had a fire last night----OWB

[showrguy]

i do, i do, have a spark arrestor/supressor...
have not needed/used it for 6 yrs. or so...........
i was burning rough cut oak from a friend of mine that tore off 50 feetfrom one side of his barn about a year and a half ago, it is very dry and burns very hot.....
after taking some pictures i realized what all actually burned up, 4-5 five gal. plastic buckets, big plastic trash can, lots of leaves and brush, ect....
still dunno why it burned out ??? it shoulda went to the top of the mountian and headed south ??
glad it did'nt cuase my homeowners ins. woulda took a poundin......
still back to the moral of the story--------keep leaves away from your stove...
it only takes a spark !!!!!! well, this time anyway......

 

[John D]

Mine is 35 feet or better from the house. Not sure I would get any closer. I do have a spark arrestor on mine and it seems to work well without any negative effect. I installed mine as I have a grass fiel behind the house. One spark in the winter wood get really interesting. I can see the OWB while laying in bed at night and can honestly say I have never seen a spark from the stack. Perhaps the deep baffle design of the CB5036 has something to do with it...?

I dont think the deep baffle has anything to do with it,all OWBs put the exhaust out the rear or top basically the same way.I think the Shaver does it because of the blower fan.The difference in the intensity of the flame between natural draft,and forced is night and day.I sometimes open my ash door,and leave it open when cleaning it out,and loading,you can see the coals light up,and glow red from the oxygen feeding the fire.The door is about 7" high,and a foot wide,plenty of air.If the fan comes on,the coals spark,and shoot flames out a little,if I then shut the ash door with the fan on,(forcing the air to go up thru the grates,and feed the fire),instead of just runningout the open ash door,the fire coming up thru the grates instantly gets so hot,and intense,you can't stand in front of the door.You need to shut the door immediately,and you can hear the water over the door sizzle,and boil in a matter of a minute or 2 with the fan on.When the fans on,at night I see sparks shooting up and out of the owb at times.