COLD WOOD

[Henz]

I know this is gonna get alot of laughs, but being the anal woodburner that I am I ahve a problem adding ice-cold wood to my stove..Meaning, I ahve a nice wood ring in the house next to the stove that I use etc..A buddy of mine doesnt, he just grabs a handfull at a time from his unheated back porch and throws it in his nice hot fire..Now, I know its probably not a big deal but man, that jsut bugs me..any thoughts??

 

[babalu87]

No laugh from me part of what makes any combustion more efficient is proper temperature of the fuel, wood is no different. I try to have at least two days worth of wood stacked in the same room as the stove.
It takes energy (heat) to bring the wood to the temperature it will burn at and make more energy (heat)

If you and your buddy had the same stove, ran it at the same temperature in the same house in the same geographic area you would burn less wood per heating season with your warm wood than your buddy throwing ice cold wood in his stove.

 

[Henz]

thats exactally what I had thought! It is really common sence..

 

[saichele]

But aren't you losing the same amount of heat whether you're heating the wood in the room or the firebox?

Now that's why I keep the wood int he basement... Geothermal wood preheating. Bring it from 10F to 45F then to 500F. Guess when you look at it that way, the difference is likely pretty minor...

Steve

 

[MrGriz]

I do usually bring in one to two days supply of wood at a time, which sits near (but not too close) to the stove. I do it mainly for convenience; so I don't have to go out in the cold every time I need to re-load.

I would think the advantage of pre-heating your wood is very small at best. Once the stove is up to temp, the heat in the firebox warms the wood so quickly that I can't see much difference either way. The exception would be if there is snow or ice on the wood. Of course, I do knock as much loose snow and ice off as possible before bringing it in the house, but inevitably there is some left on a few pieces. Giving this a chance to melt and dry probably makes more of a difference than just throwing it in, but even a little snow or ice melts and dries so quickly in the stove that it's not a real big deal.

 

[babalu87]

Bringing Wood into the House
It is generally better to store no more than a week or two’s supply of wood inside the house. The frequent cycling of the indoor supply lets you check for and control bugs better than if you attempt to store most of the winter’s supply inside. While some people worry about bug infestation, my experience is that bugs are not a problem at all if the wood is properly processed and seasoned before being brought indoors.

While storing too much inside is not recommended, storing too little can be a problem as well. It's a good idea to have at least a day’s supply inside the warm house to avoid shocking a fire with icy cold wood. Warmed up wood will ignite more quickly, and the fire doesn’t have to expend valuable energy to bring the logs closer to combustion temperature.


(broken link removed to http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/shedsetc.htm)

Check out the house from France and that BAD ASS wood storage with the door into the living space

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The wood has to be heated by the stove no matter when you bring it inside! So do we heat it in the stove or in the room?

As for the bug problem. Yes, if you store your wood in the home you can definitely have a bug problem. For example, roaches will constantly get into the wood pile. Bring in some wood with roaches on or inside the bark, let them warm up a bit and you have a lively roach in the house.

So, I will continue to bring my wood indoors and put it immediately into the stove, thank you. For us it is very easy. Open the door, take 3 or 4 steps, grab the wood and come back inside. For when the air gets really cold, and it does, we have a place right next to the door where we can put enough wood to stock the stove. Then all we need to do is open the door, grab the wood and close the door fast!

 

[burntime]

I have a 2-3 day suppy in the house next to the fireplace. It may help to "pre-heat" the wood but really going from 20 degrees to 75 is 55 degrees, now like another poster pointed out it goes to 450 or 500, really small in the scope of things. I usually have no bark on the wood if it is thoroughly dried. No bark no bugs. Your species may differ. Good luck all.

 

[Henz]

THIS HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING POST..what about this...your fire goes out, all your wood is outside, your stove is cold and you bring in wood from the 0 degree outdoor temp and try to get it going...any thoughts? its just an interesting thought and iterestign to hear what others do..for me, its too convenient to have a small wood ring which holds a good days worth of wood. Even though all of my wood is on my back covered patio and i can access it with my splitters on no matter what its doing outside, there is just something nice about havign a days worth already inside next to the stove..

