Looks like first fire tonight.

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Corey

Minister of Fire
Nov 19, 2005
2,775
Midwest
I guess it had to come sometime. Looking forward to a fire, but hate to see summer go! Oct 3rd it was 96F so I made my last trip out to splash in the lake. Eight days later - forecast at or near freezing tonight, plus two days of cloudy cold has cut off the passive solar gain and zapped the thermal mass of the house...so I'm hustling to get the jetskis inside and help the wife round up all the outdoor plants.

Let the firewood season begin!

Corey
 
Yeah we will start Friday. Looking at the temps from there on out it will be light it and keep feeding it till April.
 
It looks like Friday will be my first here in Jerzy. Suppose to dip into the low 40s or High 30s Friday night. But then it will be the chess game until late November when I go 24/7.
 
Southeastern Wisconsin had snow fluries tonight. I better hurry up and decide what insert to go with or it's going to be a long expensive winter.
 
MrGriz said:
Southeastern Wisconsin had snow fluries tonight. I better hurry up and decide what insert to go with or it's going to be a long expensive winter.

When you write the check for that insert that makes it an instant expensive winter.
 
BrotherBart said:
MrGriz said:
Southeastern Wisconsin had snow fluries tonight. I better hurry up and decide what insert to go with or it's going to be a long expensive winter.

When you write the check for that insert that makes it an instant expensive winter.

Well the nice thing about the check for the insert .......... he will be able to keep it unlike the cost of heating fuel thats gone right away.
 
A little analysis if you guys don't mind a thread hyjack...

Last year I locked in at 2.40/gallon and the oil supplier estimated from 3 previous years that I'd use 1000 gallons.

so easy math. 2400 bucks in oil would have been used for heat and hot water.

The insert cost around 1500, the liner about 450, and the balance of the hearth work to completely rebuild the hearth (tile, cement board, mantle materials etc was about 450.

so for a total of around 3200 bucks for heat and hot water.

So, an expensive year. But last year was certainly the year to do it. It was a mild winter and I didn't burn wood until after thanksgiving. This year, I've burned already, and the furnace has not come on at all except for hot water, and I plan to keep it that way. From last years experience, the stove would keep up the house temps until the outside temp fell below 10 or slightly lower, but that was with almost no basement insulation and failing insulation under my kitchen/diningroom crawl space. All that has been corrected this summer, so I don't think the house has any remaining super weak spots. I've plugged them all.

So, if you purchase the stove, it WILL be an expensive year, BUT...as you said, you get to keep it and then laugh at the oil company when they come to fill the tank in January only to put 50 gallons in. As their filling the tank, the guy will certainly notice the big honkin pile of wood and will wonder no more. :)

Oh....I almost forgot to mention. If I were using oil to heat the house, the house temp would be no higher than 70. That's what we kept it at all previous years.

Last year, the kitchen temp hovered around 72 and the livingroom was 76 minimum. My wife was VERY happy about that!!

My bonus...I got to hang outside, split wood and drink beer. Ahhhh very nice.

Enjoy that first fire..... It's the sweetest of the year!!!!!!!!
 
This may be the only big check that I am looking forward to writing :cheese: ! Unfortunately, I can't laugh at the oil guy, the only heat in my house is electric base board. I'll just have to send WI Electric pictures of my insert, wood pile, me in my shorts drinking a beer in front of the fire, etc... every time I send them a smaller check :exclaim:

Besides, anything that lets me hang out outside, play with cool power tools and drink beer is just worth it.
 
MrGriz said:
This may be the only big check that I am looking forward to writing :cheese: ! Unfortunately, I can't laugh at the oil guy, the only heat in my house is electric base board. I'll just have to send WI Electric pictures of my insert, wood pile, me in my shorts drinking a beer in front of the fire, etc... every time I send them a smaller check :exclaim:

Besides, anything that lets me hang out outside, play with cool power tools and drink beer is just worth it.

Uh oh. Watch out. I am the only one that admits to drinking beer while running a chainsaw and a splitter here.
 
Did I type that out loud?!?!?!?
 
Hey MrGriz, I live near you and am also doing the first fire tonight. Also spent the afternoon hauling in all the many houseplants, and dragging in the pepper plants in pots, and pulling up tomato plants to put into the basement, as this will be our first frost. Made 5 trips to Waterford last week getting firewood someone offered up on freecycle. We had to cut most of it into smaller pieces, but it was already down, one mulberry and 2 maple trees. We didn't get all of that wood, there were other claims on it, but we got 5 pickup loads. It was a nice start at collecting firewood for next season. Just keep your eyes open, and you should be able to find free wood a lot in this area, so far we have been very lucky.

Marcia in the Town of Raymond
 
I've had a couple fires in the small stove, couldn't resist. Windy and rainy here, temps are supposed to bottom out after the front moves through. Saturday morning, it'll be nice to get up, put some wood on the fire, get a coffee, and just sit and watch the fire burn for a while.
 
BrotherBart said:
MrGriz said:
This may be the only big check that I am looking forward to writing :cheese: ! Unfortunately, I can't laugh at the oil guy, the only heat in my house is electric base board. I'll just have to send WI Electric pictures of my insert, wood pile, me in my shorts drinking a beer in front of the fire, etc... every time I send them a smaller check :exclaim:

Besides, anything that lets me hang out outside, play with cool power tools and drink beer is just worth it.

Uh oh. Watch out. I am the only one that admits to drinking beer while running a chainsaw and a splitter here.

bb and griz,a sunday morning bloody mary is a must if it involes a chainsaw or logsplitter:)
 
Hi, my name is Jags......and I drink beer while processing wood.

Man that felt good to get off my chest. :lol:
 
My post that started this beer and wood processing seems to need clarification. I only split wood with a maul while doing that. I don't personally think Beer and chain saws is a good plan. Never used a splitter, so not an issue for me.
 
Marcia,
I've had good luck scrounging for free wood in the area also. That's one reason I'm investing in the insert, among a bunch of others.

Jags,
Only 11 more steps to go!
 
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