Getting my first wood stove this week!

[kathyfitz]

Hi all, I am a brand new owner of a Canyon ST310, to be delivered on Thursday. We live in the mountains of Southern California and have been using our fireplace and pellets stoves for heat the last five years. I know California has a reputation for mild weather, but we can spend weeks at a time where the temp never gets out of the 30's. I love winter and stormy weather, but I love it best when I have a toasty fire going!

Tired of the inefficiency of our fireplace, even though it was a nice one - it was outdated, and wanting to take advantage of the tax credit, we removed the fireplace and did some work to make room for a wood stove. We wanted a stove for a couple of reasons, both having to do with the power outages that are not uncommon especially during storm weather, better heating and cooking without having to go outside and use the BBQ. We are very happy with our plan and how the project has turned out. I just wish the stove would hurry up and get here!

I stumbled across this forum while being impatient and wanting to learn as much as I could before the new stove arrives. I have never had a wood stove before (but I have burned a lot of wood!) and have learned a lot in such a short time here. Any tips or advice for a new stove owner?

Thanks, Kathy

 

[RoseRedHoofbeats]

WOOT another chica! *high fives*

I spent last fall in the mountains near Santa Cruz. I was begging my host for her winter blankets- I'm a chicken when it comes to cold!

Enjoy your stove! Mine is getting installed as soon as the hearth is done. =)

~Rose

 

[tickbitty]

A lot of folks on here have Country stoves in that line but yours is a BIG one, wow you must have a lot of square footage!
Are you ditching the pellet stoves or will there still be a place for them in your plan?

One major tip we see over and over here for new stove folks including me is you want a source of truly dry and seasoned wood since these stoves don't run as they should without it. For the first season (or often many more) some folks make use of a moisture meter to tell if the wood really is dry enough.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum Kathy.

I fully understand why you want to heat with wood even in your area! It's hard to beat, especially when the power goes out. If the power does go out during winter months we don't do a whole lot of worrying here. Besides, my wife does a lot of cooking on our stove too so it is just another day if the power does die.

Tips for a new stove owner? The very best tip I can offer is first, learn what dry wood really is. Learn how to dry wood properly. Never burn less than dry wood if at all possible. Never believe a wood seller when he says the wood is seasoned and ready to burn. Also, take the time to learn how to use your new stove properly and that will serve you for many happy years.

Good luck to you.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Kathy, I just realized where you live. We come through not too far from you on Race Across America every summer. No, I do not race but am usually part of a crew for a racer or a team of racers. We also have wintered just west of Yuma, AZ several years. As you know, when you go west of Yuma, you are in California.

 

[kathyfitz]

I see the racers every year! They go right by the foot of the mountain. You really ought to come up to the top sometime to see the beauty from here!

Yes, the house is big - in fact the biggest we have ever lived in. And it is a one bedroom, we moved here after the kids were all grown and out of the house. The pellets stoves will still have a place, but hopefully used less. They are in the "wings" of the house were the air doesn't circulate to well and they stay colder. One of those wings happens to be where I sleep. The wood stove will be basically in the center of the house. It is a very large room maybe 25x25 that is open to the lofts above it. Really pretty design, but harder to heat. We have ceiling fans that run pretty much all year, for one reason or another. When it became clear that to get the stove, we had to do a lot of work (remove the walls that surrounded the old fireplace) to get the clearances needed, we went with the biggest one available in the area. I am not a fan of being cold and we don't have another method of heating without power. (Even the propane forced air heater needs power to run, and I am way to cheap to try to heat this house with propane!)

What I prefer to burn is what my husband calls "fire cured oak". Trees that were killed in the wildfire on the mountain 3 years ago this week. What I burned last year lit like a dream and burned great. I have some pine out there too that is a couple of years old. We used to get a lot of "gray wood", dead oak that was still standing, that was also nice to burn. We don't see much of that since the fire, but then again, it may all be the same and we just can't tell anymore.

 

[firefighterjake]

Tips:

Use well seasoned wood.

