Introduction and thanks.

[parsimonious]

First post. Hello all! Thank you for all the information I have gleaned to make this, my first season of burning wood a success so far.

A little background. Moved with the family from Florida to the Adirondack mountains in spring this year.Beautiful part of the world but it can get a little cold.
We have a 500 gallon oil tank that I filled up and then shed a few tears. That won't even last a whole season I was informed.But we do have a little land with
sugar maple,ash and lots of scots pine and spruce.So we decided to put in an insert to try and reduce our oil consumption. My wife picked out a Lopi Revere
because she liked the cooktop and the ability to heat a little even in power outages.I got to work on toppling trees cutting,splitting and stacking.First time I
have ever done this,unfortunatly I came down with a case of woodpile OCD,constantly comparing my stack to others and always wanting more.From reading
some of the posts here I think its a common condition.

My results so far have been a surprise to me. I haven't even turned on the furnace yet. I'm really pleased with the way the stove is performing. Its a 2000sq ft
90 year old house. 1000 ft downstairs 1000ft upstairs plus a 1000ft basement. I probably would have had the thermostat set at 60 if I was burning oil but we are
cruising at 70 most of the time. Even the coldest part of the house hasn't been below 60. My bedroom is above the stove and I dont even use covers half the time.
I think I'll have to use the furnace when it gets to single digits and below. Teens haven't been a problem so far, but the weather hasn't been that cold for long either.

I'm running that stove 24/7, getting 10 hour burns(mostly 6-8 during the day) and having alot of fun doing it.Those people in Florida dont know what there missing.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum parsimonious.

That was indeed quite a move and you have much to experience yet! Winter is not here yet but will be soon.

Sounds like you are burning green wood so let me caution you. Check that chimney at least once per month! Do not put it off. Clean it as necessary. Then put your mind to work along with your body and know that your wood should dry at least a year.....after it has been split. It will dry best outdoors in the wind. Be sure to visit the Wood Shed part of hearth.com for more information on burning and cutting wood.

 

[Jager]

Welcome parsimonious! Love your handle - that's what my wife would say I am unless it involves guns or motorcycles. I've only been here a couple months myself, but it quickly became my favorite website. I always look forward to getting home from work and logging in to see what's going on. Lots of very wise wood burners here, like Dennis there.

Congratulations on the new stove. Nothing quite like sitting in a nice warm room with a good fire going while it's cold outside!

 

[parsimonious]

Thanks for the advice Dennis.That has been worrying me.I knew it would be a problem but there wasn't much I could do about it. The wood that the local vendors around here doesnt look dry to me, so this is what I did.

I made really small splits and had it all put up in single rows by early may.I'm using the pine and ash first,then the maple.I'm also mixing it with a couple of eco bricks each load. Next year should be better, I plan on being 2-3 years ahead by late spring. No shortage of trees out back.

I will call the sweep this week, see how its done by a pro the first time and if its feasible for me to do it by myself. I think I'll sleep easier.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

fwiw, I've posted on here before that one winter we had some problems and had to buy wood. Freshly cut white ash. We did not freeze but I would not want to put in another winter like that. I think we cleaned our chimney maybe 8 times that winter. Stayed close to the stove too as the rest of the house was cold. But, we got through it. This year we are burning almost all white ash but it was split and stacked in April 2009.

 

[oldspark]

Good idea on the sweep but it sounds like you have a lot better wood than most newbies, small splits, single rows by early may you did good. Welcome aboard!

 

[WoodpileOCD]

"I came down with a case of woodpile OCD"


Me Too...

Welcome. I'm guessing by your first post and your knowledge so far, you've been lurking here for more than a couple days.

 

[Gark]

Welcome! Most likely, with the heat your stove apparently cranks out, when temps get to single digits your furnace won't have to work very hard. It may only need to fill in a few spots on rare occasion. Wood heat can sure stretch out a tank of oil or propane. I would like to hear what the sweep does, what he says and how your flue is arranged, please.

 

[firefighterjake]

Thanks for the advice Dennis.That has been worrying me.I knew it would be a problem but there wasn't much I could do about it. The wood that the local vendors around here doesnt look dry to me, so this is what I did.

I made really small splits and had it all put up in single rows by early may.I'm using the pine and ash first,then the maple.I'm also mixing it with a couple of eco bricks each load. Next year should be better, I plan on being 2-3 years ahead by late spring. No shortage of trees out back.

I will call the sweep this week, see how its done by a pro the first time and if its feasible for me to do it by myself. I think I'll sleep easier.

You have done (and will do) well Young Grasshopper.

I think your approach is fine . . . excellent in fact . . . most of us started our first year with less than optimal wood . . . sounds like you've done everything you can to use your most seasoned wood first . . . and will keep an eye on your chimney . . . and in future years things will be even better.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Wood Duck]

You won't be the only burner who uses the furnace in really cold weather. My stove can put a big dent in our heating bill but doesn't heat all the rooms equally, so the electric baseboard heaters get used all season. We are maybe half wood heat/half electric, especially when it is below 20 degrees outside.