We use to only burn when it was below freezing and we had a furnace. Now we have a new place with radiant heat. It is supposed to be in the mid thirties tonight and in the 50s tomorrow don't think I will lite a fire tonight because it is 70 inside and the heat isn't on. What is your rule on when to lite a fire???
What is your rule on when to burn???
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We have very precise rules in this house. I light the stove when my wife tells me to.
KaptJaq
I make a fire when the storage tank gets down to the 110-130 range... I realize this doesn't help a ton, but i just can't recommend heat storage enough.
When the house gets down to 68
and the forecast isn't going to warm it.
and the forecast isn't going to warm it.
Any excuse I can make to light up! If it even touches 50 outside at night, and dips below 70 inside, I light
Considering its my main source of heat usually when the inside temp drops below 75
I'll light the stove whenever I feel a chill. If I. Get to warm open the house up to air it out.
I used to just supplement the propane, then I wanted to use less propane, then I got addicted and hate to hear the furnace kick on at all. I used to have a rule when it got 45 or below by 7 PM which would give me enough time to get a small starter fire and a reload before bed. Then the temperature outside began to become less relevant and inside temperature did. Now if the house gets below 70 and when I get home the stove gets lit. If it's in the mid 70's and don't look like it is going to drop too low then I just leave the furnace maintain the heat. Of course this is subject to change without notice.
We burn when we are chilly. That's more of a psychological thing. The house can be at 70F, but if it's 45F outside, wet and windy and you get a chill, light a fire. Generally once it's above 50F we don't burn unless we want a small warmup fire. Shoulder season burns for 45-50F and 24/7 below about 43F
Light it sometime mid to late October - let it go out sometime in March/April with occasional cool down under 200 to check flue and run a brush through if needed.
I light the stove whenever heat is needed between about the beginning of November and the end of March, which includes most days. If it is sort of warm I may let the fire burn out overnight or during the afternoon. If it is cold outside I'll make an efort to keeo the stove hot all day and night. Before about Novermber and after April I don't generally have the urge to use the stove, and we don't need much heat so I let the electric baseboard heaters do the job.
When it's cold, it's our only heat source.
When we cook, it's our stove top and oven. My wife cooks, bakes and cans a LOT.
When we want hot water, clothes dryer (winter), chicken broder....... basically stays lit.
Summer = summer grate - bypass open into chimney not heating stove.
Lots of open windows and shaded house. No A/C
Here's green leaves mid-summer with smoke;
![[Hearth.com] What is your rule on when to burn???](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/90/90843-d0abcbce49476b071560f91594d51bae.jpg?hash=i9U2MAom5R "[Hearth.com] What is your rule on when to burn???")
When we cook, it's our stove top and oven. My wife cooks, bakes and cans a LOT.
When we want hot water, clothes dryer (winter), chicken broder....... basically stays lit.
Summer = summer grate - bypass open into chimney not heating stove.
Lots of open windows and shaded house. No A/C
Here's green leaves mid-summer with smoke;
There are several rules I have in placed on 10 sheets of legal paper outlining the conditions needed before lighting the stove, but then I get the urge to have a fire and use the paper the rules are written on to light the kindling.
Whenever the house gets chilly. Very subjective. Ask my wife, then ask me, you'll get 2 different answers. See how easy this isn't?
House doesn't hold heat well enough due to inadequate insulation and the stove won't keep temp long enough, so I fire up sooner than some.
House doesn't hold heat well enough due to inadequate insulation and the stove won't keep temp long enough, so I fire up sooner than some.
I burn 24/7 since 2004 despite having a new gas furnace,I don't care for utility companies.So basically it's our only heat source in my opinion.
When it's too warm in the house, I don't light a fire. As an example, if the house is 74 at 9 p.m., and I know it's going to stay above 30 degrees overnight,
my house is only going to fall into the high or mid 60's. So I'll use that opportunity to let the fire go out and clean out the ashes in the morning.
my house is only going to fall into the high or mid 60's. So I'll use that opportunity to let the fire go out and clean out the ashes in the morning.
I'm probably part of the majority and burn because it's a better heat and a lot cheaper than running a furnace or heat pump. Here in Virginia, it's about as cold as it's been in 2 or more years. Having said that, with today's high efficiency heat pumps and furnaces, you'll have to come up with your own "formula". If it doesn't get below 40 degrees at night, I let the heat pump do its work. It might cycle 3-4 times in an 8 hour period. This allows the HVAC system to filter the indoor air. The wife's allergies don't do well heating with wood 24/7 (unless it's been like these past few days with highs in the 20's and she sucks it up). If nighttime temperatures are between 30 and 40, I fire up the Quadrafire. Once we're below 30, I fire up the second stove (Hampton H300). However, even with both stoves running now, I struggle to get to 74 during the day and 68 at night. I have a house built in 1947 to blame for that.
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