End of winter assessments.

[Robbie]

Winter is over here in Tennessee. Flowers are blooming, bees are everywhere, so thats all she wrote for now.........

Now is the time when you evaluate what went right, what went wrong, what you need to change for next season.

Don't waste time, before you know it will be cold again and we'll all be shuffling to get wood in, fix pipe leaks etc.

My stove performed like a champ, except for about three "operator error" days or nights, I would give my stove a 99%........I give myself about 85%.........lots of room for improvement.

I learned to not damper all the way........or my stove will puff.

I learned how to clean my ashes using a vac hose in a bucket resulting in a 99% cleaner ash removal.

I learned home grown "fat wood" found in the woods is the berries for starting fires. ;-)

I learned I can easily stand 79 degrees in my home with a wood stove fire/heat........but I am now running air conditioning with inside temp of 78......weird ? Outside today it reached about 85 degrees...........already !!

After my second season of burning wood I have learned it's not a science, it's a continuous learning proccess that you must realize can change from one load of wood to the next..........so stay on your toes.

I've learned that wood burning is the most fun I have had since I was a kid playing in the woods..........you just have to be more careful.

All in all, I've had a ball, learned alot, and expect next year to be as much fun I hope.

Oh, last but not least, my gas tank still has 60% of fuel in it. It was filled very early last fall, so we only used 20% of fuel since they only fill my tank to 80%.


Pretty proud of that alone...........





Robbie

 

[BrotherBart]

Been doing it since 1977 and you will have all of the above happen every year. Well, except that one day the wood will start getting heavier.

Glad you are enjoying it. Ya gotta a few years before it turns into work.

 

[Robbie]

Brother, my back says it's already too heavy..... %-P

What now................. :lol:






Robbie

 

[DiscoInferno]

I learned I can easily stand 79 degrees in my home with a wood stove fire/heat........but I am now running air conditioning with inside temp of 78......weird ? Outside today it reached about 85 degrees...........already !!

I see all those folks with winter inside temps in the high 70's and low-mid 80's, and I don't know how they do it. I think I hit 76 twice, and I was sweating. 70-72 is my comfort zone. I'll run the AC at 74 a lot, sometimes 72. But the big difference between the two is humidity; winter indoor humidity in my house was around 25%, summer humidity is much higher (not sure of the numbers yet). Takes a lower temp to be comfortable when the humidity goes up.

80 here in DC today, BTW.

 

[Gunner]

I learned the stove has ruined me for cold tolerence...I used to be the guy that was never cold.

T-stat in the old house was set at 66-68 in the winter now with the stove we enjoy low 70's

My father in-law is like that, heat is at 80 in the winter and AC at 65 in the summer, he says it's from working outside, your either sweating or freezing all day so when ya get home it's nice to have it the other way.

 

[pistonslap]

I learned that I need to insulate. My house has new doors and windows but very little insulation. It is brick on the outside with plastered over terracotta block on the inside. If it is in the 20s or above my pre-epa wood furnace keeps the house nice, but below that it can't keep up with the heat loss. I also learned that I need more wood for next year. I ran out in the beginning of February, up until that time I never had a gas bill over $40. My last bill was $290.

 

[DiscoInferno]

I learned that I need to insulate. My house has new doors and windows but very little insulation. It is brick on the outside with plastered over terracotta block on the inside. If it is in the 20s or above my pre-epa wood furnace keeps the house nice, but below that it can't keep up with the heat loss. I also learned that I need more wood for next year. I ran out in the beginning of February, up until that time I never had a gas bill over $40. My last bill was $290.

I learned the same: need more insulation in the attic, and need to seal the doors better. My EPA fireplace can keep up a 50 degree differential OK, but 60 is really pushing it. Which is still pretty good, considering it's a 1000-1500 sqft unit heating 2000 sqft. Gas bill was an even $50 all winter, neighbors' were over $300.

Also, just got my chimney brush and fiberglass rods in the mail, and learned there's no way I'm going to be able to sweep from the bottom. ("Flexible" is a vague term , apparently.) So sometime soon I will learn if I can overcome my crippling fear of heights.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

More wood

More Chimney

Way to move heat from the back room into the house.

Matt

 

[elkimmeg]

First year where I disconnected the zone valve to my burner and never used it for heat. Like all, I need to replenish my wood supply. If it is there free for the taking its mine,
I know I need to recharge my heating system with antifreeze , the concentration levels have been diluted...
I agree with BB every year It becomes more of a chore. There is a lot of work processing 5/6 cords and age is working against us. It is comforting to know you have 3 years a head

and I need to finish that projection

 

[Todd]

I learned a Holz Haufen is really cool looking and drys wood just as well as straight rows. But if you build them too big they will be a PITA retrieving the wood. Going with 6' tall straight rows this year.

Also learned not to rush engaging the cat to prevent thermo shock. Thanks Woodstock for the free replacement.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The old saying is that you have to have half of your wood pile left on Groundhog Day is quite true. But for those who ran out, you should keep a year's supply on hand at all times.

As for it being a chore, we are retired but do not consider it a burden at all. We both (my wife and I) love cutting wood and just love being in the woods, especially in late fall and winter. We usually leave the splitting for Spring (yes, we are now doing that) and we have about 5 years wood supply cut and over half of that is split and stacked. Still working on the rest (I work slow).

People roast when they come to our home in the winter. We keep it a minimum of 80 degrees. Summer, we keep it around 74.

Oh yes, we have heated with wood as long as I can remember. It is all my folks had and all we have now. No backup heating system.

