Factors influencing Woodburning

[firefighterjake]

6. Other - Always enjoyed lighting things on fire from an early age, sticks, twigs, buildings, etc. Progressed to a point where I never left the house without a lighter or matches. Decided to try and stop lighting random things I saw during the course of the day on fire and try to contain a fire in a woodstove where it would never, ever leave me. Is that unhealthy?

Just kidding... take it easy Jake!

Parents burned wood. Cost effective.

Hehheh . . . I was reading this and thinking, "Geez PB I think we need to talk about our Juvenile Firesetter Program . . . although by now I think you may have progressed to the Arsonist Needs To Go To Jail Program." Thanks for the laugh.

 

[firefighterjake]

Discovering this forum and becoming obsessed with wood and all things woody

I too have been obsessed with wood...funny thing: was at the grocery store about a week ago...came out to the lot to find a pickup truck parked next to my car that was filled with wood.
Well a year ago I would not have given it a second look but now....well I was all excited and I was checkin it out, picked up a few splits...smelled it.....wondering what kind of wood it was (I still have a lot to learn about how to id wood).
The guy came out and asked me..."can I help you with something?"
I told him...."I was just admiring the wood in your truck"....we had a conversation about wood and turns out he had the same woodburner as me....
As I was driving home I chuckled to myself....and how the girls at work make fun of my woodburning obsession....we'll see how much they make fun of me when they see their home heating bills come this winter as opposed to mine... :coolsmirk:

HehHeh . . . glad you added in that last part . . . the ". . . in your truck" part . . . otherwise he might have thought you were being a bit forward with him.

 

[firefighterjake]

Grew up with wood heat with my parents owning a wood furnace and my grandparents and uncle having Ashleys.

When I got out of college I had a Shenandoah woodstove . . . although it was way oversized for the camp I was living in.

When I bought my house I wanted a woodstove for back-up heat during power losses and to help offset the cost of heating oil . . . but was not sufficiently motivated until heating oil hit $4 plus per gallon . . . at which point I started researching the various options ranging from heat pumps, pellet stoves, outdoor wood boilers, etc. before realizing that I wanted a modern, EPA stove since a) I had and have access to lots of "free" wood with the family wood lot and b) I did not want to be a slave to continually feeding the fire as my father was in his OWB and wood furnace with close to 20 cords of wood used each year.

Later benefits that led me to believe I made the right choice was burning cleanly and efficiently (although it was the efficient/less wood burned deal that hooked me at first), the sight, sound, etc. you get from having a woodstove in your living space and the fact that this fat middle age guy needs some sort of exercise to keep him from being 300 pounds and the whole idea of lifting weights bores the heck out of me.

The personal details . . . now 40 years old (although I sometimes feel much older), 3 years of burning with an EPA stove and I'm a Public Education Officer with the Bangor Fire Department . . . which means I better practice what I preach when it comes to fire safety around the woodstove . . .

 

[roxys dad]

Yes parents were part time wood burners they installed a jotul back in the early 70S they lived in a post war constructed house you could'nt keep a candle lit in during the winter at 11 years old I was the chief care taker of the stove, they bought the wood c/s

House i bought in !988 came with a fireplace burned for ambiance or power outs made the living room warm but bedrooms froze insert installed 4 years ago

Lots of free wood if you are willing to work for it

 

[bboulier]

I grew up in Nebraska. There was no wood, so very few homes had fireplaces. Tumbleweed is a poor substitute for oak. We finally had very small fireplace when I was a junior in high school. Compressed wood helped us through a cold spell. After graduating from high school, I moved to North Carolina, where many homes (not ours) had fireplaces. Wonderful! I especially enjoyed the romantic one in my future wife's home. I vowed then that I would eventually have a home with a fireplace. Our fireplace does not does not have a good draw and needed an insert, which I was happy to install for its efficiency. In addition, I really like splitting wood. It gives a great sense of accomplishment and good exercise. Age - mid 60's.

 

[Adabiviak]

1. Parents were woodburners.

Yes, we had an old Earth stove with the clay flower.

2. House came equipped w/ stove.

Yes, but it was a cast-iron beast with a handful of cracks - replaced it when I bought the house.

3. Access to or supply of free wood.

Yes, but make no mistake - it's still a fair amount hard work processing all that (and my fuel requirements are relatively small).

4. Cost effective.

Hadn't thought about it, really.

5. All the above.

Not really about the cost... I have no problem firing up the central heating if I don't feel like sparking a fire.

6. Other

There's something inherently satisfying for me in processing firewood. Also, the stove has a glass window and sleeping/lounging in front of it is super nice. When I go play in the snow and call it a day, the first thing that pops into my head when I think of getting home is standing in front of the fire. I've been skiing/snowboarding for 27 years, and not once did I think the same thing about the central heat register, space heater, or whatever other heating devices I employed - I don't know how else to describe that? It's still heat, but there's something enchanting about it.

