Patience
Posted: Tue. Oct. 21, 2008 5:16 pm
Now that many of us have started our stoves & yet the outdoor temps are still fluctuating so much, I figured it would be a good time to bring up the topic of PATIENCE.
The temp here is almost 60* with a front moving through that will drop our overnight temps quite a bit, I just shook down my TLC & it took twice as long as usual to get a good draw going up the chimney. I opened the ash door & the stove temp took almost 15 minutes to start to rise! Years ago, I would have probably panicked & tried to do something to get the draft going, & may have ended up by killing my fire instead. (I have a very weak draft anyway)
After 27 years of coal stove operation, I knew the answer was just PATIENCE. With warm weather outside & a low stove temp (130*)to start with, I knew my draft was very weak but that if I just waited, the fire would eventually liven up & the best thing to do was......NOTHING!
Long story short...After about 15 minutes I had a roaring fire & shook it down.
Moral of the story: When in doubt-------------Don't do anything!!
(Keep an eye on what trend your stove thermometer is revealing)
The temp here is almost 60* with a front moving through that will drop our overnight temps quite a bit, I just shook down my TLC & it took twice as long as usual to get a good draw going up the chimney. I opened the ash door & the stove temp took almost 15 minutes to start to rise! Years ago, I would have probably panicked & tried to do something to get the draft going, & may have ended up by killing my fire instead. (I have a very weak draft anyway)
After 27 years of coal stove operation, I knew the answer was just PATIENCE. With warm weather outside & a low stove temp (130*)to start with, I knew my draft was very weak but that if I just waited, the fire would eventually liven up & the best thing to do was......NOTHING!
Long story short...After about 15 minutes I had a roaring fire & shook it down.
Moral of the story: When in doubt-------------Don't do anything!!
(Keep an eye on what trend your stove thermometer is revealing)