Need 12 hour plus burn times on mostly softwood... Stove suggestions anyone??

[wkpoor]

I know people who have both indoor and outdoor boilers. As Dennis said they do consume the wood but they do get the job done in large hard to heat houses or shops. One things that scares me is the total investment can be large with any kind of central boiler system. I would hate to invest about 10K in a boiler setup and then find out for some reason I don't have the health or time to do firewood. Many people report fast payback times with a wood stove. Boilers would take quite a bit longer to break even.

 

[Skidooer]

I see what you mean. The more people i talk to about the new high eff. stoves, the more im realizing the little ammount of wood il actually need for a season. Less time in the bush means more time riding the trails. Now most people are saying 2 years to dry the wood out, is this in a shed out just out exposed to the elements?? And can it be too dry...i was offered free split hardwood thats been piled in a barn for 10 years or more. Is more that 5 cord just sitting there ready, just have to go get it.
Thanks again to everyone for the replys i do appreciate you passing on all the info.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I see what you mean. The more people i talk to about the new high eff. stoves, the more im realizing the little ammount of wood il actually need for a season. Less time in the bush means more time riding the trails.

That is true, but keep in mind, the new stoves are not magic. If, for example, you are using a big old Fisher stove to heat your house you will need a big modern stove to give you the same heat. If you try to replace a big old pre-EPA stove with a 2 cu ft stove, you're gonna have a bad time.

Now most people are saying 2 years to dry the wood out, is this in a shed out just out exposed to the elements?? And can it be too dry...

Short answer is no, long answer is yes. Realistically; don't worry about it.

...i was offered free split hardwood thats been piled in a barn for 10 years or more. Is more that 5 cord just sitting there ready, just have to go get it.
Thanks again to everyone for the replys i do appreciate you passing on all the info.

Get on it!

 

[dafattkidd]

Good answer BrowningBAR. That is a dream score my friend. Go get that wood before it gets too dry and some else uses.it to heat their house.

 

[firefighterjake]

I see what you mean. The more people i talk to about the new high eff. stoves, the more im realizing the little ammount of wood il actually need for a season. Less time in the bush means more time riding the trails. Now most people are saying 2 years to dry the wood out, is this in a shed out just out exposed to the elements?? And can it be too dry...i was offered free split hardwood thats been piled in a barn for 10 years or more. Is more that 5 cord just sitting there ready, just have to go get it.
Thanks again to everyone for the replys i do appreciate you passing on all the info.

Definitely get the wood . . . 5 cords of what is probably primo wood for free . . . doesn't get much better than that. Many folks here would love to have wood that well seasoned.

And now, not to get sidetracked . . . but I gotta ask . . . make and model of the Skidoo? 2007 GSX 500SS here -- a few more bells and whistles than I was used to, but I have to admit I've gotten used to electric start pretty darn quickly.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I see what you mean. The more people i talk to about the new high eff. stoves, the more im realizing the little ammount of wood il actually need for a season. Less time in the bush means more time riding the trails. Now most people are saying 2 years to dry the wood out, is this in a shed out just out exposed to the elements?? And can it be too dry...i was offered free split hardwood thats been piled in a barn for 10 years or more. Is more that 5 cord just sitting there ready, just have to go get it.
Thanks again to everyone for the replys i do appreciate you passing on all the info.

For sure you will have more time for riding the snow machine! As I've stated before, we had a big old Ashley as our last stove before the Fireview. It ate wood about the same as most stoves we've had in the past. The most I ever remember is 7 1/2 cord in one winter but probably averaged 6 or thereabouts. We started burning the Fireview in 2007 and we averaged 3 cord per winter up to this last winter. Last summer we put an addition on to the house but also added lots of insulation plus new doors and windows. Looks like about 2 cord for last winter. So in our case, we can say it cut our wood needs in half.

Dry wood? Absolutely. Any stove will perform its best with dry wood and the new epa really does require it. One year can do it for most woods but up to 3 years can be needed. For us, 3 years minimum on oaks, but then, we give all our wood plenty of time to dry. I think we had well over 20 cord stacked when we got the Fireview and we hardly made a dent in it that first year. So we sold some and gave some away, but then, we normally do this every year.

Can the wood be too dry? If so, I have never seen it and I've seen some wood that has been in the stack for 20 years or more. I have a good friend now who has had some of his wood in the stack at least 15 years and he has an OWB and we know owners love to quote that you can burn green wood in them. True, but for best results, dry the wood first. They still will not burn water.

As for that wood that has been in the barn 10 years or more, we had some of that too not too long ago and it was ash, which we know is a low moisture wood right off the stump (still needs drying though). It burned wonderfully.

So cut a few cord of wood this fall and then fire up the snow machine.

 

[bogydave]

I have a BK King , Catalytic in my basement.
Does a great job for me.
This Spring I figured out how to burn when night temps are in the mid 30s & not over heat the house. A fire every other day
Dry wood & tight double walled stove pipe is key.
A big leap in technology from my 1982 BK it replaced. Some learning curve involved with the new stoves.

8" pipe needed though

Good luck.

 

[Skidooer]

Thanks guys, and iv got on 08 mxz 600sdi. Elec and reverse with the 1+1 seat for her. Works good iv just got to search for snow up here as last few years have really sucked
As for the stove im going to take the doors off and get the seals re done at the local stove store. Then try her again and see how it works. As for the new stoves il wait and see how the funds are in the late summer and decide then for the fall. And for the pile of wood im going to borrow a trailer and make some trips down to load it up. I took some pics of the stove and im tryin to upload one here, weel see if it works...

 

[raybonz]

Thanks guys, and iv got on 08 mxz 600sdi. Elec and reverse with the 1+1 seat for her. Works good iv just got to search for snow up here as last few years have really sucked
As for the stove im going to take the doors off and get the seals re done at the local stove store. Then try her again and see how it works. As for the new stoves il wait and see how the funds are in the late summer and decide then for the fall. And for the pile of wood im going to borrow a trailer and make some trips down to load it up. I took some pics of the stove and im tryin to upload one here, weel see if it works...

Man that stove is huge! Looks like it can handle a 3' log! Looks like you'll need lots of wood on hand with that old smoke dragon..

Ray

 

[BrowningBAR]

Thanks guys, and iv got on 08 mxz 600sdi. Elec and reverse with the 1+1 seat for her. Works good iv just got to search for snow up here as last few years have really sucked
As for the stove im going to take the doors off and get the seals re done at the local stove store. Then try her again and see how it works. As for the new stoves il wait and see how the funds are in the late summer and decide then for the fall. And for the pile of wood im going to borrow a trailer and make some trips down to load it up. I took some pics of the stove and im tryin to upload one here, weel see if it works...

Good god, man! There are Japanese hotel rooms smaller than that stove.

 

[dafattkidd]

Can you measure the inside of the firebox? I'm curious of the size of that beast. Replacing the door gaskets may help significantly. We also often hear of forum members changing certain burning habits to increase efficiency and burn times. Of course you'll almost definitely do better with an EPA stove, but I'm curious to see if you get significant results with some alterations to your existing unit.

 

[Skidooer]

Got some more pics... And the dimensions are approx- 28" width at doors tapering down to 19" at the back. 16" deep and no more than 7 or 8" high under the baffle plate at the back. Its a pain to load up as the wood trys to roll out the doors if you go East/West. And if you go N/S its tapered so its hard to pack it all in there under the baffle.

 

[raybonz]

Wow that is one big MF'r! I like the blower setup, man that thing looks serious!

Ray