I have the wood stove lit. It is not the first burn of the season, as we did one the other day. But that one gave us headaches, and was a good sign things were not right! So, I have cleaned the chimney, and replaced the gasket, and not I have a little wood in the stove, and am burning it. The temperature is under control, and the flames go out quick when I shut down the draught. There is no sign or smell of smoke at all coming from it! I think things are in order!
Speaking of order, I ordered some new vermiculite for the inside of the stove, and I got a kit to allow air in from outside, though I will have to do more work on that to get it all the way from outside, as I don’t think the kit is made to go as far to the outer wall of the house as it is from our stove to our outer wall. The vermiculite was on sale, and they took off another fifteen percent at checkout, so I am happy to have added one of those fans that run off the heat of the stove, rather than electricity. Every little helps!
What makes me happy is that this is one of the reasons I bought the wood stove as a primary heat source for our house. I can service it myself. None of what I have done requires any particular technical skill. Mostly, it is following some basic directions and paying close attention to the state of things, such as the chimney. It is not changing out a certain part number based on the specific pattern of a blinking light indicating a fault.
I hope we are about ready for winter! I need to sort out that firewood pile, still. I need to cover it, too! Once that is done, and the parcel arrives from the stove manufacturer, we should be better off than we have been for a couple of years! One thing I can say about changing the stove gasket; it was cheap, and easy, and should be done as soon as there is any indication that it is failing!