Crafted in Belgium and trusted in Europe, these beautifully crafted, very efficient stoves are now available in the U.S., exclusively from Lehman’s.

Discover the stoves that have been keeping Europeans warm – and saving them money on heating costs – for decades. Made by a stalwart 150-year-old Belgian company, these stoves are considered the highest quality and are widely used in Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Italy and France.

All Efel stoves meet or exceed international emissions standards and feature quality cast iron and steel

Superior quality and legendary craftsmanship make your Efel stove the comforting, efficient heart of your home.

craftsmanship with large glass panels for a beautiful view of your fire. All models come with a bottle of touch-up

paint (approx. 8 oz), a fire glove, a poker and any necessary handles. And, they’re made entirely in Belgium, using no Chinese comp

onents (unlike many other stove manufacturers).

Efel actually has a lot in common with Lehman’s. Just like us, it’s a small, tight-knit operation built on quality and integrity and rich with family ties. The company believes that casting iron is an art, and its committed artisans have perfected that art over 150 years in business. Many of the employees working there now h

ave done so for 20, 30 or more years, and some are second-generation employees, continuing a tradition in their own family.

The company is located in Couvin, a beautiful agricultural region of Belgium near the French border. Besides farming, casting iron is woven deep into the cultural fiber of the region and has become its particular niche. The Efel name actually comes from the French Foundry de Lion or Foundry of the Lion (F.L. – say it out loud: Efel).

Why this name? The history is actually pretty fascinating. The foundry itself is located in the area of an ancient Roman settlement. In fact, cast iron over 2,000 years old has been found nearby. The ancient Romans, fond of their stadium games, brought lions into the region from faraway places for these events, hence the reference to lions in the company name.

The S33 is currently the ONLY stove we offer with the innovative, remote controllable Woodbox Technology.

All history aside, the company is now revolutionizing the European stove market with its innovative Woodbox Technology.

How It Works: This internationally patented technology preheats the combustion air to over 390°F and delivers it slowly and evenly over the fire, resulting in spectacular flame displays, very high efficiency, very low emissions (up to ten times lower than the European requirements for carbon) and long, even burn times.

Clean-Burning and Controllable- Remarkably, this advanced combustion technology keeps the glass crystal clear, even when the stove burns on low setting. And, with the optional remote control kit, you’ll have something never before available in wood stoves: precise control over the size of the fire, with the touch of your finger, from the comfort of your favorite chair. Reach out, press the button and the flames will obey your commands. A calm fire, a roaring blaze or dancing flames: you decide.

“I have heated my home with a wood stove for years and the Woodbox Technology is the best system I have seen,” said Carlos Martinez, stove department leader at Lehman’s. ” I have worked for some of the biggest names in the Hearth industry and the quality and craftsmanship of Efel are second to none. With the glass staying clean and the Woodbox Technology allowing for a thermostatically controlled remote, I changed the stove that I burn in my house to an Efel as soon as they were available at Lehman’s.”

In a labor-intensive process, artisans construct the airtight firebox using two layers of 10-gauge steel. The double glazed window is safe and clean. Even the cast iron body is made from recycled materials.

See all four Efel stoves at Lehman’s.com/efel. For more information, contact one of our helpful stove specialists at 1-888-438-5346.

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Visit our online catalog for more information about our stoves. Browse our heating stoves, find a cook stove to meet your needs, or just look at some helpful information. We can even help you find an installer.

Your best buy in wood cookstoves

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Wood Stove and Cook Stove in one - Efficient, versatile and economical

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(And if you’re an old pro, consider this a refresher course)

by Dale Crosby

Once you find a good wood burner (and I assume you will want an air-tight one), you need a good, safe chimney, and all areas around the burner need to be safe from heat. A hot wood burner can actually catch the wooden studs inside a wall on fire through the plaster/drywall. Cement board is an easy, inexpensive way to protect the areas near your stove. You can glue or nail (use masonry “cut” nails) right to the wall. There are many different ways to make or install a chimney, some require a professional and others just need some good directions, common-sense helpers and a free weekend. Each house and each location in your house have certain requirements for safety (i.e. is a cement block chimney best, or a stainless steel insulated one more appropriate?). It’s best to research this by asking friends and neighbors who burn wood how they have theirs set up.

After you have a good, safe setup, you need lots of practice to get to know how your woodburner works. Each of the woodburners that I have owned were very different. Of course, you can burn it too hot and the chimney pipe can actually turn red hot (you’ll smell “burnt” air). One of the best things I purchased to prevent this was a chimney pipe/ductwork thermometer. This has a magnet on the back and I stick it right to the chimney pipe about half-way up. It has a dial needle that shows the temperature of the pipe. You can easily see when the fire is getting too low (cold) or too hot – and thus prevent the red-hot pipe scare.

