Learning to keep the home fire burning

One week of term break is over, and now we're into our second.

I'm feeling so much more relaxed!  It's easy to forget how busy the day to day routine is until everything actually winds down.

Our start to winter has been very cold.  Frosty evenings has encouraged us to get the heater going by around 4pm so the house is comfortable before sundown.  Maestro's been given the job of learning to manage the fire as of last week, in our Coonara heater.  He's setting it all up himself now and getting the fire going.

There's a bit of an art to getting the fire going well, but he's managing fine.  The first thing he had to do, before getting any fire actually started, was to clear out the ash that was already there. It's amazing how much can accumulate after a week! The ash is great in our compost bin, especially with all the chook manure. (Ash is alkaline, whilst chook manure is very acidic.) We don't clear out ALL the ash, though.  We leave a small 'carpet' on the bottom as this actually heats up when the fire is going and keeps it burning hotter.

Now to make the fire!  We use old newspaper to start with.  Don't use glossy printed paper as it gives off toxic fumes.  We also avoid using any leaves as they give off an awful lot of smoke.

The newspaper is rolled length-wise and then 'tied' into a knot.  A small pile of around 6 pieces is usually enough. We then make a 'tent' around the paper using the tree prunings we have dried out from last year.  The prunings were all cut down into piles of small twigs to larger sticks whilst the wood was still green, then stored in bins for the next winter once they were dry.  The smallest pieces are laid around the paper, followed by thicker pieces, and any pinecones we may have collected whilst on a walk.

Once the match is struck and applied to the paper, it doesn't take long for it all to get started.  It has to be watched very carefully, slowly added thicker pieces of kindling until there are some nice red coals starting up.  It's then tempting to just put on a large piece of wood and hope it'll keep burning, but those pieces of wood still need to be placed carefully to keep the fire alive.  I've taught Maestro to put them across the coals at an angle, trying to keep the 'tent' shape as much as possible.  This keeps the heat in the centre still, and allows the air to still flow through so that you don't end up with a smouldering pile of timber.

Watch carefully to check that those larger pieces do catch fire.  When a blue flame is established and a nice glow is beginning to show, you can put in a final piece of wood (Carefully, though!  Don't crush that tent shape!) and close the door.  *Check that the damper is open, too.  You'll know if it's closed if the fire begins to dwindle away and smoke fills the heater.  Opening the damper allows the air to flow through properly.

Once the fire has been going for a while, you'll get plenty of red hot coals.  Gently and carefully spread them across the floor of the heater before adding any more wood. We usually top the heater up at least once more before letting it burn out for the night.  We don't dampen the fire down much, either.  This means that the fire burns hotter and quicker, but we also avoid a higher soot build-up in the chimney.

The type of wood you use will affect how hot and quickly it will burn.  Pine wood burns very fast.  We're currently using up some old hardwood fence posts from my Dad's place, from when they had to replace their side fence. These pieces haven't been treated at all, and they're extremely dense, so we're getting a good heat from them that lasts several hours!

It's a lovely warmth that fills the house when the wood heater is going.  Sometimes we can still feel a little warmth in that main room when we get up in the mornings, too.

Hoping you are all keeping nice and warm this winter!
* Check out some other ways to 'Make Your Home Sing Monday' at momstheword.

Thank you for dropping by!