Today's the 7th day I'm using my stove, and my HEAT IS OFF!!!

Your season starts early... the thrill of wood burning never seems to end as long as there's a call for heat. Ahh, scratch that.. summer fire pits rock!

We made it through to 24th December last year before we put our heating on, to supplement the wood stove.

Burning free wood just makes you delirious with happiness after sitting cold because you couldn't afford to keep the furnace running.

The good news is that feeling never really goes away!

Now with over 3 years wood stored here, it's like having our own private oil well.

It really doesn't get any better

Oh yes I'm toes up watching the jet game with a toasty fire in the insert! My envious neighbors were asking me if I was getting ready to burn as I was selecting ugly's and checking moisture content! Nice !

Hold on sailor..... we are just in the shoulder season right now. I'm located in central Ohio so our climates are fairly close. Sure there has been a few cold nights worth firing up for but we aren't anywhere near cold yet. If your primary heating system had kicked on in these mild temps you would have a problem with wood heat. Not surprised at all it hasn't.

I lit a shoulder fire this morning, it's actually just dying down right now. My wifes friend just came over for a visit and said her boyfriend will not turn on the heat until Nov. 1, the unofficial non woodburning day for central home heating. All I did is smile when I told he it was 73 degrees here, enough said. Enjoy the wood heat Truck!

Heh... yes, another benefit to wood burning is being warm during shoulder season and not a slave to some date that you have to wait for to turn on the central heat.

At work the other day I was talking to another wood burner and asking if she had lit up yet and with a smile she said "sure, why not? there was a chill yesterday." Another co-worker (non burner) jumped into the discussion and learned a bit about the joy of burning wood and feeling that radiant heat as you sit on the computer.

In the spring I'd likely never light a fire for these temps as we'd be acclimated to cooler weather. But right now we feel the chill easier so there is a pleasure in it so why not.

So revel in it Truck! It only gets better, I hope you have a good supply of wood this year - be aware that there is a serious temptation to burn your supply (pun intended) faster than you really need and desire in your first few years. It isn't just that you have better/dryer wood the following years that cuts your fuel use, you also learn a bit more restraint during the start of the season so you save something for the peak of winter.

Slow1 said:

I hope you have a good supply of wood this year - be aware that there is a serious temptation to burn your supply (pun intended) faster than you really need and desire in your first few years. It isn't just that you have better/dryer wood the following years that cuts your fuel use, you also learn a bit more restraint during the start of the season so you save something for the peak of winter.

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Slow, I agree with you there, I probably did that myself. Right now I'm using the shoulder wood and have yet to touch any of the 24/7 wood supply. This year I'm actually going to try and cut my wood usage down on some new ideas I got from here.

It's funny when your over at someones house and you keep hearing "kids stop running in and out, I'm not heating the whole figging neighborhood", then they come over here I get to to say, "ahh that cool air feels good".

Yep, I love wood heat.

n3pro said:

It's funny when your over at someones house and you keep hearing "kids stop running in and out, I'm not heating the whole figging neighborhood", then they come over here I get to to say, "ahh that cool air feels good".

Yep, I love wood heat.

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I agree with you there, occasionally the cool air coming in does feel good.

Isn't it great to not need the furnace?! The radiant heat from the stove feels much better anyway!

My mom is a teacher in the public schools in Columbus, Ohio. The kids around here are saying "trippin'" again. You're hip and you didn't even know it!

-SF

I cant wait to get to that point. My stove is out on my porch. It was only used a season or two. But sat in a garage about 30 yrs. I'm waiting for a call back from the chimney guy that put in my liner last yr. Still waiting. I will paint and get it all pretty so if and when this guy calls it will be a nice functional center piece/focal point for the rm. I'm anxious about the angular opening on top of the stove 7". The damper opening isnt quite 6". Shed some inspirational light on a wanna be. New guy.

tropiclightning said:

I cant wait to get to that point. My stove is out on my porch. It was only used a season or two. But sat in a garage about 30 yrs. I'm waiting for a call back from the chimney guy that put in my liner last yr. Still waiting. I will paint and get it all pretty so if and when this guy calls it will be a nice functional center piece/focal point for the rm. I'm anxious about the angular opening on top of the stove 7". The damper opening isnt quite 6". Shed some inspirational light on a wanna be. New guy.

