Plenty of people enjoy watching flickering flames and listening to the crackling of burning wood as they keep themselves warm on cold winter nights. Others love outdoor barbecues, or roasting marshmallows and hotdogs. Sooner or later, though, they will have to clean the ashes. With a US Stove Company AV15 Ash Vacuum, the task is [...]

Burning logs in your fireplace for warmth on cold winter nights can be very relaxing and even romantic. At least until a downdraft forces smoke back into the room, or when you need to get up to add more logs into the fire, or when you have to clean scattered wood chips and remove ashes [...]

Basking in front of your outdoor fireplace or roasting marshmallows for your s’mores are fun things. It can, however, be rather inconvenient if you have to get up from your lounging chair and walk through snow just to get more firewood. It is better to keep a pile of logs near the fireplace. And it [...]

Andirons are very important in building a robust flame in your fireplace. They raise the logs from the hearth inside your fireplace thus allowing the circulation of air around them. With a more intense flame, your room is warmed more quickly. In addition to this very functional role that they play, they can also be [...]

There is something nostalgic, and even romantic, about wood-burning fireplaces. You can watch flickering flames and listen to crackling fire as you warm yourself and relax after a day’s work, perhaps alone with a good book or a glass of Bordeaux, or cuddling your significant other. All that can be spoiled, however, if you have [...]

Warming yourself on cold winter nights in front of a wood-burning fireplace with its crackling and dancing fire is indeed a very cozy and relaxing experience –until the morning after when you have to clean the hearth of the residue of the burnt logs. You need not allow cleaning up to become unpleasant though. With [...]

Fireplace screens were probably born when someone’s house caught, or at least nearly caught, fire because of the embers floating out of the fireplace. Owing to the natural oils in wood or their dryness, they crackle and pop when burning expelling sparks that could sometimes shoot out of the firebox and land on flammable materials. [...]

Warming yourself on a wintry night with real logs burning in a traditional fireplace has its own charm and magic although sometimes it may be difficult to kindle them. This is especially true if the logs are not thoroughly dried and seasoned. You can, of course, use fire gels or pieces of old newspapers to [...]

The image of a man splitting fire logs with a maul, or sometimes with an ax, is often seen as an embodiment of machismo. What is usually not mentioned are the sore muscles, blistered palms, and aching backs that almost inevitably follow after such labor.
There is a better, and far easier, way to split your [...]

Traditional fireplaces and fire pits that burn real logs instead of aluminum fakes are often preferred by purists who just can’t enjoy warmth without the sound of crackling fire, the smell of burning wood, and the flickering flames. Igniting logs, however, can sometimes be difficult especially if they are not sufficiently seasoned and dried. In [...]