To control the heat you can adjust the dampers – which are like vents in the door that let in or restrict the amount of air to the fire. Too much air and you’ll get the fire too hot; too little and you’ll starve the fire. With fire you need fuel, heat and oxygen. Starve it of one and you’ll get nothing. Fuel, of course, is the wood. Heat is referring to enough hot coals in the burner to ignite new wood you put in. If you open the stove and there is a pile of red-hot coals, the fire will continue to burn and catch the new wood you put in to replenish it. However, in the morning when I wake up, I need to open the door and leave it open to let the maximum amount of oxygen enter to get the coals and remaining wood to heat up. I now have it down to a science. Instead of standing there watching it, I can go boil water for tea, feed the dog, change his water, start breakfast and return to the living room to see the temperature gauge is just right (not too hot, not too cold). I also hear the fire roaring and crackling. Then I just fill it up as far as I can with wood, and close the door. A final inspection when I go out for the day, and it is good to burn for 10 hours or more.

When I get home, I fill it up again and top if off a few hours later before bed. So I only tend it three times in a 24-hour period. It takes practice though, because you have a lot of factors like the particular kind of wood (hardwoods burn hotter and longer), the dryness of the wood, the setting of the dampers (Open the dampers more and you let in more air, which makes it burn hotter but faster – maybe so fast that when you come home later the wood is completely gone. Then you’ll have to start a new fire which will require more newspaper, kindling, etc., until you once again have a hot, stable fire.)

After you get all these factors working for you, it’s an easy, enjoyable thing to do in the winter. I have had many people ask me, “Isn’t that thing a pain? You know, cutting, splitting, and hauling all that wood, cleaning ashes and maintaining the stove all the time?” To me, having this as my daily routine is not a burden, but merely another seasonal activity and habit like planting and maintaining the garden in the spring and summer. You definitely won’t take heat for granted when you are as responsible for it as you will be when you heat with wood.

Stove placement
As far as how it heats the whole house, it really depends on the location of the woodburner and the circulation of air that carries the heat through the house. The living room (where the stove is) is always the warmest, followed by the kitchen (which will be a few degrees cooler), followed by the dining room and the bedrooms. This works for me because I prefer my bedroom to be cool. Conversely, the living room I prefer warm to watch tv or read. I do have a vent-free propane heater mounted on the wall in the dining room which helps on those extremely cold nights, but if I ran out of propane, it would be no big deal – just a little cooler.

Ideally though, I think in a house with a basement it is much better to have the stove downstairs and cut a floor vent above the heater, or keep the door open to the cellar to circulate the heat upstairs. Or, if I did not have a decent basement (or easy access to it), and a living room and large kitchen opposite each other, I would have a stove in both rooms.

Cleaning the stovepipe
As far as maintenance, I clean the whole chimney before burning season, which is easy if you have a low pitched roof to walk on and a good chimney brush. I found a bunch of chimney brushes and poles at an auction a few years ago for $8.00. They work great.

After brushing the chimney, I disconnect the pipe (which is between the woodburner and the chimney in the wall) and check for rust and soot. Then, through the season, I just tap on the pipe twice a week or so, and can tell if it needs cleaning. If it feels empty and tinny it is okay. If it feels solid and full of soot, it definitely needs to be cleaned. You can also tell that the pipe or chimney is getting full of soot because you’ll notice that when you open the stove door, smoke seems to blow out easily and abnormally. This is because the chimney is becoming restricted and smoke, like water, flows on the easiest path. If it is full, you need to let the fire burn out, brush the chimney, disconnect the pipe and take it outside to clean it. The pipe to my stove is only four feet long, and I have found that I can just slap the sides up and down the pipe and dislodge the soot and ashes. I seem to average taking out the ashes once a month. This cleaning routine is extended when the wood is driest. For me, good, dry firewood burns so well the pipe and ashes don’t need to be cleaned for almost 2-1/2 months.

Drying wood
Generally, it should take nine months to a year to dry fresh-cut, green wood. If, however, you put this stuff under a tarp, it takes longer and can actually rot by itself. Covering something like green wood with a tarp doesn’t let the moisture escape well. When the heat of the sun hits the wood, it vaporizes and rises to the tarp where it condenses and “rains” back down on the wood. The ground moisture doesn’t help either. With a woodshed that has a leak free roof and lots of circulating air, you will have truly dry wood.

The types of wood that I prefer are of course, oak, locust, maple, cherry and hickory. I like locust because it burns hot and easy. It is not good for an open fire because it spits a lot of sparks, but this is fine by me because I have an airtight stove, and people give it away easier than other types of wood. Of course, if you’re an opportunist like me, you’ll burn whatever you can scrounge up or find for free. The only wood I stay away from is pine, because of the extreme level of sap which will vaporize and stick to your chimney, which can cause a chimney fire.

Friends and family call me from time to time when they need a tree cut up or when they see the power company is clearing lines and leave good wood. I can always cut trees off my property, but have only done so occasionally because the tree was dead, dying, or damaged by snow, ice, wind, etc. My house is over 1,100 square feet and I have averaged under three cords a year.

