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Show USE FIREPLACE FOR FUEL-SAVING COMFORT variety of sizes and styles. A fireplace equipment dealer can help you select one that's the right size and will give the most satisfying service. Use sturdy non-combustible tools to tend your fire. To keep your fire burning brightly, you'll need to shift the logs or add more wood. Use a poker and tongs to avoid burns and singed clothing. Equip your fireplace with a screen. Fireplace shops offer of-fer screens in a variety of designs from colonial to sleek modern. They dress : up a fireplace but, more s ' important, provide safety from popping sparks or hot embers. Keep the hearth clear of combustible material. The Fireplace Institute's Book of Recommended Installation Installa-tion Practices calls for a brick, slate or stone hearth of at least 16 inches in front and 8 inches beyond each side of a 6 square foot fireplace fire-place opening. A nice, safe crackling fire can do more than warm your bones; it can help you forget fuel shortages and heating bills at least for a few hours. Next time you turn down the thermostat, use your fireplace instead of an extra sweater and earmuffs to keep you comfy. A crackling fire is a lot more romantic and fun. You can also take comfort from the fact that wood is our one renewable source of heating fuel. A woodburning fireplace can help conserve hard-to-get, expensive fuels says the Fireplace Institute, if you use it properly and have it equipped to sustain a good, long-lasting blaze. The Institute, an association associa-tion of fireplace manufacturers manufac-turers and distributors, offers these tips for making your fireplace more useful and enjoyable: Select dry or "seasoned" wood. Wood with a high moisture content is one of the reasons for a smoky fire or a fire that is difficult to sustain. If you collect col-lect scrap wood, fallen branches or twigs for kindling kin-dling or firewood, let it dry out for best results. Besides Be-sides being difficult to burn, green wood produces wood tar and other extracts ex-tracts which may condense in the flue and eventually cause a chimney fire. Use a mixture of hard and soft woods. Soft woods ignite more quickly and make a hotter fire but they also are consumed more quickly. Combine soft and hardwood logs for a longer-lasting longer-lasting fire. Never use combustible fluids to light a fire. Start your fire with kindling, adding add-ing more if logs are slow to ignite. A little practice will give you the knack of starting start-ing a fire that burns steadily in your fireplace. Use a sturdy grate that fits the fire chamber (the space in which the fire burns). The grate holds the wood off the floor of the fire chamber, allowing for air circulation. Grates are available in a |
