Deep south woodburners...how much do you burn?

[Intheswamp]

I've read several threads where folks have stated there wood usages, but (naturally) the predominate folks responding are northern burners. I'm hoping that the title will prompt more of the folks in the deep south to respond.

I'll be burning my little F3CB and I'm not going to try to burn 24/7 (this year ), I'm guesstimating I'll burn 1 to 1-1/2 cord of a mix of oaks and maybe some pecan.

So...how much, how often, what kind, etc.,...

Thanks!
Ed

Responses in a nutshell:

North Florida: 1.5 to 2 cords (pecan/oak), Morso 7110.
North Central North Carolina: 4 cords, 1600sqft fair insulation (weak roofing insulation), 100% wood heat.
Greenville, South Carolina: 3.5 cords, well insulated house but with 20' ceilings.
Middle of South Carolina: 4 cords, 2800sqft, has heat pumps but only using wood.
40 miles south of Atlanta, GA: 2 cords, ~1600sqft, insulated, nice and warm, Woodstock Fireview.
North Carolina/South Carolina line @ I95: ~3.5 cords semi-green, 2000sqft, drafty single-paned windows, 90% wood heat.
South Central South Carolina/Piedmont: 2.5-3 cords, 2100sqft, 12' ceilings, Expected 4 cords due to unseasoned wood (10/11 season) but hit in around 2.5-3 cords including some low btu stuff with some good oak and hickory.
Austin & Houston, Tx: 1.5 to 2 cords, VC Vigilant 1977, 4000sqft, last 2 years 100% wood heat.
West of Atlanta, Ga on Alabama line: 2.5-3.0 cords, hardwood mostly with a little softwood (pine/cedar), well insulated 2400sqft, old Black Bart II.
Middle Tennessee: Guesstimate 4-5 cords, 3000+sqft, inefficient Hardy OWB but just switched to Jotul Oslo.
Ozark Mountains of North Arkansas: 4-5 cords, 1400sqft, stove in basement (not a furnace), backup propane heat (kicks in 2-3 times a day), oak and hickory, good attic insulation but some leaky windows and doors.
Ft. Worth, TX: 2 cords oak/mulberry/hackberry, circa 1958 2000sqft, Lopi Freedom Bay insert, went from burning 1200 gallons of LP to 600 gallons.
Jackson, Mississippi: A little over 1 cord, spray foam insulated 2 yr old home heating 1800sf, Woodstock Keystone, mostly wood heat.
Decatur, Alabama: 3/4 to 1 cord (oak), 850sqft, PE Vista Classic.
Northeast (Tupelo) Mississippi: 3/4+ cord, oak/pecan/hickory, 1600sqft very well spray insulated w/pella windows, Morso 2110.
Greenville, SC: ~1/2 cord, 1600sqft well insulated, part time wood burner, Dutch West “Mediumâ€.
Fayetteville, NC: Guesstimate 2.5-3.5 cords for 11/12 season, drafty 1200sqft with no insulation in walls, Drolet Sahara.
Asheville, NC: 1 cord a month in cold months, 2185sqft un-insulated walls, Jotul F3CB.
Atlanta, GA 40 miles north: 2 1/3 cords, 1700 sqft downstairs, mixed hardwood, well insulated 4 year old house, Woodstock Fireview.

 

[ChillyGator]

Ditto....unless the weather pattern holds then we'll add another 1/2 cord :coolsmile:

 

[Intheswamp]

Hmm, looks like I might need to up my guesstimate a bit...so maybe 2 cords per year to be safe....

Thanks!
Ed

 

[mtcates]

I live in the south but not the deep south. North central North Carolina. I use on average 4 cords heating 1600 square feet. I have no furnace so wood is my only heat. My house has good windows and is tight and well insulated except for the roof. The roof is 1800 square feet of surface and only R7 insulation. I need about 75 million BTU's per winter to heat my house. If my roof was up to todays code of R38, I would only need 55 million BTU's. Its cheaper and easier to burn another cord every year then drop the 10+ grand to upgrade my roof insulation. I have a timber framed roof with decking on the rafters and to insulate it better I would have to remove the shingles, build up the roof thicker and install new shingles or a new metal roof. For now I'll burn another cord.

 

[ChillyGator]

The FEW....the PROUD.....the WARM! :lol:

 

[Bspring]

I am in Greenville SC and have already gone through a cord. I am using half junk wood and half good wood. The house is 2 years old and well insulated but it has 20' ceilings so I think it is more of a volume issue than square footage issue. I have not had to use my heat pump at all. This is a big change from last year, I was using poorly seasoned wood and smaler splits. It is so nice to wake up to a warm house. I have learned a few other things that have helped. Last year I used to jump out of the bed and go to work without bothering to start a fire. When I got home the house was too cold for my wood furnance to catch up before I went to bed so it ran full force and burned out. This season I have been keeping the house between 70 and 75 all the time and the wife is very happy. My guess is that I will use 3.5 cord.

