One of the things I miss the most after living in the country for about twelve years is my fireplace. Nothing compares to a warm and cozy fire on a cold and snowy night. Although I had a couple of accidents. Growing up as a city fella, I knew next to nothing about making a fire or maintaining a fireplace. I knew you had to open the damper every so often and clean everything, but that’s about it. The old Civil War era house in the city grew up in an actual fireplace in every room of the house (except the bathroom) but for a long time the bricks .
The first house in the village had one of those metal free standing guns that were just popular in the fifties. It was triangular in shape and had a thin piece of metal that ran straight up through the ceiling. The first few weeks everything was fine. The only thing I had was a little green wood and it was difficult to start a fire using just leaves. So I would go to the grocery store and buy a charcoal lighter, a good wood burner and it would light up without any problem. It was getting a little expensive using all that lighter fluid, so I got the smart idea of buying a gallon of kerosene and using it because it was a lot cheaper. Maybe it was just that I didn’t know that kerosene had a lot more “fire power” than lighter fluid coal.
After a good pain in the wood, I threw the match in there and “Whooosh.” It was just short of a major explosion. Suddenly there was more fire than he had put out, although he remained fortunately in the fireplace. In a few minutes the room became unbearably hot and the ceiling began to smoke. I had one hand on the fire extinguisher and the other on the phone before it finally died. Later I still used kerosene, but much less.
They came a long way from the guns when I was trying to burn myself. According to a story in the St. Louis Post Letter (www.stltoday.com) wood fireplaces are a more efficient substitute for gas inserts that they go into your existing fireplace and act like a mini furnace, much more efficient in reducing your heating bills. The only problem with these is that they are pretty expensive. Some cost about $4,000 with installation.
Today’s inserts are different from the old traditional gas logs that don’t really look real. One flame has a single flame flooding the clear glass column. Pellet stoves are also “hot” this year. small wood burning stoves burning pellets, which are about $3-$5 for a 40 pound bag that will burn for about 24 hours Many of the more expensive ones are made from soapstone, which really holds in heat and makes it one of the most efficient and carbon-friendly fireplaces on the market.
With all fireplaces safety. Have them cleaned and inspected once a year and make sure you have a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide detector in working order. And throw the kerosene.
