Burned out on burning wood

Lanning said:

Last night when I was humping wood into the house I was thinking "man this is alot of work" Why not just use the NG furnace and take a break.

do you guys ever take a break from from burning and use your furnace?

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Since Jan. 2009 the oil man not cometh with that big truck, well worth the work.



Zap

I've been burning wood since the early 80's. Once in a while get tired of it but it's not long until I have a fire going again. I'm an addict, I guess. I think I need an intervention.

realstihl said:

I've been burning wood since the early 80's. Once in a while get tired of it but it's not long until I have a fire going again. I'm an addict, I guess. I think I need an intervention.

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I have had a few of them...Bottom line its cheeper to find a new wife or gf at this point of the adventure! lol

I never get tired of burning.. its an addiction in the blood passed down from Pappy.

I enjoy burning. I enjoy the extra warmth in the house. I enjoy the whole C/S/S aspect. This is the year I decided to try to get 12 cords put up.. So, yes it is being "work" this year, but will only be this year, then back to 3 a year, easy. ( I am also helping a neighbor woman get 3 years ahead also.. so like I said, work..)

If it gets much above freezing, and/or I am not in the mood, or need to let the stove cool, heat pump time..

No guilt, it's heat, not religion.

At this moment, it's 38 out, snowing, stove is out because I wanted to check my chimney, it is just as clean (or dirty), as when I checked a month ago.. But, I will probably build a fire this afternoon, because heat pump warm is not as satisfying as big hot rock warm.

I took a break one night because I was tired, got into bed and couldn't sleep
because the furnace kept running. Got up, loaded the stove and slept like a baby.

Lanning said:

It just seems like the cycle never ends.....We have had over 55 inches of snow this year, it snows almost every other day. Then do snow removal in the driveway and side walk and rake it of the roof so we dont get ice dams! It has been well over a month that the temp has been over 32!
I got about half of my wood for next year split and its been so cold with all this snow that its been tuff getting out in the yard to finish that job....

I really respect the guys that have burned full time and process there own wood. Its just alot more work than I thought it was going to be....

I guess the honeymoons over!

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Maybe you should aim to split in the spring, when it's warmer, or even summer. I want to get all mine done before it gets warm.. but my cold is a lot warmer than yours I bet, and my hot is probably hotter too. I hate to split in the summer. Given my 'druthers, somewhere about 20 degrees or so, no wind.. I can split and stack all day. Did yesterday. Got a cord done at neighbors house.

I don't mind, though I don't freak out if the boiler fires from time to time because the stove isn't going. I ran the boiler for a while in November when it was -15* out and I had ran out of wood near the house. I had just broken my back and my tractor wouldn't start. (tractor to pull cart to get wood from out back). I wasn't about ready to lug wood to the house in a wheelbarrow or by hand when rolling over in bed was a chore on it's own.

Now it's not much work for me to just tend to the stove since I only have to load it 2x a day and it's right in my living room.


My Dad was fed up with wood and this year he bought a coal stove to replace the 25yr old homemade stove. Still has 4-5 cords of wood so he is running the wood stove this year and that's it. He does have a wood stove in his shop, but that is only heated when he's out working in there.

You figure with the old "smoke dragons" you have to load them every 4-5 hours. Do that 5 months a year for 25 years, yeah I'd get tired of it too! Not to mention where they live wood prices have gone up from $60-70/cord 10 years ago to close to $200. That is tree length wood delivered ~10 cords at a time. It's almost worth just running the boiler after you figure all the time and fuel to cut and split the wood.

Not to mention with me and my brother moved out it's just Mom and Dad, and while they are only 50 they have both worked hard their whole lives and it's starting to show... it didn't seem like so much work 25 years ago my Dad told me.

Usually I get sick of it some time in February but this year I am not starting to feel that way. I have had back problems for 3 years and am finally approaching healthy so maybe that is it.

I've been sick of it for 2 weeks now! BLAH
It doesn't help that we've had 150" of snow since the end of Nov to deal with either. Winter and everything about it is getting OLD!

