Third season with the stove this year. We've enjoyed each year with the stove, but there are two factors that are making this year the best yet for us:
- This is our first season with a significant quantity of pine. Thanks to hearth.com we ignored the prevailing wisdom in this area that pine is junk wood and is dangerous to burn. We burned one cord in the first shoulder season and will burn the other in the second. We loved how easy it catches (blazing in seconds) and also how well it works on 45-55 degree days (less btus). Even better though, we were able to season it in 1 year. Our first two years we found that the oak and hickory which are prevalent in this area truly take 3 years to season (at least in our yard which provides very little sun). Wood that seasons in a year is a game changer!
- My wife who works from home is now comfortable putting on full loads. Our 2.5 cu ft stove is a little undersized for our house (2400 sqft) when it gets below about 25 degrees. At least it is undersized if we want to solely heat with wood on 2 full loads/day. However, with another full load during the day, or even a full load and another partial, we are toasty no matter how cold it is outside.