think i'm done burning for the year....

[moondoggy]

i'm out of good seasoned wood.
i have a cord of 'oak cut last year, split in the summer' left, but its still real heavy, unfaded, and hisses when i burn.
started on the cord this past weekend i figured if i just used thinner splits, only put in 2 at a time, (i wanted to keep the flue temps up.)
if i kick on the cat, i get visible smoke out the stack so i dont want to put the cat on anymore. (had no smoke on the past cord)
no worries just reloading every ~2hrs instead of 4.
but i am worried about the creosote build up still.
AND
i'm just wasting wood, that would be great burning stuff come this december.

what do you guys think, should i burn what i have, and jsut keep cat off and flue temps up?

i could not find pallets, i tried, but i'd use them to stack on, not burn anyway.

i cant buy wood- that is officially never going to happen again.

maybe i should drive around the neighborhood, see who has a 'pile that has sat for a few yrs untouched' and knock.

figure i only need another 2 wks supply.... maybe.

anyone else about done burning? dont want to quit, just figure its my best move.
should i keep on doing what i'm doing with this wood?

 

[gpcollen1]

I am to a point where I have one or two weeks left of wood and planned on burning right into April - that is the norm anyway. I'll either go pick up a half cord to a cord - so i can see the wood first. It is either pay for wood or electricity...

 

[Henz]

the fat lady sang. you did good this year, might have to burn alittle oil or gas. It will be a good judge for you for next year. You sould like me last year.

 

[burntime]

I have half a cord left at the house of dry oak and hickory. Under the snow if it ever melts is about another cord of mixed hardwood and some softwood from yard trimming. We broke the middle of Feb. so the worst is over. I think I will make it but burn everything I have. Time to get cracken...er....splittin!

 

[moondoggy]

yea man, thank you. i think i did ok for the first year.
i tried to burn ~10- 12 hrs a day... give or take...starting thanksgiving. only did a cord and a half.
i saved an assload of $ on oil, but next year will be my year.

got almost 2 cords already, and some friends planning on treework, promising wood.

Next year i want to be so ready i'll have woodchips hanging out of my pockets.
I want to burn more next year, ie; this year to conserve, i never loaded before i went to bed.

 

[Henz]

good idea..I basically used oil at the same time and burned the rest. I went through about 50 gallons of oil a month.

 

[moondoggy]

yep also the first year i actually measured my oil tank. only a couple of times
just did it here and there, didtn keep track, jsut wanted to see what was what.

ohhh but next year baby, i'm keeping track of my oil, increase my burn time, do some more insulating over the summer .
so i know just how bad i'm sticking it to the oil man!

 

[Henz]

last year I was anal to not burn oil..I spent $400 on oil the entire winter..year before $3,300! This year I am about $1000 and will end up being around $1300 total I would imagine.

 

[eernest4]

hi moondoggy,

Try driving around the neighborhood , especially on trash pick up day , and look for people throwing out old furnature. I get a lot of chairs & dressers & wood drawers that I break up with a sledge hammer & feed to my stove & it likes them just fine.

But my stove is secondary burn, not a fussy,mussy cat job, & I don't think your cat would like the finish on the furnature wood , but the back & sides of inside drawers are usually unfinished bare hardwood, all dry & nicely seasoned & ready to burn.

Also, dont forget the piles of 2x4 ,2 x3 & furring strips, busted doors & door jams that a lot of people throw out.

I been burning that stuff all month long. Just beware of the location of the nails in the wood,
when you go to cut it up on your table saw to fit into your stove.

So far, I have done 5000 cuts without hitting a single nail, but I mount a double 40 watt, 4 footer, flouresent shop light directly over my table saw. flour lite is like 8.oo @ wallmart & table saw like$100@lowes.

For cutting up flrnature & pallets & limbs & old lumber, nothing faster that a 10 in carbide blade table saw.

I really didn't burn much tree wood all year , mostly pallets & other peoples furnature.


LAST RESORT, bring an empty trailer (or pick up truck) to the town dump & pick up all the wood other fools throw away, in the form of old lumber & furnature.

The dump guy might not let you into their wood dumpster because of libility , but ask if you can wait around for some one to come with a load of wood for the dumpster & ask the guy if you can put the wood into your trailer instead of the dumpster & offer to offload it all your self
while he sits & has a nice rest.

 

[moondoggy]

some nice ideas there eernest, but yea the little square cat. would not liek that wood.
and i'd jsut as soon burn the 1/2 seasoned wood.
now that you mention it, the town has a 'brush/grass dump typw place.

 

[moondoggy]

PS
im home now,
65 degrees.. oil heat only.
this sucks, i'm burning tomorrow night... its going to be cold and rainy.

 

[drizler]

I guess that is one of the advantages of having a pellet multifuel like I have. It is nice to just wait for the next sale at Sams Club and go pick up 10 or 20 more bags in case I need them. Once I get my stove in the basement I this summer I can just juggle between them and then seriously tell the oil bandits to go to hell.

 

[streeter69]

PS
im home now,
65 degrees.. oil heat only.
this sucks, i'm burning tomorrow night... its going to be cold and rainy.

The second year I was in Arizona (the first full winter) I survived on the recycle center for cut pallets for my only heat! This is the first year I had enough money to go back to utah to get my truck so I could get my own wood. There are wood ways to get wood to heat, you just have to find them?!@!@##

 

[firegal]

Hi Moondoggy -

Newbie here, first time heating the whole house with wood. And I just started Jan. 1, so I'm a REAL newbie.

