Another 'how much wood will I need?' question

[teutonicking]

Okay, 'as much as possible, as soon as possible' makes good sense. I'm afraid that 'as much as possible' may still be less than I'll eventually want, but dem's da breaks.

Thanks, everyone.

As a followup, how well-sheltered does a woodpile need to be? I've seen a lot of pics of woodpiles that don't appear to have any sort of roof at all. How does that work? Is that wood later moved to a drier location before burning?

Many folks leave their wood stacks uncovered until about a month or so before they plan to burn it. Some have nice covered wood sheds that can hold several cords and they fill them up in the late summer/early fall with their oldest wood that is ready to burn.

I have only been burning for one season, so there are many people on here with more experience than me. I have no shed, but I have many wood racks, some with covers and some without. I put my oldest wood in the covered racks, and as I use the wood I transfer the other wood into the covered racks as space allows.

 

[teutonicking]

I think you will really love having a wood stove--there is just nothing like it. The warmth, watching the fire, everything. It has become my new favorite hobby. I am able to heat my entire home with it, get exercise (all year round), and save money. I used to hate Winter, but since I got my stove, I can't wait for it to come. How many hobbies can say they turned your least favorite season into the best one? I'm hooked.

 

[rdust]

I could fit three rows 12' long and 4' high without any trouble, so 2.25 cords

Assuming wood at 18 inches in length you would only have 1.6875 cords. A cord of wood is 4x4x8 so if you stack in single rows, 4' high and have 16" splits the row would need to be 24' long for it to be a cord. 48x16x288/1728

 

[red oak]

I think I'm about to install an insert in my old, nonfunctional fireplace. I've never lived in a house with a woodstove, so I don't have much experience to base guesses on. Right now I'm planning a small, roofed wood rack on an old patio, and could use some insight as to how big it should be.

The house is in western PA, around 1400 sq. ft, brick with double-pane windows and moderately-well insulated. The stove probably something similar to an Osburn 2000 (2.1 cubic feet). I'm sure we'd enjoy somewhat frequent fires on chilly evenings, maybe loading it up to burn over night, but I don't expect it to be our primary heat source. If you had to guess (because you have to. I insist.) how much wood might we go through in an average winter?

We live in an old suburb full of mature trees, so opportunities to gather free wood are not uncommon. I'd like to do some of that, so I'll need extra space to store wood while it dries. How long does it typically take to dry freshly-cut hardwood? If I cut wood in the summer of 2012, for example, and stacked it under cover, would it be ready to burn during the winter of 2013-14, or might I have to wait longer?

If it is not your primary heat source, you really can burn as much or as little as you want. My wife's family is from Western Pa, near the Johnstown area. If I lived there I could easily burn 6 cords per winter, but my FIL gets by with 3 and supplements with coal and electric. Major variables include how well your house is insulated and the type of wood you are able to get.

As for drying time, as others have mentioned, plan on a year at least, and 2-3 for oak. If possible, I would get some softwood or ash for later this winter and next winter, and then some oak for a couple of winters down the road.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Jon, is there a way to use part of the deck you described earlier? Only reason I ask is that I have an attached 12x12 covered porch that I can fit about 3 cord on. I move the summertime furniture off the deck into storage and stack my dried wood in the space. Instead of walking out to the piles or under the porch all the wood is very close and convenient to handle in any kind of weather.

 

[nola mike]

Don't know why this isn't usually mentioned, but you can geek out as much or as little as you'd like to determine how much you'll burn. If you want a somewhat exact answer, calculate how much propane/oil/lng/whatever you used last year, and figure out that number in BTU's. Then find out how much wood you'll need to get there, and how much wood v. alternate source you want to use. I've gone a step further and calculated the number of degree heating days throughout the burning season, and figured out how many BTU's/degree heating days I used, and what the typical number is for my area. At worst, this will get you in the ballpark. Yeah, sometimes I have too much time on my hands

 

[Jon1270]

I'm totally the type to geek out over something like this, especially as a substitute for actual experience which I sorely lack, but I don't yet have a year's worth of gas bills to refer to because we only bought the house in April. Originally we thought we'd just have an occasional fire for fun, and didn't expect to be serious, regular woodburners. Sadly we soon learned that the original steel 1950's firebox was irreparably rusted out. I did enough reading here to realize that an insert would be the only fix worth doing, but that in turn leads to having to extend the hearth, move some wood trim back to a safe distance, and spend a bunch of time and cash we hadn't anticipated spending. It's enough of an investment that it only makes sense if we use the thing fairly frequently, which is a lifestyle change for us. Never having lived in a house with a woodburning appliance for more than a couple of days, I feel a bit out of my depth. Part of what I'm trying to accomplish is to reassure myself that a woodburning stove is not an in-ground swimming pool, i.e. something that sucks up space, time, money and effort, and doesn't get used half as much as you were imagining when the backhoe first bit into your yard.

I probably could put some wood out on the deck, especially during the winter when we're not likely to be spending much time out there. I could also build a rack about 6' wide by 8' high just inside the basement door, and rotate wood into it for final drying.

Assuming wood at 18 inches in length you would only have 1.6875 cords. A cord of wood is 4x4x8 so if you stack in single rows, 4' high and have 16" splits the row would need to be 24' long for it to be a cord. 48x16x288/1728

Thanks for reminding me of this. I was checking out firewood prices on Craigslist, and it seems as if some sellers regard 'cord' as a unit of area rather than volume, using it to refer to a stack 4' high and 16' long regardless of stick length.

 

[Jack Straw]

Maybe it has been mentioned above, I didn't read all of it, but assume wood for sale is green no matter what the seller claims.
Welcome to the site, there are great people here and you will love burning wood!