A couple of tips that I have learned along the way is to have a garden hose available during the burning season. Because of the risk of freezing, drain the hose completely and have a frost-free water valve installed. Practice to see how quickly you can get the water running. I was lucky one year by forgetting to put the garden hose away. I was still learning my woodburner and got the chimney too hot and it caught fire. Luckily, I noticed the pipe was hot and I could actually hear crackling in the chimney. Then I knew I was in trouble. I ran outside and grabbed the hose and was able to shoot the water into the chimney and save a possible house fire. I also have chimney flares which look like roadside flares that you light and throw into the woodburner during a chimney fire. I have never used them before, but have been told they work by robbing the fire of oxygen. On that note, as soon as you notice a chimney fire, close all dampers (vents) on the woodburner and pipe. This also helps to “rob” the fire of oxygen.

I hope this doesn’t discourage you for fear of burning your house down, because my mistake was a stupid one. I got into that much trouble by opening the door to heat the coals and wood, and walking away, forgot about it. If you walk away from an open stove door, never go far or get side-tracked like I did. As you learn how to maintain a stable fire, you don’t need to worry about chimney fires while away or sleeping. The biggest danger again, is when the flow of air is abnormally high, such as when opening the door and leaving it open, or opening the dampers too far.

I hope this will help you get started when you are ready to heat with wood.

Copyright Countryside & Small Stock Journal. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. Countryside Magazine W11564 Hwy 64 Withee, WI 54498.

Lehman’s does not guarantee the accuracy of this information. Always obey the instructions in your owner’s manual and follow the advice of local safety officials.

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• Direction of fall
• Hinging
• Don’t try to outrun a tree
• Wind is unpredictable
• Look before you leap
• Hand-to-tree exposure
• Don’t cut alone
  

Many of us have vowed never to be caught unprepared and dependent on the public utilities for our very lives. The independent’s likely fuel will be wood – hopefully self-cut. But beware! If you are inexperienced in this ancient art of fuel gathering, read this article carefully and carry some of my experience into the woods with you.

Your first attention will be to your tools. Make sure your saw is fully gassed and oiled, the breather and oiler unobstructed, and the chain sharp and properly tightened. Proper tension will vary with the type of saw, but mine is adjusted so that cold and at rest, the chain does not hang, but can be easily pulled around the bar. Always carry your T-wrench or “duty tool” in your back pocket when cutting, as a chain will loosen after use and need re-adjustment. Running out of gas halfway through a tree necessitates the folly of leaving the tree hanging while you make the long walk back to the gas can or tools. A dull saw, madly over-revving, spitting sawdust rather than chips is dangerous too. A chain not getting oil will tighten and stall the engine eventually, but may damage itself and the bar in the meantime.

Now you must choose a tree. The first tree in a stand is very important. Walk around a bit before beginning to cut and choose a tree inclined to fall into an opening. Hanging a tree up in a neighboring tree necessitates a perilous and time-consuming extrication – you’re way ahead of the game if you avoid the situation. By and large, the small-time wood-cutter must drop a tree according to its own inclination. Give careful attention to determine this inclination, it can be tricky. Though the trunk may lean one way, the greater weight is given to the upper limbs and leaves, especially in the spring and summer when incredible volumes of water are coursing through. The wind can play havoc with you too, tossing the treetop to and fro, always changing the tree’s inclination.

The wind’s direction and velocity are the most variable factors in woodcutting, hence the factors most to be aware of. It is the fickle wind that causes most of the accidents among experienced loggers. Do not cut, go home if the winds are high and gusty! A tree may lean obviously to the right but rock back to the left as a gust passes, inviting disaster. Also present on windy days, lurking unseen above, are the “widow makers” – dead limbs and tree tops waiting only to be dislodged and come crashing down to add to their already ominous legend.

Once you’ve determined which way the tree wants to fall, cut away vines, brush and lower branches to give yourself plenty of room to move while cutting. Pay special attention to the route you need to take should you need to escape quickly. Inspect and clean the tree of sand, stones and other foreign matter, which will dull your chain. If dealing with a large tree, it may be necessary to remove the large buttresses (the flared root tops at the base of the tree) to get evenly high cutting faces.

Direction of fall
The direction of the fall is controlled by the notch, or face-cut. The reason for the face is to remove a surface for the tree to jam on or pry against as it begins to fall. For the trees with obvious inclinations, make the cut to the side you wish the tree to fall. The notch should be about one-fifth or one-third of the tree’s diameter and should never be higher than its depth. The danger of undercutting the face, even on trees that may be growing near horizontal, is the prospect of splitting.

Some trees are notorious splitters, alder being the champion in our area of the Pacific Northwest. A tree may split because it is hollow inside, or from grains, internal twists and stresses that may not be apparent unless the wind shifts or the face is cut improperly. Stand to the side as you cut the face, usually on the side to which you expect the tree to come as it falls. This protects you from splits. Cut as low as possible on the trunk as this will give you more wood and is a standard good logging practice since the lower the stump, the less danger it presents as obstruction. Also, by bending to make the cut, you give yourself a split second to straighten up and avoid a murderous split – it takes longer to fall backwards than to straighten up.

On high-risk splitters (those with obvious weaknesses or acute inclination) you may make a small notch first, on the back side of the tree, slightly above the expected back-cut level (see Diagram 1) to give the trunk a chance to snap off rather than split.

