It's my favorite time of year

[wg_bent]

It's one of my favorite times of the year. A chill is in the air in the evenings the days are warm, but not hot, and Hearth.com is beginning to get lots of inquiry's about new stoves, splitting wood, when to cover piles, and some of the folks in Canada have begun to burn already. The days when I get to spend a few hours cutting, splitting and stacking wood are among the best things there are. The sent of a 100 year old white oak with it's spicy sweetness or the sweet aroma of cherry while your stacking a cord of wood begins the warm wonderful sensations that begin the burning season bring. I find myself thinking of when I'll go up and clean the chimney and chase all the bees away before I have to launch myself 20 feet off the ladder to escape the ire of an angry mob of bees protecting their summers work. The trepidation of going up on the roof to see how much fly ash my stove produced this year after burning a bunch of free pine... Will it be a lot or will the hot fires of some large elm log have cleared thing out... Oh the anticipation. Looking at the wood pile as it grows on a daily basis, sometimes with my morning coffee in hand, and wondering if I'll get all the rounds split before snow hits, or if I should start covering the piles soon. Will I need any pallets to put the stacks on or should I start my first Holtz Hausen?

I look forward to the many new members who will invariably ask: "What stove is best?" or "Which one should I buy?" The yearly debates: When should I cover my wood? Which heat better Convection or Radiant? Will a blower help? What do you cook on your stove? How many splits will Spike burn to heat his home this year... 1 or 2? and Who earns the Hearth.com Darwin award for the worst install? Yes, these are all things I enjoy with a type of easy companionship that I've come to look forward to this year.

So with that I say to all you veterans... Let's work to ensure all who come are made welcome and are offered the advise and companionship that you have all offered me and many others for a long time now.

To all the new members, Please stay, contribute, learn and become a veteran. Ask as many questions as you like, we all do enjoy the participating and community that exists on Hearth.com

And finally, Thanks to Craig for hosting this site.

 

[jpl1nh]

Nicely put Warren. I share your sentiments about savoring the process and anticipating the upcoming heating season. This site is a great place for information and a wonderful find for any who come here, in a large part due to the great members who share their passion with humor and welcoming hospitality.

 

[11 Bravo]

Wow........Couldn't have said it better......You expressed what I felt last night as I stepped onto the back porch to let the dogs out, cold German beer in hand, and I saw my breath.......and realized the thermometer said 46 degrees........and I glanced at the stacks of wood.....

 

[Robbie]

Warren, great post............you are right on...........except for some of us, we are still in the heavy grips of very hot humid weather (95 degrees today). :ahhh:

I can't wait to have some cold drizzling rain. %-P

I also like to go out on very cold clear nights and watch my chimney smoke go straight up into the air until it dissapears into the stars........... :lol:


Here in Tennessee we are not quite ready for any of this yet.........but getting closer every day.


Robbie

 

[DiscoInferno]

Enjoy it, average high temp in DC is still 87. We're at least a month behind you. Today was a "cool" 82 (94 earlier in the week).

 

[R&D Guy]

I like it when you first notice the leaves on maple trees starting to turn. So many of them seem to start so early like the end of this month.

I do get a little bummed when it becomes noticable how much earlier the sun sets.

 

[DiscoInferno]

I like it when you first notice the leaves on maple trees starting to turn. So many of them seem to start so early like the end of this month.

I do get a little bummed when it becomes noticable how much earlier the sun sets.

When I drive back from MI (far western edge of the Eastern time zone, actually farther west than a lot of the Central) to MD (eastern side of Eastern time zone, and farther south to boot) in the summer I lose over an hour of evening daylight in one day. Very depressing. I think tonight the sun set before 8.

 

[keyman512us]

Nicely put Warren. I share your sentiments about savoring the process and anticipating the upcoming heating season. This site is a great place for information and a wonderful find for any who come here, in a large part due to the great members who share their passion with humor and welcoming hospitality.

Ditto... I was thinking about this topic just the other night myself.

 

[keyman512us]

Enjoy it, average high temp in DC is still 87. We're at least a month behind you. Today was a "cool" 82 (94 earlier in the week).

