How Much Wood for a Season of Burning?

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jscs.moore

jscs.moore

Feeling the Heat
Sep 9, 2015
291
Eastern PA
Hey guys...after spending the 2015/2016 winter season on a learning curve with our brand new Hampton HI300 insert, I want to really utilize it fully this coming winter and cut down/cut out...the electric heat pump bill. I know the questions of how much seasoned wood to have on hand depends on a lot of variables (e.g. Size of House, how well insulated, etc.), but I'm looking for a general estimate. This coming season during weekdays, I plan to burn evenings, overnights, and early morning before going to work. My wife isn't ready to load and tend to the insert during the day, but I think I can get her to throw a few splits in to keep it in the coaling stage until I come home from work pack it in for a reload. On weekends, I plan on burning round the clock. House is a 2,000 Sq.ft Center Hall Colonial and is well insulated with brand new high efficiency windows.

I currently have two cords of seasoned hard wood ready to go in the fall. Based on the burning schedule above...how much more cord wood should I need to get through an entire season??
 
For nights and weekends only burning, 2 full cords may suffice. For 24/7 burning in PA I would have 4-5 cords on hand.
 
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I would be nervous about going into a burning season with less than 4 cords. 5 cords makes me feel that I'm ready for anything winter can throw at me.

As you eluded to, your mileage may very but I feel fairly confident your needs will be similar.
 
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That is a great question. The answer is, more, more, more!

When I get back into town in 3 days I am going to get 2 more Nissan truck loads of firewood. This is primarily black walnut, with a lot of locust as well.
Haul the wood out of the thick forest with pulleys and ropes, cut it, split it, throw it in the Nissan, drive it up to the house, and stack it.
Won't be able to use it this year of course but will use it some time. This will be my third firewood stack, plus I have a woodshed.
 
Thanks guys! I think I'm probably going to get a least 1 more cord to make it 3...if not 3 and a half:)
 
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4 cords per stove, assuming 2 loads per day per stove. At some point, the size of the house becomes irrelevant, as you can only fit so much wood in a single load.

If you're home all day, and can cram a third load in, then scale accordingly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I am in ct 1200 sf with cathedral ceiling 1994 raised ranch. Lopi cape cod insert no block off plate un insulted liner outside chimney. 2-2.5 cords for 24/7 burning. House has to be at least 72-74 otherwise it's cold per wife.
 
jscs.moore said:
This coming season during weekdays, I plan to burn evenings, overnights, and early morning before going to work.
Click to expand...

This sounds to me like you are full time burning in a non-cat. To heat the house fully you'll want to less than 5 cords ready to go.

I live in a much more moderate climate in a smaller home and always plan to have 10 cords ready to go before winter. I expect to only burn 5 per year. Usually only 4 but that just means less effort to get back up to 10 the next summer.
 
Get as much ahead as you can. There is nothing wrong with having a 2 year stash, 3 is even better.

To quote BB "He / She who dies with the most wood wins" :)

Don't be afraid of pine, it will probably be free, and will season fast. It's awesome for burning when you are home, getting a not so great (read semi wet / wet) load of firewood going. Add it to your arsenal, you won't regret it :)

I usually burn 5 cord in a 2000 SF house, decently insulated with 2 stoves. I'm ahead 1 year, currently, adding more.

As for the wife, send her to me, I'll fix that issue right quick ;)

Sent from my Kitchen Aide mixer on pulse.
 
4-5 cords of wood is a good amount to have on hand.

I haven't been on this site for as long as some folks, but since 2008 I've seen more than the fair share of "It's March and I've run out of firewood" posts and I have yet to see a single "It's May and I have way, way too much wood" posts. Whatever wood is left over in the Spring is just better seasoned wood for the next fall and winter.
 
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I know your post is about how much firewood you might need for the upcoming season. However, you mention in your post that your wife isn't comfortable with burning on her own during the day while you're away at work, but that you think you can get her to load a few splits throughout the day to keep the stove at a coaling stage until you return and do a full reload. I want to give you a word of warning on taking this approach. My experience with that sort of loading is that your run the risk of some of those splits just sitting in the stove and smoldering, rather than burning. When that happens you end up having smoke come out of your chimney for hours and build up a lot of creosote. And of course, it's always risky having someone load a stove who isn't knowledgeable about burning since even one or two splits can potentially lead to an over fire or chimney fire if the air control isn't properly regulated. Good luck with getting your woodshed filled.
 
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What Nick said. Modern EPA stoves are best run in a "batch burning" mode. Load it full, get the secondary burn system going, and then control the burn. You'll quickly find the dial settings that give you the best 8 or 12 hour burns in typical winter weather with your installation, and just run those settings accordingly.

Speaking from painful personal experience your family (read "wife") will be much happier if you carry 90% of your heating load with the stove, and keep the house at a comfortable final temperature with aid of that electric heat pump, than trying to shut off the heat pump and keep the house heated 100% with wood. Set the thermostat on the heat pump to 73F, or whatever you enjoy, and then just keep that stove going. When the stove is producing enough heat for your needs, the heatpump won't run, and when the stove goes cold the house (wife) won't.
 
