Bunk House with Hardy H2

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CSS all but one four foot section of the oak. I just didn't have it in me to finish up that last one. I was able to get all the splits under a tin cover before the forecasted rain arrives.
 
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LiamFitzpatrick said:
We've been enjoying an unseasonably warm period of weather so I decided to let the Hardy go out. Yesterday, we had 68° and bright sunny day. While in the woods we were rewarded with a major score of two red oaks and two poplars that had come down about six months ago. All four trees are massive at over 75 feet tall. They didn't have the consideration to fall parallel to the trail so the crown of the oaks is away from the trail which means that we'll have to hand carry the rounds back through the brush to the trail for hauling to the house where we'll finish splitting.

We were able to get approximately 32 feet from the base of the larger oak bucked into four foot sections and loaded into the back of the pickup truck using the forklift on the tractor. I used my new peavy to maneuver those sections onto the tractor forks. That peavy is a fantastic tool. I doubt that we would have been able to accomplish what we did yesterday if we'd been reduced to smaller rounds we could move by hand. I worked with my wife and my mother-in-law and the three of us were wiped out after six hours off lumberjacking. Feels pretty good to watch the wood pile grow.

We were able to gather almost of pallet of dried dead fall for immediate burning when we decide to fire the Hardy again. There is still a large volume of timber to CSS that we'll have to continue to work on but I'm gratified to know where it is and that we can do the job.
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I assume when you let the fire go out that you killed power to the system (pump & controls)?
 
Almost had a flame out last night. I got up about 3:00 am and added a couple of logs to the burn chamber but they stood on end and didn't "catch" and burn. When I woke at 7:00 am the water tank vent stack was cool with icicles hanging from the outside rim of the stack and the furnace was blowing cool air inside the house. The coals were still smoking in the burn chamber but the outside air temperature had dropped to 13° and there wasn't enough wood burning to maintain the resulting heat to remain viable. The contents of the water tank was cool to the touch.

I stirred the embers, added two handfuls of wood chips and some of the only wood we have available, oak splits that are still testing at about 21% moisture content, to the logs I'd put in earlier this morning. The fire is now burning pretty vigorously and the the water in the tank is heating. The temperature inside the house has dropped five degrees overnight and the air is noticeably chilly. Our water heater is still on electricity as part of our backup system so showers were still nice and hot but I imagine it'll be a few hours before the inside air temperature of the house rebounds.

Another valuable learning experience. Merry Christmas to all!
 
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Was 6F here this morning, cold for VA. My phone lit up with calls, you appreciate good heat when it's gets cold for sure!:)
 
If your wood is not well seasoned, yes. Most stoves burn best with a good layer, 1-2", of ash on the bottom of the firebox.
 
Heck, my brother waits so long to clean ash out of his CB that he shovels it into 55 gallon drums!
 
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CB owners are notorious for bad habits...
The sub par unit affects the brain after a while and owners quite caring and just concentrate on feeding the smoke dragon
 
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I usually clean out my Hardy every 14-20 days. It doesn’t hurt it to build up as long as the blower can get to the wood
 
I shut down the Hardy three days ago. I was simply too tired of fighting to keep the unseasoned wood burning. I was forced to check the burn chamber almost every hour and the fire went out four times in the last day. It was almost impossible to get the wet wood to restart. Now, we're in the middle of historic winter storm weather with the third storm expected tonight with 3-5" of snow that may include freezing rain. The power has been off for over 48 hours and the furnace would not be working now anyway, but we sure miss the nice warm heat.

Bracing for the next round of rough weather...generator is carrying the load right now with the LP gas logs heating the house to 61°. We're ok, but not especially warm.

Hope y'all are taking care of your loved ones...
 
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@LiamFitzpatrick I know the pain, I fought wet wood for a few years, we were 18 below yesterday morning, it was a bit rough, but we are more used to it than y'all, good luck and try to keep warm.
 
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LiamFitzpatrick said:
I shut down the Hardy three days ago. I was simply too tired of fighting to keep the unseasoned wood burning. I was forced to check the burn chamber almost every hour and the fire went out four times in the last day. It was almost impossible to get the wet wood to restart. Now, we're in the middle of historic winter storm weather with the third storm expected tonight with 3-5" of snow that may include freezing rain. The power has been off for over 48 hours and the furnace would not be working now anyway, but we sure miss the nice warm heat.

Bracing for the next round of rough weather...generator is carrying the load right now with the LP gas logs heating the house to 61°. We're ok, but not especially warm.

Hope y'all are taking care of your loved ones...
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Glad to hear you are safe. I feel like we got lucky to just get 2" of ice/freezing rain. Should be plenty of trees to process into firewood after this storm.
 
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We are no longer living on the property where the Hardy furnace is installed. New caretakers have taken residence and they choose not to use the outside wood burner. They will avoid the work required to CSS wood for seasoning and simply rely on the heat pump as well as the propane fired backup generator. To each their own,...
 
LiamFitzpatrick said:
We are no longer living on the property where the Hardy furnace is installed. New caretakers have taken residence and they choose not to use the outside wood burner. They will avoid the work required to CSS wood for seasoning and simply rely on the heat pump as well as the propane fired backup generator. To each their own,...
Click to expand...

Good luck to you on the next residence!
 
That should be a sticky that all new members can see easily
 
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