how much will i burn next winter

[barneyfife]

Hi all,

We moved into our new house mid Sept. 2010. There is a 16x10x8 wood shed that was 3/4 full of.....cottonwood. Now, being new to using wood for heat, I wasnt sure how much we would burn. We started burning, say, Oct 1, and burned say 18 hrs per day,and I have about 2 weeks of wood left. Our house is a 2100 sq.ft. rancher with a Pacific Energy Spectrum free standing stove, which from what I have read, is a good stove.

The winter this year was typical southern BC, it had its cold snaps, but they only last a week at a time. I think we had 2 cold snaps where it went down to -10C

I know cottonwood is not a very high BTU fuel, and I will be burning different wood this winter. I will be burning mostly Doug Fir, and some Big Leaf Maple, it is seasoning now as we speak, and once the snow melts, will be scrounging more. I have about 6 cords now. (Can you ever have enough wood?)

So my question is, all things being equal this winter of 2011, will I burn less wood this year, being that I am burning Doug Fir, and some Maple?

If that same shed was 3/4 full of Doug Fir, would I still have some left?

Thank you for your help
Barney

 

[bogydave]

Probably burn the same amount unless the winter is colder. (just longer burn times/cycles) (you burn 18 hours now, may get 20)

You'll load the stove & however long it burns, it burns. May get longer burn times but that's a good thing.
I go with "Never have too much". Too little is when it becomes THE BIG PROBLEM. Energy cost are going to be going up, may want to burn 24/7.
Left over is just better dry wood for next year.
Fill the shed, left over from last year up front. Next years supply seasoning to fill the shed again for the next season.
Never know when wood may become more difficult to get.

 

[dougand3]

http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

Check the MBTU/cord ratings. Doug fir and Maple are 17. Cottonwood is 12.

 

[begreen]

16 x 10 x 8 shed space, times .75 = 960 cu ft of wood or 7.5 cords. That seems like a hellacious amount of wood for our climate. This has been a chilly winter for us, but in comparison for heating an old 2000 sq ft house we are going to be at less than half that amount of wood, burning doug fir and hemlock. If you can seriously invest in tightening up the place over the summer I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the difference and savings.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I'm with BeGreen on this. But you should burn less wood next winter with better wood. You gave totals but you did not say how the cottonwood was seasoned nor how long it was seasoned. The same for the maple and fir.

In addition, it matters a lot on how it is seasoned; that is, is it put into the shed as soon as it is split. Or maybe not even split before stacking and split just before using it. Yes, that can make a huge difference in how it burns and how much heat you will get. If your climate is extremely wet then perhaps you will be best served by putting the wood inside a shed, but then you still need some air flow, so it is best not to stack it tight. That is why it is better to season the wood outdoors in the wind and then put it into the shed. Out in the wind it can evaporate some of the moisture from the wood. In the shed where there is little or no air flow just will not provide adequate drying conditions.

To answer your other question, it is difficult for one to have too much firewood! We tend to have 6-7 years supply on hand most of the time. It really makes for good burning conditions and a good clean burn.

 

[Fsappo]

13.75 face cords. Check back next year and tell everyone how I was 100% correct.