 

[rr12]

I burn about 4 cords heating 2800 sq ft. I have heat pumps but only use my harman, and it keeps the house around 75. I live in the middle of SC

 

[citationdriver]

Live about 40 miles south of atl. Based on this year thus far at the same rate or a little more ( feb is always colder) 2 cords this year. I am burning sweet gum thus far, a softer hardwood, move to oak later on but really doesn't change that much. I have a fireview and end up with 2 fires a day early morning (house is about 65) and later eve (8-9) house is about 68. If cloudy Mabel fire will be reloaded in the day, or like last week down to 30's and teens at night will get a re-load. Mostly put 4 splits into the box each time stovetop gets to about 420-450. ( second floor of a hangar double insulated about 1600 sq ft)

This stove is amazing at holding that temp. Like today 45 for the high put 4 splits in at 6am and the house sits right now at 73 topping out earlier at 76, (really want a fire but don't want to heat us out) heater has not come on at all this year yet!

I love this wood burning stuff Hope this helps.

 

[Intheswamp]

Thanks everybody for responding! Any other southern burners out there feel free to post your wood use!

I've started condensing the reports and appending them to the first message in the thread...kind of a summary page.

Merry Christmas!
Ed

 

[wccountryboy]

Im in NC, right off I95 almost at the SC line. Winters are fairly mild, tough ist been unseasonably cold this month. This is only my second season, and my wood is not really well seasoned. The house is an antebellum farmhouse, fairly drafty. The doors leak, and about half of the windows are old, single paned glazed windows. Im heating about 2k sf, 90% wood heat; propane to take the edge off. The celling and floors are well insulated, the walls have balled paper for insulation.
I used 3.5 cord my first year, and am on track for about the same usage this year. I've got 4 cord of hickory that should be properly seasoned for next year, and hope to use a bit less. Red/white oak is seasoning for the '12-'13 season. Im guessing that with good, seasoned wood i may be able to get away with 2.5/ season.

 

[jlove1974]

I live in South Central NC (the Piedmont) and I have been burning about 2.5-3 cords of mixed Oak, sweetgum, walnut and ash.

I'm heating 2100 sf w/ 12 ft ceilings downstairs so quite a bit of volume but the 'smoke ridge' insert does an admiral job IMO.

However, this year I fully expect to burn 4 or more cords and it won't all be seasoned unfortunately. I got lazy over the spring and summer and didn't split rounds that I had sitting since last winter until early fall this year. Some were oak about 30% mc and I know they would have been more ready had I been proactive.

 

[Kenster]

Texas, between Houston and Austin. Halfway between Cat Spring and Raccoon Bend. Almost 4000 square feet heated with a VC Vigilant 1977. Haven't turned on our two heat pumps in a few years.
Wood use varies. Last year was a long wet, cold winter. I ran out of 'good' wood and my neighbor gave me a half cord of very well season hickory and oak. I burned almost two cords last year.
Maybe we'll hit a cord and a half this year with, so far, a milder winter.

 

[Intheswamp]

Wow, looks like most of the woodburners are up in the Carolinas. Gotta be some more down further south...Mississippi?...some more from Georgia?...Florida?....even maybe Alabama????

 

[bigtall]

I am due west of ATL on the bama line. I would usually burn 2.5 to 3.5 cords of year, in the old Black Bart II, heating a very well insulated 2400 square foot house built in 1870. However, I am having issues with smoke filling in the house, so 1.5 cords into the winter and my burning is put on hold. I am digging into the issue further tomorrow and will be posting some pics on here asking for help. Wood wise, I cut and split a lot of water oak, cherry, white oak, maple, and a little pine, cedar, hickory, and pin oak.

 

[Coach B]

I'm guessing at least four or five cords. In the past I've burned up wood so fast there was no way to get ahead, much less try to figure how much we've burned. I've got a Hardy OWB that I fire up sometime in October and it runs thru most of April. Trying to heat 3000+ square feet plus hot water. Those things absolutely eat up the wood and smoke like crazy, however, they will put out the heat and are very popular in parts of the mid-south. I counted six of them smoking away the other day in not much over a mile of country road. Because of the smoke and excessive wood usuage I just got a Jotul Oslo.

 

[Ozark Woodburner]

I burn 4 to 5 cord/year in the Ozark Mountains of North Arkansas. Heating about 1400 sq. ft. with a stove in the basement, not a furnace. I have backup propane furnace that kicks on two or three times a day usually if below 40 degrees or so. Very little usage out of it. I do run a oil filled 1500 watt electric heater on the end of the house farthest from the stove when it gets around 20-25 degrees and colder. And several large, very inefficient doors and windows (soon to be replaced) but exceptional attic insulation.

