Open windows and blaze, or throttle down when it's warmer outdoors

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Spletz

Member
Apr 30, 2014
123
West Michigan
It's 50 deg out. To my brides chagrin, I have it blazing in here. So I open the sliders and windows and get fresh air in the home. I like the fresh air in winter when we otherwise wouldn't (under propane usage). So I burn a few more logs, so what - we work so hard to have wood on hand, I feel I've earned the privilege.

You're thoughts?
 
You're right. If that's what you wanna do, it ain't hurting nobody.
 
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When nights get above 35 and days above 50 I shut her down. I have a newly constructed home with decent insulation and a high efficiency heat pump which is very economical to run. I love my stove but I'm not going to run it if it makes the house uncomfortably warm.
 
It's up to you ... me I scale back the burning on warmer days with just one or two daily fires, partial loads, junk wood, etc since I hate wasting fuel ... in whatever form it comes ... but that's just me
 
Smaller loads...try my best to prevent using even a smidgen of propane, but I do NOT want to waste wood. Specially this early in the season.

Ian
 
I do a bit of everything. We'll open the windows for a few hours and get all the fresh air we need, then scale back the loads. Yes, your chimney will have a bit more crud but the warm weather doesn't last long enough and a few good burns will clean the system out. I always burn only dry wood so it's not that bad.
 
One major reason on my looking at a heat pump for the swing seasons or like in the boiler section . . . heating some water to run thru the FCU for the central AC ducts.

Spending lots of time looking at indoor gasification boilers and drafting a bunch of questions. With RFH those raw days just don't cut it but the wood stove takes off the edge.
 
Burn smaller fires when it is mild outside. No point in putting more carbon in the air than necessary.
 
I've simply given up trying to use the stove on 50 deg. days. Even low 40's are just three loads in 24 hours for me. Of course, that is why I got heat pumps when I built - at 50 degrees they run so little and so efficiently that I simply cannot justify the time and expense in processing the extra wood. Especially when the result is an overheated house.
 
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Man, I really meant the post as a laugh. Obviously, it's a waste to burn and open up the house. Just wondered if some of you pyros did the same. Fresh air in December and a warm house is something of a misnomer, no?!
 
It got up to 63 today but back down to 27 tomorrow .. I had the fire ripping all day, 63 outside and 83 inside .. screw it I only loaded my stove twice . I have plenty of wood
 
It got up to 63 today but back down to 27 tomorrow .. I had the fire ripping all day, 63 outside and 83 inside .. screw it I only loaded my stove twice . I have plenty of wood
When it is 83* in my house, the AC starts cranking. My comfort zone remains the same all year long - 72 to 75 degrees.
 
It was 37F last night at dinner and my LR was 85. When it gets like that I just let the fire burn out. Only went down to 28F overnight and the LR was still 71 this morning. It's amazing how much heat stays in the house since we upped the attic insulation to R50. All that masonry mass holds a lot of heat too.

I find I'm getting spoiled by the heat - I have no problem when my LR is 85F - just put on a pair of shorts or open a window.
 
I've realized that I don't burn wood just to save money. I'm addicted to wood heat! IF it costed as much to heat my home with wood as other sources I would probably still be feeding the stove.
 
I've been shut down since Saturday. We use an oil filled heater to keep warm. Kick on the furnace for about an hour in the morning to take the chill off.
Don't want to be tired of filling that stove before winter even sets in.
 
I find I'm getting spoiled by the heat - I have no problem when my LR is 85F - just put on a pair of shorts or open a window.

I think I am the same way. I love the warmth of wood heat. Stove has been shut down today but burned yesterday, last night my living room was 85 as well. I like it. I sit around in a tank top, shorts, and no socks. Think the Wife is spoiled to, was in the low 60s today so I let last nights fire burn out. Still in the 40s right now and just a few minutes ago she asked if I was going to get the stove going and I told her no. She gave me a pouty face.:(.
 
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