by Tom
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by Tom
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1. Burn Seasoned Firewood
Seasoned firewood has been allowed to dry 
after being cut and split, usually for about six months. Freshly cut firewood contains a huge amount of water, so instead of burning and putting off heat, your fire’s energy goes to boiling off all that water. In addition to not putting off much heat, unseasoned wood can cause creosote buildup in your chimney, which can lead to a chimney fire. Seasoned firewood burns hotter and with less smoke than unseasoned wood, so you have a more efficient fireplace.
-> How to tell if your firewood is seasoned
2. Use a Fireback
A fireback is a large piece of metal that sits behind your fire. Traditionally made of heavy cast iron, firebacks absorb heat from the fire and then radiate it into the room. Stainless steel firebacks give a modern flair to the traditional design. Not only do the stainless steel firebacks reflect heat into the room, but they also reflect the light from the fire.
Click here to browse a selection of cast iron and stainless steel firebacks.
Stainless Steel Firebacks reflect both heat and light back into the room.
3. Install a Top-Sealing Damper
While a top-sealing damper will not help your fireplace put off more heat, it will save tremendous amounts of energy and money whenever your fireplace is not in use. Old, iron throat dampers rust and warp, causing them to leak, allowing hot air up your chimney. Top-sealing dampers, like the Lyemance Damper, are made out of cast aluminum and use a high-temperature silicone to make an air-tight seal. A top-sealing damper can pay for itself in under a year through energy savings.
Click here to browse Premeier, Lock Top and Lyemance top-sealing Dampers with chimney caps.
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Traditionally, knowledge based on teachings and experiences about selecting and burning firewood was passed along verbally. Often such information was put into a rhyming format to make it easier to remember. Thus were born firewood poems and firewood songs to address the question, “Which Firewood Burns Best?” As with most things passed from generation to generation, […]
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