Author: Jess Hill

Things You Didn’t Know About Autumn

As Starbucks has announced the pumpkin spice latte is back it is the start of autumn! Actually there are two different dates for when it is supposed to begin. Autumn defined by the earth orbit around the sun begins on the equinox which falls on 22nd or 23rd of September. However, the meteorological Autumn always begins on the 1st of September.

  • The harvest moon appears in autumn, it is the full moon that appears closest to the equinox. The light from the moon was essential for farmers to have a good harvest as there wasn’t any electricity.
  • Pumpkin is the most craved flavour during this season
  • Oktoberfest is a beer festival that is held during autumn which originated in Munich, Germany in the early 1800s. This is 14 days long and over 1.3 million gallons of beer are poured for this event.
  • Autumn wasn’t introduced into the English vocabulary until the 18th century. Previously we would use the word fall. Autumn came from the French Automne.

autumn

Trees prepare for winter

The shorter days are a sign for the trees to prepare for winter. There isn’t enough light during winter for photosynthesis to occur so as the days shorten through autumn the trees begin to shut down their food production and reduce the amount of chlorophyll in their leaves. Catching leaves during autumn is supposed to bring good luck

The chemical called chlorophyll gives leaves the green pigment. This stops being produced during colder seasons allowing other colours to show through like the red, orange and yellow.some of the chemicals that create the yellows, reds and oranges are found in some foods like carrots and egg yolks.

Pumpkins

Carving vegetables and placing candles inside them originated in Ireland but they would use turnips or potatoes. When the Irish arrived in American they discovered pumpkins and a new Halloween ritual was born.

The winter pack is now available for you to buy!

How to prepare for winter

It’s only 4 weeks till autumn and 8 weeks till winter and 117 days till Christmas. The cold weather will be on its way and it’s time to prepare your stove for winter.

chimineaThe chimney

Your chimney needs sweeping once a year to ensure it does not build up tar and creosote. Using Firemizer in your stove reduces the creosote in your chimney. The build-up of creosote will affect the efficiency of your stove and increases the risk of carbon monoxide going back into the room, especially with a blocked or a partially blocked flue.

Cleaning and maintenance

Check the glass of the stove door for any issues and now is a good time to clean it. You can clean the glass with wood ash and newspaper. Alternatively, there are stove glass cleaners available. Check out our blog on cleaning your fire!

Stove exterior

While the stove is cold you can touch up any paint and check if there is any rust. Rust can cause problems on cast iron stoves. Rub away the rust with a wire brush or steel wool.

Check rope seal

A tight fit and solid seal are beneficial for the efficiency and safety of your stove. This will create a smoke seal and stop harmful carbon monoxide from entering your home.

coalFire grates

The grates can get warn out by the high temperatures. A distorted or bad fitting grate can jam the stove.

Stock up on wood

Don’t be left out in the cold, stock up early on your fuel supply and make sure your wood is thoroughly dried and only contains 20% moisture as this could affect your stove efficiency.

Keep your eyes peeled for our Winter Pack, one Firemizer and 6 Firebuilders.

Three Historic Fires In London

Fires have happened throughout history, some you may know, some you may not. Here are Three Historic Fires In London! 

fire hydrant The frozen fire at butler’s wharf

In 1931 firefighters battled with flames and frozen temperatures. To tackle the fire roughly 1,100 firefighters arrived. The warehouse on fire had large stocks of tea and rubber, the fire burnt throughout the day and night leaving a smell of burnt rubber.

The fire wasn’t extinguished for several days.

The unbearably cold conditions made the blaze difficult to tackle. The water froze as it ran down the wall and sheets of ice spread across the roads. The cold temperature meant they had to wrap hoses in blankets to hold them.

The king’s crossfire

On November 18th 1987 the London Underground experienced the worst fire to date. A lit match was dropped on the wooden escalators at Kings Cross underground that caused the fire. 150 firefighters and 30 fire engines attended the scene. The changes made after this fire were; 

  • replacing the wooden escalators,
  • the smoking ban extends to all station areas 
  • improved radio communications between firefighters.
fireGreat Fire of London

This historic fire, the majority of you will know. In 1666 the fire destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, the royal exchange and st Pauls cathedral. Many of the buildings were made from timber and covered in a flammable substance called pitch. Houses were packed closely together, many with sheds and yards containing hay and straw. The previous summer had caused a drought and had dried out the wooden houses.

