New Guy; forced into burning for primary heat.

[newburner]

Hey all!

I've been lurking around this board for a few months now. I figured I'd join since burning season is coming in quickly.

A little background. I live in Massachusetts, land of oil heat dependence. Early this spring, our oil fired furnace finally broke down and literally disintegrated due to rust from a wet basement. Since we live paycheck to paycheck, there was no way we were able to replace the furnace at $10k plus. So, we made the decision to try to heat our home using our fireplace. Not optimal I know but given our finances, it was all we could do.

In an effort to maximize our heating capacity, we decided to install a wood burning insert into our open fireplace. We went with the Century CW2500 mostly due to cost. Found it online for less than $700 delivered. Paid another $800 or so for install, liner and cap and we were in business!

I'm at a complete loss as to how much wood I would need to get through the winter but in speaking with friends and neighbors who burn, I'm thinking a minimum of 4 cord.

I found a guy locally who is selling cords for $175 delivered and ordered 4. So far I have received 2 and am expecting the rest by the end of September. I was a bit nervous about how seasoned the wood was going to be since I really need it for this winter. I was pleased to see that most of the wood meters out in the 15-19% range on a mm.

If I can get by this winter on 4 cord, I'll have spent $700 on fuel as opposed to the $1,800+ I spent every year on oil.

I want to thank everyone here. I wouldn't be where I'm at right now without the knowledge I've absorbed from this forum. I plan on updating this thread as I progress through the winter as a first time burner.

Wish me luck as I move through these uncharted waters!

 

[aansorge]

Start scrounging now and next year you won't need to pay a thing! Use craigslist to find free wood and keep your eyes open for any downed trees.

15 to 19 % moisture from recently delivered wood is rare!

 

[newburner]

Here are some shots of my insert from delivery to first fire. Yes I burned in JULY.

 

[newburner]

Start scrounging now and next year you won't need to pay a thing! Use craigslist to find free wood and keep your eyes open for any downed trees.

15 to 19 % moisture from recently delivered wood is rare!

Yes. I'm already planning to do that. I'm just not sure how to go about it. I've read a few threads here about it but still learning.

 

[chrispr1]

Good work so far. Do you have your own mm to gauge the wood? Whereabouts in MA are you? I know several very reputable dealers in west of exit 4.

 

[newburner]

Yea. I picked up one of the Generals at Lowes.

I'm located in western mass right between Springfield and Worcester.

 

[Doug MacIVER]

pick up every pallet you see. free heat. scrounge around industrial parks, with permission to take any extra pallets. don't be afraid of pine, just doesn't last as long as harder wood. if you can afford canawick, eco bricks, ect, @ $275-300/ton do so. don't waste green wood, wait til it is dry. good luck

 

[newburner]

Thanks for the tips! Yea I've thought about the pallets and am planning on doing that if need be.

I've also been eyeing those North Idaho energy logs. I can get them locally for $269 a pallet. I've read a lot of good reviews on how they burn but I don't know how long a pallet of them is expected to last if burning 24/7.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

pick up every pallet you see. free heat. scrounge around industrial parks, with permission to take any extra pallets. don't be afraid of pine, just doesn't last as long as harder wood. if you can afford canawick, eco bricks, ect, @ $275-300/ton do so. don't waste green wood, wait til it is dry. good luck

Never thought of the pallets as "free heat" as I drive by a stack of them for free nearly every day at my local lumber yard. Think I'll start throwing them in the truck. They'll be good shoulder season burning.

 

[Doug MacIVER]

Thanks for the tips! Yea I've thought about the pallets and am planning on doing that if need be.

I've also been eyeing those North Idaho energy logs. I can get them locally for $269 a pallet. I've read a lot of good reviews on how they burn but I don't know how long a pallet of them is expected to last if burning 24/7.

be careful, that stuff burns real hot , I burn my jotul with air off after 5-10 minute start. use them for overnite and workday heat. burn the hell out of pallet wood and splits the rest of the day.

 

[Grisu]

Nice install. Congrats to your new hobby.

Finding truly seasoned wood delivered for $175 sounds almost too good to be true. Did you measure the moisture content by splitting a few pieces in half and inserting the pins in the fresh surface, preferably along the grain?

I second the recommendation of the pallets. A PITA to cut up but usually free and burn well. Avoid the painted ones though. NIELs are also a good choice but I would only mix them in with your other wood as they can easily lead to an overfire at 68,000 BTU per log and very little moisture content.

 

[Osagebndr]

If you have any sawmills nearby try getting cutoffs and also try cl , I've gotten some serious scores on cl

 

[Treacherous]

Thanks for the tips! Yea I've thought about the pallets and am planning on doing that if need be.

