Shoulder Season Burning... Who's burning already?

[Mr. Kelly]

Hey everyone.

How many of you are burning regularly already?

I'm trying to gauge when to start burning for my first full season. We didn't have our stove last year at this time, so this is the maiden voyage in the fall. My choice, obviously, is to burn oil at this time of the year, which isn't a huge amount, or burn wood. I can't wrap my head around which would be more economical when you only need occasional heat. My stove eats up wood a quite a rate, so I sense that just burning some oil, with maybe an occasional fire in the coldest of days when we're here, might be the way to go.

Any thoughts?

 

[Pagey]

We've had a handful of small pine fires in the morning to take the "chill" off from upper 30s/lower 40s. Sure, the HVAC could take care of it, but Christ on a bicycle am I ever tight. Also, I have a pile of pine that's taking up valuable space in the old hay barn that would be better occupied by the pile of split red oak to its immediate right. :lol:

 

[BrotherBart]

I haven't fired any stoves yet. And you are to be commended for not overheating the place just because you have a new stove. You will just kinda sorta know when it is time to start doing a night fire. And after that if the place is cold in the morning then you do a morning fire. I do a lot of morning and night fires based on what the temps are going to be. The stove gives off heat for a long time after the wood is burned down.

The most frustrating thing you can do is to try to keep a stove burning all of the time when you don't need to. Eats wood, overheats the house and makes ya crazy. Split up a lot of start up wood or order some Super Cedars. I resisted using starters for a very long time until last year and am kicking myself in the butt for not learning earlier that those things are like finding a hot coal bed in a stone cold stove.

 

[Chettt]

January - February is when you really need the heat. Try to hold out till December unless you have many cords of two year seasoned wood. You'll be glad you did.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Been burning 24/7 for two weeks. This time of year is the reason I bought a cat stove.

 

[KB007]

We've had a few days where it's been cold enuf to have a small fire in the morning. Nothing too big, just a couple of splits to take the chill off.

 

[Mr. Kelly]

Somehow, I was thinking that lots of folks would be swearing off the oil by now and burning regularly. Last January, when we first got the thing fired up, it took many days until the house felt "warm" all throughout, and I wondered if having "small" fires from time to time would really make a huge difference, other than heating the stove room up, which is a part of the house that we're not in quite as much (bummer!).

 

[Todd]

I hate to use the furnace, it's loud and obnoxious and I also have more than enough wood so why not burn it. Usually for me when the high temps are consistently in the 50's I may need a fire to take the chill off in the morning or evening. When it drops into the 40's and lower I pretty much go 24/7. This month I have had little need for fire, sunny days in the 60's gives me enough solar gain to keep my house up to a comfortable temp til the next.

 

[BrotherBart]

The key is firing up the stove before the mass of the house gets cold. If it took you that long to heat the joint up then you have a really big pile of sticks to heat up. Or non-existent insulation in the joint.

PS: Don't have oil or any other central heat source so firing up is when it gets cold in the place. Which is coming pretty soon.

 

[shawneyboy]

I am doing evening fires with the occasional morning warmer fire. Daytime no need, but I like the house warm and wifey likes it warmer than me, so burn it. I have oil fired baseboard heat, furnace hasn't been on yet, and only will be on as a backup incase I screw up and the house gets to cold, other than that I am going for all wood all the time, or at least thats the goal.

 

[Mr. Kelly]

The key is firing up the stove before the mass of the house gets cold. If it took you that long to heat the joint up then you have a really big pile of sticks to heat up. Or non-existent insulation in the joint.

You hit the nail pretty close... we have a really old house, poorly insulated, too cheap to heat the place up in the winter... so... we keep things cool, and the house cools down enough that it took/takes awhile to get it nice and toasty again!

 

[begreen]

We've started the on and off burning of fall. Smaller fires with just 2-3 splits for now.

 

[Diabel]

Can not wait for 24/7 burning so much easier in terms of controlling burns....& house temps!

 

[BrowningBAR]

Friday was the first day for the Intrepid. Yesterday was the first day for the Vigilant. The intrepid is going right now. Just enough to take the chill off and make sure everything is working properly.