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Ashful said:
What Nick said. Modern EPA stoves are best run in a "batch burning" mode. Load it full, get the secondary burn system going, and then control the burn. You'll quickly find the dial settings that give you the best 8 or 12 hour burns in typical winter weather with your installation, and just run those settings accordingly.

Speaking from painful personal experience your family (read "wife") will be much happier if you carry 90% of your heating load with the stove, and keep the house at a comfortable final temperature with aid of that electric heat pump, than trying to shut off the heat pump and keep the house heated 100% with wood. Set the thermostat on the heat pump to 73F, or whatever you enjoy, and then just keep that stove going. When the stove is producing enough heat for your needs, the heatpump won't run, and when the stove goes cold the house (wife) won't.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback! I agree with you that turning off the heat pump isn't a good idea. Last winter when I got really cold (20's) I always kept the heat pump set around 72...that way when the insert was getting to the end of a burn cycle and not throwing off as much heat...the pump would kick in and compensate. I definitely don't plan on trying to tackle 100% wood burning for heat because I'm too new to this and I know how much work that would be. But I do plan on burning the insert as much as possible to keep the heat pump bill as low as possible.
Thanks to everyone for all the great feedback...this is such a great website!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Nice, sounds like your off to a good start and you have solid information by a lot of valuable member. I also want to chime in, grab as much wood as you can, get a moisture meter and test your splits in October / November, make sure your split wood is dry <20% moisture content on fleshly split piece. Also if you run low on wood or your supply isn't seasoned enough you can buy compressed wood bricks, they can either be solely burnt or mixed in with cord wood.
Do your research now on the bricks, find out who supplies them locally, check lumber yards, fireplace & hearth stores, tractor supply ext.
I'm 3 years ahead on my wood supply and I keep a few packs of compressed wood blocks on hand, in case I'm working crazy hours, sick or just really, really lazy, they are good to have and work wonders.
 
Good point Kenny. Usually I buy a ton of Eco bricks and mix them with a cord wood to stretch my burn time.
 
Your wood consumption should go down for every hour burned in the next few years. Reason being you should be burning better seasoned wood. You will learn to control the burn better with out overheating the house. So how much you will burn depends on how much you run the stove to replace the heating system. Just get 2 -3 years ahead so your burning seasoned wood.
 
I burn around 3 1/2 cords each year to make it through the winter burning 24/7.
 
So what's the setup on the insert? Is it in a masonry fireplace connected to a insulated flex liner with insulation on the top side of the fire box with block off plate? Just curious.
 
kennyp2339 said:
So what's the setup on the insert? Is it in a masonry fireplace connected to a insulated flex liner with insulation on the top side of the fire box with block off plate? Just curious.
Click to expand...
I have an external 28ft masonry fireplace. The insert is a Hampton HI300 with a Olympia pre-insulated liner. I didn't have a block off plate the first season last year but have the dealer scheduled to install one next week. I do think I'll have a much better burning season this coming year and should get much more efficient heating out of the insert with bone dry seasoned wood and a better overall understanding of how to operate the insert. Again guys...thanks for all the great feedback!
 
Dix said:
Get as much ahead as you can. There is nothing wrong with having a 2 year stash, 3 is even better.

To quote BB "He / She who dies with the most wood wins" :)

Don't be afraid of pine, it will probably be free, and will season fast. It's awesome for burning when you are home, getting a not so great (read semi wet / wet) load of firewood going. Add it to your arsenal, you won't regret it :)

I usually burn 5 cord in a 2000 SF house, decently insulated with 2 stoves. I'm ahead 1 year, currently, adding more.

As for the wife, send her to me, I'll fix that issue right quick ;)

Sent from my Kitchen Aide mixer on pulse.
Click to expand...

"As for the wife, send her to me, I'll fix that issue right quick ;)"

Wood burning wife swap? I'd watch that.
 
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I'm only on my second year burning as a primary heat source. Much of the time and on many projects, it makes a great deal of sense to hold off on expenses and inventory. This is NOT one of those projects. Get as much as you can as soon as you can and you will be the happier for it.

More is better and unlike everything else you buy, it gets better with age.
 
For the experienced guys (and gals) out there, especially the ones that burn 24/7 or close to it....here's a question that is kinda related to the OP.

How much does size of the load actually impact how much you burn in a day? Everything points to smaller loads burn more efficiently versus full loads, which also allows you to control the heat output better than closing down the stove. But does that supposed gain in efficiency really translate into less wood used? Or is it just too much hassle to reload the stove that often to not really be worth it? Just curious what the experience is out there.
 
yooper08 said:
Everything points to smaller loads burn more efficiently versus full loads
Click to expand...
Actually full loads burn more efficiently and have better heat control when its cold out, small loads tend to burn more "dirty" per say because the stove takes longer to come up to temp, which directly correlates to secondary lite off.
This is usually were the big divide happens with wood burners, some of use prefer cat stoves that we can load to the gills then simply burn at a lower rate to manage a lower heat output, other swear by there tube stoves and fiddle every hour on them, whether adding more wood, adjusting the air or poking the fire..to each his own, its all about preference and what works best for you personally.
 
mass_burner said:
"As for the wife, send her to me, I'll fix that issue right quick ;)"

Wood burning wife swap? I'd watch that.
Click to expand...

*Drags out Aunt Esther's purse ... whappps MB with it repeatedly*

:p
 
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