When starting up the fire do not leave the stove . . . or leave the air control all the way open and take a long shower.

Make sure you have working smoke detectors.

Take the time to read the manual . . . take the time to read as many threads here as your mind can take in . . . oh yeah, also check out my wiki on FAQs . . . and then ask questions . . . we love to answer questions.

Remember that there is supposed to be fire in your woodstove . . . do not be alarmed when you achieve a secondary burn and see what surely must be Satan opening up a Portal to Hell in your brand new woodstove . . . it's OK.

Top down fires rock . . . once you learn how to use them you'll be reluctant to ever make a teepee or log cabin type fire ever again.

Dennis is wrong . . . the best way to split wood with a hydraulic splitter is to do so horizontally . . . but it's OK . . . I think Dennis is a wicked smart guy anyway.

 

[kathyfitz]

oh yeah, also check out my wiki on FAQs . . . and then ask questions . . . we love to answer questions.

I would love to check out your wiki, if I could figure out where it is! If you could point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it. I am still trying to learn how to navigate this site. I am doing lots of reading here - I just hope I can remember what I've read when the stove gets here! And I am sure I will be back with questions, probably lots of questions!

The one that is at the top of my head is about the use of thermometers - which one is best, where to place one, using one on double walled pipe ...

Figuring out how best to light and burn, I think that will have to wait until the stove gets here!

 

[BrotherBart]

I would love to check out your wiki, if I could figure out where it is! If you could point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Category:How-to::Woodburning_FAQ/

 

[firefighterjake]

I would love to check out your wiki, if I could figure out where it is! If you could point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Category:How-to::Woodburning_FAQ/

Thanks Brother Bart!

 

[firefighterjake]

oh yeah, also check out my wiki on FAQs . . . and then ask questions . . . we love to answer questions.

I would love to check out your wiki, if I could figure out where it is! If you could point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it. I am still trying to learn how to navigate this site. I am doing lots of reading here - I just hope I can remember what I've read when the stove gets here! And I am sure I will be back with questions, probably lots of questions! You have questions . . . we have answers . . . it's all part of paying it forward as a way of thanking folks who helped us out when we were starting out and learning.

The one that is at the top of my head is about the use of thermometers - which one is best, where to place one, using one on double walled pipe ... All opinions as to which are best . . . I've had good luck with my Condar thermometers -- one on my stove top and a probe style thermometer for my double wall pipe. The easy answer as to placement is to say follow the manufacturer's suggestions . . . and if there are no specific instructions (i.e. Jotul Oslo suggests one of the four corners, the Condar probe thermometer for double wall pipe suggests 18 inches high on the stove pipe) then you can always ask owners of the particular stove for their opinion.


Figuring out how best to light and burn, I think that will have to wait until the stove gets here! Sure . . . and in the meantime . . . keep reading and asking questions.

 

[kathyfitz]

Thank you both!

 

[PapaDave]

Kathy, first, welcome to the Hearth. Lots of good people here, with tons of knowledge to share.
Now that that's out of the way, I/we hope you'll be taking and posting plenty of pics of your install and setup.
Sounds like you're pretty well gooder to go with dry wood, too. That should put you well ahead of the curve.

 

[kathyfitz]

Now that that's out of the way, I/we hope you'll be taking and posting plenty of pics of your install and setup.

We have taken lots of pictures of the undertaking. I'll post some as soon as I get one of the finished project! That should be tomorrow. I've got my fingers crossed that the part scheduled to be delivered today actually gets there today and doesn't delay the installation!

 

[PapaDave]

OK, we'll wait. :coolsmile:

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I see the racers every year! They go right by the foot of the mountain. You really ought to come up to the top sometime to see the beauty from here!

