Sleeping Better?

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Offset

Member
Mar 10, 2014
105
Haliburton, Ontario, Canada
I hate the wood heating season, well yes I don't much care for the cold but…..

I never seem to sleep well when the stove is on, listening for the sounds and aware of the smell of the stove. I always feel some anxiety with it running at night. Maybe that is a good thing?

Now that spring is here I am not sleeping any better, damn mosquitos buzzing in my ear.

I have ordered 5 chords of wood, I want to try to get a year ahead if I can this year. Some of these projects in the woodshed section have inspired me to do it right. Construction begins soon.
 
I sleep fine with wood stove burning because I know it well and the installation is proper. The T6 is very predictable in how it burns. A woodshed is a great idea. Make it open or at least very well ventilated on the sides and orient it so that the prevailing winds can blow through the stacks.
 
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The only reason I don't "sleep well" with the stove burning is because I have to get up earlier than I would like to reload.

I've had my stove long enough to know how to safely burn it, even when unattended. This is the same reason I have no problem loading it full before leaving the house for errands. I know it's installed, maintained, and run properly.

Is anything in life a 100 percent guarantee? No. However with a proper understating of your stove, it's a very safe endeavor.
 
begreen said:
I sleep fine with wood stove burning because I know it well and the installation is proper. The T6 is very predictable in how it burns. ...
Click to expand...

That is a big key right there. Proper install, predictable burns, knowing the flue is being properly maintained, etc. Also, having a CO detector, "just in case". Given that, I think wood is just as safe as gas or electric and possibly more-so. With wood heat, you interact with the appliance daily, at least have some sense of how it's working, condition, etc - so you have a chance to spot any issues. A furnace is usually hidden away in a utility room, basement, etc - so you generally just tweak the thermostat periodically with no 'eyes' on the mechanical workings.
 
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Over the years I have seen near disasters with oil boilers, gas furnaces, electrical panels, etc.. Keeping systems in good working order is insurance for peace of mind.

With the wood stove I never load it up just before leaving the house or going to bed. The air control must be set to low and the fire settled in for a long burn before I will rest. Usually that is 30 minutes ahead of time.
 
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Which smell?

2 smoke and carbon monoxides detectors between the stove and our bedrooms let me also sleep well.
 
Last edited:
Grisu said:
Which smell?

2 smoke and carbon monoxides detectors between the stove and our bedrooms let me also sleep well.
Click to expand...
Yeah, which smell? And for that matter, which sounds?

Maybe it's because I have a soapstone stove that's close to impossible to overfire without doing something reallly stupid and strange, like loading it to the gills with kiln-dried kindling from the hardware store, but I have never had a moment's anxiety about it from day one. I'm far more nervous about the little electric space heater I have to use for my north-facing office in the coldest weather, or for that matter, about the oil boiler in the basement, which I can't keep an eye on and about whose operations I know nuttin'. I have smoke and C0 alarms, which I expect never to hear go off, but just in case.

The stove behaves beautifully while I'm awake, why would it go rogue while I'm asleep?

OP, what are you afraid is going to happen?
 
Wow this was meant to be a little light hearted but I guess it did not work out all that well.

Smells. Well I believe that very hot steel and cast iron do indeed have a "smell", perhaps it is just something that is unique to me.

Noises. Temperature expansion and contraction of sheet metal flue pipes and the stove itself have a unique sound. The sounds tell me what is happening to the heat source.

My installation is sound, it has been inspected and passed with flying colours but that still does not mean that care is not taken. I have CO and smoke alarms throughout the house. The last thing I do at night, after having set the stove for the night, is to shut off all the lights and check for any embers anything that could have been missed. Maybe I worry too much but I don't think caution is a problem.

I have learned much from this site and while I am fairly new here I have heated with wood for a long time. The knowledge passed along is appreciated.

Again it was too be a light hearted conversation. I guess not.
 
Offset said:
Again it was too be a light hearted conversation. I guess not.
Click to expand...

Sounds like some conversations my wife and I have about the stove. She'll make an offhand comment about the stove and I will analyze her burning technique to death. Maybe I take this all a little too seriously sometimes.
That said, I sleep sooooo much better with the stove going and my (somewhat remote) bedroom is around 60 degrees than when it's 80 degrees and my allergies are driving me nuts:).
 
I pretty much sleep the same regardless of the season . . . and I wake up at the same time. Only difference is that during this time of year it means I have a lot more free time in the morning so sometimes I head to work early . . . but geocache along the way . . . or take a long, scenic drive in to work.
 
oh there's definitely a smell. I can always tell when i forget to shut the air down and the stove is getting to hot. I usually smell it about 60 seconds before the smoke alarm goes off. I can even smell if its to hot when im outside. Course i do have a nose like a blood hound.
 
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firefighterjake said:
I pretty much sleep the same regardless of the season . . . and I wake up at the same time. Only difference is that during this time of year it means I have a lot more free time in the morning so sometimes I head to work early . . . but geocache along the way . . . or take a long, scenic drive in to work.
Click to expand...
You MUST operate on the firefighter's clock: Sleep until you're hungry, eat until you're tried.

I know your kind..... :)
 
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I love the wood burning season! I actually look forward to winter so I can start burning again! Gives me something to look forward too, and when the weather is bad I'm forced to relax a little.
 
If you have never heated with wood, it's normal to be a bit worried. And anybody who thinks otherwise has forgotten about their first couple of years heating with wood.

I often get mine cruising and then watch it for 15-20 minutes to make sure everything is sound. Then I got upstairs. It takes some getting used to. My stove always makes a huge PING once the metal contracts back after a full cycle burn. But I am used to it now.

I look forward to see the pictures of the wood shed. Getting ahead is certainly key to burning properly!

Andrew
 
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I don't have a stove - but I sleep better with my new wood boiler than I did with the old one.

For some of the same reasons stated above for stoves.

I don't have to get up early to keep the heat flowing, I don't have to stay up late to get that one last load in - but mostly, it is only actually burning on average for 6 hours a day. So by the time I'm heading for bed, the fire is about out - so no worries about sleeping with an active wood fire going. The old one was a proper install, but it still had the odd issue with a hanging damper - so I awoke a few times over the years to rumbling pipes. Plus the tending it required had me pretty well burned out & sleep deprived by the time winter ended.
 
Stop burning that noisy musical chord wood and you'll sleep better.
 
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