The fire began in a bakers shop on Pudding Lane. A fire was left and at 1 am that house was an inferno. A previous fire had destroyed a section of the London Bridge, therefore, the fire couldn’t reach the south of the river. 

There was no organised fire brigade and firefighting was very basic with little skill or knowledge. Using leather buckets, axes and water to fight the fire which had little effect. To stop the fire they pulled down and blew up houses in the path of the fire to stop it spreading.

Ultimately this began the of assembling the first fire brigades. 

Want more information on historic fires click here

Fireplace Transport In Harry Potter: The Floo Network

The fireplace has always been a focal point of the room, providing warmth and aesthetic value. But what if your fireplace could be used for travel!

In Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, we are introduced to the Floo Network system which relies on fireplaces for quick transport. This mode of transport is similar to Network Rail but much better. Even if this is imaginary it still makes for an interesting read!

The Floo Network is a safer mode of transport and it can easily transport children, the elderly and sick.

harry potter Floo Powder

This substance is a silver powder invented in the 13th century, which you can buy in Diagon Alley, however, the owners are renowned for never answering the door.

The price has remained the same, two sickles a scoop which is 58p. The exact ingredients are a closely guarded secret.

How it works

To use the Floo Network, chose your destination, grab some Floo powder and throw into the fireplace and green flames should appear. Upon entering, state your destination. You’ll be there in no time!

The Floo Network is generally reliable. However, speaking the name of the destination loudly and clearly upon entering the fireplace is difficult, due to ash, heat and panic.

Nearly every witch or wizard home is connected to the Floo Network. The fireplace can be disconnected with a simple spell but connection requires you to register with the ministry of magic. Once connected you can travel to any fireplace in the world as long as it is registered.

Not to worry as non-magic folk fireplaces can’t be connected unless in an emergency so you can still use Firemizer in your fireplace!

BBQ With Firemizer!

As the weather is forecast for a wet weekend it’s perfect English barbeque weather after all! Why not BBQ with Firemizer!

bbqEveryone loves a BBQ, the smell of the food cooking and enjoying a nice evening in the garden. If you want some BBQ inspiration check out our blog on BBQs around the world! 

To get your BBQ to cooking temperature 20% faster here are some of our top tips!

BBQ With Firemizer

Simply place it on the base of your BBQ, place the coals on top, and start it like normal and see the difference. It’ll get your coals hotter much faster, help them to burn more efficiently and last up to a third longer, and reduce any harmful pollutants emitted by 72%. The only way to BBQ is a BBQ with firemizer!

Using Firebuilder

why not try using Firebuilder to start your fire? With no kerosene, the food will be free from any harmful chemicals to keep your food tasting great. Just break the cardboard brick, light the edges, place it on top of your solid fuel and let the fire burn downwards.

Grilling Meats

  1. Beef = ground beef cook at 71°C Fahrenheit, steaks cook at 62°C. Use direct heat for chops and steaks. Use indirect heat for roasts and larger cuts of beef.
  2. Chicken = chicken breast and legs cook at 73°C. For thick pieces of meat cook over direct heat, larger pieces over indirect heat.
  3. Pork = sausages cooked at 73°C while pork chops cook at 62°C. Start cooking sausages on high heat so the outside is nice and charred then move to a cover part of the grill to finish off.
  4. Seafood = salmon or shrimp cook at 62°C. Oil the grill well to reduce sticking. 

For more tips and great advice check out this article

What To Do With Bugs In Your Firewood

However, you get your firewood there is a chance some small critters hitchhike their way into your home. These insects living in the firewood pose no threat to you or your home. They are either feeding on the wood, nesting or are overwintering under the bark.

bugsInsect Prevention

The best way to stop insects from getting into your home is to store your wood outside until it is ready to be burnt. spraying the wood with insecticides will not have much benefit and is potentially dangerous. This would not go deep enough into the wood to reach the insects.

Two insects that may cause problems are carpenter ants and termites. These can affect the house if stacked against the outside walls.

Carpenter Ants

wood that remains moist for a long period of time is a good place for carpenter ants to live. They do not feed on the wood but they hollow out pieces inside the wood for nesting. If the wood is bought inside the ants may warm-up and move from the wood however the likely hood of the ants nesting inside the house is slim. but stacking wood against your home may provide a route for the ants to enter your home.

Termites

wood that is stacked on the ground may be eaten by termites. There might be mud tunnels visible on the outside of the wood. Termites bought into the home in firewood can’t establish a new nest or damage your furniture. however, if the wood is stacked against the house this ould provide a way for termites to extend their feeding into your home.

