1st Year Burners: Stove Purchased, Wood Burned, Lessons Learned?

[btj1031]

I suspect there's a lot of folks lurking around like me who just made the plunge into wood stove burning this past winter. I'm in Central NH, and after a terribly cold December and January, I bought a Jotul Castine in early February. The dealer installed it into my fireplace, with stainless steel up to the first flue tile only (not a full re-line). I have been burning faithfully every day since, and I really do enjoy it. With daytime temps in the 60s this week, I figure I'm pretty close to done burning this year.

Stove
Jotul Castine, black paint, rear vent setup in an existing masonry fireplace.

Wood Burned
In about two months of mostly below freezing weather, I burned a little less than 2 cord of wood that was probably just shy of being adequately seasoned. Now that I'm to the back of my wood pile, I've hit the 2-year-old wood that is perfectly seasoned and I have learned the difference well-seasoned wood can make. I'm going to purchase 4 cord for next year this week, with hopes of buying another load later in the summer/fall to get a jump on the 09-10 winter.

Lessons Learned
1 - Jotul makes a nice stove that is easy to operate and looks great. I'm glad I bought it.
2 - Don't trust everything the stove dealer tells you. I was told a hearth rug would suffice for the 18" clearance in front of the stove - it does not. Also, the dealer said venting to the first flue tile was fine, no need for a re-line. I have since learned (here) that poor chimney condition isn't the only reason to re-line. I would have benefited from a better draft, and hence probably better efficiency, improved safety, and easier or less expensive cleaning (the list probably continues).
3 - Just because the stove can take a 20" stick doesn't mean my 16" splits are ready to go. I have had to re-split most of my splits to get them to such a size that one or two peices doesn't completely fill the firebox, and for easier starts. So this year I'm hoping my C/S/D guy will split to a smaller size, or I'll take care of getting the splits down to size during the summer rather than during freezing weather.
4 - I'm still learning! I'm looking forward to doing a full winter of wood burning.

Anyone else out there care to share 1st year experiences?

 

[Roxburyeric]

You mentioned you purchased the Jotul in Black Paint. I assume it is the matte black finish and not the Blue/Black enamel. I am looking at the C550 insert from Jotul and need to choose the Matte Black or Blue/Black enamel. Which do you have and any thoughts on it? Thanks

 

[btj1031]

I went with the black matte for three reasons: 1) Cost. I think it was $350 to get the enamel. 2) Availability. They had the black paint, and the enamel would have been shipped and who knows how long that would have been. 3) Previous experience with enamel. My folks had enamel that chipped, and I thought it looked silly. I can paint the black matte when it scratches or chips.

That said, I have read here that one big benefit of enamel (other than looks, but that's subjective) is ease cleaning - the ash wipes off real easy. That would be nice, since the black paint on the ash tray can get a little sooty after a lot of burning, but I'm OK with the black paint and don't regret the decision at all.

 

[Roxburyeric]

Thanks J-man. I read some older posts as well and have decided on the matte black. Plus I need the extra wide surround plate which does not come in the enamel so I would have to have a blue/black stove and normal surround piece with a 2 inch matte black extra wide steel surround, which I think may look funny. So matte black it is. Thanks

 

[begreen]

On the otherhand, Jotul's blue-black is not like the majolica porcelain finishes on many stoves. It is a different process and tougher. I like it because it looks great, year after year. All it takes is a wipe with a damp cloth. I haven't heard of anyone with this finish that regretted the choice.

 

[btj1031]

I believe you BeGreen that Jotul's enamel is better than the enamel on other stoves, and that folks won't regret the decision. But when the store's floor model is chipped it doesn't instill too much confidence in the customer that the up-charge is worth it, as was the case when I was shopping.

OK, how about some comments on first year experiences?!?!

 

[archer292]

First year burner also. I learned the dealer you choose makes a big difference. I should have purchased a bigger insert for my application, this goes back to the dealer. I should have installed it myself as I wound up redoing just about everything the dealer did anyway, again back to the dealer. I guess the biggest thing is the dealer is very important to overall satisfaction. Oh and Hearthstone has no contact number and when you email them they just email back bunch of technical bulletins and tell you to go back to the dealer. Needles to say I wouldn't use the dealer I did and I wouldn't purchase another Hearthstone product. An expensive lesson but one learned. Sorry for venting.

