With the insane amount of money required to heat my home with an oil fired boiler, I decide to go the way of wood heat. So I have had my existing masonry chimney inspected and it is good to go. I have constructed A floor pad and wall pad from 2x4s on end, 2x4s laid flat for support. On top of the 2x4s I have 1/2" plywood, 26 gauge steel, 3/4" Permaboard cement board, and ceramic tile. I have an existing 6" terracotta thimble running through a 12"x12" brick face that I have exposed by removing all drywall with in 20". I plan on running 6" single wall pipe through the terracotta into the flue. I would like to set the stove next weekend. My question is have I missed anything?
Am I ready?
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Check the owners manual. It should have clearance information for your specific unit with diagrams. Sounds like you have it licked though
Oh yeah. What Flue are you running it into? What is the size of the flue you are running it into?
Scotty0844 said:
Welcome to the forum Scotty.
To answer your question, yes, you have missed one of the most important parts. Too many times we see people taking great pains to make sure the stove is installed right and then they give no thought to the fuel. You can do that with oil and gas but not with wood. Wood needs time to season....but not the same as what firewood sellers claim. They try to say it is seasoned but then when it arrives and you try to burn it, you find it is not dry at all.
That starts the problems with wood hard to get burning. Stove not making much heat. Chimney is dirty. etc., etc., etc.
Good luck.
Yes. You want a good supply of dry wood. It can be hard to find 1 yr seasoned wood this time of year. You can get kiln dried, but you'll have to pay an extra 100-150 per cord.
Dry wood is really important for these EPA stoves if you want to release a good amount of heat and don't want to get frustrated with smoked up black glass, low temp burns, & a mucked up flue.
Dry wood is really important for these EPA stoves if you want to release a good amount of heat and don't want to get frustrated with smoked up black glass, low temp burns, & a mucked up flue.
I'm picking up a few "sample" splits Friday. Gentleman says it was split in March and dried all summer. Can wood properly season in that time? How can I tell? Sorry to ask so many questions but this is my first wood stove and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right.
How fast does wood properly season? -- it depends on lots of factors: what is the wood species? what size are the splits? where is the wood located _ie. in shed, outside in a pile, stacked outside with a cover over etc. etc.
How can you tell if the wood is properly seasoned? --good: look for 'cracks' on the ends of the splits, and better: pick up two average size sample splits and, holding them by the ends, bang them together - the crisper the "crack" sound you get the more seasoned the wood is. If you get a low "thud" sound, forget it - the thud sound is caused by lots of water in the wood! Best way, of course is with a decent moisture meter.
Be especially cautious of wood that was cut green and thrown into a pile - or stacked tightly in an enclosed woodshed. The exposed wood may be perfectly seasoned - but 'dig' into the pile or stack and you will likely find the wood to be VERY WET!!
How can you tell if the wood is properly seasoned? --good: look for 'cracks' on the ends of the splits, and better: pick up two average size sample splits and, holding them by the ends, bang them together - the crisper the "crack" sound you get the more seasoned the wood is. If you get a low "thud" sound, forget it - the thud sound is caused by lots of water in the wood! Best way, of course is with a decent moisture meter.
Be especially cautious of wood that was cut green and thrown into a pile - or stacked tightly in an enclosed woodshed. The exposed wood may be perfectly seasoned - but 'dig' into the pile or stack and you will likely find the wood to be VERY WET!!
Scotty0844 said:
It is possible for many types of wood. It really depends on what you are buying. There is no blanket answer but as long as you are buying, that is probably the best you will find because most of them split just before your delivery.
Scotty0844 said:
I'd grab it. As long as it isn't oak it'll be dry enough for this year. It's not easy to shop for dry wood in December w/o getting price gouged.
Scotty0844 said:
Well assuming you have the stove and manual and know the clearances and floor protection requirements and have met all these . . . I would say the only thing missing (beside the fuel source) is the case of beer for your friends who you will be enlisting to help carry the stove to the hearth.
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