Purchased A Fireview Today!

[KB1GCB]

Hi Everyone,

A few weeks ago I asked for some help in pricing my large Dutchwest. Sold it last week for the asking price of $400 (see pic). Today, Monday, March 23rd my wife and I picked out our fireview at the factory. My son goes to graduate school in hanover and lives about 3 miles away with his lovely wife. Mike was our salesperson--we had a wonderful experience. He answered all our questions and the tour of the factory was great. Kudos to Mike and everyone else we met at the factory! We selected the blue color and the soapstone had some very large veins of white (marble) effect--very nice. My wife liked it and that is important to me. Also, purchased the cooking stone that fits on the top and will get the stove pipe painted blue. Not sure when we will have it shipped or maybe pickup myself. I have an old f150 pickup, but would hate to break down on the trip with our new fireview (7 hrs. round trip). Being conservative by nature, I will probably have it delivered.

Thanks for the help with pricing my old stove and will post some pics of the new fireview--just not sure when. Ordered some tree length logs (oak) for next month (3 cords)--want to get ready for next fall. Got my stihl saw ready and maul--will be 65 yrs. old this summer, so will pace myself. I'll think of it as a substitute for joining a gym &^)

John

 

[Flatbedford]

Congrats. I think my wife and I will be taking the long ride up there from NY pretty soon too. So, they have a bunch that you can choose from of each model?

 

[KB1GCB]

Thanks Steve and hi,

Yes, they had a few of each color. All of them are very nice--any one would have been great! I'm happy my wife enjoyed it and I think both of you will also. The factory was much larger than I envisioned. You can look forward to an enjoyable experience! One feature I really liked on the firewood was that it uses only one air opening control. On my dutchwest there are three--one for the combustor, one on the side door and one below the firebox. It took me a few seasons to get all at the most efficient settings.

John

 

[Todd]

Congrats, your going to love your stove. The Fireview is going to look great on that hearth. Make sure you share some pictures when you set it up. Sounds like Woodstock is very busy now with the big sale and tax break going on.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Congratulations on buying a wonderful stove. It will last you the rest of your lives and keep you warm too.

I do worry a bit about that oak you are going to work on. What kind of oak is it? Red oak takes 2 years to season before it is ready to burn. If it is white oak, then you need to split really small and stack it really loose out in the sun and where wind will hit the side of the pile. Otherwise that wood might not be ready to burn in the fall. No sense in starting with bad wood.

Don't worry too much about age. You haven't caught me yet. I took this picture yesterday while taking a break.

 

[KB1GCB]

Hello again and thanks for all the "congrats" on my new fireview. It will meet my expectations if I get more heat and longer burn times than my old dutchwest. After reading all the positive comments here about the woodstock stoves, I don't think I'll be disappointed. Also, the woodstock company employees have been great to work with!

I do worry a bit about that oak you are going to work on. What kind of oak is it? Red oak takes 2 years to season before it is ready to burn. If it is white oak, then you need to split really small and stack it really loose out in the sun and where wind will hit the side of the pile. Otherwise that wood might not be ready to burn in the fall. No sense in starting with bad wood.

Sorry to say, I don't no which type of oak I'll be receiving. I live near our state reservoir and a logging company has been hired to clear certain areas (gypsy moth problems). I am sending you some pics of wood that I split with my monster maul. Not very much compared to your beautiful pile. Maybe you can tell from my photos. This is my back yard and I have similar oak trees to the ones I am purchasing. Notice my empty racks, have to get busy for next fall/winter. Have been reading about the fiskars 28" maul--migh use the monster maul less.

John

 

[Backwoods Savage]

John, there is good news and bad news.

The good news is that it is red oak.
The bad news is that it is red oak.

If I were in your shoes I would be looking for some other wood for this coming winter but the following winter you will really smile. So look at it as an investment with this oak. It is very similar to stock or CD's in that it will pay dividends; you just have to let it sit for a while.

Some has said they have burned some red oak the first year but they also just put in maybe one piece per load along with a different wood.

Also, to speed drying, I'd take that tarp off the wood fast. When you do put it back on (late next fall), try to cover the top only. Leaving the tarp off will assist in evaporating moisture whereas the tarp will just make a block and moisture will actually condense under the tarp, hindering what you want to accomplish.

Good luck.

 

[KB1GCB]

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for all the helpful tips. I thought the wood is covered (tops) until the weather turns milder/warmer (April, May, etc.). But I will take your advice and uncover now--thanks. I want to give my fireview every chance to be successful 8^) Actually, two of the three stacks were cut last season.


John

 

[Highbeam]

When cutting the rounds. Be sure to cut them pretty short, like 16" or less. The fireview takes pretty small wood in comparison to the dutchwest cat stoves which run from a 19" in the small to a 25" length for the X-large.

 

[Flatbedford]

When cutting the rounds. Be sure to cut them pretty short, like 16" or less. The fireview takes pretty small wood in comparison to the dutchwest cat stoves which run from a 19" in the small to a 25" length for the X-large.

I am afraid that some of my wood is going to be too big when I get my Woodstock stove. We are not sure which one yet.

 

[Todd]

18" splits work just fine in the Fireview and you can also squeeze in some 19-20 inchers, but they will be up against the loading door.

 

[Wet1]

John, there is good news and bad news.

The good news is that it is red oak.
The bad news is that it is red oak.