 

[btj1031]

I would second that, Archer. Sorry about your expensive problem. As stated in my first post, I should have done a little more research rather than rely on what the store told me. On the other hand, I did report a perceived problem with my Castine to my stove shop and they sent someone out to check it out. The gasket under the secondary burn baffle was freying and hanging down into the firebox. I'd push it back in, it'd pop back out. I couldn't be home when the maintenance guy came over, but he showed my wife how it wasn't a big deal and how to fix it if it occurred again. The warranty says you have to bring your stove to the store for it to be fixed, and I was worried that the store would require that, but obviously it did not. So, the lesson is, the store you buy from is important.

 

[begreen]

I believe you BeGreen that Jotul's enamel is better than the enamel on other stoves, and that folks won't regret the decision. But when the store's floor model is chipped it doesn't instill too much confidence in the customer that the up-charge is worth it, as was the case when I was shopping.

OK, how about some comments on first year experiences?!?!

True, abuse can happen, no finish is bullet-proof. It's a shame that they damaged a floor model. FWIW, I should mention that Hearthstone also offers this type of finish in blue-black.

As to user experiences, some folks should chime in on what seem to be the two most frequent lessons learned:

Wood quality is important. Even the best stove will burn cooler and dirtier with unseasoned wood

The flue is almost as important as the stove. To get the best performance, it's necessary to follow the manufacturer's guidelines.

 

[VanLandry]

Hi J-Man,
I plan on being a 1st year burner this coming year as I just had my matte black castine delivered the other day. One question if you dont mind, how did the break-in period go for you in your house? I've researched some posts in the archives but I couldnt find a black castine break in and I'm curious how much smoke was produced? How bad was the smell? I'm considering buying a few feet of pipe, hauling the stove into the back yahd and break it in there but if the smoke produced is only minimal to moderate than I'll consider putting a tarp over the tv and stereo, setting up a couple fans in the window, and letting 'er rip.

Thanks and congrats on the jotul.
Van

 

[jpl1nh]

It's not the smoke so much as the smell. You won't really need to cover stuff (except your nose) :sick: If you can do it outside, so much the better.

 

[btj1031]

Van, it is more the smell than the smoke. It got a little hazy in the room for the first fire, but nothing too bad. The smell was pretty bad for the first couple of fires - maybe four in total, then it went away completely. Good luck with your Castine.

 

[Rich_CT]

Since this is my first post, lurking is a pretty good description of my activity on hearth.com to date. This web site is an excellent resource for anyone considering the purchase of a wood stove, insert, etc.

We live in western CT and had a Quadrafire 3100i insert installed in late February of this year. Went with a full 20' ss chimney re-line. We've burned about one and a half cords in the 6 weeks or so since the insert has been installed.


Lessons Learned:

1 - Quadrafire claims that the 3100i can accept 18" lengths. While 18" will fit loaded diagonally, 16" cuts are really the longest that you would want for straight-in loading. This wasn't too much of a surprise to me, as I read the reviews of the Quad 3100i on this site before buying the insert.

2 - Do as I say, not as I do... My 2 young children (so far) have heeded my warnings about staying away from the insert. Dad on the other hand, learned the hard way. One evening, I sat on the hearth and accidentally leaned on the insert and received a nice burn on my arm.

3 - Based on what I burned this year (cord wood/not skin), I estimate that I'll need 4-5 cords for next season. So far, I've split 2 cords in prep for next year. I will be getting another 2 cords of cut to length rounds delivered in about a week. I split the first 2 cords with an 8lb maul and some wedges. The first cord which was mostly red oak and some beech, was not too tough to split. The second cord which was mostly cherry (I think) was really difficult to split. I may rent a splitter for the next 2 cords of rounds. I'll also have to consider buying a splitter at some point. Next year's investment perhaps.

4 - I've got stacked piles of wood all over my property! Right now, I don't really have one spot where I can stack all of the wood that I will need. My wife is not too pleased about the lovely variety of green, blue and silver tarps I've selected to cover them with. I'm going to have to plan this out a bit better for 09-10 season. Perhaps I'll try to build a couple of holz-hausen or even a wood shed, at some point.

5 - We have a 2 story colonial and the insert has done a good job of heating the first and second floor. Before the insert was installed, we kept the house at 64-65 degrees. We still had some cold days in March and the insert had no trouble keeping the house at 69-70. The finished basement however is really cold, now that the (oil) boiler rarely runs.

6 - I didn't plan on having to add a hearth extension. I made my own 2'x4' extension. I screwed 1/2" cement backer over the existing oak flooring and used 12x12" ceramic tiles trimmed with oak quarter round. I haven't grouted yet, but it turned out nicely, if I don't say so myself.