All wood is various oak and hickory.

 

[billjustbill]

I've read several threads where folks have stated there wood usages, but (naturally) the predominate folks responding are northern burners. I'm hoping that the title will prompt more of the folks in the deep south to respond.

I'll be burning my little F3CB and I'm not going to try to burn 24/7 (this year ), I'm guesstimating I'll burn 1 to 1-1/2 cord of a mix of oaks and maybe some pecan.

So...how much, how often, what kind, etc.,...

Thanks!
Ed

.

Here in the Ft.Worth area, last year I used 2 cords of Oak, Mulberry, and Hackberry in a Lopi Freedom Bay insert during the harsh winter we had. Hot water and heating a 2,000 sq. ft. home built in 1958 in the past years before the new insert, I would normally go through 3 four hundred gallon fillups of Propane... Last year I only filled up twice and both were around 300 gallons. This year I'm guessing the same amount of wood will be used, just scattered out over a longer period, as the long range forecast says our Winter will come later this year and last late into the Spring.

But there's no comparison to the full warmth of burning wood and the Trane Propane furnace's "drafty feeling" heat.

 

[Intheswamp]

I've read several threads where folks have stated there wood usages, but (naturally) the predominate folks responding are northern burners. I'm hoping that the title will prompt more of the folks in the deep south to respond.

I'll be burning my little F3CB and I'm not going to try to burn 24/7 (this year ), I'm guesstimating I'll burn 1 to 1-1/2 cord of a mix of oaks and maybe some pecan.

So...how much, how often, what kind, etc.,...

Thanks!
Ed

.

Here in the Ft.Worth area, last year I used 2 cords of Oak, Mulberry, and Hackberry in a Lopi Freedom Bay insert during the harsh winter we had. Hot water and heating a 2,000 sq. ft. home built in 1958 in the past years before the new insert, I would normally go through 3 four hundred gallon fillups of Propane... Last year I only filled up twice and both were around 300 gallons. This year I'm guessing the same amount of wood will be used, just scattered out over a longer period, as the long range forecast says our Winter will come later this year and last late into the Spring.

But there's no comparison to the full warmth of burning wood and the Trane Propane furnace's "drafty feeling" heat.

I guess what I'm looking for is that "full warmth" that you speak of. With our geothermal system it keeps us "warmth" but in that drafty kind of way. With no concentrated heat source there's no central place to go to warm up at...I'm looking forward to warming in front of the stove after coming in from outside.

Ed

 

[billjustbill]

I've read several threads where folks have stated there wood usages, but (naturally) the predominate folks responding are northern burners. I'm hoping that the title will prompt more of the folks in the deep south to respond.

I'll be burning my little F3CB and I'm not going to try to burn 24/7 (this year ), I'm guesstimating I'll burn 1 to 1-1/2 cord of a mix of oaks and maybe some pecan.

So...how much, how often, what kind, etc.,...

Thanks!
Ed

.

Here in the Ft.Worth area, last year I used 2 cords of Oak, Mulberry, and Hackberry in a Lopi Freedom Bay insert during the harsh winter we had. Hot water and heating a 2,000 sq. ft. home built in 1958 in the past years before the new insert, I would normally go through 3 four hundred gallon fillups of Propane... Last year I only filled up twice and both were around 300 gallons. This year I'm guessing the same amount of wood will be used, just scattered out over a longer period, as the long range forecast says our Winter will come later this year and last late into the Spring.

But there's no comparison to the full warmth of burning wood and the Trane Propane furnace's "drafty feeling" heat.

I guess what I'm looking for is that "full warmth" that you speak of. With our geothermal system it keeps us "warmth" but in that drafty kind of way. With no concentrated heat source there's no central place to go to warm up at...I'm looking forward to warming in front of the stove after coming in from outside.

Ed

Ed,

What I've learned as more time has been spent with the Lopi, is that there is a temperature zone that the insert begins not to put out enough heat for my home. Around here, it seems to start about 20 degrees or lower and when there's a lot of sleet, snow, or ice lasting several days. So, what I do now is keep the furnace thermostat "on" and set to a temp of 68 degrees. That way the insert provides all except 2 to 4 degrees of added temp to keep the house from being drafty.

Also, I've learned to keep the blower speed lower at night after bedtime. Slow air over a hot surface takes with it more heat than with high speed air over the fire box as it begins to die down. Plus, since the Lopi's blower is heat activated, the slow speed doesn't cool the thermostat and lets it keep pulling heat out and into the room.