No. There are times that time is pressing and I couldn't get the stove burning properly before I go out, or when I am too sick to go to the woodpile (every couple years), but otherwise it's always satisfying to me.

Lanning said:

Last night when I was humping wood into the house I was thinking "man this is alot of work" Why not just use the NG furnace and take a break.

do you guys ever take a break from from burning and use your furnace?

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_GKplugI78wg/TP_NDkvQs5I/AAAAAAAAOXo/u8FiHl85Fnk/s640/DSC_0061.JPG

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i am soo sick of burning wood lol just moved here few months ago and i did not think it would cost 300-400 a month on fuel oil full time i am taking a break till Sunday wished this place is rigged up with NG and it would of only cost me 100-150 a month on NG i rather have my the furnace to do the work plus they clean the air around here too which is healthy i hate dust! we are out of this house by next winter not paying almost 500 amonth for fuel oil and i am tired of burning wood 24 7

Cowboy Billy said:

Nope and I hate it when its time to stop burning. My house is never so comfortable as when I am burning. And with my old wood furnace I burn a lot of wood I do hate hauling that 30 gallon ash can up the stairs once of month though. But I also don't have much mess hauling my wood in. Take out the basement window And haul wood from the pile in a trailer or loader bucket through it down stack it shovel all the wood scraps in the stove. And I haul in enough for 1 1/2 weeks at a time. But then again I am a pryo and have a bonfire going most of the year unless its raining or too dry and windy to burn. I have been burning 24-7 for the last eight years at my house. And am working on the design for my cabin at the farm to max open area and easy heat circulation with the smallest sq ft I need to hold our family.

Billy

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I'm with Billy. Although I've only been burning in a stove for 1 month now but I love it. I enjoy scrounging for wood and who doesn't love using a chainsaw?! Best thing yet is that I have a deal with several local tree services to dump wood for free in my driveway (they dont pay dump fees). I've received around 4 cords of wood in the past 2 weeks alone. Besides the relatively free energy benefit, I think the health benefit alone covers the PITA it is sometimes. Instead of going to the gym for a few hours a night, I split and stack wood and get a work out that burns 700 calories per our AND provides us a toasty house.

Hopefully, I will still be as stoked as I am now in 8 years

forecast puts me in the lower 30s for highs and I was tired last night. Now we are traveling on friday-sunday, so I think it won't be worth the effort to get it going again. So, yeah, every once i a while I take a break. Never for several days like this, but generally for a day or MAYBE two. then I clean the stove up, check everything out, and it looks so nice I get antsy to get a fire going in it again. When it's really cold out, there are no breaks, no matter what.

Still enjoy it . . . but I also don't make myself a slave to the woodstove and burning wood.

The oil boiler still comes on occasionally . . . but usually not because I'm too tired to deal with it . . . more typically when there is need due to us being away, a sickness or extreme cold.

I like to burn wood. Even in the summer, I burn whenever I can. I get burned out
on some other things but burning wood is one of my life's simple pleasures.

northwinds said:

I like to burn wood. Even in the summer, I burn whenever I can. I get burned out
on some other things but burning wood is one of my life's simple pleasures.

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+1. I love it ,too,but.....wow,it really is a constant flow of work. I can only bring in about 2 days worth of wood at a time. Also, Im burnin almost 100% oak = LOTS of coals...too many to burn down load to load. I shovel out Lots of hot coals....I hate it , but hey, whats a guy to do? Local oil delivery I think I saw in the newspaper is $3.61 now. I just can't justify paying THAT when I can heat with good ole 100% scrounged hardwood. The burner hasn't come on for the baseboard once all winter (just hot water). :lol: :lol: :lol:

Not burnt out today, 21 degrees with a wind chill at 11, wind out of the north, house at 74 with a few small rounds of burr oak, life is good.

I don't mind it keeps me from sitting on my tail all day. Since I became disabled for a kidney problem.

Sorry, I never get sick of burning wood and all that goes with it. I too hate it when the burning season is over. Home is just not as cozy in the summer. Home seems more like home when the stove is going. We set the thermostat for the gas furnace in case we have to be gone, but we are both rarely gone for any length of time and so the furnace hardly ever runs.