So I finally cracked -

[Slow1]

Well, after what seems like a week of rain and no sun I finally cracked and had to light that first fire this morning. House was just a bit too cool and I needed something to cheer me up from this overcast misery.

But the funny part (at least I thought it was funny when it hit me as I watched it start up) that I wanted to share is that my first fire was not only top-down but also backwards in another way.

You see being shoulder season and all I had put in a few short pieces of pine that I had - splits that were cut in half because they were just a bit too long to fit in stove, now they are too short to be proper splits but too long to be chunks... Then I put a handful of splitter trash kindling on top and a piece of a super cedar on top of that and let it light up. I was watching it start up and then I realized all the splitter trash was oak so here I was starting up a bunch of pine splits using oak as kindling from the top. Oh well, the thought amused me.

First time burning pine here - it is very light white pine and very dry so it didn't last long but did burn nice and hot. Got the cat engaged about 45 minutes or so after lighting and three hours later it was down to coals but house was up a few degrees in temp and still rising so it did the job of "taking the chill off" as they say.

Of course the kids loved to see the fire in the stove again and now the pressure will be on every day (even if it is 90* out) I'm sure.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I haven't lit up, yet.

I probably will this weekend just to test the vigilant out (did my first chimney clean last weekend). The Intrepid gets back next week from it's enamel stripping. Looking forward to that. This weekend starts the preparation for the Heritage install. My goal is to have that in by December.

The next 10 days we range from 65-72, so not much burning will be needed.

 

[branchburner]

... here I was starting up a bunch of pine splits using oak as kindling ...

Funny, I've been doing that too - hadn't realized, but it is amusing.

Yeah, the wife and kids will not accept any temps below 70 in the house now that I've begun the season. But I love burning, have plenty of pine and punk, and have plenty of shorts and t-shirts, so it's all good.

 

[billb3]

Ooh, save those oak splits for February, wasting them now is just plain crazy talk.

 

[Slow1]

Ooh, save those oak splits for February, wasting them now is just plain crazy talk.

By Feb all this oak kindling will be gone but won't matter - I won't be using kindling at that time of year, just drop more splits on.

I'm going to be burning pine until I run out, I figure I have somewhere just over 1/4 cord of it to burn this year - I wonder when I'll finish it off. I have it up front and don't want to juggle the wood pile and 'save it' for later or mess with it much so I plan to just burn it til gone. If we get a serious cold snap then maybe I'll have to dig some harder wood out from the pile for overnight burns... but I"ll try with this first - good test I figure.

 

[Battenkiller]

I had my first fire of the season yesterday, mostly to dry things out in the basement after all the rain we had. I used some scraps from woodworking projects, then put on some well-seasoned locust. Fire burned most of the day, but it wasn't until the evening that I finally got the temp to go from 61º to 70º upstairs. No matter, I spent the day down in the shop with the stove, basking in the stable 750º temps I was able to get with that locust. Warmest I've felt in a couple of weeks. Today it's raining again, but it's still 67º from yesterday's fire, so probably won't have one until next week sometime.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I had my first fire of the season yesterday, mostly to dry things out in the basement after all the rain we had. I used some scraps from woodworking projects, then put on some well-seasoned locust. Fire burned most of the day, but it wasn't until the evening that I finally got the temp to go from 61º to 70º upstairs. No matter, I spent the day down in the shop with the stove, basking in the stable 750º temps I was able to get with that locust. Warmest I've felt in a couple of weeks. Today it's raining again, but it's still 67º from yesterday's fire, so probably won't have one until next week sometime.

It's been very warm here up until recently. Kind of enjoying the cool indoor temps.

 

[branchburner]

Ooh, save those oak splits for February, wasting them now is just plain crazy talk.

Oh, I am - 3 cords, 2 years old. But what I'm burning now is all the twigs from that giant oak, and the scraps from splitting it, that I threw in crates for kindling. And those little oak twigs are being used now to fire up big splits of one-year pine. In February, I'll be using little pine twigs to fire up the big oak splits!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Slow1, that is funny too that this morning was your first fire and this morning was the first we went without a fire for several days; I think for a week straight.

 

[Slow1]

Slow1, that is funny too that this morning was your first fire and this morning was the first we went without a fire for several days; I think for a week straight.

I see - so you sent us all this cold rainy weather eh? Umm... thanks?

I don't really mind all the rain but a little sun mixed in would be nice - and we are supposed to get it this weekend thankfully.

IMed with the wife a bit ago - she said it was nice to have the stove warm today and have the house warmer.

Oh - Dennis, do you get a bad 'roasting dust' smell on first fire of the season?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It seems some years we do and some we don't. I did not notice any this year.

 

[gerry100]

Not really cold enough for a fire, but definitely damp enough in the lower level where the stove is.

Maybe a pine fire one of these nights...

 

[Slow1]

High of 59 and nothing but rain today - tomorrow is promising a high of 67, then 60's for next few days and sunny so perhaps we'll be ok for a bit here. Somehow though now that the stove has been burned once I expect it won't be hard to light again so the season has started in my house.

 

[fire_man]

Slow1, that is funny too that this morning was your first fire and this morning was the first we went without a fire for several days; I think for a week straight.

I see - so you sent us all this cold rainy weather eh? Umm... thanks?

I don't really mind all the rain but a little sun mixed in would be nice - and we are supposed to get it this weekend thankfully.

IMed with the wife a bit ago - she said it was nice to have the stove warm today and have the house warmer.

Oh - Dennis, do you get a bad 'roasting dust' smell on first fire of the season?

Slow1: I look forward to the roasting dust smell every year. We had our first fire last night and sure enough, roasted dust smell!

 

[begreen]

Yeah, we had roast dust last night too. Maybe tonight it will be roasted potatoes!