Addicted

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ColdNorCal

Feeling the Heat
Mar 6, 2018
331
Newcastle, Ca.
Installed our first burner last fall and have enjoyed using it. We enjoy it so much that we find ourselves wanting to burn, and do burn, even when indoor temp is 67. Prior to the stove, we always kept the thermostat at 64 or 65. I think the warmth the stove provides is only part of enjoyment. Lighting the stove and watching the flames also contribute to our addiction.

Thank you again everyone for getting us hooked and helping with the install and making the stove work for us.
 
Then you can imagine how I feel, with a new stove at my SIL's. I wanna have that thing running by the time cooler weather rolls in tomorrow night. Really chompin' the bit to run a non-cat stove for the first time. :cool:
Lots of folks are more than ready to hang it up, this late in the season. I can go either way. ==c
 
I usually won’t burn if the house temp is 70+. At 67 it’s a no brainer, light it. That is, unless it’s morning and we’re expecting 80 outside during the day which really only happens in the summer.
 
Nice, first year and you got it. I'm guessing you had a few times with the temp at 80 and the widows open. Well I did. Next year, will be even better.
 
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So glad it's worked out well for you this season. Have to admit I was a little concerned at first, but you listened, adapted and ended up a happy camper.
 
So glad it's worked out well for you this season. Have to admit I was a little concerned at first, but you listened, adapted and ended up a happy camper.


Thank you again. Without your guidance the stove probably would not heat and draft so well.

Gotta go now. Its only 67 degrees and I want to start the stove before the wife does!
 
Gotta go now. Its only 67 degrees and I want to start the stove before the wife does!
67 can be a bit chilly, especially if you are sitting there loafing on the internet, and not generating any body heat. ;lol
 
I've only had my insert for a month and a half. I'm in Minnesota, so we still have some below freezing temps, day and night. I have friends that sarcastically said, "That thing will pay for itself in about 50 years." It has already saved over $100 on my most recent gas bill. Honestly, I don't care if it pays for itself quickly or not. The comfort level and ambiance of the flames have us addicted as well. My wife enjoys it the most. With an always chilly wife and 2 little girls under 4 yo, the ease of getting the main part of the house up to 74+ deg F makes it worth every penny.
 
You really know you are in trouble, when it is a 75 degree day, and you run your air conditioner all day while you are at work, so the house will be cold enough that you can light your wood stove when you get home.
That is when you need psychiatric counseling.
 
an always chilly wife
I'm trying to adopt what I think must be my brother's philosophy (last family member that still lives in WI.) I'm guessing it goes something like, "Being a bit cold ain't bad. It's not like it's gonna kill ya or anything." Once in a while, I try it. Right now, though, it's 72 man/God-made degrees in here. ==c
 
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Installed our first burner last fall and have enjoyed using it. We enjoy it so much that we find ourselves wanting to burn, and do burn, even when indoor temp is 67. Prior to the stove, we always kept the thermostat at 64 or 65. I think the warmth the stove provides is only part of enjoyment. Lighting the stove and watching the flames also contribute to our addiction.

Thank you again everyone for getting us hooked and helping with the install and making the stove work for us.
It's official then. You are a wood geek like the rest of us. There is no going back now for you.
 
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Installed our first burner last fall and have enjoyed using it. We enjoy it so much that we find ourselves wanting to burn, and do burn, even when indoor temp is 67. Prior to the stove, we always kept the thermostat at 64 or 65. I think the warmth the stove provides is only part of enjoyment. Lighting the stove and watching the flames also contribute to our addiction.

Thank you again everyone for getting us hooked and helping with the install and making the stove work for us.

Over time, if you’re like a lot of us, you will find your threshold creeping up. I remember thinking the hearth old timers were crazy, when I was new here, and I’d hear them say this. But it has happened to me, now I light the stove anytime indoor temp drops to 72F.

On payback, you need some indirect thinking to really justify. Yes, if you kept your house at the same 68F, maybe even turning down lower at night, a purely-financial justification becomes tougher. However, we now keep our house around 73F, all day and all night, which would have cost us many thousands of dollars per year on oil and electrons. Now I don’t need to freeze my willie off when I wake up at 4am to take a leak.
 
