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[DaveWertz]

Finally getting tired of messing with a fire in the basement so today Im going to be working on starting the first fire in the OWB. What are some of the proceedures you guys do when starting them up each yr. Im just curious. Do you all start your pumps before or during starting your fire? Or do you get the temp up in the stove a little bit before starting a fire?

[automan77]

I start my pump then fire it up.

[CountryBoyJohn]

I usually start my pumps just enough to make sure they humm.  Then I turn them off.  Then I start a fire and wait for the temp to come up to 100 or so.  THEN I turn my pumps on so I can feel the heat on the downstream side.  This confirms that I don't have an air lock or anything like that.  Pushing warm water makes it much easier to confirm they are working properly. 

I start out with really small pieces of wood.  I'll take the chunks I normally toss in and split two more times.  Small temp differential, 5-7 degrees.  And I don't empty my ash pan for 1.5-2 weeks.  And I don't hit the shaker grates either. 

I actually shut my stove down last weekend for 3 days.  Temps got back up to 80!  Our house would've been 85 from the heat bleeding out of the furnace room!!  After 3 days my water temp was only down to 130!!  Amazing insulation in this thing!

[hondaracer2oo4]

Must be a Hardy thing. I started mine for the season today too!