I'm not b^tchin about how cool it is tonight... but current temperature "up here on the hill in G-Vegas" is 4 degrees cooler than the forecast low. For August 19th 45 degrees is a might bit on the cool side.

Currents conditions here at 3:56AM
Wind: NW at 3 mph
Humidity: 89%
Pressure: 30.21 in. steady
Dew Point: 42 °F
Visibility: 10.0 mi


If it's 45 here... the folks up north in the hills of NH might be lighting a fire or two tonight...

Unfortunately for me.. local ordinance prevents me from first firing until Septmeber 15th.

If the temps stay low... I might be needing the services of my lawyer.

 

[elkimmeg]

Weather has shifted like it always does up in New England but expect a few more hot days.
The addition Job I'm doing, is in 100% sun all the time, Friday, coolish coudy, was the first day ina long time I did not get cooked

Cool last night low 50's possibly dipping into the 40's.

There will be post where someone will be cutting holes in his floors and ceilings, or trying to use his return in his HVAC system to move heat.

Then there will be the global warming debate when all the PE summits light off. and BB NC-30 fires up

I suspect will have new menbers arrive purchasing a stove and suffer the wood man experiences and seasond wood will be discussed.

We will here the stories about stoves not drafting correctly in basements. The stories about yard sale stoves some one picked up and want to know about them.

I'm sure we will have the listed labled debate a few more times. The direct connect into too large a chimney flue.

The bolck plate consist of common insulation and BB and I s discuss the blockoff plate issue.

Then the Vogelzang purchesers find out they bought junk or the yard sale Scandia crap.

There will be debate about American made vs imported chinese castings where QC issues are discussed

Since the non cat people predicted the demise of Cat combustor stoves, that debate should be finished Oh but wait
we have a blazeking member rep here and he has the baddest size cat burning stove made bosting 40 hour burns
should be some debates between the blazekings and PE summits

year 2009 true patriot finally purchases a chinese cast Qudra-fire stove and discovers that fact.

the prefab insert issues.

my stove won't draft any more the termination cap being gunked up issue.

We will hear how differcult cat stoves are to run because the same damper action required for secondary burn controls cat stoves as well.

I don't thing the GPH debate is finished.

Pellets stove issues and supply problems or cost of pellet debates

Mike Esw finds his grove in time for the club championship

Corie engineers a reversable flue collar for rear exit stoves and includes the 3 drilled out holes for flue collar connection.

I miss the Husky VS stihl debates but many are purchasing Dolmar 5100 saws..

Eric gets that Echo on line with massive hot water storage Has more time to post because he does not need to process as much wood
he will again expound about PE and saw sharpening.

Goose finally joins clean burning, ends up with the bargin of the year we all wish we would have found. he discovers what 8 hours of productive burning is
gets more sleep not having to get up during the night to feed that old beast. He lucks out and gets one of those Makitas Sale of Home depot rental stock.
For his sake He safely cuts up the 3'+ beast log sitting on top of his pile

lets not forget the soapstove debates

Warren will lament about splitting elm.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree, good posts. Fall is near and the debating will really get rolling soon.

Here, we had 43 degrees yesterday and cool 60's all day. And we finally got some much needed rain, although not enough. It rained off and on through the night and is still drizzling out there. It is cool enough that we were thinking about starting a fire in the stove....but the darned thing is still in the crate! We took the old one out and are in the process of remodeling. Won't be able to use the new stove for a couple weeks yet, but wish we could right now.

As for this winter, we have lots and lots of tree tops to cut up. Last winter we had a crew come in to cut logs and firewood. My request was to leave the tops right where they fell, which gives the deer plenty of cover yet. Gradually I'll cut most of them for firewood and maybe even let a few others cut too. So I hope we don't get too much snow this winter (like last winter) so I can cut all winter long. Maybe we can get another 8-10 cords cut, split and stacked by next spring.

