Best year yet!

[illini81]

Third season with the stove this year. We've enjoyed each year with the stove, but there are two factors that are making this year the best yet for us:

1. This is our first season with a significant quantity of pine. Thanks to hearth.com we ignored the prevailing wisdom in this area that pine is junk wood and is dangerous to burn. We burned one cord in the first shoulder season and will burn the other in the second. We loved how easy it catches (blazing in seconds) and also how well it works on 45-55 degree days (less btus). Even better though, we were able to season it in 1 year. Our first two years we found that the oak and hickory which are prevalent in this area truly take 3 years to season (at least in our yard which provides very little sun). Wood that seasons in a year is a game changer!
2. My wife who works from home is now comfortable putting on full loads. Our 2.5 cu ft stove is a little undersized for our house (2400 sqft) when it gets below about 25 degrees. At least it is undersized if we want to solely heat with wood on 2 full loads/day. However, with another full load during the day, or even a full load and another partial, we are toasty no matter how cold it is outside.

Thanks to everyone here for all of the help and shared wisdom!

 

[begreen]

Sounds like you have made a lot of progress. Post a picture of that beauty with a fire in it if you get a chance.

 

[molly1414]

Yes pine is great. Here in Northern Ca there Is so much pine that people give the rounds away for free. I get the free pine rounds and then pay for some oak to go with it.

 

[XmasTreefarmer]

It's a great feeling isn't it? Sounds like a lot of things came together to get you to this point and that's great.

This is my second year with my Oslo and I will say the same thing - we're settled in. Several reasons for that:

1. Making the transition from an old VC Defiant from 1979 (when we bought it new) to the Olso- We burned the Defiant off and on as we moved a lot, but burned it for nearly 30 years in this house. As everyone knows - a modern EPA stove is just a different beast! I almost think that it would be easier to start with an EPA stove than to have to break all of those habits you have with an old stove.

2. Dry wood - My wood the first year was not bad, but it did vary between just below 20% to just above 20%. I'm consistently around 18% now and the difference is amazing.

And like you, Hearth has been such a help and fun too! Such a great group of people.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Pine is a wonderful thing!