If you find a termite infestation in stacked wood near your home then consult a pest management professional and have your home treated.

Bark Beetles

These beetles like dead or dying wood, this makes them quite commonly found in firewood. They tend to feed on wood in large groups so a log cut could contain hundreds of these beetles.

a lot of insects spend their winters under the bark of trees or in your woodpile. When bringing firewood into your home it warms the wood and these insects crawl out of the wood. Pillbugs, centipedes, millipedes, ground beetles are commonly found in firewood. They will not harm you or your house and need only be picked up and removed.

What Will Happen If The Planet Gets Hotter?

As some crazy people are enjoying the extremely hot weather its hard not to notice the danger increasing temperature will have on us in the future.

This week we saw record-breaking temperatures and this is going to continue to get worse if we don’t do anything.

This article was written in 2018 titled ‘the next five years could be seriously hotter than normal, say scientists’

They clearly weren’t wrong and that means we’ve got more hot weather to come!

ice cream What would happen if the planet was 2 degrees hotter?
  • Rivers and glaciers would disappear
  • An increase in landslides as what holds them together would melt
  • Sea levels could rise displacing 10% of the population
  • Many Plants would eventually stop growing making global warming worse as they absorb a lot of the carbon dioxide.
  • In 85 years one-third of the planet will be without fresh water
  • 40% of the Amazon Rainforest will be destroyed
  • Hurricanes would be stronger
  • Coral reefs would start to become bleached – this is already happening here
What would happen if the planet was 3 or 4 degrees hotter?
  • Ice poles would completely vanish and the sea would rise by 50 meters
  • Summers would be longer and hotter, increasing the demand for air-con putting pressure on the power grid
  • Forest fires increasing
  • Shortage of food
The human body in the heat

Your body will try and keep a core temperature of 37 degrees and only gets hotter or colder when you are ill.

However in a temperature of 38 degrees and above you are at risk of:

  • Swelling in joints
  • Rashes
  • Cramps – caused by salt imbalances
  • Exhaustion 
  • Dehydration
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Numbness in hands and feet
  • Heatstroke

Its all well and good saying recycle, don’t use single-use plastics and reduce your meat and dairy consumption. These small changes will help. However, you can sign petitions get your local MP to take note that this is something you care about as the biggest change that needs to be made is for governments to take global warming seriously.

Everything You Need To know About Firemizer

Everything You Need To Know About Firemizer

 

Firemizer is a unique fuel-saving device made from stainless steel alloys that is easy to use and proven to optimise the performance of fuel in stoves.

How to use Firemizer

1. Remove Firemizer from the pack and simply place on the base of your fire or stove then build your fire with wood or coal as usual

2. Firemizer spreads heat evenly and makes your fire burn longer

3. After the fire has cooled simply brush the ashes off between fires

How it works

1. Firemizer slows the airflow to reduce the burn rate of fuel

2. Firemizer conducts heat evenly across the fire to ensure all fuel is fully combusted

3. Firemizer prevents small fuel fragments falling through the grate or being left unburnt in the ash bed

Benefits

In addition to a longer and more even burn, which can save up to 38% of your fuel costs and reduce creosote emissions by up to 57% Firemizer has several other practical benefits:

  • Easier to start the fire
  • Keeps all the fuel lit throughout the burn
  • Reduces the amount of unburnt fuel at the end of the fire
  • The fire requires less stoking and refuelling
  • Reduces the build-up of soot in chimneys and on the glass of stove doors.
  • Less ash is produced and needs disposing of
  • Less storage is required for fuel during the winter
Does size matter?

Firemizer should cover most of the base of your fire or stove but does not have to be an exact fit. If Firemizer is too big for your fire, wear protective gloves and cut it to size using household scissors. For really big fires you can place two Firemizers side-by-side.

Firemizer is available in the UK/Europe: 180mm x 420mm (7in x 16.5 in)

What fuels can be used?
  • Firemizer can be used with
  • seasoned firewood
  • Good quality coal
  • combination of firewood and coal
  • wood pellets
  • briquettes made from sawdust
  • other wood waste
What type of stoves can be used?

Firemizer has been designed for use in the majority of domestic wood-burning and multi-fuel stoves. The benefits may be reduced in specialist high-end stoves incorporating sophisticated engineering to control and pre-heat the airflow.

Will it damage my fire or stove?

No! Firemizer will help protect your grate or stove base from the intensity of the fire by spreading the heat more evenly. Firemizer has also been shown to reduce the emission of creosote by up to 57% which will help to reduce the build-up of soot in chimneys and on the glass of stove doors.

