The old designs are always better

[Peter Korsten]

Op 1-1-2012 14:47, The Dong schreef:

> I don't know exactly how that came about, but cast iron has limits
> before the stresses will crack it open.
> That is why stove or flue thermometers exist. Also, if you're going to
> leave it unattended, it should be left in the correct setting (closed
> off air intake)
> To put a scare story of a house burning down _because_ of a woodburning
> stove is nae quite right. If any electrical or gas appliance (or a
> candle) is abused or left unattended, they too can likely cause a fire.

It was actually a design error in the house: the stove-pipe was close to 
a wooden beam. Mind, my parents had been living there for the best part 
of a decade, and this didn't happen then.

> Not to say your sister is daft, but maybe she should have had a bit more
> advice and warnings about the proper use of a stove? :)

My sister is most definitely daft :) but this wasn't her fault. But it 
made me decide that I wanted to get rid of the fireplace in the house we 
had just bought. After a renovation of the living room in 2010, it's now 
a much nicer room than it would have been with the fireplace (and the 
horrible lowered ceiling).

> A woman (lol, stereotypes) however, might panic at the sight of flames
> and run out of the room and call the fire brigade then exit the building
> to possibly watch it all burn down, or the kitchen get nicely smelly and
> sooty. This is based on a real incident, in which both scenarios kind of
> happened (as in, my other half set the grill on fire accidentally and
> called the fire brigade, I was asleep, but she woke me up and I did the
> closing of the door bit and told her she could deal with the fire boys
> when they arrive whose time she had wasted ;)

My sister-in-law had a fire in her garage (which was a playroom for the 
kids) where a TV caught fire. She threw a bucket of water on it, and 
found out the hard way that the power hadn't been disconnected. Anyway, 
the kids lost their toys (so my wife and I bought them a new PS3 and HD 
TV) and the rest of the house was a mess, but at least nobody got hurt.

We've got a burglar/fire alarm. With cats, a burglar alarm doesn't do a 
lot of good, but the fire alarm works well, so the neighbours are 
usually aware when we're having toast. :)

- Peter