I’m tempted to say that everybody has chronic fears, but I can’t do that because I don’t know everybody. Maybe it’s only me.
One of my more bothersome fears made last winter more of a misery than it had to be. Two years ago this coming February I had a chimney fire that threatened to burn my house down. In the course of a long life I’ve had my share of adrenalin dumps, but that one was a masterpiece. And for the remainder of that winter and all the next, I couldn’t light my wood stove without dealing with fear. And I couldn’t get warm without lighting my wood stove, of course, so I had my choice between cold and really tense.
And this winter I’m still dealing with it a bit, though the worst seems to be over. In fact I’ve been laughing at myself lately, because my biggest complaint is that the stove heats the 200-sq-ft Lair too well. And like growing old, if that’s your biggest complaint you need to go out and find better things to worry about.
For me the surest path to reliving any old fear is scent. Once the stove and chimney really start to heat up, comes the scent of scorched metal. And that sends me down memory lane, and I feel my heart rate rise. But again the key to getting over it, as with a lot of things, seems to be to just get over it. Yes I know that’s hard. Deal with it.
So this morning I was smelling scorched metal and thinking deep thoughts about fear. For reasons I haven’t gotten into on this blog and don’t ever plan to, I consider myself an eclectic expert on the subject. But screw it: In the place of this concluding sentence, there was once a massive meditation on the subject of fear that is now somewhere down the memory hole.
But remember: Sometimes a good shot of fear adrenalin can save your very ass.
I’ve had the “pleasure” of the chimney fire adrenalin dump so I know exactly what you mean. That was about 6 years ago, I still get jumpy when I think the fire is too noisy. Self preservation and all that. Stay sharp 😉
Miss Violet
I for one, would love a post with your meditations on fear – being a concept I deal with on a regular basis myself, often to no avail…
Hey Joel, they sell a “firelog” which is also a chimney/pipe cleaner, as it burns it removes the creosote buildup. You only need to burn one or two in the stove over the course of a winter.
Yes I know. My chimney fire happened shortly after I burned one of those, and the two things were probably related. Those things don’t clean stovepipe, they just loosen creosote. You’re supposed to follow up with a cleaning.
I learned that later.
Yup, regular cleaning with a brush and having an airtight stove which can shut the air supply off 100% is security….
If ya can’t slow the burn, things kin git outta hand yessir
On a side note, if you ever find yourself struggling for content some day, I for one would LOVE to hear a long-term review of that Vogelzang cast iron woodstove. I have one of those very same units still in the box waiting for installation in my own remote hermitage, and someone’s real-world experience with relying solely on it for heat over a winter would be invaluable. Most reviews you see on sites that sell them are closer to ‘first impression’ not ‘long term experience’. Specifically…have you done any cooking on it?
That’s a valid point. I’ll do that.
First, regarding your fear response: you sound normal to me.
Secondly, have you tried adding a buncha thermal mass around the stove in the form of bricks or cans of water to moderate the temperature swings? If so, did it make a significant difference?
Lastly, about that video: Holy S#!!.
I haven’t tried that, but I’m considering it. I have a few hundred pounds of ceramic floor tile I could stack between the stove and the wall, which would work to see if the idea has any merit.