Hinging
On trees without too much inclination, you may influence the line of fall by “hinging.” This hinge, about one-tenth of the tree’s diameter, is the last piece of wood still holding the tree as it begins to fall, and will continue to pull the tree towards the hinge until the last bond break. In this situation, the face is cut at a right angle to the direction of the fall. Undercutting the depth of the face can cause splitting on the back-cut. The danger in over cutting is the tree falling – in any direction – before you can even make the back-cut. Make the horizontal cut first, then take out the notch, generally from the top down, endeavoring to make the cuts meet neatly. In some situations, up-cutting the notch may be in order, but it’s easier to go with gravity whenever you can (#1).

As you make the back-cut, or felling cut, generally position yourself on the side of the hinge to protect you from splits. Make the cut exactly horizontal and higher than the base of the notch. On a small tree put the bumper of the saw to the log directly behind the hinge and move the bar in an arc around this fulcrum to get a fan-like cut (see Diagram 2). Never cut through to the notch or you lose your control altogether. As the tree begins to fall, the hinge twists the tree on the stump and pulls it toward you, step around to the rear of the tree so that it falls away from you, but don’t commit yourself until you know for sure the direction it is going.

Don’t try to outrun a tree
Should a tree ever begin to fall towards you, never succumb to the irrational urge to outrun it. Panic seems to make this a natural human reaction, but with foreknowledge you need only step around the tree, behind the line of fall.

To fell trees with a diameter exceeding the bar length of your saw, you must make a series of fan-like cuts. Stand behind the notch and start the first cut with the tip of the bar cutting into the tree just behind the hinge (see Diagram 3). Use the bumper as a fulcrum and change the fulcrum as little as possible. Leave the bar in the cut to move the saw to the next fulcrum, or the cutting direction could be changed too easily.

The final cut is made with the bar engaging (180 degrees opposite) the hinge. Move the bar in an arc leaving an equal amount of wood as a hinge. It is very important to always hold the bar in a horizontal position when cutting.

When felling very big trees it may be that the center of the tree is not cut through when you have finished the series of fan-like cuts. This can be avoided by boring into the center of the notch before making the back-cuts. This boring-cut can sometimes be used when cutting soft-leaf wood to relieve tension in the trunk and avoid splinters being torn out of the log in the middle of the hinge.

When cutting coniferous trees in the summer, it may be desirable to make splint cuts at either side of the tree. These cuts should be right angles to the notch and in the same plane as the back-cut will be. Without these cuts, the splint wood may split when the tree falls. Make the depth of the cut about equal to the width of the bar.

Sometimes, just as it seems the tree must topple, the wind or a miscalculation may rock the tree back on the stump, pinning your saw and/or jamming it tight against the narrow back-cut. If you cannot snatch the saw out of the bind, don’t linger; shut the saw off, step back and with one eye out for stumbling blocks and brush, carefully choose the safest line and back off. Once safely away, you may analyze the situation and choose one of several courses.

Wind is unpredictable
The safest course is to let the wind blow the tree over. The problem here, of course, is the wind’s unpredictability. You cannot go off and leave a potential murderous situation poised indefinitely; it can come down seconds later or months later. You are responsible for the tree – it must fall before your responsibility ends.

The best tool in this situation is the wedge. For all its simplicity, the wedge is pound-for-pound the most powerful tool you may own. Big-time loggers, dealing with die-straight firs or redwoods 150 feet tall, can bring them down on a dime by wedging in the back-cut. You, too, can apply wedging principles to influence the fall of most trees, but many trees you may be cutting for firewood will not grow as straight and balanced as the big-money trees and may not be as susceptible to wedge manipulation.

In any case, if your saw is not pinched in the back-cut, the wedge is inserted and driven in with a small sledge or mall. Many trees, especially alder, are likely to pinch back and spit the wedge out by rocking back in reaction to the first one or two blows. So, once the wedge has been tapped in place, hit it a good lick, then as the tree rocks forward, quickly set the wedge by hitting it again before the tree rocks back. Whenever driving wedges, be aware that sharp metal splinters may fly into your, or an observer’s eyes and cause severe injury – out in the woods, perhaps far from medical attention. Wedges should be kept trimmed of burrs and chipped edges. Also there are plastic wedges available that eliminate this problem. Or, you can make wedges out of hardwood with the grain going into the tree. Safety goggles are the best insurance against eye injury when using any tool. It is best to carry two wedges, as most jobs will require more than one.

If the fully driven wedges do not influence the tree enough to tip it back along its intended line, or if your saw is still stuck in the way; and if the tree can be dropped back in the direction it wants to go, and if you have another saw (cutting with an ax at this point is quite hazardous, bit it is a way), make a new cut below the first attempt, reversing the face and back-cut (see Diagram 4). Be sure you have room to move because this tree could go anywhere at this point.