 

[babalu87]

I will have my bacon cooking and my first cup of coffee done before the dude with the NONE degree wood gets his stack up to 350 :D

 

[burntime]

Well at my house the wife can bring the room up 15 degrees by the insistant naging, "why did you let the fire go out" by then the fire is started and pretty much takes over. The idea of putting the wife outside...hmmm, intriguing

 

[Henz]

YOU CHEESE-HEAD, waht is a 2-day supply??do you use a ring or a rectangular box?

 

[Henz]

YO CHEESE-HEAD, waht is a 2-day supply??do you use a ring or a rectangular box?

 

[burntime]

I use an actual decorative firewood holder. It is wrought iron about 2 1/2 feet by about 3 1/2 feet high. It was about 150.00 or so. It sucks to fill but I sure enjoy it when the snow is flying and its cold outside

 

[Todd]

I bring in 4 or 5 days worth of wood or 3 loaded wheelbarrows into the house and into a rack next to the stove. It's just convenient for me. It drys the snow and rain off and maybe even adds a little much needed moisture into the air. Every once in awhile you can hear a pop or two as the wood is drying. I don't have a big problem with bugs, just a few spiders or lady bugs here or there. As far as it making a difference in burning? I think it does especially for start ups and reloads it just takes off better than cold wet wood. Also being a cat stove owner, I'm a little concerned about thermal shocking the cat from wet wood.

 

[kwburn]

i keep about two weeks worth on racks in the garage which is not heated, but just being totally out of the elements makes a huge difference in the wood's 'state of readiness'. we keep about a day or two's worth in the house on decorative log holders next to each stove.

i think this is all splitting hairs but i'd say the best way would be to bring it in during mid day when outdoor temps are warmest (and the wood itself). opening the door when its warmest out also results in the least amount of heat loss from inside to outside.

a fun topic though!

 

[jjbaer]

No laugh from me part of what makes any combustion more efficient is proper temperature of the fuel, wood is no different. I try to have at least two days worth of wood stacked in the same room as the stove.
It takes energy (heat) to bring the wood to the temperature it will burn at and make more energy (heat)

If you and your buddy had the same stove, ran it at the same temperature in the same house in the same geographic area you would burn less wood per heating season with your warm wood than your buddy throwing ice cold wood in his stove.

Bab....if it's stacked in the room, the wood is "stealing" heat from the room and the stove is heating the room...so...I would think it doesn't matter where you warm it because either way, the wood is being warmed to room temp..........edited: just saw someones earlier post saying the same thing so I agree with theirs.

 

[burntime]

This is getting to be one of those "what does purple taste like" conversations. Its wood guys, burn it ;~)

 

[BrotherBart]

This is getting to be one of those "what does purple taste like" conversations. Its wood guys, burn it ;~)

Reading the thread I have started thinking about some little split sized Cardigan sweaters for the wood.

 

[burntime]

Or blowing bubbles with your wood?

 

[karl]

Somebody has been splitting in the sun too long.

 

[kwburn]

maybe i'll build an enclosed wood shed with a wood stove in it to pre-heat my wood before coming into the house.

 

[MrGriz]

maybe i'll build an enclosed wood shed with a wood stove in it to pre-heat my wood before coming into the house.

Nope, you'll just run into the same problem in a different location. I'd put a giant gas or oil furnace in the wood shed ;-)

 

[kwburn]

maybe i'll build an enclosed wood shed with a wood stove in it to pre-heat my wood before coming into the house.

Nope, you'll just run into the same problem in a different location. ;-)

now thats funny

 

[babalu87]

No laugh from me part of what makes any combustion more efficient is proper temperature of the fuel, wood is no different. I try to have at least two days worth of wood stacked in the same room as the stove.
It takes energy (heat) to bring the wood to the temperature it will burn at and make more energy (heat)

If you and your buddy had the same stove, ran it at the same temperature in the same house in the same geographic area you would burn less wood per heating season with your warm wood than your buddy throwing ice cold wood in his stove.

Bab....if it's stacked in the room, the wood is "stealing" heat from the room and the stove is heating the room...so...I would think it doesn't matter where you warm it because either way, the wood is being warmed to room temp..........edited: just saw someones earlier post saying the same thing so I agree with theirs.

Ah but cast consider this:

Opening and closing the door more often to get the cold wood into the house and then into the stove

I am mainly looking at the stove and its efficiency. A two-three day supply of wood is constantly being turned over so there is really only about a days worth that "steals heat" each day.