of people feeling ill.
• Do not re-enter the home without the approval of a fire department representative.
• Call a qualified professional to repair the source of the CO.

Protect Yourself and Your Family From CO Poisoning

• Install at least one UL (Underwriters Laboratories) listed carbon monoxide alarm with an audible warning signal near the sleeping areas and outside individual bedrooms. Carbon monoxide alarms measure levels of CO over time and are designed to sound an alarm before an average, healthy adult would experience symptoms. It is very possible that you may not be experiencing symptoms when you hear the alarm. This does not mean that CO is not present.
• Have a qualified professional check all fuel burning appliances, furnaces, venting and chimney systems at least once a year.
• Never use your range or oven to help heat you home and never use a charcoal grill or hibachi in your home or garage.
• Never use a generator indoors – including garages, basements, crawl spaces and sheds – even with ventilation. Exhaust fumes contain extremely high levels of CO which can rapidly become deadly if inhaled. Consumers should use a portable generator outdoors only, in a dry area away from doors, windows and vents that can allow CO to come indoors. Wait for the rain to pass before using a generator, as consumer-grade generators are not weatherproof and can pose the risk of electrocution and shock when used in wet conditions.
• Never keep a car running in a garage. Even if the garage doors are open, normal circulation will not provide enough fresh air to reliably prevent a dangerous buildup of CO.
• When purchasing an existing home, have a qualified technician evaluate the integrity of the heating and cooking systems, as well as the sealed spaces between the garage and the house. The presence of a carbon monoxide alarm in your home can save your life in the event of CO buildup.

Information courtesy of U.S. Fire Administration and U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Reprinted, with permission, from the September 2007 issue of THE CIMNEY SWEEP NEWS, an independent trade magazine for chimney service professionals. Jim Gillam, editor/publisher. 541-882-5196. www.ChimneySweepNews.com

Do you want to build the the world’s best fire in your fireplace or woodstove? Here is what you need to know…

Handy Items to Have

• A Fireplace Screen
• A Kindling Ax (Be careful!)
• Stove Gloves
• An Ash Rake

Think of your fuel load as three component parts

• The Base Course (can be unsplit if proper diameter)
• The Middle Course (split)
• The Top Course (split finer)

A fireplace grate is not necessary with the above. A grate increases your critical burn rate allowing logs to burn faster than normal. Logs burn best in contact with hot firebrick in a bed of wood ashes.

Helpful Hints & Precautions for Before You Start:

Make sure your fireplace and flue have been inspected for fire worthiness and are cleaned if found dirty (full of flammable creosote), by a reputable Chimney Sweep. Make sure damper is open. If none is present have a top mount version retrofitted. The retrofit is a tremendous energy saver and assists in keeping out animals, noise and pollution. If your fireplace and flue are located on an outside wall or when the damper is open and you feel a flow of frigid air, pre-heat the flue with a sheet of lit newspaper. Hold high into the damper area, wearing a pair of stove gloves for protection. This will reverse the cold air plug present in the flue, creating a strong updraft with no smoke into your room. As soon as the above is completed light your newspaper on top of your fuel load. Approximately 3-4 hours later when you have a nice bed of hardwood coals, use a fireplace rake to push the coals against the rear wall of the firebox. Next, lay your new logs, minimum of four, on top of the hot coals, lay the bottom tow horizontally. The top two, a little shorter in length, place front to back approximately 3 inches apart creating a throat.

The greatest volume of smoke and particulate pollution from a wood fire occurs during a cold start up. Wood fires lit from the bottom, in a conventional manner, promote a dirty burn and waste a large amount of potential heat in the form of unburned gases.

A clean and efficient method for kindling a fire is a top burn. This almost forgotten ancient European technique places the largest wood at the bottom in a criss cross crib fashion. As each tier is laid, the criss crossing becomes smaller. Kindling and a small amount of paper are placed on top and lit.

When the top burn fire is lit, the flames are always above the fuel load. The smoke and flammable gas from each tier of wood will always travel up through the flame and burn, thereby reducing particulate pollution and unburned fuel.

A top kindling fire also produces large and less compacted glowing coals, provide excellent long-lasting radiant heat.

A top burn fire laid with seasoned hardwood to a height of eighteen to twenty-four inches will burn approximately four hours without adding additional wood. The fire will be mesmerizing as each tier slowly ignites and burns its way down.

Top Down Burn Recipe

Always start with dry well-seasoned split hardwood and kindling. (Ideally seasoned firewood will have a 20% moisture content. The wood will show radial cracks at the ends and sound like bowling pins when beaten together.)

Bottom Layer:

Three good sized pieces of split hardwood (if available) five to six inches thick, laid front to back.

Second Layer:

Three slightly smaller pieces of split firewood three to five inches thick, laid side to side.

Third layer:

Four to five smaller pieces of split firewood two to tree inches thick, laid front to back.

