Wood stove advice....

dehal said:

Wow..... Thanks for all of the info..... I'm goint to be busy checking out all of these stoves.... Yes we are getting an early start on cutting wood... Dont want to spend time getting warm by cutting wood... Have other plans for the cooler temps..........

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What is an early start on cutting wood for you? The wood you burn this winter should have been cut 2 winters ago! At the very least, it should have been cut, split and stacked in the wind last winter. That will pay huge dividends for you if you do this. Do yourself a favor and look in on The Wood Shed part of this forum of hints on taking care of the fuel problems.

Backwoods Savage said:

dehal said:

Wow..... Thanks for all of the info..... I'm goint to be busy checking out all of these stoves.... Yes we are getting an early start on cutting wood... Dont want to spend time getting warm by cutting wood... Have other plans for the cooler temps..........

Click to expand...

What is an early start on cutting wood for you? The wood you burn this winter should have been cut 2 winters ago! At the very least, it should have been cut, split and stacked in the wind last winter. That will pay huge dividends for you if you do this. Do yourself a favor and look in on The Wood Shed part of this forum of hints on taking care of the fuel problems.

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Agreed . . . unfortunately wood really needs to be seasoned to burn well . . . especially in the newer EPA stoves . . . and generally this means you need to give the wood time. At a minimum wood does best generally (it varies by species) if it has been cut, split and stacked at least a year previous. In my first year of burning I got a "late start" when I was cutting and splitting and stacking dead elm and tree tops in June and July . . . that dead wood burned OK, but it wasn't until the following year that I experienced wood burning nirvana when I saw how much easier the wood would ignite, how much more heat I would get and how much longer the wood burned when it had been seasoned longer.

That said, don't lose hope if you're hoping to burn this year . . . I would suggest looking at dead trees (especially trees without the bark) and you can use pallets to help bring the temps up . . . and help with the burning since pallets are often pretty dry.

dehal said:

Hey, thanks for the concern about the seasoned wood ..... Ive been using my fireplace here for 7 years and 15 years at my other home... I have wood cut and stacked from last year and we are getting an early start for the next.... ;-) BTW The pallet wood is a good source for wood...

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Great news . . . unfortunately a lot of folks come here around this time of year looking for advice on stoves and haven't realized they need to season their wood in advance . . . happy to see you will not be one of them. Burn on!

BeGreen is dead on I think.I live in NC and we have get our share of cold at times,I'd rather push my smaller stove than not be able to run my big one at optimum effeciency.You;ll be happy with his recommendatons in my opinion.