I'd like to see this heating season end. The more area I see in the wood shed, the more work I see coming. My son say's I'm crazy I have to much wood and I see the glass almost empty. Why does a wood heads mind do that to us?
This Season.
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jharkin
Minister of Fire
I agree. I have about a cord left and at this point Id just as well leave it for next year and start mowing the lawn.
Nothing to due with a lack of desire to burn, I'm just soooooooo sick of the snow and digging out the driveway, raking the roof and shoveling the woodpiles out of 4ft snow drifts.
Nothing to due with a lack of desire to burn, I'm just soooooooo sick of the snow and digging out the driveway, raking the roof and shoveling the woodpiles out of 4ft snow drifts.
Sorry to those of you with deep snow. I guess it is all relative, we have rain and temps in the 30's-40's. To us it is wet and cold... I do want warmer days to come soon so I can do other things. I am well below a cord left as I had no time or wood before winter.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
I just broke into my second half of the heating season firewood . . . should have plenty to get me by until the snow melts . . . sometime in July if we keep getting a snowstorm every week. I'm still having fun in the snow and am not ready for Spring . . . my wife on the otherhand is again talking about not liking living in Maine and wanting to live somewhere in Virginia, Tennessee or North Carolina (and no offense to anyone who lives there . . . but the thought makes me shudder . . . I'm pretty happy living where I do.)
Adios Pantalones
Minister of Fire
I love seeing a good wood stack. It's natural to want to have your cake and eat it too I think.
Read an interview with Stephen King where he said his dog almost got killed by a falling icicle when they were walking one time. His comment was something like "I'm really rich. Why the hell do I live in Maine in the winter?". Now he's a seasonal snowbird in FL.
I'll stay in New England, thank you. No poisonous snakes, few hurricanes, fewer tornadoes, very minor on earthquakes
Read an interview with Stephen King where he said his dog almost got killed by a falling icicle when they were walking one time. His comment was something like "I'm really rich. Why the hell do I live in Maine in the winter?". Now he's a seasonal snowbird in FL.
I'll stay in New England, thank you. No poisonous snakes, few hurricanes, fewer tornadoes, very minor on earthquakes
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
Adios Pantalones said:
That's what I keep telling her . . . and adding that the crime rate is pretty low . . . figure about the worse we get up here are the occasional blizzards and once in 100 year floods (but no worries since I don't live anywhere near any running water) . . . I figure for now I can simply schedule a winter time vacation to somewhere warm and perhaps when we're retired we can go south to Florida . . . where I will no doubt either get mugged or even worse learn how to play shuffleboard.
Fsappo
Minister of Fire
This is my first year (first two months, really) burning with my insert, and with this really cold harsh winter I'm going through a cord every 3 weeks or so.
My excess is probably related to poor insulation (holy ice dams batman!) and the stove rated for 2000 square feet and my house being 2,500. I have the oil heat completely off though. I just bought some insulation to add to my second floor attic, which has blown in that has settled over 30 years and been jostled around so much it is probably giving me an R value of 10.
I don't care though. With oil at 3.55 a gallon and my wood at 200 a cord, it's still cheaper and my house is warmer. I used to keep the oil thermostat at 58 degrees during the day and crank it up to a whopping 66 from 5pm to midnight then back down. Even at that I was going through a tank of oil this time of year every three weeks. Not to mention the added benefits of caveman t.v.!!
Summer's almost here! (pic)
My excess is probably related to poor insulation (holy ice dams batman!) and the stove rated for 2000 square feet and my house being 2,500. I have the oil heat completely off though. I just bought some insulation to add to my second floor attic, which has blown in that has settled over 30 years and been jostled around so much it is probably giving me an R value of 10.
I don't care though. With oil at 3.55 a gallon and my wood at 200 a cord, it's still cheaper and my house is warmer. I used to keep the oil thermostat at 58 degrees during the day and crank it up to a whopping 66 from 5pm to midnight then back down. Even at that I was going through a tank of oil this time of year every three weeks. Not to mention the added benefits of caveman t.v.!!
Summer's almost here! (pic)
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Fsappo
Minister of Fire
gyrfalcon
Minister of Fire
gyrfalcon
Minister of Fire
firefighterjake said:
Plus Florida is HOTTT and really, really ugly compared to New England except for the beaches. You literally could not pay me to live there. I might go for a visit if you paid me, though.
gyrfalcon said:
No, full cord.
Here's about my routine with my VC Merrimack, running 24/7. Tell me if I'm doing something glaringly wrong. I'll start when I load it up at night:
..Between 12:00 p.m. and 1 a.m. - load the firebox up (3 c.f.) until I can't fit any more. Probably fits 6-8 big splits and 2-3 smaller. I use oak, maple, ash that the guy I buy it from says it's been seasoned about a year. By this time, the fire is down to coals that I have to stir around to get have enough red to get going. I crank the air valve all the way to the end to open it all the way then close the air to the lowest setting for the secondary. So when I go to bed the fire hasn't started roaring yet and the air is all the way closed.
..My wife gets up first, about 6 am. She'll restart it by putting a few kindling pieces on then a couple larger to get us to 9 a.m. when we go to work, when we'll load it up again for the day the same as before we go to bed.
