Our Company Blog

Why Shop At Beach?

As a homeowner, you have a choice when it comes to where you shop for additions to your home. When you are ready to invest in a wood-burning stove or fireplace, you want to be sure you are doing business with a trusted company with years of experience. Beach Stove & Fireplace in Westhampton Beach, NY has over 15 years of experience selling and installing wood-burning appliances and our installers are well-educated and certified.

NFI Certified Installers

The National Fireplace Institute is a professional certification that ensures your fireplace installer is well educated in all heating appliance systems. There are three main certifications including becoming a NFI Certified Gas Specialist, NFI Certified Woodburning Specialist and a NFI Certified Pellet Specialist. You want to hire a company like Beach Stove & Fireplace whose employees are certified in all three categories and have experience installing and maintaining all types of heating appliances.

Our Installers Are Employees, Not Contractors

What makes Beach Stove & Fireplace different from other companies is that our installers are our employees and we take great pride in making sure they are the most educated and experienced in their arena. A lot of our competitors hire subcontractors who come to your home and install your products, which alleviates them of any liability. At Beach Stove & Fireplace we invest in our employees so you can be sure when you purchase a wood-burning appliance from us you are not only getting the best products for your home, but also a certified and educated installer will make sure your appliance is installed correctly and working efficiently.

Unfortunately, a lot of our customers base their choice on which company has the lowest price. Remember, when it comes to investing in quality heating products for your home, you get what you pay for. Invest in products from reputable companies that not only take pride in their products but also take pride in their employees. Beach Stove & Fireplace can recommend the best heating products for your home because we have over 15 years of experience installing these products. Once you purchase your fireplace or stove a professional, certified installer will make absolutely sure it is installed correctly. Our customer service doesn’t stop there. Whether you need a cap for your chimney or a new firebox we make sure you have the best add-ons as well as the best in heating appliance maintenance for as long as you own your product. Come in to Beach Stove & Fireplace and ask about our premium line of heating products for your home today.

The Importance of Well Seasoned Firewood

Weather experts have predicted this upcoming winter to be as frigid as last year’s record breaking winter, and this has everyone thinking ahead about keeping warm. For some people, staying warm inside the house involves lighting a toasty fire in the fireplace or wood stove. However, burning a fire requires having the right fuel, and if the fireplace burns wood, that means stocking up on the best firewood.

Prior to deciding on the species of tree to burn in the fireplace, the most important aspect of the firewood is actually its dryness. Dry firewood has completed the “seasoning” process in which it has been stored out of the elements and allowed to dry for an amount of time specific to the variety of wood. Lightweight wood may only need about six months to season, while the densest woods could take up to two years.

Do your best to avoid firewood that has been stored outside because it has not had a chance to season. The water content in this wood is most likely very high, which results in cool smoky fires. When the wood contains a lot of water, the fire expends a lot of energy boiling the water away, and this produces less heat, creates more smoke, and costs you money in poor fuel efficiency. In the end, the firewood also burns incompletely.

Incompletely burned firewood leads to the production of creosote. This thick, tarry material first leaves the fire in a hot, vaporized form, but as it travels up the chimney, it cools and clings to the chimney walls. Over time, creosote can build up to the point of closing up the chimney completely, which can cause a backup of harmful gases like carbon monoxide into the home. Creosote is also highly flammable, so a stray ember in a creosote-filled chimney could result in a devastating house fire. Luckily, you can avoid all of this with regular chimney sweeps and by only burning well seasoned wood.

Once you have found the right wood with the longest seasoning time, you have to take it home and decide how to store it. The most ideal way to store firewood is to keep it indoors and uncovered. Storing the wood indoors protects it from rain and snow, which keeps it dry. Seasoned wood, especially, absorbs water very readily because of its dryness, so keeping it out of the elements is vital. Leaving the wood uncovered also permits any trapped water to evaporate. Completely wrapping the wood in a tarp can lead to trapped moisture and an increased water content. If storing the wood inside is not an option, you can store it outside, but be sure to cover the top of the stack. Any kind of water proof “roof” works well in an outdoor storage situation, such as a sheet of aluminum siding. Leave the sides of the wood stack open, so air can flow through to keep it dry.

If you have any questions about choosing or storing your firewood, get in touch with your local chimney and fireplace specialist. For an expert in the Westhampton Beach, New York area, contact Beach Stove and Fireplace.