Does anyone have any good ideas for easier loading of an outdoor wood furnace. Ours is a Heatmor. It takes unsplit logs up to 40" if I remember correctly. Ours are usually more like 3' and are very heavy for me to lift. Also, when we open the door, the smoke ROLLS out and doesn't stop. We have tried raising the chimney to get a better draft, but that didn't help much. My main problem is getting the logs in the firebox.There has to be a better way!

-- Peg Johnson (jnjohnsn@pressenter.com), February 13, 2000

Answers

Peg, If burning maple and birch, perhaps it is time to clean the flue and the chimmey. The screen on a chimmey cap can become very clogged. I am just sitting here in the middle of the USA, with Osage Orange tree roots, trying to hold the world together. JR

-- James R. Jones (jr3star@earthlink.net), February 18, 2000.

Try an auto engine removel boom. Often refered to as "one arm bandits" most repair shops have one. With a little work it could work for you.

Hope this helps.

-- Brian Major (steelcave@hotmail.com), November 26, 2001.

Try opening the door slowly so you don't disrupt the draft. You could consider a section of roller conveyor at an angle from the ground to the stove door. Then you could just push it on rollers up to the door instead of having to lift it. Surplus or material handling companies usually have lots around, less than $50 for a 10' section used.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), November 29, 2001.