A. Age

39

B. Years of woodburning

18

 

[KarlP]

The bills the gas company sent in the winter of 2003/2004.

My wife liking it 72 degrees inside in the winter.

The unused chimney/thimble in the living room wall and poorly drafting fireplace in the family room.

I hate gyms/jogging and like working outdoors.


I'm 34 and have been keeping the house warmer with half the gas bill since Sept '04.

 

[mecreature]

I have always liked hard work. Heating with wood is the best game in town.

Added an addition to my home over the winter a fireplace was in the budget.
did some research as usually and some how ended up with a QF7100FP.
Blew the budget but man can it cook.

So I am wet behind the ears sitting on a decent supply of wood just waiting winter.

 

[fireview2788]

Very simple for me:

1) wife and I love fires

2) wife is ALWAYS cold and likes to crank the heat

3) $580 electric bill in January, $480 in February


fv

 

[fredarm]

The houses I grew up in had one or more fireplaces. From an early age I loved the open fires and helped my Dad start and maintain fires. In 1980 my parents bought a ski condo with an original VC Defiant. I was the only one who really took the time to learn how to operate it properly--my Dad just tended to burn it with the doors open. I loved the heat that stove put out.

When I bought a house in 1997 I insisted on a house with a fireplace (I was thinking ambiance, heating oil was $0.80 a gallon at the time). I burned in the fireplace for 10 years, mostly just weekend evenings. It tended to suck out more heat than it contributed. In 2008 when heating oil went to $4 a gallon, I had the insert installed and was amazed by how much better it heated. I have about 2 acres of land around the house, about an acre is wooded. I cut about a cord a year from standing and fallen dead trees. I have also bought a cord of wood cut, split and delivered each year, although last year I bought a ton of Geo-bricks (a Bio-brick equivalent) and will do so again this year. I like the mix of bricks and wood. Oh, and I'm 53.

 

[Kaptain]

Influences :

1) I've always been a pyro
2) My house already had a stove installed (non-EPA).
3) Cost effective and abundance of fuel
4) Satisfaction of the feeling that I'm 'sticking it' to the oil companies.

A) 27
B) < 1 year
C) IT desktop administrator

 

[lampmfg]

In my quest to become a woodburner, I've often thought about the path of others. I'll never forget the time when I visited a childhood friend who had a glassdoor fireplace. That night, I slept next to it during the sleepover. Ever since, I've always wanted a stove in my own home.

What factors influenced your woodburning?

1. Parents were woodburners.
2. House came equipped w/ stove.
3. Access to or supply of free wood.
4. Cost effective.
5. All the above.
6. Other

Also, if you wouldn't mind including the following.

A. Age
B. Years of woodburning
C. Occupation (if relevant)

1. Parent has been designing wood furnaces his entire life, so it just runs in the family.
4. It is very cost effective.
6. It is also good for the environment.

A. 31
B. 24
C. Hotel Manager

Garrett Lamppa

 

[fran35]

In my quest to become a woodburner, I've often thought about the path of others. I'll never forget the time when I visited a childhood friend who had a glassdoor fireplace. That night, I slept next to it during the sleepover. Ever since, I've always wanted a stove in my own home.

What factors influenced your woodburning?

1. Parents were woodburners. Yes, we had wood stove growing up.

2. I had the stove installed this winter after I saw my first LP bill at $650.
3. I have a good bit of woods and lots nearby.
4. The stove and install cost about $3000, but with propane prices going up it will be pay for itself in the long run.

Also, if you wouldn't mind including the following.

A. 36
B. 1 year of woodburning
C. Federal agent

 

[Bub381]

Ran the stove some as a kid but this is a different world.I live on the coast and work on the ocean and at 47 the damp air goes clean through you and everybody that works outside knows what a hot shower feels like.I hunt,spending numerous hrs outside mainly fall and winter.I'm learning the good folks on this site are here to help and boy have they.Sorry all for my previous foolishness.Never knew there was this much to burning clean but with the 4 cords of wood self cut and self split i'm enjoying this. I thought it a chore to have to do all this as a kid but knowing now what bills are and remembering what a wood stove feels like,I'M SOLD.This will be my 1st yr burning. I cut some spruce and pine that was felled for a yr or so and you gotta love the smell when ya split it. WOW! If ya wanna know what i mean, buy a bottle of Tea Tree Oil and unscrew the top.Love the smell of the wood.lol Oh, and the 975 gals of oil burned last winter.Thanks all for reading.Thanks for the site all.