No fire in the stove
If you’re reading this expecting some true insight into fire then I’m sorry to disappoint. My Art of Fire relates only to the use of my wood burning stove and my desperation at trying to keep the damn thing going.
When arriving in the countryside last summer, we quickly realized that heating the house using the oil boiler was going to cost us a fortune. A cold spell in July meant that we had to have the heating on so to avoid Baby Piglet getting cold. Our house is old, with thick pise walls, great for keeping cool in the summer or keeping the warm in during the long winter months, but when the weather suddenly turns from warm to really cool, not so great.
Every moment we had the heating on I spent fretting that we were going to run out of oil. I ended up placing an order and managed to get our oil tank half filled for the grand price of 1500 Euros. Having no idea how long this would last us, we were enticed by the French government’s tax incentive encouraging you to use renewable heating sources and ordered a wood burning stove.
The stove has been Mr Piglets domain since it was installed, but a new work challenge has meant that Mr Piglet is no longer at home everyday to keep the thing going. This has left me, not even a girl guide, yet alone a scout, at home trying to figure out what to do with it. I daren’t turn the heating on downstairs for fear of having to re-fill the enormous oil tank again, so I persist in my trial and error with the stove.
Each morning, Mr Piglet gets the fire going and leaves me with the instructions on how to keep it going.
The first couple of days I kept getting distracted by work. By the time I went back downstairs the fire was out and I spent the next 5 hours trying to get it going again. Each evening Mr Piglet would give me a lesson in the art of starting a fire. Needless to say I failed miserably again the next day as each attempt to start a fire quickly fizzled out.
After the first week, I became better at keeping the fire going but then I burnt myself on the door after successfully managing to chuck in a few logs and wouldn’t touch it until my burn had stopped hurting.
Now, I can just about manage to keep it going from 9am until gone 7pm when Mr Piglet returns. I’m even managing to do it without smoking the house out and for the moment, without burning myself. My technique? I let the logs burn almost right out and then I stoke the ashes around, chuck on as many logs as I can get in the stove and turn the air vent right up. So far, so good although there really is an art to fire and I think I’m a long way off from learning it. Just so long as the wretched thing doesn’t go out…
Piglet in France 
Goodness Piglet, that sounds like quite a handful. You’ve almost got a second child there!!
It certainly feels like it!
I learned to make newspaper twists when I was a girl and then I lay kindling on that. Here in France I use all the publicity that the postman leaves instead of newspaper and I keep all the prunings of vines etc and use them as kindling. The best heat comes from embers so you are right to let it burn down. Here’s to keeping the home fires burning!
Hi Enid. I wasn’t shown newspaper twists! I have managed to successfully get a fire going this morning by twisting pages of the “yellow and white pages” instead of rolling them in balls as I had been doing. Touch wood the fire is still going an hour later 🙂
Glad you are figuring out a way to tame the beast so to speak. I love the feel of a room with a fire going in a wood burning stove.
LOL! Long may it continue I hope! I like the smell too but I have to somehow master the smoke that bellows out when I open the door. I do rather smell like a bonfire and sometimes get very sooty!
Join the club, Piglet! However there is a strange satisfaction in mastering wood-burners See my post on my blog on the same subject `Stoke it up` Our neighbour keeps one of those insulating oven gloves next to his beast to avoid scalds, though nothing can save the absent-minded…
Oven gloves sound like a must! I am going to get a pair this afternoon as my collection of burns is increasing!
I know how you feel. I farmsit for my sister whenever she take the neice to one of her out of town volleyball tourments, and her house is heated by a wood burning stove. I can never keep that thing lit! I spend at least an half hour with the newspaper/kindling/log pyrmid, and think it’s lit and then I come back an half hour later and it’s out! Sometimes I just give up and wear my coat in the house. . .
I’ve worn a coat on a few occasions and have even sneakily turned the rads on when I couldn’t manage so to keep baby piglet warm. They are definitely a mind to their own and take some getting used to. I hope you will eventually master your sisters one and keep yourself nice and cosy!
Ahh I see where you are going wrong, adding new logs to late. But would I ever tell a woman that she is wrong! I value my life too much.
You’re right, either I add them to late and well, there aren’t enough embers, or I add them to early and there still isn’t enough embers. I’m terrified of the flames and I’m guessing the right time is probably the time when I’m most worried about burning myself 😦
The logs need to be at least a couple of seasons old. Still look likes you have developed your own technique!
we’ll have to send the lads down to the wood next time your over, apparently we have a few trees down so could maybe start stocking our own wood?
Hey Piglet-We have an oil boiler as well. So far we haven’t had to fork out any money to refill it because it already had oil in it when we bought the place. I think we will be able to make it through the winter with what we have left, fingers crossed. I was shocked at the price of oil! Our tank is 2000 liters and it is a monster that is located in our garage. I’m curious how large your tank is, then I will know what damage to expect to my pocket book! By the way, I am looking into a wood burning stove as well. I guess I will be taking lessons on how to use it, too!
Ashley
Hey! Definitely get a wood burning stove, even if you don’t pay tax you’ll get a cheque for some of it back so long as you include it on your tax return!
We didn’t fill our tank up completely, I couldn’t face spending more than 1500 Euros! We have 2 large tanks both of which are 2000 litres I think.
We paid something like 0,70 euros a litre from memory.
Good luck!
We had an upright Godin in the kitchen…it kept the place warm as toast and after a couple of days it heated up the chimney stack that went through the library on the floor above.
It never went out…I could stock it up overnight and it would still have red embers in the morning, ready for a dose of twigs and a couple of dry logs.
However, the warmth and sunshine here more than compensate for leaving it behind!
Godin’s are wonderful things aren’t they? Unfortunately our budget wouldn’t stretch 😦
Our stove has been going for two days now, somehow a miracle has occured and it has still had plenty of embers in the morning. I know what you mean about the chimney stack heating up, ours goes through our bedroom and now our room is a lot warmer than it was! yay!
Oh wow, so high-maintenance! I’m glad I’m in a small apartment, I wouldn’t have the patience for that (nor would carrying logs up 4 flights be fun)! Glad to hear you’ve gotten some techniques down, but with a baby to tend to already, sounds a bit too much of a time-sucker. I’d rather keep the heat on in one small room where I work/paint/chillax and let the rest of the apartment be cold!
D
I was the same when I lived in Lyon, especially when I had stairs to go up (I lived in the Croix Rousse district and boy those stairs were a killer).
It’s almost like having another baby!
Bless your heart !
I think of this now when I daydream about big old houses out in the country – some other country 🙂
Do you wear oven mitts when you put things inside ? to protect your hands and arms ? Maybe that would help, at least not get burned again.
I, too, love the smell. Sending Warm thoughts 🙂
I think I shall start wearing oven mitts, good idea!
I bet it feels all toasty though. Can you get the kind of logs that you just light with a match? That way, if it goes out, you won’t have any trouble starting it back.
Hi Piglet, Thanks for the info! I better look into something more economical. I feel a big shocker coming on for next winter:)
hey well would you know it, we ran out of oil during the night (night before last). So I have the up to date prices! 0.93€ / litre for the premium oil (it’s the one that freezes less) – you may not have such cold weather as we have here.
[…] for 1,000 liters of fuel. Yes, that’s gonna cost me (at least I had a heads up on pricing from Piglet in France), but I will be nice, warm and happy for the duration of the upcoming cold days or […]