Yes, the house is big - in fact the biggest we have ever lived in. And it is a one bedroom, we moved here after the kids were all grown and out of the house. The pellets stoves will still have a place, but hopefully used less. They are in the "wings" of the house were the air doesn't circulate to well and they stay colder. One of those wings happens to be where I sleep. The wood stove will be basically in the center of the house. It is a very large room maybe 25x25 that is open to the lofts above it. Really pretty design, but harder to heat. We have ceiling fans that run pretty much all year, for one reason or another. When it became clear that to get the stove, we had to do a lot of work (remove the walls that surrounded the old fireplace) to get the clearances needed, we went with the biggest one available in the area. I am not a fan of being cold and we don't have another method of heating without power. (Even the propane forced air heater needs power to run, and I am way to cheap to try to heat this house with propane!)

What I prefer to burn is what my husband calls "fire cured oak". Trees that were killed in the wildfire on the mountain 3 years ago this week. What I burned last year lit like a dream and burned great. I have some pine out there too that is a couple of years old. We used to get a lot of "gray wood", dead oak that was still standing, that was also nice to burn. We don't see much of that since the fire, but then again, it may all be the same and we just can't tell anymore.

Kathy, glad to hear you see some of the racers every year. I am always amazed. I've actually travelled the route past the lake only one time, when I was driving the pace van behind John Schlitter. Most of the time I am the RV Captain and we are not allowed on the race route until after Borrego Springs. That is just a safety thing because most riders have at least 3 vehicles and you can imagine the congestion that would cause when the racers are still bunched up. It would be nasty and I'm sure the Highway Patrol might step in if that happened. So far we have their blessing. So, with the RV we take an alternate route south and then wait at Borrego Springs and start giving support there.

btw, next June marks the 30th year for RAAM! It doesn't seem that long as I vividly remember the first races....

Keep smiling!
Dennis

 

[kathyfitz]

The stove was delivered and installed today! I am really happy with how the project turned out. I had the first little fire to begin the curing process for the paint. Once that is done, then I can really start to figure it out! As promised here are some pics.

ETA: Not sure why the pics are out of order, this is the order the are showing up in - 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 7 and 6.

 

[kathyfitz]

The rest of the pics. I really did try to edit them down...

ETA: This time the order is 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, and 14.

 

[begreen]

Looks great, hows the heat?

 

[kathyfitz]

I've only had one small fire to begin the curing process on the paint - another one tomorrow morning and again as soon as that cools in the afternoon. Once that is done, I can get more serious. That said, once I got it going it did seem to get nice and warm!

 

[weatherguy]

Looks good, whys your cat peeing on the stove? :lol:

 

[kathyfitz]

Just marking her territory. ;-)

 

[fire_man]

Welcome to the forum Kathy.

I fully understand why you want to heat with wood even in your area! It's hard to beat, especially when the power goes out. If the power does go out during winter months we don't do a whole lot of worrying here. Besides, my wife does a lot of cooking on our stove too so it is just another day if the power does die.

Tips for a new stove owner? The very best tip I can offer is first, learn what dry wood really is. Learn how to dry wood properly. Never burn less than dry wood if at all possible. Never believe a wood seller when he says the wood is seasoned and ready to burn. Also, take the time to learn how to use your new stove properly and that will serve you for many happy years.

Good luck to you.

Dennis:

Just curious, what kind of cooking (eggs/boiling water/or just heating stuff up) does your wife do on the Fireview?
Are you using the extra panels of soapstone placed on the top or just cooking directly on the stove?
How hot is the top when you are cooking?

We have never tried this, but do lose power very often and would like to try it out.

 

[firefighterjake]

Looks good, whys your cat peeing on the stove? :lol:

Forget the cat . . . I'm wondering about the two stripper poles he has next to the woodstove.

Aren't you afraid the strippers will be close to the woodstove and burst into flames when they're twirling around the pole?

 

[Wood Duck]

I have a question for the forum about the pictures. I see in a few pics that there is plywood underneath tile or slate. I have similar hearth construction, and when choosing a stove I thought I would have to be careful about choosing a type that doesn't need too much heat protection in the floor. Is tile over wood a typical installation, and did I need to be worried about my floor? I chose a Lopi that needs only a sheet of metal over wood, and i have tile, cement board, then wood, so i am OK, but curious.