Now if the wedges haven’t worked, or if the tree is looking down on your barn or the neighbor’s fence and you can’t drop it where it wants to go, a long, stout rope or cable and block are in order. Try to anticipate problems such as nearby buildings, etc., beforehand and attach your block and line before beginning to cut. Hooking onto a delicately balanced, wind-sensitive toppler is an adventure of rushing peril. The block should be chained to a solid base, the line run through it and set around the trunk or a stout limb as high as possible to gain maximum leverage. How to set the line is up to you, but please note: it is foolhardy to climb the tree. If there is absolutely no other way, add your weight to the situation on the side of greatest balance. But before you even consider climbing, tie a light rope to a heavier rope or cable, weight it with a rock, toss the rock over a limb and haul the cable up and around the tree. Be alert! Listen for cracking and groaning and watch the tree top. Have partners well clear and watching for you. Once the line is set, if truck, tractor, partners or neighbors can apply sufficient pull-power, the tree will fall towards the block.

If you do not have a block, the line can be run around a nearby tree or stump and pulled too; but, of course, this affords greater friction than a block, a less efficient return for your labors and causes greater wear on the line. In the absence of a suitable tree or stump, you may pull directly towards the power source, but be sure your line is long enough to take you beyond the falling tree.

Look before you leap
A tree may begin to fall only to get caught in adjacent trees. This may happen often until you learn to fell the trees in a stand with a mind always to open a path for the next tree to fall. Don’t jump into the biggest tree, or the one nearest the truck. Walk around a bit and a whole logical order may be suggested and hangers may be avoided.

However, you may plan and figure, sometimes that tree’s gonna catch and stay cradled in his brother’s boughs. When that happens, you have a dangerous situation with great tension exerted throughout. First, watch out for the tree’s butt. It may still be in contact with the stump and may slip off and jump back at any time, battering-ram style. Don’t be behind the stump. As the tree begins to fall and the problem is developing, back off and keep your eyes up for dislodged “widow makers.” If possible, pull the tree with cable and truck. Be alert. It may take many minutes for stress to wear down a supporting limb, but with a loud snap, the tree may suddenly shift, roll free and fall to either side. Usually you can perceive the direction of the stress and with cautious circling, approach the hanger from behind to set the choker.

Hand-to-tree exposure
If you cannot pull the tree free, you may be able to free the bind by up-cutting with your saw. This hand-to-tree exposure confronts you with unimaginable energy – great massed weight, pulled by gravity, levered and twisted, coiled to explode with a speed and suddenness you could never react to. Your up-cut will be made from the stressed side (diagram 5). Do not stand on the side your saw will cut from!

It may take several cuts to finally loosen the entangled top and each cut is very perilous. Again, always make yourself plenty of room to move. Movement is your principle advantage in this encounter. Be prepared to simply release the saw if it should be wrenched by a great shift. In fact, anytime a tree wants to take your saw, let the saw go! Do not resist the force and it is likely the tough bar and chain will be undamaged. But even if the saw is totaled it can be replaced – step back and keep yourself intact.

Don’t cut alone
A friend of mine was making an up-cut on a leaning tree and the bind exploded, throwing him 20 feet, still gripping his wildly screaming saw. Fortunately he was unhurt. Fortunate too, was the fellow he was cutting with – he was standing behind my friend, but far enough back to escape the horror of face-full of chainsaw. If your temperament allows it, it is safer to have company in the woods, but whenever cutting near others, only one saw should be running in the same area, and everyone should focus his attention on the same tree. The cutter should never begin until he knows everyone is well out of the way.

Other things to consider
But say you’ve got the tree on the way down, here are a few more things to consider. A tree falling uphill may kick back of the stump just as if it had been caught in nearby trees. The limbs break the fall and gravity pulls the butt back downhill. A tree falling downhill will jump out and down the hill, sometimes for many feet. The larger the tree and the greater the slope, the broader the jump. Consider this effect in determining cutting order, positioning yourself and equipment and avoiding obstructions.

And speaking of obstructions, a tree may fall across something – a fallen tree, stump or land configuration – and the resultant lever action will flip the butt about with a big whoosh. An old-timer told me how he was “horsing around….careless…” and such a butt caught him no-so-gently under the chin and set him dazed 12 feet up and back atop an old first-growth cedar stump.

Even when the tree is down you may not be through. It may be the tree has fallen over tough, pliant brush or smaller trees. Sometimes these will be unbroken and pinned and when severed as you clear the brush, will spring up, slapping and ripping like some jungle trap. As you limb, be aware the trunk may shift as supporting limbs are cut out. Also, cut limbs from the stress side, as when up-cutting, to avoid binds and the jungle-trap effect.

By entering the woods fore-armed and fore-warned, you should be able to face winter well-stocked with your own fuel and a measure of independence from the all-too-fallible (not to mention expensive) public utilities – and with all your own limbs, too, to warm by the fire.

Copyright “Countryside & Small Stock Journal”. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. Countryside Magazine W11564 Hwy 64 Withee, WI 54498.

Lehman’s does not guarantee the accuracy of this information. Always obey the instructions in your owner’s manual and follow the advice of local safety officials.

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The first heating bill of winter arrives and your eyes widen at the charges. The thermostat is immediately lowered, the family is cautioned about keeping doors and windows closed, and perhaps even encouraged to wear a sweater indoors.

To save yourself this annual anxiety attack, you might give some thought to a secondary heat source to supplement a gas, electric, or oil furnace. Does anyone out there still have a coal furnace?