..When she or I get home from work about 4 or 5, we'll rekindle it and just keep it going enough with 2-3 splits at a time until loading it up at midnight.
..repeat.
There are exceptions, like I'll open the air all the way if the temp is really low and I'm having trouble getting the house warm. Or if it's warmer like yesterday's 35 degrees, I let it go out all day and the house stayed around 66-70. Or if we're home during the weekends I'll load it up a third time during the day.
Maybe the 3 c.f. firebox makes me use more, with the stove undersized for the uninsulated house. I dunno. I would think other 24/7 burners reload the stove at least 2 times a day?
Big Al
New Member
gyrfalcon said:
Amen to that. My wife wants to move south too. Easy for her to say. She works indoors and then comes home and stays indoors. I work outside and love to be outside when I'm not working. To darn hot down there in the summer. I do visit Florida every year in November and March. Really nice then, warm but not too humid. The rest of the time, fugettaboutit
VCBurner
Minister of Fire
All I can say is, thank God for wood stoves! With this much snow, I think I would have gone through a ton of oil by now. Although, my wood supply is also dwindling to nothing. Last Winter I wanted to get 10 cords ready for the next 2-3 years, until I got on a job with tons of overtime in February. It never really ended until November. I started on a job close to home in Worcester and ended up with over an hour commute each way into Boston. But I can't complain, because I'd rather be working in Boston than laid off like I am now.
All this snow has proven to be a lot to deal with for most people. Ice damning causing water to get into peoples houses, roofs collapsing etc... Some 80 buildings have collapsed in Mass due to heavy snow loads. And guess what! Tomorrow I get to go shovel off commercial roofs for a living. A roofing company from Framingham is hiring 40+ guys to go clear some commercial roofs and I'm one of the lucky ones to get the job!! The rate is the same I make with my regular job. Union rates and benefits. I was told to bring a hard hat and a shovel!! I don't see what could be falling on our heads on the roof though!! :lol: Good luck to me, I guess I'll just be ready to ride down if I hear the creacking.
All this snow has proven to be a lot to deal with for most people. Ice damning causing water to get into peoples houses, roofs collapsing etc... Some 80 buildings have collapsed in Mass due to heavy snow loads. And guess what! Tomorrow I get to go shovel off commercial roofs for a living. A roofing company from Framingham is hiring 40+ guys to go clear some commercial roofs and I'm one of the lucky ones to get the job!! The rate is the same I make with my regular job. Union rates and benefits. I was told to bring a hard hat and a shovel!! I don't see what could be falling on our heads on the roof though!! :lol: Good luck to me, I guess I'll just be ready to ride down if I hear the creacking.
gyrfalcon
Minister of Fire
See if you can get her interested in bird-watching or something. Discovering birds totally changed my indoor/outdoor perspective back when I was living in the suburbs and commuting to town for an office job.
gyrfalcon
Minister of Fire
VCBurner said:
Amen to all that. I've taken such a hit from the recession, heating with wood is the only thing keeping me remotely solvent.
Good luck to you for sure, and be careful!
In VT, we all have pretty steep roofs and most of us have metal of some kind, but man, it comes just roaring off in huge masses of snow and ice when it's ready to let go. I would not want to be under one of those roof avalanches when it came down. No point having gutters because they'd just be torn off every year. And no foundation shrubs, either, unless you build little sheds over them to protect them in winter-- which some people actually do.
Big Al
New Member
gyrfalcon said:
She was born and bred in NYC so I think the concept of having an "outside" to enjoy after work is foriegn. She does enjoy nature, we go on a fair number of hikes and observe wildlife, and we do have a new set of binoculars.....
Example, I'll go outside and sit under a tree in the yard to read on a nice day or nap on a lawn chair under said tree. She'll read at the kitchen table and nap on the couch. Guess I need to condition her. She doesn't know what she's missing.
WidowMaker
Member
gyrfalcon said:
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I would not call a cord + a month out of line for what he heating...bout what I burn durning the real cold snaps...
Sounds like you need to start looking into a Blaze King stove for the higher efficiency and once a day loading. Wall and attic insulation will cut your wood consumption by over 30% too.Tansao said:
gyrfalcon
Minister of Fire
Warm in RI said:
Oh, heck, New Yorkers are almost a different breed. (I say this as someone who was born in Manhattan myself and lived in the city as a child.) My older sister is absolutely a New Yorker, and I for some reason am not. She comes up to visit here in VT from Jersey where she lives now, and literally doesn't step outside the house for more than 5 minutes in a week even in glorious summer weather. Might as well be in a Holiday Inn on a highway exit. I'm honestly not sure it's "fixable" if the hikes and the binos haven't done the trick so far!
VCBurner
Minister of Fire
Thanks gyrfalcon, it didn't help to watch the news. More roofs are collapsing on a daily basis and I get to be on them to try to rescue them tomorrow after another 1-2 inches of snow overnight. One small fact some people may not know is that union carpenters go all over the country and even the world to try to help with emergency situations such as 9-11, a lot of guys went there to search ground zero for survivors. We are kind of used to being in dangerous conditions every day, just another day in the office.gyrfalcon said:
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