How I got over a smokey start

[Happy Baker]

I used to have real problems with smoking out the neighbours when I lit the oven, and whilst that isn't a huge problem (!) because they understand, I thought I'd try and overcome it. Well, I seem (fingers crossed) to have done it. We all know that you need to get heat into a fire to make it some less, so this is a combination solution to my problem!

First - lighting the fire ...



This is untreated softwood, round two pages from our local newspaper scrunched up. With a couple of bits of hardwood on top.



Burning nicely - the draft from the door through the wood gives it a lot of umph!



Just as it collapses, time to start feeding it with a mixture of hard and soft wood.



By feeding it, we have managed to get the flames going over the top - woo hoo

But most importantly we have managed to cut the smoke down to a heat haze ....

I also just threw a 500mm length of insulated stainless steel chimney we had on top of the chimney to get a better draw, and we think the combination has worked!

But for all of us who have one of these modular ovens, it suddenly dawned on us that we were lighting the fire at the front of the oven where it could be reached (naturally) and the heat was going straight up the chimney! Hence the 'extension' and trying to heat up a bit quicker.

[cannyfradock]

Thank-you H

Really good tip as initial smoking is something that's very often asked about.

As you may gather....we're still building up the index page of the new forum and we hope to have a "managing your oven" section. I'd like to copy your post and add it also on the new section.....once it's configurated. I hope that's OK.

Terry