 

[BrotherBart]

The key is firing up the stove before the mass of the house gets cold. If it took you that long to heat the joint up then you have a really big pile of sticks to heat up. Or non-existent insulation in the joint.

You hit the nail pretty close... we have a really old house, poorly insulated, too cheap to heat the place up in the winter... so... we keep things cool, and the house cools down enough that it took/takes awhile to get it nice and toasty again!

Everybody learns to love to spend the evening in the room with the stove. And then run up to get under the blankets. Sounds like my nights at the grandparents house. The game was to try to jump out from under the covers and hit the light switch and be back under the covers before the light went out. :lol:

Fire that sucker, get the house warm and don't stop until Spring. In this joint we sleep under a sheet all winter. When there was five feet of snow outside last winter and the power was out.

 

[branchburner]

Highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s = 2x daily fires. Pine, pallets and punk.

 

[Mr. Kelly]

Fire that sucker, get the house warm and don't stop until Spring. In this joint we sleep under a sheet all winter. When there was five feet of snow outside last winter and the power was out.

Burning through wood quickly makes me groan... partly with the thought of the seven full cords of wood I stacked last spring, and the beaucoup $$$ that we spent acquiring it... so... I try to think of when NOT to burn wood, so I can't watch our wood stacks shrink! I know, spoken like a true non-believer, right?

 

[thewoodlands]

Hey everyone.

How many of you are burning regularly already?

I'm trying to gauge when to start burning for my first full season. We didn't have our stove last year at this time, so this is the maiden voyage in the fall. My choice, obviously, is to burn oil at this time of the year, which isn't a huge amount, or burn wood. I can't wrap my head around which would be more economical when you only need occasional heat. My stove eats up wood a quite a rate, so I sense that just burning some oil, with maybe an occasional fire in the coldest of days when we're here, might be the way to go.

Any thoughts?

It's been cold and damp up in northern new york so we started burning, after starting with some kindling and small splits I added two splits (1 sugar maple and 1 cherry).


zap

 

[BrotherBart]

Warm the joint up and keep it warm and it will use less of your wood than you think it will.

That is a great wood stove with a lot of mass for when you let it burn down. It will shuck heat into the place for hours after the fire goes out.

 

[laynes69]

I've been buring a fire almost every night. Maybe a couple splits in the morning, then the furnace goes out during the day. Right now i'm burning bone dry cottonwood. Keeps the place warm overnight, but boy does it produce a ton of ash.

 

[rdust]

I've been having the occasional morning/evening fires as needed since the last week of September. I didn't bust my butt getting three years ahead to be chilly or have the furnace run. I've been burning poplar and soft maple so none of the good wood is being wasted. I just started a fire with 4 splits(2 poplar 2 maple), it's supposed to be in the high 30's tonight.

 

[BrotherBart]

I've been buring a fire almost every night. Maybe a couple splits in the morning, then the furnace goes out during the day. Right now i'm burning bone dry cottonwood. Keeps the place warm overnight, but boy does it produce a ton of ash.

Nice and fluffy and a pain in the ass to remove. Flies everywhere.

 

[branchburner]

Burning through wood quickly makes me groan... partly with the thought of the seven full cords of wood I stacked last spring, and the beaucoup $$$ that we spent acquiring it... so... I try to think of when NOT to burn wood, so I can't watch our wood stacks shrink! I know, spoken like a true non-believer, right?

To ease the pain, try finding free pine on craigslist. I see it listed often enough I can be selective: it has to be local, and it has to be cut to stove length. I can even get it seasoned. All I have to do is pick it up, split it and stack it.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Two mixed (mostly soft) loads a day. One @ 4pm and again b/f bed. House stays nice and cozy, and daytime is still warm enough(highs 'round 60). 24/7 within 2 weeks, i'd suppose. :smirk:

 

[PapaDave]

Started about 2 weeks earlier than usual this year, and that was about a month ago. Usually evening, then refill with some splits before bed. I wake up to the house anywhere from 63-69, and when it's on the lower end of that, I MAY have a fire in the a.m., to take the chill out. It's still hitting mid 50's here during the day, but today was windy too. Felt a tad chlly to me, so...........time for a fire.
Trying to refrain from having fires until the house gets down in the low 60's this year. The full time burning will begin soon enough.