If I were in your shoes I would be looking for some other wood for this coming winter but the following winter you will really smile. So look at it as an investment with this oak. It is very similar to stock or CD's in that it will pay dividends; you just have to let it sit for a while.

Some has said they have burned some red oak the first year but they also just put in maybe one piece per load along with a different wood.

Also, to speed drying, I'd take that tarp off the wood fast. When you do put it back on (late next fall), try to cover the top only. Leaving the tarp off will assist in evaporating moisture whereas the tarp will just make a block and moisture will actually condense under the tarp, hindering what you want to accomplish.

Good luck.

I have to agree with D's advice. If you must use this red oak, you might want to split it down into smaller/thinner pieces.

BTW, nice looking place!

 

[Highbeam]

18" splits work just fine in the Fireview and you can also squeeze in some 19-20 inchers, but they will be up against the loading door.

Woodstock is starting to tick me off. They (WS) say they can only heat 1600 SF but then people are happy at 2000+SF then WS gives a maximum log length of 16" but then you can actually fit 18-20 inchers. What else are they wrong about?

 

[Todd]

18" splits work just fine in the Fireview and you can also squeeze in some 19-20 inchers, but they will be up against the loading door.

Woodstock is starting to tick me off. They (WS) say they can only heat 1600 SF but then people are happy at 2000+SF then WS gives a maximum log length of 16" but then you can actually fit 18-20 inchers. What else are they wrong about?

Calm down Highbeam, they are just a little conservative with their numbers. 16" is recommended and 18" is max as per manual. If you measure the bottom firebox side to side, it's 19.5". If you measure up 2" where the loading door is you get 21". But then the fire box isn't a perfect square, more of an octagon, so I think they just shaved down the split size to get a more average size and allow for good air circulation.

Other things they are wrong about are burn times are actually longer than 10-12 hours. I just did a 14.5hr burn and had a good bed of coals to just throw on 3 more splits. And their efficiency is greater than 72%, more like 80%! :coolgrin:

 

[b121]

Congrats on your new Blue Fireview.

I think the blue color casting really compliments the soapstone.

My wife and I picked up our new Blue Fireview at the factory on the March 14.
Ron helped us, he was great as was everyone we met at the factory.

 

[Highbeam]

I'm not really ticked off, I just don't use smileys, should have been a sarcastic type grin there. I think it's great that so many of these stoves are being sold. The online fireview page from WS says wood length = 16" which is dang small compared to the mammoth splits allowed by the dutchwest stoves.

 

[Easyellis8]

Backwoods,

With the fireview, how much wood are you using a season? It looks as if you are stocking up for years to come. Also, what type of 20-ton splitter are you using to split that wood?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ed, last year, our first year with the Fireview we burned just a tad under 3 cords. I haven't yet figured this year's because we are a long ways from the end of the season. However, my first guess is we burned about the same amount as last year. It will depend upon how much more heating we have to do. Last year we heated well into May. Maybe I'll take some measurements today and see how much we've gone through already. If so, I'll post tonight or tomorrow.

The splitter was bought at Quality Farm & Fleet, which was bought out by Tractor Supply. They were both the same so you can say it is a Tractor Supply splitter. It has a 5 hp B&S;engine.

Yes, it does look like we're stocking up....and we are.

1. As one fellow has already mentioned, I work slow. I have a bit of a handicap so can not work as I once did. I hate that but have to live with it.

2. I'm not as young as I once was either and that no doubt is slowing me down.

3. Having that wood on hand is just like having a CD in the bank.

4. I love the wood cutting, splitting, etc.

5. Getting up in age we know that senior citizens tend to have more health problems than younger folks. A few years ago I laid in a hospital for much too long and it took a long time to recover; hence, no wood cutting. Now I am in a better position so if that were to happen again I do not have to worry about how we are going to get the wood.

Yes, I have many friends, inlaws and a few outlaws who would gladly help and they keep offering. That is great, but it is still better to do it yourself.

6. We usually end up helping some other poor souls who need wood.

7. On occasion we might even sell a little bit.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

On Woodstock recommending 16" lengths. I believe what they are saying is that 16" is the ideal length which leaves a bit of room on the ends for air circulation. As Todd stated, you can get longer pieces in but you have to go above the bottom of the door level to do it. About 19" is as long as we've used. I now cut our wood to 16" but we are still burning wood that was cut before we bought the Fireview.


On the Blue Fireview, the stone in ours is also blue and we love it.

 

[KB1GCB]

Hello from Little Rhody,

Thanks for all the comments--so much to learn, I really enjoy it. I'm really getting bad--rode up and down a nearby road with my old f150 looking for cut wood left by the state. The state and/or town will leave some "scraps" for us town folks. I even did a fast cut on some large pieces that were left with my stihl super 028. I don't know what has gotten over me "scrounging" for wood like this--but it's fun! Of course, the wood is out there for us--but not much. I feel like a little squirrel gathering nuts for the winter--oh well.

Tried my first hand at filing the chain yesterday. Purchased a stihl file kit at a local hardware store. The owner showed me how--seems simple enough, will see. Should be receiving 3 cords of tree lenghts in April. Will cut and split with my monster maul. Also, ordered the fiskars splitting axe. I hope this ax will help with the splitting by making it a little easier for my shoulders.

My old dutchwest has been getting better burn times (7 hrs.)--do you think it knows it's being replaced with the fireview?

John

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well John, never trust an inanimate object! Don't ever let them think they have the upper hand either.