WOOD Heating Your Home with Wood: A Guide to Modem WoodBurning Appliances, Hal Richman, 12 pp., 1977, 2 5~ from: The Stove Works Box 2673 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 When someone walked into Hal's woodstove store and complained they had just bought a stove from another dealer who hadn't told them they needed a chimney, he figured some very basic consumer education was necessary. After 6 months and 16 drafts. he came up with this booklet. For the novice with a quarter it asks and answers all the right questions and gets him/her thinking exactly how wood heat can fit into his/ her home. The "Wood Heat Checklist" of questions to ask and answer yourself before going to the stove store is alone worth tw,o bits. (Courtesy Chuck Holton) "Masonry Stoves," Country Journal, Feb. 1978, $1.25 from: P.O. Box 870 Manchester, VT 05255 Masonry Stove Guild Newsletter, quarterly, $5/year from: Albie Barden Maine Wood Heat Co. RFD 1, Box 38 Norridgewock, ME 04957 The latest woodstove fad on the East Coast seems [0 be masonry stovcs. originating in Finland and Russia. Long circuitous stove flues transfer heat from a fast hot fire to a masonry mass that radiates the heat to the room slowly and evenly. This Country Journal article has all the details. Now if only our Wcst Coast wood·heat fanatics can come up with good details on kangs, the Asian heated floor platforms. and our European correspondents can send in plans for the Dutch masonry stoves (which are oftcn built around a cozy-alcove bed), we'll all be sitting warm and cozy. Albie Barden just got back from a research trip to Europe studying all kinds of masonry wood stoves, and is planning a series of workshops on them as well as writing a book for Rodak Press on the subject. His Masonry Stave Guild Newsletter has the details of what 'he's uncovercd. - TB ~"'~--------~ f";" ~ L .. --~ ~} kt.lt:T'lI . ~.~ .C:U,. ........, April 197 RA IN Page 19 Ten Uses for Wood Ashes The chief by-product of heating with wood has more uses than a Swiss Army knife. A cord of wood produces about 50 pounds of ashes. and the task of removing them from the stove leaves smudges on faces. dust all over the floor and an inevit· able question: what are we going to do with thcm? Though ashes from different types of wood vary slighdy in their chemical composition. the ideas described below will work for all kinds. The only way to improve quality is to sift them. Some stoves produce ashes which contain chunks of charcoal and other debris. These larger bits can be removed with a simple sifter made of half-inch chicken wire. If you want to get fancy, add a wooden framc to the sifter. 1. Fertilizer. Wood ashes are composed of 50 to 75 percent lime, so if you have a large stove and a small garden, you may never need to buy lime again. In addition, ashes contain phosphorous. potasl> and other trace elements that are good for the garden. Best of all. ashes used for this purpose can be spread in the middle of winter. Just take them to the garden area and sprinkle them as evenly as possible on the snow. Come spring, they'll sink into the soil as the snow melts. 2. Mulch. Some controversy: One gardener told me that they were superb around shrubs; another insisted that they had killed her rose bushes. One solution is to cut the ashe with another mulch material so plants benefit from the lime without being overwhelmed by it. Do not put ashes around newly germinated sprouts, nor around acid-loving plants such as blueberries and azaleas. 3. Compost Helper. Ashes are a good way to neutralize the acidic conditions in the compost heap. Spread a fi ne layer on top of the compost whenever you turn the pile. 4. Insect Repel/ent. During bug season, ashes can be used to repel insects in the garden. Encircle the tomato plants or spread them in long low mounds beside the row crops. Slugs and snails are especially rcluetant to storm these barricades and other insects are discouraged by them. 5. Lice Treatment. The anti~bug component of ashes makes them an effective treatment for lice in the henJlouse. Leave a heap of ashes in the corner of the ~hicken run and the flock will use it for dust baths. 6. Deodorizer. Ashes suppress odors. so some people sprinkle them in outhouses. They can also be effective in cat boxes. Just be sure to mix them thoroughly with the litter so that you don't find ashen paw prints all over the house. 7. Sidewalk Deicer. Another happy property of ashes is their ability to melt snow and ice. Usc them instead of salt on icy steps and walkways. The runoff is much healthier for the surrounding earth. Remember, however. that thc ashes will stick to your feet and make a mess of the house unless you take off your boots at the door. 8. Traction Maker. Some people aLsQ carry a box of ashes in the trunk of their car during the winter. The weights provides added traction for the back tires, and if you do get stuck. a shovel or two of ashes under the tires often provides just the grip you need to get f ree . Coal ashes are even better for this purpose since the cinders make them grittier. 9. Fire Extinguisber. Ashes. of course, are the residue from a fire and cannot be buned. A large quantity, dumped on a fire that is burning out of control, will smother the fire without damaging the stove. Granted. it's a messy method, but il will work in a pinch. 10. Stove Cemel1t. Mix a quart of sifted hardwood ashe with a handful of salt and enough water to make a thick paste. For patching corroded sections of stove liner and scaling between stovepipe and chimney, it works as well as commercial cement and there's no asbestos. (Frolll Vol. 56, No. 35, The Weekly Market Bulletin, Nov. 30, 19 77. N. H. Dept. of Ag.• BlIreau ofMarkels, 85 Manchester St., CUlIcord, NH 03301. SS.OOlyear)
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