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Hmm... sat in a garage for 30 years? That puts it in the pre-EPA category or what is often called a "smoke dragon" I'm sure... although the name is somewhat unfair as how it is burned affects the actual smoke as much as the stove itself. However don't expect to get the extreme burn times or extreme efficiency numbers that new designs get you. Also, you likely will have to comply with some serious clearances when you do the install.

Post a thread with description and pictures in the classic stoves forum and you may find someone else with that same stove who can give you specific details on what it is, how it burns and how best to get it to burn well well (maintenance details etc). Word of caution though - many find that older stoves, even if only burned for a couple seasons, are best replaced with a good low cost (not necessarily 'low end' as there are good quality low cost models) EPA stoves. There is just something really nice about getting long, efficient, clean burns in a stove that has a warranty on it to boot.

Pyro, Do you like popping kids balloons & stepping on puppies Too! Just kidding. Good advice isnt always easy on the ears. I'm really wanting to get this hooked up. However I think I'll be awhile. Thanks again.

I haven't turned my heat on at all yet this season. I haven't burned any wood either, though I'm in the middle of a hearth, heat shield, and stove installation. But without any heat, my house is comfortable. "How?" you ask. Attic is air sealed and insulated to R60. Fairly descent wall insulation.

tropiclightning said:

Pyro, Do you like popping kids balloons & stepping on puppies Too! Just kidding. Good advice isnt always easy on the ears. I'm really wanting to get this hooked up. However I think I'll be awhile. Thanks again.

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dont listen to him, I have a 1970's morso 1125 in my basement that heats the basement and my first floor with no problem and I have no problem loading it up at 10 pm and still having coals going for an easy relight at 8 am.

WoodNStuff said:

I haven't turned my heat on at all yet this season. I haven't burned any wood either, though I'm in the middle of a hearth, heat shield, and stove installation. But without any heat, my house is comfortable. "How?" you ask. Attic is air sealed and insulated to R60. Fairly descent wall insulation.

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What are your outside temperatures at present?

We have good insulation, but you cannot keep a house warm just by insulation, you have to have some form of heat at some point, even if you never open a door to go outside........ ;-)

kborndale said:

tropiclightning said:

Pyro, Do you like popping kids balloons & stepping on puppies Too! Just kidding. Good advice isnt always easy on the ears. I'm really wanting to get this hooked up. However I think I'll be awhile. Thanks again.

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dont listen to him, I have a 1970's morso 1125 in my basement that heats the basement and my first floor with no problem and I have no problem loading it up at 10 pm and still having coals going for an easy relight at 8 am.

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Glad to hear it - I have heard of many folks quite satisfied with older stoves.

There are a lot of different stoves out there - some better than others. Being older doesn't make them necessarily poor for any given application, but there are some stoves that were made a number of years ago that aren't worth installing today. Thus my suggestion to do a bit of research before investing the time and effort installing.

Not popping balloons or stepping on tails (or toes) I hope - just trying to help keep someone from investing a lot of time, money, and effort into something and then being disappointed. Then again, it may all be fun to clean up, rebuild, install (safely) an antique (or nearly so) stove just for the sheer pleasure of doing so. Everyone has their own priorities and interests.

Thanks guys. I am revved up to get it hooked up, so I can get fired up. I think it will look good in the fireplace. I really like the prominent raised lettering "MADE IN USA" I'll be going to the hardware store for paint. Suggestions anybody? There is little rust. Mostly dust and cob webs. I'd like to trim the edges & lettering with silver or gold, maybe white.