#1 Every, and I mean EVERY, stove is different. It takes some getting to know your stove before settling into a warm winter. In the beginning you might find your stove to be a bit... unpleasant. Most stoves are flustered, sometimes furiously indignant, when inexpertly manhandled in the early days. Even after repeated use, they will often continue to display glowering reluctance and occasionally refuse to cooperate at all. With this in mind, I urge you to embark upon an earnest courtship of your stove. Woo that stove! Coax that stove! Be patient. Allow some time to learn its likes, dislikes, preferences. Eventually, you will establish a wary alliance, graduate to a reassuring common ground, and then build a fully functional partnership based upon trust and mutual respect. Your house will be comfortable, your stove will be cheerful. And that ain't no joke.
#2 Use the gift nature gave you, that head atop your shoulders. Think ahead.
- Get your wood in August.
- Scrape out your stove pipes, rid them entirely of any sooty buildup. If you don't do this, your stove
will exhale smoke through every available seam and crack. Be prepared to scrape again midway
through winter.
- Clean out the stove interior.
- Check its insulating lining.
- Have someone clean out your chimney.
#3 Make sure you have plenty of kindling. Dry your kindling for the next day on top of your stove, especially if the wood was soaking up moisture outside after being cut and prior to being brought inside. If you have a range stove with an oven (in this case, I congratulate you), stack the wood inside the oven for the same effect. If your wood supply is going to stay outside for the winter, keep in mind that this is a Mediterranean climate and cover that business with a couple meters of plastic sheeting. It will surprise you how many people do NOT do exactly that. If your wood is wet, you will have a hell of a time getting your fire started. Common sense.
#4 Starting your fire, pune e madhe (big deal).
- If you have a tall top-loading stove, know that you should start your fire with the traditional teepee.
Also know that this type of stove will heat your space quickly, but require great quantities of wood.
Its tall, narrow cavity is designed to channel a strong and consistent stream of oxygen upwards to
feed your fire. This same cavity, however, is not conducive to keeping coals alive overnight
unless you work the bed to serious heights before going to sleep.
- If you have a range stove, you will find it difficult to build a teepee as your kindling will lay length
wise. Instead, you'll want to use the criss-cross method instead, leaving a cavity at the bottom where
you'll light the fire.
- Leave a reasonable bed of ash in your stove with gaps for air to travel up from the ash tray. This
helps insulate when getting your fire started in a cold stove. If you do not have a flue, pull your ash
tray open a bit to encourage oxygen to circulate below. When you find that sweet spot, you'll know.
The fire will roar and suck in the oxygen. I subconsciously tune into that sound all the time now...
sweet music to my freezing ears!
#5 Conserve cardboard throughout the year. You'll go through it.
#6 Little trick up this cross-cultural sleeve: Stove-top dried orange and clementine peels make handy fire starter. Bonus: By the kilo, both are cheap winter fruit in Albania. The aroma the peels give off while drying is wonderfully evocative of spice and burnt sugar. You can brew the peels in black and red teas, too.
#7 Put a pot of water on your stove top to steam (unless you have a load of laundry drying on a rack in the same room). That steam will prevent a raspy throat, tight skin, and bloody nose the next morning.
#8 Do yourself a favor and look up the physics of a wood stove. The concepts are basic and will go a long way to helping you understand your stove's flue (or lack of) and thus how to control your fire.
#2 Use the gift nature gave you, that head atop your shoulders. Think ahead.
- Get your wood in August.
- Scrape out your stove pipes, rid them entirely of any sooty buildup. If you don't do this, your stove
will exhale smoke through every available seam and crack. Be prepared to scrape again midway
through winter.
- Clean out the stove interior.
- Check its insulating lining.
- Have someone clean out your chimney.
#3 Make sure you have plenty of kindling. Dry your kindling for the next day on top of your stove, especially if the wood was soaking up moisture outside after being cut and prior to being brought inside. If you have a range stove with an oven (in this case, I congratulate you), stack the wood inside the oven for the same effect. If your wood supply is going to stay outside for the winter, keep in mind that this is a Mediterranean climate and cover that business with a couple meters of plastic sheeting. It will surprise you how many people do NOT do exactly that. If your wood is wet, you will have a hell of a time getting your fire started. Common sense.
#4 Starting your fire, pune e madhe (big deal).
- If you have a tall top-loading stove, know that you should start your fire with the traditional teepee.
Also know that this type of stove will heat your space quickly, but require great quantities of wood.
Its tall, narrow cavity is designed to channel a strong and consistent stream of oxygen upwards to
feed your fire. This same cavity, however, is not conducive to keeping coals alive overnight
unless you work the bed to serious heights before going to sleep.
- If you have a range stove, you will find it difficult to build a teepee as your kindling will lay length
wise. Instead, you'll want to use the criss-cross method instead, leaving a cavity at the bottom where
you'll light the fire.
- Leave a reasonable bed of ash in your stove with gaps for air to travel up from the ash tray. This
helps insulate when getting your fire started in a cold stove. If you do not have a flue, pull your ash
tray open a bit to encourage oxygen to circulate below. When you find that sweet spot, you'll know.
The fire will roar and suck in the oxygen. I subconsciously tune into that sound all the time now...
sweet music to my freezing ears!
#5 Conserve cardboard throughout the year. You'll go through it.
#6 Little trick up this cross-cultural sleeve: Stove-top dried orange and clementine peels make handy fire starter. Bonus: By the kilo, both are cheap winter fruit in Albania. The aroma the peels give off while drying is wonderfully evocative of spice and burnt sugar. You can brew the peels in black and red teas, too.
#7 Put a pot of water on your stove top to steam (unless you have a load of laundry drying on a rack in the same room). That steam will prevent a raspy throat, tight skin, and bloody nose the next morning.
#8 Do yourself a favor and look up the physics of a wood stove. The concepts are basic and will go a long way to helping you understand your stove's flue (or lack of) and thus how to control your fire.
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