Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Stay Safe While Keeping Warm This Winter

National Public Radio recently ran a story about a piece of advice from the latest edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The suggestion was about how to stay warm throughout the winter with just one log: chuck it out of an upstairs window, run downstairs and outside to pick it up, and then sprint back upstairs and chuck it out the window again. Repeat until warm.

This method may not cut it for the majority of condominium residents because the Almanac, as well many other weather forecasters, is predicting an unusually cold winter for Oregon. So people may be more inclined to chuck that log into the fireplace and set fire to it than use it for exercise.

Obviously, it is vital to only burn fuel meant for that unit. Don’t put logs in a gas-fired unit or use lighter fluid to get the wood burning. Beyond that, there are many options for wood-burning fireplaces. Condominium owners who build fires only for the ambiance may be inclined to use manufactured logs instead of cordwood. Manufactured logs are easy to transport and light; they make fire building look easy. The Chimney Safety Institute of America has certified three types of manufactured logs for use in fireplaces: the Duraflamebrand of logs, the Javalog, and the Creosote Sweeping Log.

Stay warm and safe.

2 comments:

SooZ said...

Good advice... per Farmers Almanac. ;)

Anonymous said...

Found the list of recommended logs interesting. I have used the Javalog for open houses as it is a recycled product.