confession from a wood heat only homeowner

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Dexter

Member
Aug 9, 2007
208
Boulder County, CO
In the Front-Range area of the Plains of Colorado, we have moderately cold winters; the down-slope westerlies often keep it warmer than you'd think. Nonetheless, I pride myself on using wood-only for house heating. With mostly Lodge Pole Pine available, we can do pretty well, down to about a 5 degree night. Below that, and the mornings can be chilly enought in the house that I'll fire off the Jotul Lillehammer (gas stove) in the office to help with the warm-up.

But today, forgive me, for I have sinned: It was -8F at dinner time, and at 5:30 this morning it was -15. It was 57 in the house. I know, I know, I should have stoked the fire by 5am on a night like last night, but -- well, I oversept -- and so...well. Oh Hell. I turned on the funace! I am so ashamed.

Dexter

F12 cb (Old version of the F600 cb)
 
When you find yourself in a skirmish with Mother Nature, it's good to have more than one weapon in your arsenal...sometimes she can really throw it at ya. I use every weapon at my disposal as needed, in my order of preference, to the extent of their effectiveness. Back-ups are a good thing to have when you need them. Can't see where you got anything whatever to apologize for, you did what you had to do to keep yourself and your loved ones warm in the face of a brutal cold snap. (high temp today here was 4F...headed back down now). Rick
 
don't worry... i was sick as hell thurs night and fri ...... and you know what ... the furnace came on and kept the house warm for the couple of gallons of oil it was well spent .... because i didn't have the strength to lift the wood , or enough time to stop vomitting to even attempt at playing with the stove.. just glad i put oil in when the price came down
 
I've got electric baseboard heaters. I've lived in my house for three years and they've only been on once, and that was to see if they worked.
 
BOW yer head in humble silence and be thankful for your simple carbon matter form.............
 
We were burning last night and then had a fluke 65 degree day today and the temp is supposed to start dropping like a rock about midnight and keep going down on through the day tomorrow. I ain't even going to try to manage that stuff. The electric heaters get their thermostats set at bed time and I will load and go when I get up tomorrow.
 
This place is awesome, but sure can make you feel a failure for needing or wanting backup. Today was close to 50 here, humid and drizzly and the stove doesn't want to draft and I got sick of wasting wood, not to mention my time hovering over it. Plus I haven't felt well and just didn't want to deal with it. So I tweaked up the furnace and as much as I love my stove it's a nice break.
 
nyk0306 said:
This place is awesome, but sure can make you feel a failure for needing or wanting backup. Today was close to 50 here, humid and drizzly and the stove doesn't want to draft and I got sick of wasting wood, not to mention my time hovering over it. Plus I haven't felt well and just didn't want to deal with it. So I tweaked up the furnace and as much as I love my stove it's a nice break.
Click to expand...

Happens to all of us.
 
Anybody wants to call me a "failure" for having and using (as needed) electric heat, an electric blanket, for buying firewood, for owning and wearing long underwear and insulated gloves, or for owning an SUV, for choosing plate steel woodstoves, or for any other simple-minded reason can just skip on over here and tell me to my face. I think it's pretty ludicrous. I'll run my life the way I see fit. I get along. Rick
 
Yesterday, it started to warm up here (45 ish), . I let the stove go out. It was 55 here today, dropping down to 35 or so tonight, then 40's tomorrow, that kind of yo-yo.

I just turned the main house thermostat on, it's set at 66, and it's 73 in here now (new windows are doing an awesome job!!!), and it's 40-45 outside now.

I figured why waste the wood, burning low, when in a few weeks, we'll be back in the soup pot, and that wood would be more useful and efficient to me then.

I fault ye not ;-)
 
The temperature has been falling like a stone since yesterday. I was out in -20C and blowing snow with the snow thrower last night. Woke up to -23C outside and the furnace running. Got home late from work to -25C and the wife had the furnace running and just a few coals in the stove. She saw it was supposed to go down to -33C and thought I should clean out the ashes so the stove will perform. Toasty warm now at 76F inside and wind howling outside. They say with wind chill, the -33C is more like -45C!
 
fossil said:
Anybody wants to call me a "failure" for having and using (as needed) electric heat, an electric blanket, for buying firewood, for owning and wearing long underwear and insulated gloves, or for owning an SUV, for choosing plate steel woodstoves, or for any other simple-minded reason can just skip on over here and tell me to my face. I think it's pretty ludicrous. I'll run my life the way I see fit. I get along. Rick
Click to expand...

About that stove door handle on the wrong side... :coolsmirk:
 
fossil said:
Anybody wants to call me a "failure" for having an SUV.... Rick
Click to expand...

SUV's/Pickemups are a way of life. That's just plain livin'!....but those insulated gloves....dude. :down:

I have an internal "thingamajig" that will not let me even set a temp on the thermostat much less turn it on during normal cold. Having said that, one morning at -17F and a cup of coffee and that sumbitch is gunna make fire!.
 
BrotherBart said:
...About that stove door handle on the wrong side... :coolsmirk:
Click to expand...

Two of 'em! If I'm gonna be wrong, I wanna be consistently wrong. :coolsmile: Rick
 
fossil said:
BrotherBart said:
...About that stove door handle on the wrong side... :coolsmirk:
Click to expand...

Two of 'em! If I'm gonna be wrong, I wanna be consistently wrong. :coolsmile: Rick
Click to expand...

I am conflicted. I have three wrong and one right. I need to get rid of three of these stoves and replace'em. But I am keeping the Suburban. It has door handles on both sides. :lol:
 
!....but those insulated gloves
Click to expand...

Whooooaaaaa, don't be dissin' the gloves, man , them, and the body armour are some of my fav things!! :p
 
My goal this winter is to keep the furnace off and try and keep the house above 70. So far so good, but tonight is going to be a real test, suppose to dip down to -15! Don't think the Fireview can meet my goal tonight so I'm cheating with my fireplace, 87 upstairs living room, 82 down stairs family room. I 'll let the fireplace burn down and load the stove one more time before bed and the house should hold temp.
 
Todd, I've been to WI in January (checked out an bought a horse in Portage), we vetted in -20, on ice and snow...she passed :coolsmile:

It was COLD. My hotel room was cranking with the under the window heater. 2 days later, it was 35, felt like a heat wave.

I rarely have worn 2-3 pair of tghermal socks, 2 loads of thermal underwear(plus a turtle neck, and a sweat shirt)

Did I say it was COLD !?!?!
 
Boy, the computer just did something weird. As I was saying: You guys reassure me... thanks. I can keep it around 73F on a 3 degree day, once it's been roaring for a while. I'll do better tomorrow!

Regards,

Dexter
 
Same thing here Dexter! It was -7 when I went to bed last night...wife got up and stoked the fire at 2:00 and it was 58 in the house this morning and I had to turn the furnace on at 6:00...good to have back ups, but the wood stove still rules!
 
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