There are a lot of benefits to heating your home with wood fuel. One potential drawback, however, is the danger of creosote buildup in your chimney and stove pipes. If handled properly, however, creosote shouldn’t deter you from wood heating. What is it? When wood burns in your wood stove or fireplace, the oils in… Read More
If you heat with wood fuel, you probably know to avoid green, unseasoned wood until it’s been allowed to dry and season for 6 months to a year. Green wood is wood that is freshly cut and hasn’t dried at all. It may burn, but not efficiently, and will create dangerous creosote build-up in your… Read More
If you are new to heating with wood fuel, you may be wondering, ‘what exactly is a cord of wood?’ A cord of wood is a stack of wood 8 ft long by 4 feet high by 4 feet deep. In total, it is 128 cubic feet of wood. In the US and Canada, it… Read More
1. The little red riding mower. 2. The hot rod. 3. The remote control. 4. The DIY engineer. … Read More
Most gasolines available in the US contain about 10% ethanol. Unfortunately, ethanol is, in many ways, the enemy of combustion engines. Ethanol is an alcohol fuel usually made from distilled corn. It is mixed with gasoline (most often 10% of the mix, but 15% mixtures are also available for certain engines) in order to keep the gasoline… Read More
It’s well into snow season up here in Vermont, but other parts of the country may be just gearing up for the fluffy stuff. If you don’t already have a means of clearing snow on your property, especially on long driveways and roads, you may be considering either a snow blower or a plow. If… Read More
Ice dams form when heat escaping from inside a building melts snow on the overhang of a roof. If left unattended, this freezes each night, becoming thicker and thicker. Then at some point, water backs up under shingles and finds its way inside the house, causing damage to sheetrock walls, ceilings, and insulation. Repair costs… Read More
For the northernmost climates in the US and Canada, winter brush mowing is not an option. That pesky snow gets in the way and the biting wind and cold makes it unpleasant to attempt outdoor projects. For those in more moderate climates, though, such as those in the green, yellow, and orange areas in the… Read More