Patience

Devil505 · Post by **Devil505** » 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)

coalkirk · Post by **coalkirk** » Tue. Oct. 21, 2008 5:22 pm

Hello, my name is Terry and I'm a recovering wood burner.

Patience! That was the thing that took me the longest to learn when I switched to coal 5 years ago. Coal does not respond like wood to changes in air and adding fuel. It took millions of years to form and it's in no damn hurry to burn. Come to think about it, that's one of its most endearing qualities.

Devil505 · Post by **Devil505** » Tue. Oct. 21, 2008 5:25 pm

coalkirk wrote:Hello, my name is Terry and I'm a recovering wood burner.

Hello Terry.......Welcome!

(hands Terry a tall Scotch & Water)

Make yourself comfortable!

coalkirk · Post by **coalkirk** » Tue. Oct. 21, 2008 5:29 pm

Thanks, but I'd never put water in scotch. Do you know what fish do in water?

Just joking. I'm not a scotch drinker but if you've got a cold brewski, I'm in.

gambler · Post by **gambler** » Tue. Oct. 21, 2008 5:37 pm

Uglysquirrel · Post by **Uglysquirrel** » Tue. Oct. 21, 2008 8:50 pm

Wow, it's like I'm back at College, man.

joespond · Post by **joespond** » Tue. Oct. 21, 2008 9:45 pm

I'll take the scotch!

No water for me either, just what the melting ice provides!

Bill.

beemerboy · Post by **beemerboy** » Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 5:34 pm

After 15 years of burning coal, patience is still one thing I find still is hard to come by.

I like my scotch mixed half and half; half whiskey, half air.

BIG BEAM · Post by **BIG BEAM** » Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 7:10 pm

I like my scotch half and half also.Half in the glass and half in my belly

DON

UpStateMike · Post by **UpStateMike** » Wed. Nov. 05, 2008 4:04 pm

Thank you for this reminder. I am another one of those annoying recovering wood-aholics and am gearing up to be burning coal by the end of this month, so I greatly appreciate this forum and it's members.

By the way, I like my scotch on the rocks. I recently bought a bottle of Glenmorangie to celebrate my son being born. Probably not the best idea to bring to the poker game, as it was gone pretty quick!