Good to be Ready - 1st Fire!

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Mike M.

Feeling the Heat
Mar 18, 2012
325
Green Bay, WI
Well I have 1.5 full cords of 2 year dried maple and ash in the basement, another face cord in the garage and close to a full cord covered on the back patio. With luck this will hold me until the new year. With 2 stoves to feed the wood goes quick. Sure glad I found this site, saved me thousands in fuel oil.

Lows in the 40s tonight and its super windy. Time for the first fire, but trust me not trying to rush in the burning season. Last year was one to remember. Anyone else burning tonight?

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Looks nice. With a low of 71 tonight I am resisting the temptation. >>
 
Looks nice! I'm holding off burning until probably next week when the forecast then calls for morning lows on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of 50, 48 and 46! May just have to take the chill off the house ;)
 
Ah, WI in winter ... been there !!

65F here tonight ... it'll be a while !
 
Iit one up just fer the heck of it last night. got so hot in the hooch I couldn't stand it. just did it to relax since it was a crappy day. Might do the same tonight but tomorrow night is gonna be cold so I might do it again. A far while eating my suppas is relaxing.
 
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Lighting up the stove for the first burn of the season! Sounds good! I guess you need a good wood stove, or two, in Green Bay.
I am in the NC mountains, won't be cranking up my stove for a month or so. Low of 65 last night.
Maple and ash are pretty good firewood. I guess y'all don't have oak up there in Wisconsin.
 
We have Oak, I just try my hardest to stay away from it. Those trees are so wet, even when cut in the winter. Up here oak takes about 3-4 years to season and really its red oak which is not much better than ash. Best firewood = free and dry!
 
Cut the oak. Let it season, Grasshopper :)
 
Still in the If-I'm-cold-I'm-Going-To-Take-Off-The-Shorts-And-Put-On-Jeans-And-A-Sweatshirt Mode rather than start a fire . . . there will be plenty of time in the next few months ahead for me to start making fires. Right now I'm just enjoying the warm days and cool nights.
 
45 degrees out right now, house is a tad chilly so i'll be making a fire here shortly. Mostly just to break in my new stove, cure the paint and be able to open windows if the smell gets to bad.
 
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I am trying to resist as much as possible, but this year there is a new reason to be toasty warm (a 9 month old), and my wife is already complaining that her little hands are so cold in the morning. She might push me to start early.

I was actually pondering just getting a small electric heater for the baby's room but can't decide what is economical and safe enough.
 
35 degrees here right now, had a small fire in the 30-NC last night to keep the place comfortable. Supposed to get a frost here tonight, so odds are I'll be burning again. Then we're looking at some warmer weather for the next 5-7 days. By the end of September we should be seeing our first wet snowflakes of the fall, and I'll be burning daily by October 1.
 
I've been burning since last weekend. Getting down to -3C over night. Supposed to warm up this week though.
 
I am trying to resist as much as possible, but this year there is a new reason to be toasty warm (a 9 month old), and my wife is already complaining that her little hands are so cold in the morning. She might push me to start early.

I was actually pondering just getting a small electric heater for the baby's room but can't decide what is economical and safe enough.

I have a couple of small electric space heaters that I use . . . one in the master bathroom for use when showering on those chilly mornings and another in the boiler room to keep things up to temp. Both have thermostats built in . . . will shut off if tipped over. Biggest thing is to remember that space heaters also need to adhere to clearance rules.
 
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Weve been burning several nights in a row now. Snow has melted and the fire is out but I will burn again tonight. The weather warms up for awhile so the stove may sleep for a week. Weve had a few cold spells in the last 3 weeks that has gotten me in the mood. I dont mind I love wood heat! Lets face it, summer is over, garden is frost killed and the leaves are turning, at least around here.
 
Yeah it's been a little chilly.

Only burning to break the thing in then hopefully it won't get another chance till late OCT.

I will be burning in the shop thou as its the only means of heat.
 
Ok everyone... it happened!!! I started my 2014/15 burning season this morning! The house was down to 60 degrees at 6am / 42 degrees outside. Looks as if the week is forecasted as 65 - 69 daytime highs and lower 40s (37 on Thursday morning) as lows. Granted I may only have a fire going for an hour or two in the mornings to take the chill off the house... but the season has officially started!

Hope everyone stays warm this upcoming season :)
 
I have a couple of small electric space heaters that I use . . . one in the master bathroom for use when showering on those chilly mornings and another in the boiler room to keep things up to temp. Both have thermostats built in . . . will shut off if tipped over. Biggest thing is to remember that space heaters also need to adhere to clearance rules.

I ended up getting this thing, just because I am an over-cautious type when it comes to my baby. Aren't we all?
 
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Gotta confess. It was chilly enough in the downstairs today to allow putting the pellet basket in the 30-NC to test the new digital thermo and the new Ecofan. Both work so time to let it die until really needed.

And this will dry the stuff in the pipe from last season for brushing it next week.
 
We lit our wood furnace Sunday morning. It was 41-42 overnight and the house dropped to 68 by morning. I threw on the flue pipe unplugged things and lit a fire. It felt nice, but I'm not looking forward to winter, especially when we had chills over -30 last year....brutal!
 
Ok everyone... it happened!!! I started my 2014/15 burning season this morning! The house was down to 60 degrees at 6am / 42 degrees outside. Looks as if the week is forecasted as 65 - 69 daytime highs and lower 40s (37 on Thursday morning) as lows. Granted I may only have a fire going for an hour or two in the mornings to take the chill off the house... but the season has officially started!

Hope everyone stays warm this upcoming season :)

How long have you been burning? I have found that a watchful eye on the forcasted overnight low is what triggers my burning. If i see its going to be real cold i light up the night before to have a warm house in the morning...... Lit the thing up at 9Pm with a 67 degree house and woke to a 72 degree house....... Granted this is just my shoulder season practice.....
 
I am trying to resist as much as possible, but this year there is a new reason to be toasty warm (a 9 month old), and my wife is already complaining that her little hands are so cold in the morning. She might push me to start early.

I was actually pondering just getting a small electric heater for the baby's room but can't decide what is economical and safe enough.
If you can, get an oil filled register style. No open hot coils to light stuff on fire or instantly burn fingers. Ours has a thermostat and also a tip over protection switch just incase. Has worked great for many years!
 
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How long have you been burning? I have found that a watchful eye on the forcasted overnight low is what triggers my burning. If i see its going to be real cold i light up the night before to have a warm house in the morning...... Lit the thing up at 9Pm with a 67 degree house and woke to a 72 degree house....... Granted this is just my shoulder season practice.....
Well, before the current Harman 52i from this past season, I had a Jotul F-3 for 2 years which I enjoyed... however, the wife HATED IT!! She works days and I work evenings, so she would come home to a warm house as I would load the stove before I left, but I would return home to a cold stove (a.k.a. NO FIRE) when I returned home at 1:30am! I know 'burning' pellets is not like burning wood (noooo skill involved with pellets - especially with a fully automatic Harman), so I'll be humble and say I've been buring for 2 years. (Parents did have a wood burning stove back when I was a teenager during the Carter years in the late 70s which was were I discovered the joy of burning wood) :)
 
North side of the hill, house got below 60, 40s outside, time for a test firing. Burning two year old hemlock, taking the chill off nicely, time to let it burn out or I'll have the windows open in two hours.

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