I've also been eyeing those North Idaho energy logs. I can get them locally for $269 a pallet. I've read a lot of good reviews on how they burn but I don't know how long a pallet of them is expected to last if burning 24/7.

They work great I mixed them with my other cord wood to extend burn times.

 

[newburner]

Grisu, yep I measured inside newly split pieces. I'm a true student of this forum.

Osagebndr, I do in fact have a sawmill down the road. I never thought about that possibility. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Osagebndr]

Your welcome. I learned a bunch from this group of people . There's tons of knowledge to gain here for the asking

 

[JTRock]

Congrats and welcome! ! You scored with that delivery.

 

[newburner]

Thanks JT. Yea I'm starting to think I got real lucky. I hope the next 2 cord are as good.

 

[Grisu]

Congrats and welcome! ! You scored with that delivery.

Indeed. For that amount of money I would stop processing wood myself.

 

[prezes13]

I agree, I live in ct and you cannot buy any wood for $175 and never mind truly seasoned. As far as 4 cords you might have just enough. Depends on your house of course. I heated my 1994 build raised ranch roughly 1200sf with a 1.5 of pretty crappy maple (split and stacked beginning of summer) one ton of Eco Bricks and 188 gallons of oil. We kept our house pretty hot because of my young daughter if it was 72 or lower my wife was "freezing". There is free wood around but it takes time. Check cabinet makers they throw a lot of scraps, pallets are great, check if there is any places making a wood pallets they have a lot of well seasoned scrap wood. See if you can get hooked up with a guy who has a tree removal service. Most of the time they got a lot of wood which they don't want to deal with. They will gladly drop it off in you yard. Good luck. First season is always tough. At least you found this place which is full of helpful and knowledgable people.

 

[newburner]

Good luck. First season is always tough. At least you found this place which full of helpful and knowledgable people.

I'm finding that out first hand. I'm still pretty nervous going into the season. My wife is a bit more optimistic.

Shortly after I got my wood delivered and it was still piled in the driveway, I had a guy stop by to let me know that he can sell me cord wood and he has the best price in town. He asked me how much I paid per cord and I told him. He simply chuckled and said I'm better off staying with my supplier.

 

[JTRock]

I agree, I live in ct and you cannot buy any wood for $175 and never mind truly seasoned. As far as 4 cords you might have just enough. Depends on your house of course. I heated my 1994 build raised ranch roughly 1200sf with a 1.5 of pretty crappy maple (split and stacked beginning of summer) one ton of Eco Bricks and 188 gallons of oil. We kept our house pretty hot because of my young daughter if it was 72 or lower my wife was "freezing". There is free wood around but it takes time. Check cabinet makers they throw a lot of scraps, pallets are great, check if there is any places making a wood pallets they have a lot of well seasoned scrap wood. See if you can get hooked up with a guy who has a tree removal service. Most of the time they got a lot of wood which they don't want to deal with. They will gladly drop it off in you yard. Good luck. First season is always tough. At least you found this place which full of helpful and knowledgable people.

Tell me about it. I just got 3 cord delivered today and it's far from seasoned even though it was toted as such. Sad part is it was a referral. Though the sad realization is maybe 1/2 the people out there have no idea you shouldn't burn that wood. Now I guess it will be Envi Blocks this year

 

[prezes13]

It's true you cannot buy a seasoned wood. Sad part is that a lot of people who are saying that they have seasoned wood they truly believe it's seasoned. That's because most of the time they burn in old smoke dragons and the wood that they split and stacked in spring or even Summer they can burn in their stoves without a problem.

 

[Grisu]

It's true you cannot buy a seasoned wood. Sad part is that a lot of people who are saying that they have seasoned wood they truly believe it's seasoned. That's because most of the time they burn in old smoke dragons and the wood that they split and stacked in spring or even Summer they can burn in their stoves without a problem.

Actually, here you can (almost). A neighbor bought "seasoned" wood for $250 the cord and I asked if I could test it just out of curiousity. It read between 20% and 25% on my MM; mostly maple from what I could see. I can also get kiln-dried wood here for $275 plus delivery. However, for that amount of dough I would simply go for Eco-bricks.

 

[prezes13]

Yes you are totally right Grisu, it's like never say never. This exactly why if I had to buy wood I would rather buy Eco Bricks. No guessing games. This year I am going to buy one ton just to supplement my wood. To extend my night time burns, I want to burn 24/7 this year.

 

[JTRock]

I did the math ct pellet has Envi Blocks for $295 a ton + $50 delivery 1st ton and $10 for each ton after.. That's almost $1200 for 3 tons!! Whoa.. Some times learning hurts