Figured out I was overstuffing the firebox for like 5 years

Honestly, I was at a customer's place in Denver last Tuesday and noticed their fire was burning way cleaner than mine ever does. I asked what they did different and the guy was like 'I just don't cram it full like a Thanksgiving turkey.' That hit me cause I always thought more wood meant more heat. Turns out I was choking the airflow and getting all this nasty creosote buildup. Checked my own chimney that weekend and saw a thick crust of it near the flue. I had been blaming bad wood or damp weather this whole time. Anyone else realize they were just packing it in too tight?

3 comments

3 Comments

lopez.jana13d ago

Oh yeah, started lighting from the top down and it changed everything for me.

felix_williams7112d ago

Does it help with keeping the brushwork looser since you're not constantly overworking the dark areas? Might have to try that order next time I paint.

johnson.faith12d ago

lopez.jana said "lighting from the top down" and I gotta ask - did you have to change your whole technique or just the order of things? Like, do you still do the same highlight and shadow placement, just starting from the top of the canvas first? I tried that once but got confused about keeping the values consistent across the whole thing. Did you run into that problem where the bottom parts ended up looking disconnected from the top?