You are right, there's nothing like a full warmth in the room and when feeling cold but standing in from of a woodburning fire to get warm... even if it in the high forties when it's been raining...just like last night.... a dry warmth was just what the Doctor ordered....

More cold is heading here Friday night with 20 degree weather, but the real mess is comining in Jan. and Feb....

Stay warm,
Bill

 

[ChillyGator]

Ditto....unless the weather pattern holds then we'll add another 1/2 cord :coolsmile:

As if the snowflakes that fluttered from the sky last Sunday weren’t enough of a sign, Tallahassee shivered through one cold month of December.
In fact, December 2010 was the coldest December — and the third-coldest overall month — Tallahassee has ever recorded, according to the National Weather Servoice.
Based on preliminary data, the average temperature recorded in December at Tallahassee Regional Airport was 44.6 degrees. That beat December 1963, which averaged 45.2 degrees, as Tallahassee’s coldest December. The airport is where official temperatures and precipitation levels are measured.
Jeff Fournier, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, said it’s tough to explain why such biting cold snaps happen.
“Sometimes in the short term — in this case the whole month — the patterns line up where you just get cold front after cold front,†he said. “What was unusual here was we got those cold masses lined up and never got a chance to warm up.
“Why that happened,†he added, “I just don’t know.â€
Tallahassee wasn’t alone in recording record-low temperatures. A report from the National Weather Service’s Miami office said the main climate sites in South Florida, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Naples and West Palm Beach, recorded their coldest Decembers as well.
Other parts of the country got cold, AccuWeather meteorologist Michael Sager said, but highest concentration of record-low temperatures came in Florida.
“It was cold around the northern and eastern parts of the country, but the most extreme departure was Florida,†Sager said. “I think that some parts in the Carolinas came very close. There were some spotty records farther north. As you get to cities in the northeast like Washington D.C., the temperatures were below normal but not even close to the record.
“It was like you had the cold air just aimed at Florida,†Sager added. “It was coming so fast, shot after shot of it. It was amazing.â€
The only recorded months colder than December 2010 in Tallahassee are January 1981 (44.3 degrees) and January 1977 (43.9 degrees). The observational period of record is April 1885 to the present. The December 2010 data is considered preliminary until certified by the National Climatic Data Center.

 

[bertrn]

I live just south of Jackson, Mississippi and last year with a wife at home the stove was our primary heat source in a spray foam insulated 2 yr old home heating 1800sf downstairs and burned just a little over 1 cord. Most of that was oak with some plans for oak and a little pine next year. Geothermal unit rarely came on in Jan-Feb and was off Nov and Dec.

 

[ihookem]

Bertrn, you burn the least. Your house is insulated the most.

 

[Nic36]

Ed,

Nic here up in Decatur. I never really measured how much wood I've burned over the last 2 seasons. (I've only been heating with wood for 2 whole seasons-this will be the third). My home is small, about 850 square feet. If I had to guess, I would say that I've never burned a whole cord in one season. Probably about 3/4 a cord maybe. Last year was colder and I may have burned close to a cord, not sure. A cord is a considerable amount of wood. I heat only with wood now, so I burn full time. If you are going to burn intermittently, I would guess that you will not go through a cord in a season. I'm burning all oak, so that factors in too.

I will know exactly how much wood I will have burned after this season. All the wood I am using now is coming from well organized stacks. The last two years, I was not as organized, so I can only guess as to how much I burned then.

 

[Coach B]

More cold is heading here Friday night with 20 degree weather, but the real mess is comining in Jan. and Feb....

Stay warm,
Bill

Dixie boys, it looks like we are in line for some more Yankee type winter temps developing in the next couple of weeks. The long range models are showing the Arctic Polar Vortex to dump some more real cold down our way. This may not be a good winter to figure average wood usuage...as least as compared to the last couple of warm decades. Who knows if or how the weather will all unfold, but I'm reading comparisons to Jan 1985 and winter 1977 as examples. We may be heading into a longer term colder weather cycle. These real cold winters are why I love woodburning.

 

[Bspring]

More cold is heading here Friday night with 20 degree weather, but the real mess is comining in Jan. and Feb....

Stay warm,
Bill

Dixie boys, it looks like we are in line for some more Yankee type winter temps developing in the next couple of weeks. The long range models are showing the Arctic Polar Vortex to dump some more real cold down our way. This may not be a good winter to figure average wood usuage...as least as compared to the last couple of warm decades. Who knows if or how the weather will all unfold, but I'm reading comparisons to Jan 1985 and winter 1977 as examples. We may be heading into a longer term colder weather cycle. These real cold winters are why I love woodburning.

Bring it on! I am several years ahead (at least I think I am).