Shoulder Season

Well, the snow is melting and it looks like New Hampshire might be emerging from the icy grip of winter. Though the temperature outside is warming, many people are not yet finished with their wood heat. These warmer temperatures we experience during the fall and spring (the shoulder season) can present some challenges to we who heat with wood. Often, building a fire in the stove makes the house very very warm. To combat this some are tempted to simply turn down the air control or damper down the fire and have a cooler fire. While this may seem to work, it results in a much dirtier (and less efficient) burn which dirties your chimney and wastes some of the energy in the wood.

Instead of a cooler fire, try a smaller hot fire. Keep the air control open and burn some smaller splits nice and hot. It will burn clean, heat the house up quick, and then die down before things get too warm. Simply repeat when the house gets cool again.
A clean chimney is a happy chimney.

Enjoy the weather!!