Low 50s, high 40s at night. Still too early?

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Mr. Jones

Feeling the Heat
Oct 25, 2012
265
Kennewick, Washington
Just curious how low it has to get for you guys for a small shoulder season burn at night. Its like 80 here in the day still, but does get chilly in the morning. Realistically, I'm probably a month or more out before it's fire time in the day. I just can't wait to try out my new to me insert.
 
No way I'm firing up the stove with day time high in the 80s
 
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Lol, of course not in the day for me yet. Neighbors might think I'm a little off. I meant at night when it's high 40s. Or is there like a general rule for most people it has to crack into the 30s?
 
There is this amazing phenomenon in my house. All summer it's too hot if the house is above 72. However as soon as it hits 68 inside and the ac doesn't kick on its not warm enough unless it's 74.

This week we have a couple days with a high of 68 or so and will burn an evening fire or 2. Then I'll run the furnace a few days and make sure everything is good with it since it's supposed to be in the 80s again next week tentatively.

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Not a chance with those temps over night with 80's in the day! The house would be 90 degrees :/
 
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Lol, of course not in the day for me yet. Neighbors might think I'm a little off. I meant at night when it's high 40s. Or is there like a general rule for most people it has to crack into the 30s?
I know you mean at night. What I'm saying is my house doesn't get cold enough at night with day time highs in the 80s. Those cool nights are primo sleeping weather for me
 
Get a fire pit fire going to scratch the itch for now. There will be plenty of winter for the insert
 
Fall, house stays warm on nights at 40F with no heat needed.

Spring, I'm burning on days when it's peaking to 65F outside. Cold stone doesn't warm quickly.
 
For me there really is no set temp or date ... I burn when I'm cold and need the heat.

In our situation if the day time temps are in the 70s or higher during the day we'll open the windows to heat up the home during the day and close up the windows for those cooler nights. When day time temps no longer allow us to warm the house for those cooler nights we start burning.
 
For me**, the inside of the house has to drop below 67 F / 19 C for me to consider starting to heat. Often simply putting on a pull over is fine till that temp is reached. What happens outside is not relevant.

** Not the opinion necessarily held by my wife. :)
 
I just put in a new stove at the cabin. We had a low in the mid 30s last night. I ran the stove. The high yesterday was in the mid 60s.
 
I am down to the 70's during the day and 40-50s at night. I worked on the stove and chimney yesterday and had some furnace cement to cure. So I fired it up last night and left the windows open a bit. It was perfect when I woke up.
 
The only way to get me to lite a fire this time of year is for a damp rainy raw day. With temps in the 60's during the day and low 40's at night the house stays pretty warm, even with the windows cracked open at night.
 
Once the house won't warm up past 70 we will start heating. Right now we leave 1 window open at night
 
There is this amazing phenomenon in my house. All summer it's too hot if the house is above 72. However as soon as it hits 68 inside and the ac doesn't kick on its not warm enough unless it's 74.

This week we have a couple days with a high of 68 or so and will burn an evening fire or 2. Then I'll run the furnace a few days and make sure everything is good with it since it's supposed to be in the 80s again next week tentatively.

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That phenomen is not too uncommon ! There's actually a logical explanation, in that comfort is only partially satisfied by air temperature (around 50% near room temperature), while other factors including radiant have a huge impact often unaccounted for. So in summer warm walls/window radiation, cool walls/drafts/radiation in winter. Air temperature just a part of the comfort equation and needs to compensate for the less controllable factors in house. Just think what feels "nicer" outside: 60 degrees warm spring sun, or 70 degrees cloudy and breezy?
 
Don't forget humidity...


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Outside temp has nothing to do with it. When we're cold, we burn. Target interior temp is mid seventies. Usual cold trigger temp is high/mid 60s. If we had a furnace we might cheat with it but we are all wood plus emergency electric wall heaters that haven't run in years.
 
Nights here still have not dipped into the 40's yet. The house warms up during the day with the sun and the heat pump just comes on a few times in the morning and evenings. Not quite ready for a fire, but it won't be long now. Looks like later in the week we may start seeing some mid-40s temps at night. I just resplit some thick doug fir splits I stacked in April and was pleased to find them nice and dry on the fresh face of the wood. I wasn't planning to burn that wood until Jan or Feb, but it looks ready to go. This has been a very dry summer here.
 
Covered 8.5 cords for this year, today. It's been a very dry summer, but finally expecting rain this week.


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Nights here still have not dipped into the 40's yet. The house warms up during the day with the sun and the heat pump just comes on a few times in the morning and evenings. Not quite ready for a fire, but it won't be long now. Looks like later in the week we may start seeing some mid-40s temps at night. I just resplit some thick doug fir splits I stacked in April and was pleased to find them nice and dry on the fresh face of the wood. I wasn't planning to burn that wood until Jan or Feb, but it looks ready to go. This has been a very dry summer here.

Wow, we've already seen 41 on several mornings and 40 once since September begun. Amazing the difference a short distance makes.
 
I don't get much of a draft when it's over 45 outside, so I don't even think about it until then. A nice sunny day in the 60's warms my house enough for now. We need a few nights in a row in the 30's before I can really make the case for a fire. I was hoping for one tonight, but it's still 70 degrees in here.
 
One of our chimneys is so tall, I suspect I could burn in August. The other is like yours, no burning low-and-slow (BK style) on days much above 45F.
 
I can't justify heating at night when the A/C is still kicking on during the day. Today we had our first crisp, ahhh, "feels like fall" morning of the season...but it's still too warm during the day to think seriously about a fire. But soon, I hope.
 
Temperature tonight in the great white north is 33 so Ive got a half filled firebox to keep the house comfy till morning. It's a brand new wood stove (upgraded from a horrendously inefficient fireplace )though so I can't hold back the itch this year.
 
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This is perfect weather for running my mini split. Its effectively free to run it as I have plenty of surplus power stashed away in my net metering account. Last year I made it to early December before firing up the boiler. It was below zero the last two nights nearby.
 
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