Keep alternating and decreasing in size with split hardwood until they are about one inch thick.

Now alternate two rows with split softwood (pine, spruce, ect.) until pencil thick. Place a small piece of newspaper on top and light.

Ash Container & Shovel Set

Ash container and shovel set, only $61.99. Call to order 716-492-2001!

Chimney Caps - Available New, Used, Copper, Custom, and More!

Whatever type or style of chimney cap you need we have it or can get it. From stainless steel to copper, new or used, standard sizes or custom. If you need a chimney cap give us a call, 716-492-2001!

Illustrated by Kyle McQueen

Old, forgotten, improperly installed or misused heat tapes can and do cause fires, but there are precautions you can take to help electric heat tapes perform their job safely.

Uncertified heat tapes should be replaced with new heat tapes certified to meet recognized voluntary standards.

Christmas 1995 at the Philadelphia zoo was a sad time. A tragic weekend fire had killed all the animals in the World of Primates, a section of the zoo that was a favorite of both staff and visitors.

The fire killed six prized West African lowland gorillas, three Bornean orangutans, four white-haired gibbons and 10 lemurs. All of the victims were on the endangered species list.

The fire started near electric heat tapes that ringed a water pipe above a wooden ceiling. Their purpose was to keep the plumbing from freezing. However, the tapes had been improperly installed, causing the ceiling to become dry and more flammable from long-term exposure to heat generated by the tape. (This process of lowering the ignition temperature of material is called “pyrolysis.”)

The December 28, 1995 New York Times reported that zoo guards smelled smoke almost three hours before the fire broke out, but they thought it came from fires that were often burning in a nearby railroad yard. Smoke detectors at the zoo failed to go off as the ceiling smoldered.

Fires caused by old and/or improperly installed heat tapes are not all that unusual.

In April 1988, the house and business of the chimney sweep I know in New York burned to the ground. Norm was someone who prided himself on safeguarding customers from the possibility of a house fire, but he narrowly escaped death from the fire in his own home. It was traced to old electric heat tapes.

The tapes were wrapped around water pipes he had disconnected and drained when he bought the house the year before and redid the plumbing. He didn’t even know the tapes were there, under the floor, still plugged in!

In another incident some years ago, a rustic rod-and-gun club lodge near my home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts burned down one winter’s day. The cause? Heat tapes installed to keep plumbing operational through the cold weather, when the place was often empty.

Heat tapes are usually installed in attics or underneath porches and homes, especially mobile homes. Chimney sweeps tell me that some folks even wrap tapes around their gutters and effort to keep them from icing up (not recommended!).

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there are approximately 2000 fires, 10 deaths and 100 injuries each year involving heat tapes.

We quote here from a Consumer Product Safety Alert:

New Electric Heat Tapes Help Prevent Fires

To help prevent fires, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges homeowners (including residents of mobile homes) to replace uncertified heat tapes more than three years old. Uncertified heat tapes should be replaced with new heat tapes certified to meet recognized voluntary standards.

At present the following organizations are certifying heat tapes to meet recognized voluntary standards: Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), and Factory Mutual Research Corporation (FMRC).

CPSC offers these safety tips for purchasing, installing, and maintaining electric heat tapes:

• Replace uncertified heat tapes more than 3 years old with new heat tapes certified to meet recognized voluntary standards. All new heat tapes will have a 3-prong plug.
• Always plug the 3-prong plug into a 3-prong outlet to make sure the heat tape is grounded.
• Use a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) whenever heat tapes are plugged in.
• Do not wrap heat tape over itself unless specifically permitted in the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Apply heat tapes directly on the pipe to be protected, never on top of the insulation covering the pipe.
• Do not cover the heat tape with insulation unless advised by the manufacturer. Use nonflammable insulation such as fiberglass. Do not use foam or vinyl insulation that could catch fire from a failing heat tape.
• Keep the end-cap sealed and off the ground to prevent water from getting in. Moisture can lead to a fire.
• Do not use heat tapes designed for water pipes on gutters, driveways, or fuel lines. If heat tape has a thermostat, check instructions to see if the thermostat should be placed against the pipe and covered with insulation or if it should be left hanging and uncovered. Inspect heat tapes each year and replace them if you notice signs of deterioration. Look for discolored surfaces (especially at the plug) charring, cuts or breaks in the insulation, or bare wires. Check installation instructions when you change types or brands of heat tape because different heat tapes have different installation requirements

Reprinted, with permission, from the January-February 2008 issue of THE CHIMNEY SWEEP NEWS, an independent trade magazine for chimney service professionals. Jim Gillam, editor/publisher. 541-882-5196. www.ChimneySweepNews.com

Illustrations by Laura Zerzan

Chimney caps are desirable for nearly all metal chimneys and most masonry chimneys for the purpose of keeping precipitation out of the chimney.

