Tending Embers, an explanation for a new thing

If you have ever heated with a woodstove you know of the value of tending embers. In the morning after the fire has burned steadily through the night once solid seasoned hardwood is reduced to soft fluffy white ashes. The house has cooled a bit as the fire has gone down. One can almost be convinced that the fire is completely gone. But, if you brush away the ashes you can, if you haven’t waited too long, find glowing red-hot embers waiting. The ashes serve as an insulating layer around the glowing embers, limiting the oxygen flow and slowing the burn. As the ashes are brushed away and fresh air reaches the glowing embers they gradually increase in brightness and will, with enough oxygen flow, begin to flame once again.

And so the idea is to gather the embers close to the air intake, put fresh pieces of seasoned hardwood on top of the embers, open up the air intakes to flood the embers with oxygen. In short order the embers burst into flame and feed off of the fresh fuel around them. The air supply can then be reduced to a more sustainable level. Soon the house is toasty warm again.

During the day one is able to refuel the fire in such a way as to maximize the heating potential of the stove while maintaining a more steady flow of heat into the home. Incidentally, with the modern day high-efficiency wood-burning stoves one can heat a reasonably sized home in a sustainable, carbon neutral, manner.

I find myself coming out of a long winter’s night. The room is a bit cooler than it once was. I recognize the presence of the white fluffy ashes. There have been times when I’ve wondered if there were still embers glowing in the midst of them. Recently I’ve worked to brush away some of those ashes to reveal the fire that is slowly burning within. Fresh air is beginning to reach those embers and I’m seeking the seasoned hardwood to fuel the warming of the house once more. This blog going forward will be one outlet for the warmth as it comes, thus the title “Tending Embers.” My hope is to tend in such a way as to provide a more steady flow of heat to the home.