 

[ScotO]

Welcome to the site! We started out years ago planning to use wood as a secondary heat source, just as you are. Now, its all we use. The others have all given you great information, there's a great following of some wonderful and very knowledgeable characters here. As for my situation, I'm heating almost 2800 sq. ft. With my Napoleon 1900p. House is VERY well insulated, with modern windows throughout. We burn 24/7, through the cold season, burn only when needed during the shoulder seasons (early fall and late spring). We go through around 7 cord on a decent winter. I bet we barely used 5 last year, mildest winter I can remember. Now this year we'll have the Napoleon NZ3000 added to the mix, so it'll be interesting to see how much more wood that thing consumes. Anyway, lots of variables, even for the guys and gals that have experience. As for wood, get it early and often. Split it up small to medium (3"x3" to 4"x4") as soon as possible, wood does not start to season well until its split. Most woods will season in a year's time, oak takes much longer (2 to 3 years). BEWARE OF THE FIREWOOD VENDOR...they like to sell you green wood. If you are unsure of the water content of woos that is sold to you, take a fresh split of a piece of the wood and check it with a digital moisture meter BEFORE he unloads the wood at your site. Optimal moisture content for seasoned wood is 20% and below. Anything above 25% is going to give you grief. Good luck, keep with us and we'll help you any way we can.

 

[Jon1270]

One of my mom's cousins back in Ohio has an enormous house that's practically built from styrofoam and so tight that you can heat it with a candle. I'm not quite so fortunate, but my new house doesn't seem too bad. It will be interesting to see what happens.

I'm a woodworker and I already have a moisture meter, but I'm used to looking for MC in the range of 6-8% for furniture-building purposes. It's helpful to know that firewood becomes useful at much higher moisture levels. I wouldn't expect it to get much lower than 20% sitting outside in this climate. Do woodburners ever build solar kilns for final drying?

The Osburn manual suggests that radial cracks on the ends of the wood pieces are a quick visual indicator that wood is at least somewhat dry. I know from my work that wood doesn't start to shrink until it drops to roughly 28%, so visible checks indicate that the ends, at least, are substantially dried. But I also know that that's not a reliable indicator of how dry it is further in. In woodworking school there were planks of dense, exotic wood that were still visibly wet inside even after years in indoor storage.

At least shop scrap provides good kiln-dried kindling!

 

[ScotO]

Do woodburners ever build solar kilns for final drying?

This woodburner is kicking the idea around. I am thinking of building a sort of kiln/woodshed, for both my firewood and my milled lumber. Now, it's gonna be a while down the road, but if and when I do, you can bet I'll post pics and details on here for everyone. Sounds like a good idea in theory, and from what I've read about solar kilns it would work. We shall see, someday.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum Jon.

Wow! I can hardly believe the number of posts on this thread that was started just last night. And this is the weekend too! Amazing but shows the enthusiasm of the guys on this forum which is great!

Jon, what you are attempting to do is good and it will pay you back rather quickly because of the savings in fuel. You'll find this is much better than money in the bank! Every time we look at our many wood piles we smile, knowing we'd never make this much money with CD's, MM, Savings, etc. Even many stocks!

One thing that has not been brought up is the difference in stoves. One person says he heats using 7 cord of wood and another uses 4 and another.... Of course there are so many factors involved that it is almost impossible to make a complete comparison. But let me give you an example. We've heated with wood for a few years now (look at my signature line) and have had a few different stoves. They all are different.

About 5 years ago we finally made up our minds to buy a good stove and get rid of that big old thing we had. It had served us well for 20 years or more but we were never completely satisfied. In the middle of winter we had to close off a good part of the house and when it got to zero or below, we even moved the kitchen table right next to the stove so we could stay warm. Before taking showers we used an electric heater to warm the bathroom. We burned an average of around 6 cord of wood per winter and I recall one year burning over 7 cord.

So then we bought the stove we really wanted which is a soapstone stove with a catalyst. My wife and I disagreed on the hearth because we both wanted to raise it a bit (stove is short) but she wanted it higher than I. I explained that heat goes up so that might make the floors even colder than they were then. I gave in and raised the hearth 16" and prepared for the shock. It was a shock indeed! The floors were never this warm! But wait! Why is this wood lasting so long? The first year with the new stove we burned 3 cord. That is cutting our wood needs in half!

Then we remodeled and put on a small addition. Heating more space might mean more wood. Of course last winter was extremely mild and we burned only 2 cord or just slightly over that. The point is, different stoves, like different wood, can make a huge difference in how much wood you need and how warm the house will be.

You asked about the wood storage. If the wood is not dry, it should be stacked where it gets the most wind. It should be stacked a bit loose because air circulation is what you need to dry the wood. Sunshine will help also but wind is more important. We stack many times in shade and have no trouble drying the wood. We do top cover the wood (never cover the sides and ends) and then move the winter's supply into the barn in late fall. (We typically have 6-7 years of wood on hand.)

Another point is that you mentioned moving the air with the furnace fan. That is not a good idea. Many have tried and many have failed. The fan takes a lot of electric and you would not like the draft. Much better is using a small desk top fan. Yes, a small one, sitting on the floor and set at the lowest speed. The key is to sit it in a doorway or hallway and blow the cooler air into the stove room. It will have an amazing effect on how that warm air moves into the other rooms.

I could go on and on but won't, which I'm sure will be appreciated. Just want to wish you good luck and for sure you will enjoy the wood heat. You can keep your home much warmer and do it a lot cheaper. btw, we typically keep out house at 80 degrees or more and enjoy every minute of it.