New blaze king princess insert owner....how much wood to store?

[Ricky8443]

Thank you to everyone on the site for giving me loads of information to help me pick out the stove that is best for my need. This is my first post on the site. I purchased my blaze king princess insert and it will soon be installed with an insulated liner and block off plate.. Before and after pictures to come shortly.

My question is: How much wood do you suggest I have ready for next winter? I currently have two cords of split mixed hardwoods that were cut in August 2013, split in October 2013, and will be ready to burn in November 2014. It is already reading less than 20% moisture 'on average' as of April 22nd 2014, so I imagine it will be seasoned nicely after a warm Philadelphia summer stacked in the sun. In addition to this, I will be ordering 1 ton of brick fuel that will be stored in my basement. My understanding is that 1 tone of brick fuel is similar to 1.0-1.5 cords of mixed hardwood. If this is true, I will have approximately 3 to 3.5 cords worth of wood fuel to burn.

I live in an 1,800 sf, two story brick colonial with a compact square layout and plenty of large doorways in each room for even heat distribution. The house was constructed in 1951 and has 'average' insulation properties (not too drafty but certainly not new construction). I have an existing oil furnace with 4 zones two downstairs and two upstairs. We used 800 gallons of fuel oil for this most recent winter (November to early-April). My hope is to heat the house primarily with the blaze king insert in November, December, January, February, and March. Do you think I need additional wood and if so how much? thanks in advance! Any other information that you think is relevant would be greatly valued.

 

[Rickb]

I would get at least another 3 cord stacked ASAP and then use the brick fuel if you need it as emergency.

 

[weatherguy]

You will probably burn 3-3.5 cords a year but you should get the following years wood soon. If you can get some soft maple/ash real soon you may not need the bricks next year.

 

[paul bunion]

I would try to get about 10 cords stacked up and protected from the rain. Im sure you will hear about the 'Three Year Plan' if you haven't already. That way you will always be burning dry wood.

 

[bobdog2o02]

Roughly speaking, as much as you have room for. If it starts to spoil you can always sell some. I just installed a BK Princess Ultra i think i might reduce my consumption by 1/3. That being said i have 4 cords ready for next year, expecting to burn 3 and still stacking for later.

 

[Craby]

As a new BK insert owner, I scrounged 11 cords last year, and burned 4 cords. I have a similar size, type, and age house with similar insert.

I tried to burn the driest/oldest wood first. I burned about 2.5 cords of 7 year old locust and the rest was not so great wood.

I cleaned the flue this past Easter weekend and got about a gallon of creosote, which I attribute to being a new scrounger and the long slow burns in the shoulder season. Next year, and here after in perpetuity I expect only improved results as I will be staying 3 years ahead.

 

[Grisu]

Thank you to everyone on the site for giving me loads of information to help me pick out the stove that is best for my need. This is my first post on the site. I purchased my blaze king princess insert and it will soon be installed with an insulated liner and block off plate.. Before and after pictures to come shortly.

My question is: How much wood do you suggest I have ready for next winter? I currently have two cords of split mixed hardwoods that were cut in August 2013, split in October 2013, and will be ready to burn in November 2014. It is already reading less than 20% moisture 'on average' as of April 22nd 2014, so I imagine it will be seasoned nicely after a warm Philadelphia summer stacked in the sun. In addition to this, I will be ordering 1 ton of brick fuel that will be stored in my basement. My understanding is that 1 tone of brick fuel is similar to 1.0-1.5 cords of mixed hardwood. If this is true, I will have approximately 3 to 3.5 cords worth of wood fuel to burn.

I live in an 1,800 sf, two story brick colonial with a compact square layout and plenty of large doorways in each room for even heat distribution. The house was constructed in 1951 and has 'average' insulation properties (not too drafty but certainly not new construction). I have an existing oil furnace with 4 zones two downstairs and two upstairs. We used 800 gallons of fuel oil for this most recent winter (November to early-April). My hope is to heat the house primarily with the blaze king insert in November, December, January, February, and March. Do you think I need additional wood and if so how much? thanks in advance! Any other information that you think is relevant would be greatly valued.

800 gallons of oil equal 112 million BTUs. Assuming 80% efficient furnace = 90 million BTUs of heat. For mixed hardwood assume 22 mill. BTU and for the Princess 75% efficiency. (I know BK posts higher numbers but you are a new to woodburning and better to err on the side of caution.) Thus, 16.5 mBTU per cord. Ergo, you should plan to need about 5.5 cords if you want to heat solely with wood. Probably a bit less as the last winter was really cold.

How did you test the moisture of your wood? It would really be strange if 6 winter months would already be enough to get it below 20%. Take a few big pieces, split them in half and press the pins in the freshly exposed surface along the grain. Only then will you get the real internal moisture content.

 

[Ricky8443]

800 gallons of oil equal 112 million BTUs. Assuming 80% efficient furnace = 90 million BTUs of heat. For mixed hardwood assume 22 mill. BTU and for the Princess 75% efficiency. (I know BK posts higher numbers but you are a new to woodburning and better to err on the side of caution.) Thus, 16.5 mBTU per cord. Ergo, you should plan to need about 5.5 cords if you want to heat solely with wood. Probably a bit less as the last winter was really cold.

How did you test the moisture of your wood? It would really be strange if 6 winter months would already be enough to get it below 20%. Take a few big pieces, split them in half and press the pins in the freshly exposed surface along the grain. Only then will you get the real internal moisture content.

 

[Ricky8443]

Ok, thanks for all the great information! I'll start working on getting an additional two cords, which will put me at 5.5 cords total. Fortunately for me there is downed hardwood everywhere and free given this year's ice storms. In fact most of its been cut already into 20" rounds by the different townships and municipalities.

I will be limited to a one year's worth of wood because of the endless hours I spend making my backyard enjoyable, I'd hate to clutter it too much with firewood.So I might actually get two ton of wood fuel bricks for the basement. Pictures woodpiles and insert to follow. thanks again,

 

[Rickb]

If you don't have room to keep more then 1 years worth of wood you may consider doing what I do. I only use softwoods and ash. The other hard woods take to long to season and will not be ready to burn after just 1 year in the sun. Right now I have 1/2 cord of ash and 3 cords of silver maple. But I only burn in the evenings and weekends.

 

[Wood Duck]

I agree with the guys who say you should store three year's worth of wood. I'd want to have four cords at least for next winter, and four more for each of the two winters after that. That is a lot of wood, but big ice storms won't happen every year, so get while the gettin's good.

 

[Ricky8443]

I agree with the guys who say you should store three year's worth of wood. I'd want to have four cords at least for next winter, and four more for each of the two winters after that. That is a lot of wood, but big ice storms won't happen every year, so get while the gettin's good.

Great point. Awesome suggestions, I will take them all into consideration. You all have saved me about five to ten years of making mistakes to learn.