The working life of Firemizer can be reduced if you burn unseasoned wood or cheap coal containing lots of impurities. Firemizer is not designed for use with charcoal, very small husk pellets or some high-intensity coals.
How long will it last?

Firemizer will typically last for 500 burning hours – which is equivalent to 6 weeks if used for 12 hours per day. However, if some of the filaments start to break, there will be a reduction in efficiency if it is not replaced. Fragments of Firemizer wire that become detached with use will fall into the ash collection tray for easy disposal.

How is it maintained?

It could not be simpler. Leave your Firemizer in place for about 6 weeks and lightly brush off the ashes in between fires.

What about the ashes?

When using Firemizer the fuel will burn more thoroughly and there will be a considerable reduction in the amount of ash produced. The resulting ash will be a very fine powder with no lumps and will pass through the Firemizer grid. Any ash that does build-up can be simply dusted off before each new fire.

How do I replace it?

When a used Firemizer starts to deteriorate, wait until the fire has gone out and is cold before removal. Wear protective gloves to replace it with a new Firemizer.

Did You Know

Manufacturing a single firemizer will create 100g of CO2 but during its life, you are saving 30 tonnes of CO2 being produced and chucked into the atmosphere.

Read more about Firemizer here.

How To Stay Safe This Summer?

With the temperatures increasing across the Uk after we saw the hottest day so far reach 30 degrees, it’s safe to say how do we stay safe this summer?

Here are some general tips for the summer but you just need common sense!

  1. Use suncream, even if you want that glorious golden tan, no one wants to risk looking like a lobster!
  2. DON’T leave your pets in the unattended in your car! If you do I will come to rescue your dog! If you don’t believe how dangerous it can be for dogs check out this video. This should be all the warning you need!
  3. Be wary of open bodies of water. Yes, they do look inviting especially on a hot day, however, they can be deadly as you could be easily swept away by the undercurrent.
  4. Drink lots of liquids! And no not just beer, although that is tempting!
  5. To stay cool, get a hot water bottle and fill it then put in your freezer, once frozen place in your bed to keep It cool before you get in!

Fire pit safety

 

father's dayAnother way you can stay safe is by paying attention to your fire pit. Fire pit accidents are among the nearly 6,000 grill fires each year, sometimes these spread to become an outdoor fire.

  1. Do not place fire pit directly onto wooden decking or grass. Choose a nonflammable level surface to the place the fire pit on.
  2. If your fire pit is free standing make sure it has sturdy legs!
  3. Keep the fire pit 10-20 feet away from fences, buildings and other flammable Debris
  4. Don’t forget to use Firemizer in your fire pit!
  5. Do not light the fire with lighter fluid, gasoline or Alcohol instead use a firelighter for instance Firebuilder.

Stay safe this summer and enjoy the hot weather!

Top Tips For A BBQ

As the temperature increases, it’s the perfect occasion to have a BBQ. Although us Brits can have a BBQ in whatever weather!

To help with your BBQ adventure here are some tips!

bbqClean

Wash hands and surfaces often. Make sure to clean your grill properly as when cooking seafood this can stick to previously cooked food on the surface.

Preheat

Place Firemizer in the bed of the BBQ place coals over the top. Light the coals at least 30mins before you plan to cook. Do not put food on the grill until the fire dies down to glowing coals.

Cook

Cook to proper temperatures to avoid undercooked food. Use a food thermometer to get your food to cooking temperature.

Rest

Remove meat from the grill and allow it to rest for the specified amount of time. Its temperature remains constant or continues to rise which destroys harmful germs.

Serve

Hot food should be held at 140 F or warmer. Perishable food should not be left out for more than 2 hours at room temperature. 

bbqGrilling Meats
  1. Beef = if you are using ground beef cook at 71°C Fahrenheit, steaks cook at 62°C. Use direct heat for chops, steaks and hammers. Use indirect heat for roasts and larger cuts of beef.
  2. Chicken = when using chicken breast and legs cook at 73°C. For think pieces of meat cook over direct heat, larger pieces should be cooked over indirect heat.
  3. Pork = sausages should be cooked at 73°C while pork chops should be cooked at 62°C. Start cooking sausages on high heat so the outside is nice and charred then move to a cover part of the grill to finish off.
  4. Seafood = when cooking salmon or shrimp cook at 62°C. Oil the grill well to reduce sticking. 
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