Firewood - When You're Short On Time & Money
Here in the Northwest, fall is in full swing—and the wood stove is seeing action again.
Right about now, lots of wood burners are taking stock of their firewood supply to make sure they have enough for winter. If it’s been a busy summer, you might be running late and only now starting to acquire your winter’s supply of firewood.
I have a quick tip that might save you a bunch of time and money this year if you find yourself running out of both. Continue reading
The Best Chainsaw Sharpener
I'll have to be honest...Chainsaw sharpening is an art that I never fully mastered. I would use my handheld file to whittle away at the teeth, and the saw would cut better than it had before. But almost never was I able to get the chain in factory sharp condition.
Can you relate to that?
It seems that most things on the homestead take time, technique, and tools to do them well. And I don't often find a solution that is so simple that virtually anyone could do it with little practice. But I think I have found that very thing in a chainsaw sharpener. Seriously!
Of Clogged Combustors and Wood Stoves
Okay, so I have a confession to make...
2016 was a crazy year in our lives and last fall I was so pushed for time that I was late in getting my firewood in. So late that some of it wasn’t totally cured and much of it got soaked by the rain. 🙁 Kind of a bad spot to be in with winter approaching! Not to mention that it's hard on our stove combustor.
5 Tips to Keep Your Wood Stove Going
All it takes is one power outage during the winter to convince most people that they need a source of heat that doesn't require electricity. The obvious solution is a wood stove. It's the only method of heating I'm aware of that is reliable, doesn't depend on the weather (i.e. solar heating), and can be completely renewable by growing your own fuel (trees) on your property.
Firewood 101
Collecting firewood is more involved than just cutting trees down, cutting them up and stacking them for use in a wood stove. Here is some very important information to follow when gathering firewood.
Dealing With A Chimney Fire
Chimney fires are not necessary when you take the proper precautions. When heating with wood one of the most important safety precautions to take is to keep creosote build-up from occurring in the chimney/stove pipe.
Maintaining a Fire Extinguisher
Today I did some regular maintenance in the fire safety department of our homestead. I needed to make sure our fire extinguisher was in good shape.