But just wanted to say that pretty much all I have burned since I started is wood that's not completely dry since I bought mine in January (had some real dry stuff I split a couple years ago from a house I used to live in that had a fireplace, and that took me through the first couple weeks of Jan.). So the stuff I bought sizzles, smokes and I have to reload every 1 1/2 hrs - 2 hrs.

BUT,

1) yes, I'm worried about creosote buildup, too, but I'm just going to have to have the chimney cleaned at the end of this season
2) yes, it's a 'waste of wood' in a way, since the stuff will be wonderful for burning next season. However, I love the feel of wood heat-- plus I'm spoiled now, I can go around the house barefoot (or naked) and not be cold. With my propane heat, no way am I gonna keep the house at 72.
3) yes, reloading frequently, can not get an overnight burn. *sigh* But I love burning wood, I love my stove

And maybe with the cost of wood my wood stove is gulping down, plus the cost of the chimney cleaning, I should instead run the propane because that may end up costing the same (or even less?), but my living room would be so empty with the wood stove sitting there, dark, cold and silent. There's something cheering about wood-burning (well, vacuuming up the mess from the wood is not cheering ... but otherwise, it's gosh-darned cheering).

So if it were me, I'd be burning anyway. ESPECIALLY if I had oil. Heck, what I have now is a propane fueled Monitor Heater, which is a wall heater, but it's so darn efficient it heats my whole house (only 1200 sq. ft), and really doesn't use that much propane to do so.

But I love wood. As I said before in another post, I'm just a wood junkie.

Firegal

 

[firegal]

As I said before in another post, I'm just a wood junkie.

Actually, what I meant to say is that I'm a wood STOVE junkie, lol.

 

[swestall]

That's two of us in NW CT

 

[mtarbert]

I stopped by a decoy carvers shop this afternoon and picked up a couple of crates of mis formed heads and bodies. They make great fuel for the evenings when you just don't want to burn kiln dried hickory. I picked up a hand full of heads and showed them to my 7 year old Son.......I said "Son 50 years from now you can tell your kids that you and daddy heated the house with Bobby Jobes decoy heads..".....they will probably cost 500 dollars by then........the things we burn

 

[BrotherBart]

I stopped by a decoy carvers shop this afternoon and picked up a couple of crates of mis formed heads and bodies. They make great fuel for the evenings when you just don't want to burn kiln dried hickory. I picked up a hand full of heads and showed them to my 7 year old Son.......I said "Son 50 years from now you can tell your kids that you and daddy heated the house with Bobby Jobes decoy heads..".....they will probably cost 500 dollars by then........the things we burn

Not Bobby's but his daddy's or Jimmy Pierce's will be.

 

[moondoggy]

I stopped by a decoy carvers shop this afternoon and picked up a couple of crates of mis formed heads and bodies. They make great fuel for the evenings when you just don't want to burn kiln dried hickory. I picked up a hand full of heads and showed them to my 7 year old Son.......I said "Son 50 years from now you can tell your kids that you and daddy heated the house with Bobby Jobes decoy heads..".....they will probably cost 500 dollars by then........the things we burn

that is fantastic.
i doubt "the things we burn" can get any better then that.

 

[Todd]

Don't burn wet wood with your cat stove, you will cause thermo shock and crack the cat. Been there done that.

 

[moondoggy]

Don't burn wet wood with your cat stove, you will cause thermo shock and crack the cat. Been there done that.

ok man, its not wet, its just not full seasoned, and i dont load up, only 2 splits of soo. burns good.
also i'm not turning on the cat.
you think i'll be ok then ?? come on, its cold and damp tonight.

if i dont flip the combustor i wont risk thermo shock will I?

 

[jbrown56]

Moondoggy, What you should do right now is bite the bullet and buy a couple of so called "seasoned wood" now. That way you will be set for all of next year and then you can start you quest for the following years wood. Buying wood now is still way cheaper than oil. You really need to get two years ahead on your wood.

Jim

 

[moondoggy]

Moondoggy, What you should do right now is bite the bullet and buy a couple of so called "seasoned wood" now. That way you will be set for all of next year and then you can start you quest for the following years wood. Buying wood now is still way cheaper than oil. You really need to get two years ahead on your wood.

Jim

jim, you missed my post, i have over a cord, close to 2 right now actually(and my buddy taking down 4 trees w/in a month.)
i'm set for next year +.

what i dont have is GOOD seasoned wood NOW to burn. one cord i have was cut a yr ago, split in the summer. still heavy, not grey'd, that is what i debate on burning.

i am working on getting at least 2 yrs ahead..... but my problem is right now and should i burn what i got.
(ps. these days $ is not an option, i cant afford kindling)

 

[fespo]

WE still have winter here in Chicago, more snow last night,yuk. I have more then enough wood for this year and the next three BUT last FRIDAY I had to surgery on my right shoulder. Dr. had to do more then what he thought. So I have wood but cant really load the stove. My arm is in a sling and i cant lift, So bring on spring. As much as I hate to I MIGHT have to turn the gas on.. NOW that is more pain the then surgery.

 

[Todd]

Don't burn wet wood with your cat stove, you will cause thermo shock and crack the cat. Been there done that.

ok man, its not wet, its just not full seasoned, and i dont load up, only 2 splits of soo. burns good.
also i'm not turning on the cat.
you think i'll be ok then ?? come on, its cold and damp tonight.

if i dont flip the combustor i wont risk thermo shock will I?

You won't risk thermo shock unless you engage the combustor while the wood is still sizzling. Your wood might be ok to burn with the cat if you just burn hotter and wait longer, say 30 minutes or so to engage the cat.