 

[MrGriz]

Well said Warren (and all the others who chimed in)! We are definitely headed to my favorite time of year as welll. The cool, crisp mornings and evenings surrounding comfortable days and the fall colors starting to show themselves. Lets not forget the increased traffic on Hearth.com and my decreased productivity in the office as I spend too much time reading posts, adding to debates and hopefully causing someone to spit hot coffee on the keyboard once in a while ;-) .

Of course, this time of year is leading to the nagging thought of; do I have enough wood cut and stacked (probably not). It also starts me thinking about how I can make this a better burning year than last. How I can increase my efficiency, both in burning and in the related activities.

That leads me to one question. If I can reverse the direction of the smoke as it spirals up my liner, will it increase efficiency? ... Let the games begin......

 

[elkimmeg]

I can reverse the direction of the smoke as it spirals up my liner, will it increase efficiency? ... Let the games begin....

There is a way but you would have to move to the Southern Hemisphere

 

[Mike Wilson]

I can reverse the direction of the smoke as it spirals up my liner, will it increase efficiency? ... Let the games begin....

There is a way but you would have to move to the Southern Hemisphere

Always nice to think it works that way, but having actually deliberately tried it a few times in several places, Melbourne, Auckland, Sydney, Rio and Johannesburg, I have to report that it just doesn't happen.

Might work if you burn pellets though... I hear that pellet smoke swings in a different direction... ;-P

-- Mike

 

[karl]

I saw a show on Discovery years ago that showed that it did. Infact, they were arguing about where the equator really is because they they went to a few locations at slightly different lattitudes where the water draining out of a funnel didn't spin at all. Mike maybe it didn't work for you because you were looking at it upside down

 

[cbrodsky]

I can reverse the direction of the smoke as it spirals up my liner, will it increase efficiency? ... Let the games begin....

There is a way but you would have to move to the Southern Hemisphere

Always nice to think it works that way, but having actually deliberately tried it a few times in several places, Melbourne, Auckland, Sydney, Rio and Johannesburg, I have to report that it just doesn't happen.

Might work if you burn pellets though... I hear that pellet smoke swings in a different direction... ;-P

-- Mike

On a backpacking trip to Patagonia a couple of years ago, my first picture when we arrived in Argentina was flushing a toilet. Great way to start off a slideshow on a trip to the southern hemisphere

(you'll have to go to find the answer - great place to visit!)

-Colin

 

[MrGriz]

[quote author="Mike Wilson" date="1187553461
Might work if you burn pellets though... I hear that pellet smoke swings in a different direction... ;-P

-- Mike[/quote]

Really makes you wonder about one of those dual fuel stoves that burn pellets or corn; hhhhmmmmmmm....

 

[MrGriz]

Just another thought to take up space on a rainy day; what would happen if you were on the equator and loaded 1/2 a load of northern hardwood and 1/2 a load of southern hardwood....... This sounds like a job for Steven Wright

 

[BrotherBart]

I don't think that you can use a flex liner in the Southern Hemisphere. The smoke swirling in the opposite direction of the corrugations in the liner pulls the liner down the chimney.

 

[Mike Wilson]

I don't know... but it didn't do it for me, not anywhere, not even latitude dependent. Turns out that its all got to do with the angle the water flows into the toilet. Coriolis only works on large systems, like low pressure systems... and pellet stoves

However, as BB pointed out, it is a well known fact that using standard US flex liner in the southern hemisphere results in a violent compression of the flue once a good draft is established... no debating that.

Read it for yourselves...

and then keep reading.

-- Mike




Draining bathtubs and toilets

A misconception in popular culture is that the Coriolis effect determines the direction in which bathtubs or toilets drain, such that water always drains in one direction in the Northern Hemisphere, and in the other direction in the Southern Hemisphere. This urban legend has been perpetuated by several television programs, including an episode of The Simpsons and The X-Files[1]. In addition, several science broadcasts and publications (including at least one college-level physics textbook) have made this incorrect statement.[2]

Many people who misunderstand the Coriolis effect compound their misunderstanding by claiming that drain water spins clockwise north of the equator and counterclockwise south of it, which is reversed from direction of spin that would result from the Coriolis force if it were a determining factor. The Coriolis effect is a few orders of magnitude smaller than various random influences on drain direction, such as the geometry of the sink, toilet, or tub, and the direction in which water was initially added to it. Most toilets flush in only one direction, because the toilet water flows into the bowl at an angle[1]. If water shot into the basin from the opposite direction, the water would spin in the opposite direction[2].