If you take the time to investigate wood burning stoves you’ll soon develop a respect for their ability to solve the problem of expensive heating costs by using fossil fuels. Most stoves burn short lengths of wood (12-24 inches), and many have strong, quiet blowers, forcing hot air out of upper vents. They can do an excellent job of keeping your home warm and cozy.

Choosing the right stove is the first hurdle. It can get confusing with so many different makes and models on the market.

Consult your stove dealer for clearances from combustibles for your stove (new stoves will come with a tag giving specifications). If you have an older stove, it should be at least 36 inches from a combustible wall or furniture. And the connector pipe should be no closer than 18 inches. Be sure to install the stove on a floor pretector, and add a wall protector if needed. Your best bet is to check with your local fire department -- this is one instance when it's vitally important to be "better safe than sorry."

Of course, the more quality you expect, the more you’ll pay. However, there are a few basic “musts” to consider. Workmanship is important, as well as buying a big enough stove. You can always build a small fire in a big stove, but not the other way around. Make sure your stove has a large, state-of-the-art firebox, and a big loading door that latches tightly.

It’s best to purchase a new stove from a reputable dealer, and make sure it carries a certification of successful testing. Although more expensive, airtight cast iron and plate steel models retain heat longer, and give years of dependable, trouble-free service.

A radiant stove has one main metal shell and the heat from the fire fans out from the unit in all directions. Unfortunately, all directions are not necessarily equally beneficial. For example, heat from the back of the stove will warm the wall, rather than the room.

If you want nostalgia (when folks sat around a potbelly stove at the general store), you’ll find these relics are far from airtight, and burn an excessive amount of wood quickly. These old cast iron workhorses radiate heat, but they need constant attention, and you’re forever emptying the ash box. They are only slightly more practical than burning wood in a fireplace, with most of the heat whooshing up the chimney.

A circulating (convection) stove has an inner combustion chamber, surrounded by an outer shell. A fan expels the hot air between the two metal shells, and the exterior is much cooler than a radiant unit. The flow of heated air is similar to a forced air furnace system, and you’re able to direct the heat more effectively.

What you really want is efficiency in getting the most heat for the least amount of wood and work. The perfect stove would be one that burns the wood completely at the proper temperature, and retains most of the heat inside the structure.

Much of the charm of a wood burning stove is watching the fire itself. Make sure you buy a stove with a self-cleaning glass window in the loading door if you want to watch the fire. Equally important is a stove with convenient, built-in grate and an airtight ash pan.

Manufacturers do make stoves in colors other than the traditional black. If you want a certain color, it’s probably out there somewhere. Some models are even available in a rainbow of enamels.

When positioning your stove, choose a spot where it will be most functional, and locate it so it’s easily observable during operation. The stove must sit on a fire-resistant base, raised from the floor to allow airflow. Because the stove will produce intense radiant heat, you should also consider heat shields on back and sidewalls allowing at least an inch of space away from the walls for ventilation. The minimum distance from an unprotected wall is 36 inches for a radiant-type unit, and 12 inches for a circulating stove. A reflective metal surface will bounce most of the heat off the wall back into the room.

Intense heat has been known to burn a hole through the floor, so noncombustible protection beneath the stove is essential. It should extend beyond the stove at least 12 inches on all sides. If the stove legs are 18 inches or longer, a sheet of reflective metal will do nicely. When the legs are six to 18 inches long, an approved stove board should be placed between the floor and the sheet metal. If the legs are six inches or less use four inches of ventilated blocks or bricks on top of the sheet metal.

(Editor’s Note: The floor and wall protection systems described above are generally used for stoves that do not have UL Listing or the equivalent. Any UL Listed stove should include an owner’s manual that will describe the correct methods to use for floor and wall protection. Always follow the owner’s manual!)

Clearance and venting
Clearances around the stove and piping are critical, as most materials absorb radiant heat, and their combustibility could start a fire.

If you’re concerned about radiant heat, feel the surrounding surfaces with your hands. If they’re hot, you’ve got potential problems, as the heat can “cook” combustible walls and interior wood.

Even fireplace inserts and stoves in fireplaces need careful installation. If you use these heating methods, check your chimney and the surrounding wall. Because the chimney temperatures will be greatly increased, heat is transferred and the surrounding wood can ignite.

Venting your stove is vitally important. The chimney flue should be no more than 25 percent larger than the stovepipe, and never connect more than one heating device to each flue.

Stovepipe connectors must be of the proper gauge recommended by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The pipe should run as straight and short as possible, must not pass through a combustible wall or floor, and cannot be within 18 inches of combustible material (that includes the ceiling).

If you use a prefabricated metal chimney, it should be listed as “residential-type building heating appliance chimney part” by Underwriters Laboratory (UL), or some other recognized testing laboratory. A metal chimney should extend at least three feet above the highest point where it passes through the roof, and at least two feet higher than any portion of the exterior structure within 10 feet.

