First light of my second season.

[jcims]

What a great feeling.

Last year at this time I was so pumped to have my new stove in my new house that my enthusiasm carried me through two months of frustration with a grin. Big rounds sitting for two years that should have been split the year before, rookie mistakes, burns up and down my forearms, smoke filling the basement, hours spent in the quiet basement watching with wonder as the flames danced. I still grin thinking about it.

This year it's a whole different story. Splits ringing like bowling pins when they hit the trailer, selecting the perfect pieces to execute my cold stove start up, stack them in the clean box, leave the basement door cracked a bit, a few balls of paper to get a good surge of heat up the tall flue, leave the door cracked a smidge for a few minutes, shut it, leave the air on until we get to temp and then shut her down to cruise. No smoke, no aroma of burnt hair, no rabid logs hissing and spitting foam at me, just that brilliant red light and soul warming heat.

I still have so much to learn, my stacks look terrible, i make a mess everywhere i go, my chain sharpening looks like it was done with a rock, but there's definitely progress. And I'd never be as far as I am now if it weren't for all of you folks that are so generous with your time and honest with your assessments.

So thanks again folks, it's good to be back!

 

[thewoodlands]

If you just leave out the burning hair part I've been there on everything else (second year burning) spend more time here and Sav,Jags,Jake and a bunch of others will keep you full of knowledge.


zap

 

[trailrated]

You sound just like me last year. I just lit my first fire last night for my second season. Last year for me was just liked you described. Last night and tonight my stove is running much much better.

 

[carlo]

Just lit my first fire of the season. This is season #3 for me. New thing for me this year is using twigs and less paper to start fires. Worked real good today ! I'm not a 24/7 burner, but hope to be a 12/7 burner, weather allowing. I got a feeling we're gonna have a warm winter here in the northeast.

 

[pen]

all I can say is your story makes me grin ear to ear.

This is why this site is here, and it's just good to meet other folks who are willing to not only take the harder road (vs using the old digi thermostat) but also are wise enough to realize there is learning involved with doing any job well / correctly.

Nicely done.

pen

 

[firefighterjake]

If you just leave out the burning hair part I've been there on everything else (second year burning) spend more time here and Sav,Jags,Jake and a bunch of others will keep you full of knowledge.


zap

Surely you can't be talking about me . . . I'm just a dumb firefighter with only three years of burning experience with this EPA stove . . . now Jags, Backwoods, Brother Bart and the rest of the veterans . . . well they're the true fount of knowledge here.

 

[firefighterjake]

Yes . . . the second year of burning is a whole new experience . . .

The wood that you thought was great in the first year . . . until you tried to burn it . . . has since been replaced by wood that is truly seasoned . . . now the wood ignites easily and in a much faster time frame . . . and the secondaries are more intense . . . and the burn times are extended . . . and the glass stays cleaner.

On top of this you now have the regimen down pat . . . so building the fire, reloading the stove, cleaning out the ashes, etc. is automatic . . . and not a chore that you really have to think about.

 

[scojen]

Besides the fact that my situation is very similar to yours and have endured the same trials and tribulations. I though your post was descriptive and entertaining. Good work!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We've burned wood for a couple of years now and still learning.