7 - Our oak mantel is pretty low. One of the options I selected was a mantel shield. Some day I might raise the mantel or invest in a non-combustible mantel. I'd like to remove the shield so that I can put a cast iron steamer on the top of the insert. Once I remove the shield, I'm pretty sure there is enough surface area on the top of the insert for a steamer.

8 - Other items on the to buy list are: gas powered chainsaw (I have a small electric saw which is ok for small trees & limbs), magnetic thermometer so I can measure insert temp and a vinyl chimney brush, etc. so I can clean the chimney liner myself.

I don't have any regrets, except that I wish I had purchased the insert sooner. Based on how little heating oil I've used in 6 weeks, I expect that the insert will pay for itself in 2-3 years. I'm very happy with the Quad 3100i and with the dealer/installer. My one comment about this specific insert, is that I wish the variable speed blower was standard. I did purchase the optional blower. However, it is not temperature actuated like similar units that come standard with a blower.

 

[begreen]

Hi J-Man,
I plan on being a 1st year burner this coming year as I just had my matte black castine delivered the other day. One question if you dont mind, how did the break-in period go for you in your house? I've researched some posts in the archives but I couldnt find a black castine break in and I'm curious how much smoke was produced? How bad was the smell? I'm considering buying a few feet of pipe, hauling the stove into the back yahd and break it in there but if the smoke produced is only minimal to moderate than I'll consider putting a tarp over the tv and stereo, setting up a couple fans in the window, and letting 'er rip.

Thanks and congrats on the jotul.
Van

The Jotul needs to be broken in. It won't be until the 4th or 5th fire that you will be able to take it up to temperature high enough to burn off the oils and paint fumes. Try plan for this during the spring or fall when it's ok to have the windows open and hopefully no one else is home.

 

[Hanko]

I think the enamel finnish is great. I got the brown mocca, locca, jocca whatever on my f500 oslo. The stove looks brand new after 2 months. the finnish is top notch quality. worth the money

 

[LISound]

Started with our stove in March---Just bought a house with a Regency i2400.
Had it not been for this site, I wouldn't have a clue. We love it, my wife melts infront of it nightly.

Still working on loading the stove, best way to do it and such.

1. The biggest thing I've learned---you need good wood!

2. I've also figured that you burn about a cord a month if you're an evening and weekend burner.

3. Piles of wood are not pretty...

4. Let the stove get hot before turning on the fan...and keep the temp above 300 or so.

5. don't run outside every time you recharge to see if it's smoking...follow rule 4 and this won't happen.

6. Don't try to split huge rounds with a maul!

 

[Vic99]

I could fill a flash drive with what I learned, but I'll keep it on the shorter side:

1) How to split wood by hand efficiently & how to not overwork an electric chainsaw;

2) That it's easy to scrounge for wood if you are not shy;

3) A HUGE # of people burn wood in MA and southern NH

4) Seasoned wood makes a big difference;

And a GOOD strategy to prevent my wood from getting wet and snowy in the winter

5) Splitting wood by hand is a good substitute for going to the gym in the winter;

6) ANY type of cord wood is okay to burn if properly seasoned;

7) You really CAN heat your whole house COMFORTABLY with wood;

8) The value of good insulation

 

[mtcox]

This is our first year with the Isle Royale. We've been burning consistently all year and have been through 2.25 cords of mostly oak. What we've learned:

1. I would never have believed it but dry wood makes or breaks a stove.
2. Charcoaling the wood before dampening it down on a reload is critical to an all night burn.
3. Do not expect the stove to maintain your 70 degree inside temperatures all night long when it's 15 degrees outside.
4. Reloading once during the night will help to maintain your inside temperatures dramatically.

 

[btj1031]

mtcox, I have learned those same lessons as well. We used to keep the thermostat at 60 on the second floor when we slept, and kept warm with some nice blankets. After we got the stove, it would be at least 70 upstairs when we went to bed. Now I'll wake up when it gets down to around 65 because I'm cold! Kind of a pain, but it gives me a chance to load the stove, which keeps it warm all night with an easy restart at 6AM.

 

[benking]

Hi J-Man,
I plan on being a 1st year burner this coming year as I just had my matte black castine delivered the other day. One question if you dont mind, how did the break-in period go for you in your house? I've researched some posts in the archives but I couldnt find a black castine break in and I'm curious how much smoke was produced? How bad was the smell? I'm considering buying a few feet of pipe, hauling the stove into the back yahd and break it in there but if the smoke produced is only minimal to moderate than I'll consider putting a tarp over the tv and stereo, setting up a couple fans in the window, and letting 'er rip.