Many chimney caps come equipped with a wire mesh screen around the outside. The mesh screen serves two functions. First, it keeps leaves, birds, squirrels and raccoons from entering the chimney while still allowing the chimney to exhaust properly. Secondly, it serves as a spark arrestor, blocking sparks and embers above a minimum size from escaping the chimney onto the roof or into the environment where they could potentially cause a fire.

If the screen becomes clogged with soot or creosote, your combustion appliance venting into that chimney flue – whether it is a fireplace, woodstove, furnace, boiler or water heater – will not perform well. It may become more difficult to ignite a fire and when you do get it going it may burn sluggishly and not throw off as much heat. Carbon monoxide fumes and/or smoke may spill into your living area.

If your screen is too small it will clog easily, too big and you may get critters.

SIZES of SCREEN

Chimney caps are sold with a wide variety of mesh types and sizes. It is important to choose a mesh type and size that will perform the desired functions of keeping leaves, birds, and animals out of the flue and functioning as a spark arrestor – while at the same time allowing the free passage of smoke.

If a mesh is too small it will be prone to clogging, particularly in very cold weather or under sluggish burning conditions. If the mesh is too large, birds or other animals may be able to find their way in.

Commercially manufactured chimney caps usually have mesh with openings from ½ to one inch across. Mesh larger than one-inch square may not keep critters out. As a rule of thumb, if you are having clogging problems with 1” square mesh screen, there is likely to be some other problem causing the deposit of excess creosote. Mesh smaller than ½ inch across, window screen for example, is prone to clogging under the best of circumstances.

Mesh attributes are typically spelled out in building codes of local ordinances.

BURNING TECHNIQUES

Burning wood creates heat. The portion of the wood that does not turn into heat energy is transformed into ash and mostly smoke, which includes hydrocarbon particles and gasses such as carbon monoxide. When hydrocarbon particles from smoke condense in the chimney system, they are known as creosote.

Factors that result in less complete combustion lead to more smoke and more creosote in your chimney and on your chimney cap. These include air-starved fires and burning wood with high moisture content.

Burning a lot of paper generates fly ash that may stick to the cap screen.

You should be able to clearly see daylight through the screen of your chimney cap.

HOW TO TELL IF THE CAP IS CLOGGED

Step outside during the daylight hours and take a look at the top of your chimney. If you can see your chimney cap from the ground and can see daylight through the screen, then air flow through the cap may not be too restricted.

However, if you look up at top of the chimney and the cap appears opaque, it is likely that creosote has collected on the cap screen and the flow of smoke is restricted.

IF YOUR CAP IS CLOGGED

If you can safely get to your cap, you may be able to brush off the screen with a wire brush. At the same time, it’s a good idea to take a look at the conditions inside the flue. If there is a buildup of creosote, or if the walls of the chimney are coated with a shiny black substance (no matter how thick the buildup is), it is time to call a professional chimney sweep.

But if you do not have safe access to your chimney cap, call your local professional chimney sweep for service. A competent professional chimney sweep will have the equipment needed to get to the top of your chimney without unduly risking life and limb.

FINDING A CAPABLE CHIMNEY PROFESSIONAL

Because proper chimney maintenance can help protect people from the dangers of house fires and carbon monoxide poisonings, it is important to choose your chimney professional wisely. Before you hire a chimney sweep, find out whether the chimney sweeps are required to have a license in the community where you live. If they are, then your first step is to verify that any companies you’re considering have valid licenses.

Ask around in your community for a chimney sweep with a good reputation. A well-earned good reputation is the public’s “seal of approval.”

Chimney professionals also demonstrate their competency through certification by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), the Wood Energy Technology Transfer program in Canada, and some state chimney sweep organizations. A list of CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps is available at www.csia.org.

Reprinted, with permission, from the March 2007 issue of THE CIMNEY SWEEP NEWS, an independent trade magazine for chimney service professionals. Jim Gillam, editor/publisher. 541-882-5196. www.ChimneySweepNews.com

Lennox Pellet Burning Fireplace Insert

We carry a wide variety of wood, pellet, and gas fireplace inserts from top manufacturers. Just stop into our showroom to see for yourself.

If we don’t have the fireplace insert you are looking for in our showroom, don’t worry, we can get it for you. You can visit our manufacturers’ websites for full listings of all of the fireplace inserts that we carry. Just use the following links:

We offer the full product lines of the following manufacturers: Lennox, Enviro, Vermont Castings, Alaska, Breckwell, and Energy King.

Call us for current pricing! 716-492-2001

Dura-Vent Class A Chimney

We carry, and install, Dura-Vent Class A, Solid Pack Chimneys.

Call us for current pricing! 716-492-2001

Wood Pellets and Rice Coal

We carry both rice coal and wood pellets available by the ton.

Wood pellets are also available by the bag.

Call us for current pricing! 716-492-2001