When Will You Start Burning This Season?

[jscs.moore]

Hey guys...this will be my third season of wood burning with my Hampton HI300 insert. I have an insulated liner and finally got the block off plate last season so I think I'm good to go now. However, last season I think I just started too early (around Halloween) and got carried away with the mindset that I won't run the heat pump no matter what Ended up cooking myself out of the living room many times because it was still 45 degrees outside...not to mention wasting seasoned wood I could have saved for the frigid weather.

So this year I'm thinking of putting off wood burning until at least December or when the outside temps are consistently in the mid to low 30's. Heat pumps are very efficient in mild temps (40's) so I thinking I will run it until it is consistently cold then start to burn wood.

Just wanted to get some thoughts on this?

 

[toddnic]

We burn around 15% of a 300 gallon propane tank each year. That is primarily when we leave for extended periods of time or when I'm traveling and my wife doesn't want to use the woodstove. We normally beginning burning in October and go through May. I currently have 2 cords of pine, hemlock, and poplar C/S/S that will get me through multiple shoulder seasons. It is great to get a hot, fast fire going early in the morning and let it burn out quickly. This warms up the house but doesn't cause the house to get too warm.

 

[drstorm]

I'll run my heat pump until the high temps stay in the 30's and lows in the 20's.Colder than that and I'll burn 24/7.
I will probably enjoy a few weekend fires though before the temps stay that cold.

 

[jscs.moore]

I'll run my heat pump until the high temps stay in the 30's and lows in the 20's.Colder than that and I'll burn 24/7.
I will probably enjoy a few weekend fires though before the temps stay that cold.

Yeah, I agree...that's basically what I'm going to do. A few weekend fires until it gets really cold full time

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

I'll run my heat pump until the high temps stay in the 30's and lows in the 20's.Colder than that and I'll burn 24/7.
I will probably enjoy a few weekend fires though before the temps stay that cold.

DrStorm, we have matching stoves right down to the red sidecovers!



Did your Chinook come w/the standard silver side covers too? When I ordered the red, I thought it would be instead of the silver, not in addition to!

I'll fire this puppy up for the first time just as soon as I can without getting it hotter than 80F in here with all the windows/doors wide open!

 

[drstorm]

DrStorm, we have matching stoves right down to the red sidecovers!

View attachment 199744

Did your Chinook come w/the standard silver side covers too? When I ordered the red, I thought it would be instead of the silver, not in addition to!

I'll fire this puppy up for the first time just as soon as I can without getting it hotter than 80F in here with all the windows/doors wide open!

Great looking stove!
Yes,I forget how much more the red sides were but we figured it's a long term investment so might as well do it right.
We love ours and get a lot of compliments from friends and neighbors.
I'm sure you will be impressed.

 

[NJ_Burner08002]

I usually start last week of October. Mainly with nightly fires. Just because I want to. Lol.

 

[bholler]

When i get cold. We just moved so the i am not ready to burn yet no liner and there is an oil furnace where the wood stove goes otherwise i would have had a small fire today. It was chilly and damp all day instead i fired up the furnace.

 

[HisTreeNut]

If it was solely up to me, about mid-November. The wifey is a little more cold-blooded than I am, so we usually start with night fires in mid-October, transitioning to all-day fires rather quickly by the beginning of November. I justify it with the old adage, "Happy wife...Happy life."

 

[yooper08]

I'll start burning once pants and a sweatshirt don't keep me warm in the basement. It's the zone I refuse to use the NG boiler for, mainly because it doesn't work well there for whatever reason. Probably should have it checked out but what for?

 

[firefighterjake]

I am cold = woodstove fired up.

My wife is cold = woodstove fired up.

For the record . . . I lit a fire yesterday morning.

 

[Michael Sean]

I'm with bholler and firefighterjake. If I get cold I'm lighting the stove. Yea I could turn on the heat pump but it doesn't warm you up like the fire will.

Also I work really hard to get my wood ready so I can enjoy a fire and the warmth it provides. So why give the electric company money for "cold heat"?

 

[huauqui]

As the sun dips lower onto the southern horizon my solar gain in the house goes up nicely so we try to get by with judicial use of opening and closing shades to gain solar heat and then use the heavy shades to help keep it in at night. This usually means we can make mid November with nothing more then a couple fires to catch back up on those extended cooler days. Once lit in earnest I tend to not let the stove go out except if I need to clean the chimney. We use about the same criteria to decide when to let her go out for good. Though I find once we are burning it is harder to stop then it is to jump in full bore in the fall. That is kinda what I do but of course happy wife happy life trumps all my best laid plans.

huauqui

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

I am cold = woodstove fired up.

My wife is cold = woodstove fired up.

For the record . . . I lit a fire yesterday morning.

Same

I had our first fire here last night. Two days of rainy and in the 50's. Not cold but needed to take some of the damp chill off.

 

[kennyp2339]

There is nothing on the calendar that tells me to lite the stove up, I do it when i'm chilly, This year I may go a little earlier though, with the higher oil prices, but we'll see. Usually I lite the stove at the end of October / early November.

 

[bob95065]

We are in the middle of a record heat wave here in Noethern California. I don't even want to think of lighting a fire.

We usually light the first fire in late October,

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I may have a fire here and there in the evening starting at the end of this month, or when we get cool.
Once it starts to get cloudy and the temps drop we get the stove going. I have the stove ready to light now just waiting for the cool down

 

[Ashful]

There is nothing on the calendar that tells me to lite the stove up, I do it when i'm chilly, This year I may go a little earlier though, with the higher oil prices, but we'll see. Usually I lite the stove at the end of October / early November.

Same here, but that always seems to happen the same time of year, late October. Returning to the house chilled, after trick-or-treating, Halloween is quite often my first fire of the year. We'll do evenings only, the first few weeks.

There's a bit of planning involved, too. I store the wood 300 feet from the house, so I need to move a cord or two up to the house in mid-October, to be ready.

We burn around 15% of a 300 gallon propane tank each year.

That is just awesome. I burn almost that much per DAY, when the stove goes out. We get the 275 gallon tank filled every 7 - 10 days, when we're away from the house in cold weather.

 

[Hogwildz]

I usually start burning 24/7 after Thanksgivingish time frame. As wanted or needed prior to that.

 

[BoyWonder]

I begin burning when we have a full week of below 50, at night. Otherwise, get some blankets. lol

 

[heavy hammer]

As others have said we start when it gets cold, or when we get cold. Seems usually around middle of oct. we start burning. Once the house gets below a certain temp and the outside temps don't warm it up enough the fire starts or the furnace gets turned on. I only went through 67 gallons of home heating fuel last winter, which cost me $135 to have the tank topped off so I might burn less until it gets real cold. Fuel prices have been staying around $1.99 a gallon so I'll just take it one day at a time. Personally I'm not ready for it to get cold but after this past weekend I'm pretty sure it's coming.

 

[Tar12]

Small fires as needed early on...this is usually the end of October and then we progress from there. I am in a happy place with 4-5 years of White Oak laid in...it is nice not to worry! I can relax now and enjoy the benefits of my labor! Looking forwards to firing the BK up!