Thanks and congrats on the jotul.
Van

I purchased an Jotul F3CB in matte black last fall and in my experience it took a number of very hot fires to finally get the paint / chemical smell out of the stove. I made three or four small fires, starting very small and getting larger. It wasn't until I really cranked the stove (800 degrees) on probably 10 incidents that I was able to burn the high temp smell out of the stove. Low temp fires up to 500 degrees would produce no smell but fires in excess of 500 would put a slight smell in the house. It wasn't terrible but noticeable. I was concerned the smell might not go away but after about a month of burning with some HOT fires it was gone. Now I can burn at any temp without issue. Love the Jotul, small firebox but I was limitied by what I could fit in my existing fireplace without messing with heat sheilds and hearth extentions. Good luck!

On another note, I had 4 cord wood to start the season with and I'm down to about 1/3 of a cord. Burned under 120 gal of oil this winter which was great (furnace produces hot water). Wife loves the stove after starting with strong skepticism. Lessons learned, get the fire cranking before using the damper, don't clean the ashtray when you want to hold coals for a long period of time, use a wheel barrow or garden cart for moving wood as much as possible (I used a wood bag for half the season and the constant lugging started to produce aches I don't need). Don't try to split all you're wood a once, pace yourself (if splitting by hand). Spend a lot of time admiring your woodpile, after all "Every man looks at his woodpile with a kind of affection." Henry David Thoreau

 

[pulldownclaw]

Hey there,

We installed a Hampton HI300 in December, and have loved every minute of it, except for the install! I had to basically do the install myself because the installer wouldn't do it the way I wanted it done.

Rule #1: Don't expect a "professional" to know more than you, especially after lurking here for a long time. Find someone who will install your stove the right way or do it yourself.

#2: Get ahead on your wood supply. If you are shopping for a stove, you should be shopping for firewood.

#3: I think we've burned about 1.5 cords in 3 months.

#4: I actually will be leaving my splits a little larger than what I was splitting before I started burning. It's good to have different sized splits, but most of mine I will be leaving larger.

#5: You can burn pine if it's dry!

#6: I am going to be "night splitting" this Spring to try to catch up with all of the unprocessed wood laying around my yard....

 

[Ken45]

3. Piles of wood are not pretty...

Oh yes they are! Especially LARGE piles of wood!

6. Don't try to split huge rounds with a maul!

Oh? Don't try lifting them to a splitter and permanently damaging your back.

I've actually got some rounds that I may split with wedges before I get them up on the splitter.

Ken

 

[Henz]

how about if you do buy a splitter, make sure it splits in the vertical position as well.
electric "chain saws" are not real chain saws but basically hedge trimmers with a chain
burning wood is a good way to convince your wife that you need an atv

 

[michiganwinters]

We purchased and installed a PE Summit last fall. The install was a HUGE pain in the butt..(outside corner, 2 stories off the ground). We have enjoyed our woodstove SO much. It was worth every penny and it will have paid for iteself in full halfway through next winter. Here are a couple things we've learned through our experience.

#1 - The wood we cut and split will alway be better than the crap they are selling around here.
a) First 2 chords we were told was beautifully well seasoned red oak. What it really was was punky red oak that felt more like foam than wood. Im sure that was robbing us of some btu's
b) The second 2 chords of wood was nice oak but was not seasoned all that well. So we would try running fires quite hot.
#2 - Every dealer around here said the Summit was much too large for our newly built 1500sqft, greatly insolated ranch. And that being that large would me that I would have to run the stove cold and it would plug up our chimmney. In fact, I am SO glad that we went with the Summit over the smaller version. There are days that I load it, and still have very hot coal after 14 HOURS Thats efficient. We have never been heated out of the room unless its a real sunny day as we have huge windows to southern exposure,.....which will heat the house on a 10 degree day on their own.

#3 - I was splitting wood last summer for this upcoming winter and some of the splits were too small or a bit too long.

#4 - I have only used 10% propane this winter and it was a hard one. And that was only while were in CA for a week and for the water heater and stove.

#5 - I am glad that we went with an oversized hearth. Its a corner unit and we extended the hearth out 20" from the stove. great for keeping debris of carpet & and perfect place for my hubby to sit and drink hot chocalate after working in 10 degree, blowing snow weather all day.

Love the stove, love wood. Thanks for your help in making that decision

 

[Henz]

very nice looking install. One question I have though is where do you store the wood? I am very suprised at the number of pictures that I see where people do not use a wood ring next to the stove???