A stack thermometer helps monitor the temperature of gases leaving the stove. The most and least polluting temperature range is between 200 degree and 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Below 200 degrees the temperature is not sufficient to carry all the unburned, combustible gases in the atmosphere, so they condense along the walls of the stovepipe and chimney as creosote (wood tar) and soot. Above 400 degrees the stove is over heating.

As a state fire marshal suggested to us, “The way you install your stove will determine whether you will live with it or die with it. It isn’t safe until you make is safe.” Safety depends on how you install and use a stove, more so than on the stove itself.

It is essential to keep the chimney clean. Whenever creosote builds up to a fourth of an inch anywhere in the chimney system, it’s time to clean it. The build-up can vary greatly, depending on the wood used, type of fires, frequency of use, and even the stove model. All chimneys should be cleaned at least annually. The most effective and safest method of removing creosote is the regular use of a wire brush that can be pulled through the pipes and up and down the chimney. While you can use chemicals and clean your own chimney, it’s a lot less messy to have a professional chimney sweep do it.

A small hot fire in the stove decreases the amount of creosote and increases the efficiency of the combustion process. Even though the smaller fire means more frequent loading, it’s far safer and produces fewer health problems.

On the other hand, a smoldering fire has heavy creosote potential, and the indoor air pollution also can be increased when a firebox is packed with wood.

Basically the stove is merely a device in which to burn a fire. A good heating unit retains heat and transfers it into the room rather than letting it rush up the chimney. Most good stoves have a firebrick-lined firebox and a baffle plate or secondary heat chamber that makes the heat travel around inside before it exhausts up the chimney.

Gases given off by the burning wood rise from the firebox to the secondary chamber above. If the stove has a catalytic combustion system (a honeycombed device designed to reduce the kindling temperature of the gases), much of the smoke is burned off. This increases the heating capabilities, greatly reduces creosote buildup, and makes the whole operation more pollution-free.

The most efficient stoves are airtight, with the flow of fresh air into the burning area regulated by a damper. You can control the burn. By letting in more air you create a hotter fire. However, with airtight stoves, the combustion of the wood is not always complete because of restricted airflow, but this is the trade-off between controlled heat and a fast, hot burn.

Depending on how sophisticated you want to get, you can have an automatic thermostat to control the damper, holding the temperature constant and helping the fire to burn longer. While this eliminates adjusting the damper, automatic thermostats have been known to cause the damper to stick open, and the stove to overheat.

Keep in mind, no matter how good the stove you buy, and regardless of the option, about the very best you can expect is a stove that’s 50% efficient. That’s a lot better than some of those old, leaky, radiant jobs that are good if they give you 10% efficiency.

Wood species is important
Once you’ve found the stove that’s right for you, give more than just a passing thought to the wood you burn. Different types have different heat values. The heavier or more dense, the higher the heating value. Always burn dry, well-seasoned hardwood. If you buy green wood, it’s essential you season it before using. Green wood has too high moisture content for satisfactory results. Dry wood also helps decrease the amount of creosote build-up.

If you purchase your firewood, you’ll normally not have a choice of tree species. However, you should pay less for wood having a low heating value. Being a knowledgeable firewood buyer will help you get the most for your money.

Depending on your part of the country, high heating value woods include hickory, oak, maple, beech, birch, and dogwood. Soft woods ignite quickly and burn fast, but their heating value is low. Some of these are spruce, aspen (poplar), pine, hemlock, balsam fir, redwood, and basswood.

Seasoned dense wood will burn long and steady, and one cord of such wood is equal to many gallons of fuel oil. A cord of hickory, for example, is equal to 177 gallons, while a cord of soft balsam fir is only equal to burning 96 gallons.

Wood is usually sold by the cord or rick. A standard cord stacked measures four feet wide, four feet high, and eight feet long. A rick is defined as eight feet long, four feet high, but only two feet wide (half a cord). A face cord is generally accepted to be four by eight by one or two feet, or as wide as the lengths of the wood cut.

If someone wants to sell you a “truck load,” it depends on the size of the truck bed. A pick-up truck with a basic four by eight foot bed, 19 inches deep, will only hold a third of a standard cord. If they claim they are selling “about” a cord of wood, and will deliver it in a pick-up, just explain you’ll pay after stacking it, but only for the actual volume you’re receiving.

There are long, long lists of dos and don’ts for wood burning stoves, but some of the more important ones are:

• Use seasoned, dry hard wood.
• Burn short, hot fires, rather than long, smoldering ones.
• Install smoke/heat detectors, and have a good hand fire extinguisher nearby.
• Empty ashes into a metal container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep the container off a combustible floor.
• Don’t burn trash, papers, or small twigs.
• Never use a flammable liquid of any kind to start a fire.
• Never use chemical or starter logs.
• Do not store dry wood near or under the stove. <!–
• Don’t leave the stove burning unattended overnight, or when children are in the house.–>
• Never vent your stove into a flue already used to vent another heating system.
• Do not leave the stove doors open except to fuel the fire.

Before you rush out to buy a wood burning stove, acquaint yourself with the basic information. If you have questions, make a list, and call someone qualified to give you the answers.

Before installing your stove, check with your local building and fire departments of codes regarding clearances, heat shields, venting and chimney connections.