 

[Corie]

Minimum eighty degrees? Good grief!



What I learned:

The coolest looking grate system in the world won't keep a coal fire burning for more than a week without enough movement in the rockers.


The airwash air had better be warm and evenly distributed across the glass if you want it all to stay clean.


1.6 cu.ft. is a little too small when burning coal and is A LOT too small when burning wood.


Seven hours burn times max mean that at 7.01 hours there is no fire left to be revived.


Pine burns just as smoke free as every other wood in the forest.

 

[PAJerry]

Need more wood next year, but went full-time till March 16.

Need to insulate the chimney to get rid of the ice dams.

Metal roof going on soon.

1.3 cu. ft. insert is plenty for our house......PE is the best!

Slab wood for 90% next year - works much better in our small stove. And, pine is ok to burn anytime.

Addicted to 70-75 degree living area. Never going back to 62 degrees and natural gas bills through the roof!

 

[begreen]

Although burning has slowed down a lot, we'll likely be having evening fires for a couple more months. It still is cold at night, in the high 30's, daytime in the low 50's this week. Spring lasts for months out here.

This has been a year of relearning for me. The systems and insulation in the house are quite changed and have improved the bottom line. But nature also reminded us what winter is about this season. I underestimated the maximum btus needed if the power is out and we're running solo on the stove. If it had been 15 degrees instead of 23, we would have been chilly. My wife hates curtains and window shades, but I am thinking of something to reduce evening heat loss. We have a lot of glass and need to address this. The Castine performed well. I had a lot to learn about the stove and how to fine tune its performance according to the season and temps. Word - smaller splits burn hotter; big splits burn longer, and oak flooring scrap rocks for kindling. And I've learned that there are some awesome compressed wood products now on the market.

For next heating season I suspect I will be looking for a bargain on an Isle Royale and am putting up an extra cord of wood for insurance. Prolly will get a half-ton of compressed logs for temp inversions. The good news is that we didn't run out of wood this year and it was all from free wood . (Well the splitter rental was $65, but almost free.)

 

[Eric Johnson]

I learned that I need a new, cleaner-burning boiler. In the meantime, I learned to monitor the wind direction (on weather.com), and switch over to gas on the rare occasions when it's blowing from the Northeast.

 

[Builder Bob]

I too, as those above could of had more wood. (working on that already! ) 75* with woodstove is MUCH better than 70* and gas heat. The next house will not have a 20'-0"+ vaulted ceiling for a loft above it and not enough woodstove. Need some extra insulation in the attic, and new weatherstrip on the back door. Time to clean the stove and flue for next year and start cutting grass.

 

[MrGriz]

I would have to call the first season a big success!

I learned a ton; most importantly I learned that I still have a lot to learn.

I burned just a bit more wood than I had (Thanks to my neighbor!).

I met some great people.

I saved quite a bit of money on electricity.

I found a great way to spend as much time out in the yard as possible and get a ton of exercise at the same time. (I learned that after learning just how out of shape I really am.)

For next year, I need to put up more wood ASAP and try to get at least 1 to 2 years ahead if possible. It's amazing that a standing dead oak tree on the side of the road will turn my head faster than a cute girl jogging. I'm also thinking about a new saw this summer for scrounging bigger wood. I'm going to try and separate my split wood by type this year and pay more attention to what's going in the fire each time.

I would like to add a strategic fan or two to improve the heat movement and even things out a bit more. I still need to permanently extend the hearth a bit.

I'm sure more things will come up over the summer, but that's a good list to start.

 

[sgcsalsero]

It's amazing that a standing dead oak tree on the side of the road will turn my head faster than a cute girl jogging.

Hilarious . . thanks for the laugh

 

[Robbie]

This has turned in to a very interesting thread, I think it promotes thinking, which promotes ideas, which promote solutions to our individual problems...........one problem is I am curious and I need to go back through all the threads and ask some "Why" questions...........such as.

Eric, why "switch over to gas on the rare occasions when it’s blowing from the Northeast." %-P


Robbie

 

[Eric Johnson]

Because when that happens, it blows smoke right at my neighbor's house.

 

[DriftWood]

Some things I learned this winter.
Top down burns really kick out the heat with a non cat, air tube stove.
When I have extra rolls of insulation laying around just throw it on top of whats in the attic.
There is no insulation in the walls of this old house. I am thinking how to fix this as I re-do the rooms.
The pipes in this home will not freeze in sub 0 weather with the wood stove going.
Splitting old dead wood rounds as I burn works fine.

 

[zzr7ky]

Hi - My place has been described as a "Lumberjack Colony" by the local ladies; it's not far off. We do eat stacks of waffles and wood chips are indeed everywhere. I'm about 1/2 in with next years supply. I'd like ot get a year of better ahead this summer.

I'm certain you all helped me enjoy this 1st year with a new chimney (I built), and new EPA rated stove. I cleaned it for the first time last week and got 3-4 tablespoons of brownish fly ash dust. I'm thinking the insulated rigid 6' liner is doing it's job!

ATB & THANKS,
Mike P

 

[elkimmeg]

Because when that happens, it blows smoke right at my neighbor's house.

eric ever think of a directional cap? one that would direct the parh when the northeast wind blows

 

[begreen]

Sounds like once he switches to the Eko, he should leave the cap off and blow straight up.

 

[Harley]

Because when that happens, it blows smoke right at my neighbor's house.

Ha! Now we know that Eric lives next door to A/C from NY! ;-)