Stories of overheating...

[Warm_in_NH]

Couldn't resist the invite to enjoy an adult beverage at the local watering hole with a buddy after work. While there, I learned I wasn't alone in the early season burning as others started exchanging stories of the flame. The ones that made me laugh were:

- "So I thought I'd be the hero and we'd wake up to a warm house as I stoked the fire at 10 PM. By midnight the bedroom door was closed and the AC was cranked up"

- "We had to wash the sheets in the morning because we soaked them through with sweat, it was like sleeping in the tropics, the only thing we were missing was the mosquito netting"

- "Thought a fire was the way to go when we got to the camp to take the chill off, three hours later we were all playing cribbage in our underware, pretty sure it was the fire, may have been the alcohol...."

 

[pen]

Good lines!

Been there, done that. I find until things get really cold, that I need to simply force myself to not put that second load in the stove. If it's chilly indoors, one fire and done. It's the second load where I find I overdue things.

If I get things too hot it's the dog who tells me I'm an ass, he hates the heat.

 

[Grisu]

For those days I have a furnace. That little bit of additional gas I would be saving during shoulder season is not worth my sweat in getting a small fire going and then hear everyone complain about the heat.

 

[firefighterjake]

Many of us have been there . . . like Pen I learned a long time ago that until it really gets Cold with a capital C . . . one and done is the way to go . . . don't load it to the gills . . . and use your junk wood if you have it.

 

[DBNH22]

We have a rule in our house. Absolutely no turning on the heat before October 1st. After that it's grab a sweatshirt and tough it out as long as we can. Most years we make it to the second week of October.

 

[BrotherBart]

Ahh the memories.

 

[jharkin]

For those days I have a furnace. That little bit of additional gas I would be saving during shoulder season is not worth my sweat in getting a small fire going and then hear everyone complain about the heat.

+1
First year in the house I was so gung ho to use the stove I would lite it when it got into the 50s. Now I dont bother unless it gets down to 40ish on an overcast day or the 30s on bright sunny days (we get a lot of solar gain). The extra gas usage on those days is minimal.

It might mean I dont get to scratch the fire itch till near Thanksgiving some years, but I waste a lot less wood.

 

[begreen]

We just use the heat pump until it gets down into the 40s. It costs less and does the job well.

 

[bassJAM]

It seems every family function at my parents house in the winter we end up having to open the front door to cool things down. They heat entirely with wood, and the insert is in the living room. I think dad likes to show off how well the stove puts off heat when everyone is over, but a warm stove, coupled with 15 people in a living room starts to get uncomfortable. It's kind of an unspoken rull when going to their house in the winter....Don't wear warm clothes!

 

[Warm_in_NH]

The two fires I've had this year have worked out perfectly. Burning soft wood, just enough to heat up the stove (starter pile and one small re-load) then letting it burn out.

It's tough to resist the temptation of putting another load on and watching the fire build, but since I know I've had the windows open in January before it's way too easy to overdo it if you're not disciplined about it.

Frost / freeze tonight, windy, just brought some more hemlock in, I'll fire it up later, and keep the fingers crossed for another good run.

Sure, I have gas heat, but I just love a fire so much, and I have the stove, and the hemlock is off the property from some clearing a couple years ago, why not use the free heat and enjoy the flames....

 

[flyingcow]

Haven't been to hunting camp for years, starting out sleeping in the top bunk usually means finishing the early morning hours out on the porch.