Pretty Good First Year

[xjcamaro89]

I think i came out pretty good for my first year burn. These were my thoughts as i started moving wood this weekend into the empty racks for next year. I have about enough of this years wood to get me through about 3 more weeks. Im definately not burning as much now the weather is starting to break, but im in a habit now, i come home from work and start a fire, but also, its still cheaper to throw a few logs in than turn on the oil furnace for just a couple minutes.

My wood wasnt as seasoned as i would have liked it for this year, due to the fact that we didnt find out we were getting a stove until about this time last year and my hunt for wood didnt start till spring, but what i had, i didnt have any problems with, i know some peices i used were a bit damp. I cleaned the chimney once a month. And my guesstimate at how much wood i would use came out really good. And from the pretty chilly winter we had this past year here, i can probably use that as a good guage as what we will use next year. I already had my wood for next year sitting since the fall, so it will be ready to go for next year. Oh and the best part is i dropped my oil bill about $1200 this winter.

I do think that having a stove made more a bit more lazy this winter though. Because all that nice heat didnt really entice me to get up and do much, i really just liked sitting by the fire and watching some TV.

 

[pen]

As it should be. Well done.

pen

 

[xjcamaro89]

You know i talk to people and they say that "this winter was pretty cold" "this was a bad winter" well i agree that we got alot of snow, but i cant agree with some people that it was really cold (although it probably was) I think that having the wood stove just boosts morale for some reason, that heat just makes everything else seem not so bad, or cold. My house was definately warmer this year than it had been in the past, and i love it!

 

[shawneyboy]

People also measure the "cold" by how much it cost them to heat their home.

Shawn

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Indeed, the cold winters will not bother you as much now with wood heat. Nice!

 

[firefighterjake]

It has been said many times and in many ways . . . but I'll say it again . . . it only gets better in the second year. Come Fall you may very well see a whole other wood burning experience with better seasoned wood igniting easier, resulting in better burns, less sooting on the glass, etc.

That said . . . as a "newbie" I would say you passed this year with flying colors and did in fact have a pretty good year.

1. You saved money on heating.
2. You stayed warm with woodheat.
3. You did not burn down your house.
4. You did not run out of firewood in middle of January.

You also did a few things right . . .

1. You got your wood for 2011-2012 already . . . which means the wood will be better seasoned.
2. You knew last year's wood was not the best and so kept a good eye on it by inspecting and cleaning the chimney regularly.

Welcome to the fold. . . .

 

[xjcamaro89]

Im actually looking forward to better fires next year, although i have no complaints on the way it heated my house this year. If next year was the same as this year, i would still be very pleased. But i know its going to be better. And i know i have overall better quality wood for next year as well as being better seasoned. After the first month of burning i was really questioning if i was going to have enough to get through the winter, just by some quick head calculations by how much i used the first month. But i think what happened was i was learning how to run the stove as well as how to get the most out of it. I think during the first month i fed it too fast. As soon as i didnt see any flames my mind was telling me i needed to put in more wood and i did. Then as time went on i figured out that just cause there isnt a flame doesnt mean there isnt heat. I learned that running the blower while the fire was roaring worked great, but turning the blower off or down once the fire died down to a glowing bed of coals let the heat radiate from the stove better, giving me at least an extra hour of heat after the flames stopped. I also gained the use of a previously unheated 300 sq-ft room because of it. We placed the stove in the room and let the heat move into the rest of the house. We never used this room for anything in the winter before, and rarely anything during the rest of the year, so after we fixed it up and put the stove in it and started using it, it almost felt like we just put an addition on.

Oh and buying a box of SuperCedars helped out tremendously also!