A permit is frequently required for hooking up, and in many instances your dealer will include it. If they don’t install, they’ll usually recommend someone who can do it for you.

With the potential for future fuel shortages, more and more people are looking to wood burning stoves. The risk seems to be that many people have limited experience with these stoves, and fire statistics are much higher than they should be. They show fires are principally caused by improper installation, poor maintenance, and misuse.

Now all this might sound like wood burning stoves are all work and no fun, but that’s not the case. We’ve emphasized proper installation because that’s crucial to eliminate potential risks once the stove is put into use. After all, the first concern must be safety. If it’s done right, then you’re on your way to a season of warmth to say nothing of the rewarding inner glow you’ll have each time you throw another log into the fire.

You can stay toasty warm for as long as Ol’ Man Winter wants to howl and for as long as the wood holds out.

Okay, now that you’re all fired up, start stoking!

Pellet stoves
Pellet stoves are clean, convenient, economical, and a wonderful innovation. Small though they may be, a pellet stove can produce enough heat for an average size cabin retreat, or small home.

A 40-pound bag of wood pellets into the hopper each morning keeps things cozy. Made from waste sawdust, the pellets look like rabbit food.

A small auger feeds the pellets into the fire, and a draft fan blows the flue gases out, while a blower forces the hot air into the room.

Pellet stoves are very clean burning, and you’ll see very little smoke (if any). Because the pellets are so small, and combustion air is forced around them, efficiency is very high.

These stoves are easy to install, and some models can be converted to burn inexpensive corn. Most stoves are made of light-gauge steel, and are easy to handle. If you are uncomfortable about installing it yourself, perhaps your pellet-stove dealer can lend a hand.

For more information on wood burning stoves write to your state fire marshal, state department of environmental protection, state office of energy resources, or a nearby dealer. Many insurance companies produce well-researched literature on fuel-efficient wood burning stoves, and your agent might be able to help. Locally you can stop at city hall and check with the building department and then seek out your fire department officer in charge of public information.

Copyright Countryside & Small Stock Journal. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. Countryside Magazine W11564 Hwy 64 Withee, WI 54498.

Lehman’s does not guarantee the accuracy of this information. Always obey the instructions in your owner’s manual and follow the advice of local safety officials.

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Wood Stove

Even if cold weather is little more than a dream for some of you while you’re still having searing temperatures, it will come! For some of us, cold weather really never left this year, but either way, cooler or colder weather is coming and we need to prepare for it. It may seem early to be thinking about it, but better a little early than a little late.

Have you made a list of what needs to be done? Here’s mine:

• Check furnace or chimney and stove closures, seals and seams, etc. Replace filters on furnaces.

• Clean out coat closets. See what needs to be replaced before cold weather. If your household is like mine, cold weather gear is gratefully dumped on the first warm day of spring and heaven knows what kind of condition it’s in. Check to see if the kids need new sizes, too. (You might want to add something this year for everyone: Yaktrax!)

• Have the car tuned up and ready for cold weather driving. Make sure the tires are ok for ice and/or snow.

• Tend the harvest. Can, dehydrate and freeze produce that is cheap (or free, from the garden) right now for frugal winter eating.

• Take a look at window casings and doors and make any repairs that are needed. Replace caulking, tighten hinges, install weather stripping.

• Take advantage of sales on garden tools, paper, pens, pencils and fresh root vegetables.

• Look to nature to provide decorations and inspiration for the house. Everything from river rock to dramatic “weeds” can be, and has been, used creatively.

• Finally, don’t forget to lay in a stash of good reading for those long winter nights just ahead!

It makes good, frugal sense to meet the changes and challenges of each season as much as we can before they get here. Waiting until the last minute almost guarantees that you’ll pay a higher price and you may make mistakes by not having the time to think through purchases.

The coming winter seems to me to be more intense than ever in beckoning us to get ready. I keep wanting to can more, dehydrate more, make more plans for knitting warm clothing… but it might just be me. If it isn’t? Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Get prepared while there’s still time!

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Classic Dutch Oven

Editors Note: Article Originally published on Lehman’s Country Life

I spoke with a customer recently about her wood heating stove and how she used it to cook on during the

Resolute Acclaim

most recent ice storm and power outage in Kentucky where she lives. (Funny, I mentioned my Aunt lives in Morgantown KY, and she said she lives not far from there.)

She owns a Resolute Acclaim from Vermont Castings. She said, “It worked great for making biscuits. I purchased 2 stove top thermometers from Lehman’s and put one on the top of the stove and the other on the Dutch Oven I was using to cook with.”

Here are a few tips she’d like to pass along:

1. The wood that you’re burning needs to be fully seasoned, no wet or moisture-laden wood.
2. The temp of the stove needs to be 500-550 degrees for baking biscuits.
3. Use a stove pipe thermometer on the top of the stove as well as on the top of your Dutch oven to ensure the temp is kept even.
4. For baking time refer to your favorite recipe.
5. Absolutely NO PEEKING into the Dutch oven while the biscuits are baking.

Her daughter thought these were the best biscuits she’s ever made.

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