Cold outside. Thank god for wood heat

[PA Fire Bug]

Everyone is talking about single digit temps and the possibility of sub-freezing (correction: sub-zero) temps which are unusual for Central PA. On Thursday, we loaded both of our stoves in the morning due to the cold weather. My wife came home from work early (you gotta love early dismissals) and found the temperature in our living room near 80. While others are complaining about the cost of oil and the cold temperatures in their homes, we are warm and comfortable regardless of the weather. I had a couple of guys help move a piano into our basement last week. They spent about 10 minutes in front of the wood stove warming up before they left. One asked how I keep the glass so clean on the stove. My answer - dry wood. Now he understands why I have so much wood stacked in my yard.

 

[bluedogz]

One asked how I keep the glass so clean on the stove. My answer - dry wood.

Isn't it great when someone asks that?

 

[Bones]

Love my new insert....still a learning curve....haven't cleaned the glass for almost 2 weeks.

Load up (packed) 11pm last night and 7am ( slept in late) top of stove was 175* and several small coals and embers, but needed just a little help to get started again....

Monday will be very unusual for us...High of 7* and a Low of -5*

 

[lopiliberty]

All that work cutting and spiting is rewarding when you come in from single digit temps to a house in the 80's

 

[UncleJoe]

All that work cutting and spiting is rewarding when you come in from single digit temps to a house in the 80's

That's way too warm for me but the wife loves it. I'm cranking up the AC when it gets into the 80's.

 

[BrianN]

I love it when my wife tells me it is too hot in the house. Way better than last year when we couldn't get the house up to room temp.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Everyone is talking about single digit temps and the possibility of sub-freezing temps which are unusual for Central PA. On Thursday, we loaded both of our stoves in the morning due to the cold weather. My wife came home from work early (you gotta love early dismissals) and found the temperature in our living room near 80. While others are complaining about the cost of oil and the cold temperatures in their homes, we are warm and comfortable regardless of the weather. I had a couple of guys help move a piano into our basement last week. They spent about 10 minutes in front of the wood stove warming up before they left. One asked how I keep the glass so clean on the stove. My answer - dry wood. Now he understands why I have so much wood stacked in my yard.

Well, for sure central PA does have sub-freezing temperatures a lot. Perhaps you meant below zero readings?

You bet that wood heat feels great. It is very easy to get hooked on it and I'd really hate to be without it. And we keep it around 80 all winter. A friend was complaining a couple days about the cold and said it was -7 degrees when he got up. I told him to come on over as it was 76 when we got up and was 80 right then. He called me a smart-???


EDIT: As for the glass, we've cleaned ours once so far this year. There is a very light haze in a couple spots from some fly as but that is it.

 

[Bones]

All that work cutting and spiting is rewarding when you come in from single digit temps to a house in the 80's

All that work, then poof....ashes and no smoke....

 

[Paulywalnut]

My wife says. Can you turn that down a little more? Heh Heh. What is it? Priceless.

 

[Pdesjr]

Watching the NFL playoffs 20 outside 80 inside. Love my stove

 

[Bones]

Come on dad....load this stove up....





I don't need a wood stove....I got my electric heating pad.....

 

[NextEndeavor]

As many know, the Midwest is getting nailed with frigid cold. Just take a peek at a Des Moines forecast for example. However, it should be illegal to be so comfortable inside. Got up at 6 am, reloaded on just a few coals this morning and pushed the Lopi hard the first two hours with a 650 degree stove top. Since then I've had to back her down to the 450-500 degree cruise range (fan now on low) holding a 78 degree average house temp with only one more load late afternoon so far, until bedtime. I'm proud of the stove and the house but probably most of all, the extra dry cord wood which also maintains clear clean glass. Can't have good results without the right key ingredients. The natural gas furnace would be working overtime, but I haven't paid overtime in four years.

 

[Rickb]

stove top is 350 for the last 9 hours since I woke up. Room is 75. I have had to shovel the driveway 3 times tho. we are at 8+ inches of snow and the high tomorrow is -4.

 

[ClanCameron]

Yeah, cold. And they're playing in Green Bay, sheesh... So, how much space are you heating? I'm at 2,700 sf or so, keeping the house around 72, not including the basement which is now a root cellar with no heat down there. Walking around barefoot, summer tee. Nice. My stove top temps on this latest batch of red oak are hovering around 400-410 with a half load going. True story - it's so cold out, when a dumped some punky wood cores out the back door, a cloud of steam came up off of them it was freezing the moisture off so fast....looked like they were smoking-on-fire, but was just punky wood. Accidentally brought those in since they were my 'ground logs'.... my actual burning wood is goodNdry.

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

We're sitting at 11 and ticking down outside right now with 40mph wind gusts and the stove room is hovering at 77 towards the end of a load. Low tonight is -12 with windchill of -35 ish. We have six foot drifts around some of the outbuildings, the kids have been out building tunnels and forts but gave up a few hours ago when the wind started howling.

 

[buc74]

-6 here in northern WI and 79 in the living room watching the packer game. High of -16 tomorrow, loving my first year with our wood stove.

 

[NextEndeavor]

Only a 1,300 foot ranch here, not counting full basement, built in 1968. Doesn't really challenge the stove or operator too much, after some education that is. First year was ugly with a few lessons learned. Bought the stove for a weekend novelty, something to make the space useful since a fireplace was not. After the first fire, wife and I wanted it to run all winter, thus, completely hooked including line and sinker ...... then purchased new saw and wood splitter. Now have built up 4 years worth of fuel split and stacked. Good thing I already had a 3/4 pickup!

 

[begreen]

Don't be afraid to cycle that boiler or furnace a few times a day in this weather. The pipes you save, could be your own.

 

[WiscWoody]

It's -23 out up here now and going to -38. I'm in NW Wisconsin. I only keep the house at 67 or so. But I have good long Johns on all winter and a thermal shirt as well. Then I'm ready to go ice fishing or take the dogs out.

 

[WiscWoody]

Don't be afraid to cycle that boiler or furnace a few times a day in this weather. The pipes you save, could be your own.

i wish i could run the furnace tonight but the propane is too cold to produce enough pressure to run it. it happens when it is in the -30F area for low temps. Propane's boiling point is -44, I should put some heat tape under the tank some day...

 

[Fireshoppe]

-6 here 10 mph wind. Wife showered and said the water wasn't very hot. 1st time ever as we have a great 80 gallon elect. tank in the basement garage and H2o is always HOT. Not today, I thought about running a quartz heater down there but it was on yesterday and wasn't keeping up and outside of the tank there's no plumbing in that section so off it went.

It hasn't been this cold here since I was a kid so I think this is great!

 

[northwinds]

My house dropped to 67 overnight, but back up to 71 and comfortable. I've got -21 F outside and will be staying inside for the most part today. Wind has picked up a bit
with flurries whipping around. Wind chill is supposedly -50. We didn't have wind chill when I was a kid.

 

[Johnpolk]

Brr....

 

[Jags]

-24F on my way to work this morning. Windchill of -50F. I don't care who you are or where you are from...THAT is some sort of cold.

Be careful out there. This is the kind of temp that can get real dangerous, real fast.

 

[Todd]

-25 with -50 wind chill here this morning! I'm staying inside by the stove today.