 

[Marty]

It's one of my favorite times of the year. A chill is in the air in the evenings the days are warm, but not hot, and Hearth.com is beginning to get lots of inquiry's about new stoves, splitting wood, when to cover piles, and some of the folks in Canada have begun to burn already. The days when I get to spend a few hours cutting, splitting and stacking wood are among the best things there are. The sent of a 100 year old white oak with it's spicy sweetness or the sweet aroma of cherry while your stacking a cord of wood begins the warm wonderful sensations that begin the burning season bring. I find myself thinking of when I'll go up and clean the chimney and chase all the bees away before I have to launch myself 20 feet off the ladder to escape the ire of an angry mob of bees protecting their summers work. The trepidation of going up on the roof to see how much fly ash my stove produced this year after burning a bunch of free pine... Will it be a lot or will the hot fires of some large elm log have cleared thing out... Oh the anticipation. Looking at the wood pile as it grows on a daily basis, sometimes with my morning coffee in hand, and wondering if I'll get all the rounds split before snow hits, or if I should start covering the piles soon. Will I need any pallets to put the stacks on or should I start my first Holtz Hausen?

I look forward to the many new members who will invariably ask: "What stove is best?" or "Which one should I buy?" The yearly debates: When should I cover my wood? Which heat better Convection or Radiant? Will a blower help? What do you cook on your stove? How many splits will Spike burn to heat his home this year... 1 or 2? and Who earns the Hearth.com Darwin award for the worst install? Yes, these are all things I enjoy with a type of easy companionship that I've come to look forward to this year.

So with that I say to all you veterans... Let's work to ensure all who come are made welcome and are offered the advise and companionship that you have all offered me and many others for a long time now.

To all the new members, Please stay, contribute, learn and become a veteran. Ask as many questions as you like, we all do enjoy the participating and community that exists on Hearth.com

And finally, Thanks to Craig for hosting this site.

You sir, are a poet.

 

[theheatelement]

I actually dislike this time of the year... I wish people would look at their chimney's year round... what happens for us is people tend to install chimney liners in the fall so we peak in production. It would just be nice if people bought year round. Im' still happy that people are buying though.. So I can't complain about that.

 

[Cath]

Today was brisk, almost like Fall, when the sun was behind the clouds. I did take the girls to the beach and they put their feet in the water for a couple of minutes. There won't be many more weekends that we can do that.

I prefer Spring to Fall but in New England we really only get about 5 Spring-like days over a three month period so Fall is a close second. I have a little more to look forward to now that we have the insert. That is, of course, once we get through the work of getting it installed.

The good news is I ran into a High School acquaintance that can recommend two chimney sweeps to me. I emailed her Saturday and am hoping to hear from her soon with that info.

Has anyone noticed the jump in stove "wanted" ads on Craig's list? I'm thinking we were very lucky to pick the VC insert up when we did, at the price we did.
~Cath

 

[biggins08]

Awwww Fall is in the air! Iwas in Portland Maine this weekend and it was a bit chilly! Long stares at the wood pile when I got home! Maybe I will write a new rendition of "Elm Round Blues" this season... Hmmmm........

 

[jpl1nh]

Itchin to light the stove and just not quite cold enough to do so. Wood piles x2 of what I think I'll need, and much more green cut, but not split and stacked. It will wait till next year if necessary. Still plenty of standing and lying dead I want to get cut and under cover, which really is like woodpiles x4 of what I think I'll need. Building woodsheds like crazy. Working on second one now so I don't have to participate in the "how do I cover my wood debate". AAhhh, I'll still reply to that one. Soon hope to post "how I spent my summer" pictures of 2 new woodsheds, non woodshed green-unsplit woodstacks, and new stove install. Can just about smell the apple smoke now..