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I WAS done burning for the season, but with temp at 37 with heavy rain, here in Michigan, I broke down and started one.
 
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I WAS done burning for the season, but with temp at 37 with heavy rain, here in Michigan, I broke down and started one.
As my old Pappy used to say, "Always have your wood ready to go." ==c
 
They are calling for a wet snow rain mix tomorrow and we had temps last night in the forties I had a fire. Probably will keep burning for the next month or so on and off at night to take the chill out of the house. I don't even care if temps are warm enough during the day for the windows to be open then at night light up a fire to keep the house warm.
 
They are calling for a wet snow rain mix tomorrow and we had temps last night in the forties I had a fire. Probably will keep burning for the next month or so on and off at night to take the chill out of the house. I don't even care if temps are warm enough during the day for the windows to be open then at night light up a fire to keep the house warm.

What kind of back up heat do you have Heavy Hammer. When we were on propane, and it was around 3.50 per gallon, I physically turned the power off to the furnace and was crazy about keeping the stove hot. They have now run Natural Gas down our road and it costs me squat to have the furnace run, so shoulder season has become much less stressful. Even in the winter, I keep the furnace set on 68 and if it runs it runs, which on all but the coldest days that is not very often. Adds about $30 to my gas bill.
 
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If I still had wood to burn I’m sure we’d still be burning. Got the thermostat set to 68 and waiting for real spring to hit.

Man was it nice not having to fill the tanks every three weeks. Didn’t need them filled at all the entire winter. Next year will be much better. Got five cords in the driveway split and ready to stack. Going to get god knows how much more Easter weekend clearing my sister lot.

If there’s anything to get addicted to, it’s saving money on your heating bill.
 
I have fuel oil as my main heat. But with the two stoves I can heat my house 100% on wood if I want and stay comfortable. But with no one home during certain days and with using very little oil over the course of the winter I run the furnace to help heat up the house and when temps go below zero it helps to run the furnace here and there to keep the house temps up. I usually spend about $200 in oil a year to heat my house the rest is all wood heat. If I didn't have a wife and two little girls whose bedrooms are on the far end of the house my heating bill would be $0. I figure there is worse habits than playing on my tractor and using my chainsaws and mauls to cut split and stack wood to keep the house warm through the winters.
 
Over time, if you’re like a lot of us, you will find your threshold creeping up. I remember thinking the hearth old timers were crazy, when I was new here, and I’d hear them say this. But it has happened to me, now I light the stove anytime indoor temp drops to 72F.

My wife and I remarked similarly to each other last night. We have already gotten so used to the heat of the wood burner that I started a fire when it was 71deg F in the main part of the house. She said she wasn't chilly, but would appreciate a fire. I agreed.
 
DB: Where have you been? Where are you now? Man, that was a great caper. I saw on Discovery where some kid found a couple grand in twenties on the bank of the river. I know you got away with the rest of the cash.

I must say you have some guts. Did you buy a vintage Stingray with that cash, or what?
 
DB: Where have you been? Where are you now? Man, that was a great caper. I saw on Discovery where some kid found a couple grand in twenties on the bank of the river. I know you got away with the rest of the cash.

I must say you have some guts. Did you buy a vintage Stingray with that cash, or what?

Remember it was only $200K, way back in 1971. I spent it all investing in 8-tracks, hoping to make millions...big mistake. I've been hiding out in the woods of Pennsylvania and now Minnesota.
 
were having temps in the 60's and were still burning a little every night.
 
Minimum amount of wood-handling; Saw it standing out there yesterday, sawed it, unloaded it on the porch and will probably burn some tomorrow night. Dead Black Cherry, no sapwood, 16% moisture. Yeah, I'm addicted. ==c
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Hey @Simonkenton, you should get your DNA checked to see what gave you such an impressive lifespan. ;)
 
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Invested in 8 tracks? DB, baby, what you talking about? I could have told you that was nowhere.

"You coulda been a contender. You coulda been somebody." If only you had bought Microsoft stock.