We heat our ski cabin mostly with wood. We use electric heat and wood to get it warmed up when we first show up, and then pretty much wood heat for the weekend. We normally go through about a cord a year, generally Tamarak or Doug Fir that has been quartered, and then we re-split it. Normally it is "seasoned" when we get it, and store it for another year indoors. For various reasons we haven't gotten a delivery this year and time is running out.
I just tried some Presto logs (actually Priest Logs I think) to see how they burned in our Castine. I was very impressed. On high fire they looked much like burning Doug Fir, but when I cut back they would last all night, and have a round that seemed to be red hot coals all they way through in the morning. They seemed to burn cleaner, and the glass looked a lot cleaner, and also easier to clean completely.
They cost more than fire wood, but are a lot less work,and take up a lot less space. Also I can pick up 500 or 1000lbs in the middle of winter if I need to. I think we will go about 50-50 wood vs presto logs this winter and see what we think at the end of the season. I've only got about a cord of seasoned wood in the basement this year, and since we haven't been able to line up a delivery at a good time this fall we are probably out of time. I doubt if I can get a nice dry load after we get back from Europe in early November although I'll give it a try.
I just tried some Presto logs (actually Priest Logs I think) to see how they burned in our Castine. I was very impressed. On high fire they looked much like burning Doug Fir, but when I cut back they would last all night, and have a round that seemed to be red hot coals all they way through in the morning. They seemed to burn cleaner, and the glass looked a lot cleaner, and also easier to clean completely.
They cost more than fire wood, but are a lot less work,and take up a lot less space. Also I can pick up 500 or 1000lbs in the middle of winter if I need to. I think we will go about 50-50 wood vs presto logs this winter and see what we think at the end of the season. I've only got about a cord of seasoned wood in the basement this year, and since we haven't been able to line up a delivery at a good time this fall we are probably out of time. I doubt if I can get a nice dry load after we get back from Europe in early November although I'll give it a try.
