Year two and it's really clickin now!

[raybonz]

Chris I wonder if you're giving your cat too much air. If you have the stove air cut way down for a long burn you need to either keep the cat air closed or open maybe 1 turn.. At least that's how it is on this stove.. You may have had the secondary air set maybe a bit too low too.. You'll have to experiment to see what works for you.. If you have a big bed of coals the cat will turn off as there is little to burn at that stage... BTW the last post was filled up so I continued it here.. I saw what the dutchwest XL added and I am sure he can go quite a bit longer as that is a BIG stove.. Too bad it would overheat this house or I would own that one instead.. BTW Cert what vintage is your XL dutchwest?

Ray

Ray, the XL I'm using now is from 1991-1992 (my dad can't remember which year he bought it) I had a 2005 dutchwest lg in my house for a while and loved the fact the front glass stayed clean. However on really cold days I wanted 10 hour burn times (with good heat output) between loads so I traded my dad the large for his XL that was in his shop. Now he is talking about replacing the 1987 large he has had in his house with this one due to the fact he likes the clean glass and putting his old large out in the shop.

I run my secondary air to the cat at about 1.5 to 2 turns on long burns so one turn on the large would seem about right to me. However your chimney/draw will greatly effect how your stove burns and once you find the sweet spot on the secondary air it shouldn't require much adjusting in my experience.

I fully agree Cert.. Experience is everything in just about any stove and they all vary due to draft, wood quality, and user experience.. With my new insulated liner I had to adjust for the better draft and quicker heat up time..

Ray

 

[VCBurner]

Well hello gents!

Since we've highjacked this thread and turned it into a CDW line I guess I'll thank the OP for this thread again. I hope these conversations will help new burners of all kinds of stoves or people who are looking to buy a stove in the future.

I was all geared up at the end of last season to process all the wood for the following 2 years. Then came a call from a fellow local 107 member who was the job steward at UMASS Memorial in Worcester. It was one of the nicest jobs I've been on in my 8 years as a union carpenter. It came with lots of overtime. Then the camping season came and really hot weather. Long story short. The wood was neglected. It had been down for a year and cut to stove size logs another. I am splitting it by hand as I go along and it's all covered but it is not as dry as should be.

In spite of my lack of ready wood supply, I'm glad to have the stove in my livingroom. I was wasting a lot of heat by having it in the unfinnished basement. BTW, Ray I was heating 700 ft ² in the basement and 1000 ft ² of a single story ranch. Now it only has to heat 1000-1250 ft ² (one dinning room upstairs being optional.) At any rate thank you Ray and Certified for the guidance on this. I'll keep fine tunning my DW burning skills and having it close by helps. I'm still sending out a video somehow but here are some pics of the first fire. You can't see the flames too well because of the flash. The DW's sitting on top of some 2" cement pavers while the 2" legs are being ordered. It's a perfect fit in the fireplace! There are 3 inches on the sides and the top is only about 1/2" from the lentil. The 2" legs will bring the whole thing together once they are here. I have to use a fire poker tool to turn the blower from low to high. The first picture is from last night, you can notice the cloudy glass on the left side. I'll have to tighten the door latch and this problem will go away. The glass remained clean all day today until tonight when a few spots showed up. They'll go away again but tomorrow I should be able to adjust the door the temps will reach high 50's during the day so I'll let the stove have a day off to do these adjustments.

Take care!

 

[raybonz]

Well hello gents!

Since we've highjacked this thread and turned it into a CDW line I guess I'll thank the OP for this thread again. I hope these conversations will help new burners of all kinds of stoves or people who are looking to buy a stove in the future.

I was all geared up at the end of last season to process all the wood for the following 2 years. Then came a call from a fellow local 107 member who was the job steward at UMASS Memorial in Worcester. It was one of the nicest jobs I've been on in my 8 years as a union carpenter. It came with lots of overtime. Then the camping season came and really hot weather. Long story short. The wood was neglected. It had been down for a year and cut to stove size logs another. I am splitting it by hand as I go along and it's all covered but it is not as dry as should be.

In spite of my lack of ready wood supply, I'm glad to have the stove in my livingroom. I was wasting a lot of heat by having it in the unfinnished basement. BTW, Ray I was heating 700 ft ² in the basement and 1000 ft ² of a single story ranch. Now it only has to heat 1000-1250 ft ² (one dinning room upstairs being optional.) At any rate thank you Ray and Certified for the guidance on this. I'll keep fine tunning my DW burning skills and having it close by helps. I'm still sending out a video somehow but here are some pics of the first fire. You can't see the flames too well because of the flash. The DW's sitting on top of some 2" cement pavers while the 2" legs are being ordered. It's a perfect fit in the fireplace! There are 3 inches on the sides and the top is only about 1/2" from the lentil. The 2" legs will bring the whole thing together once they are here. I have to use a fire poker tool to turn the blower from low to high. The first picture is from last night, you can notice the cloudy glass on the left side. I'll have to tighten the door latch and this problem will go away. The glass remained clean all day today until tonight when a few spots showed up. They'll go away again but tomorrow I should be able to adjust the door the temps will reach high 50's during the day so I'll let the stove have a day off to do these adjustments.

Take care!

Hi Chris,
Talk about a perfect fit! Congrats on a fine job! That fireplace looks like it was designed to have that woodstove in it.. That stove will easily heat 1000-1250 sq. ft., if I remember right it rated to heat up to 1800 sq. ft. . From what you are saying your blower must be located behind the stove unlike mine which is front right. Now that I think about it I have a place I can also mount it in the back center or perhaps that's place for fresh air intake?? Chris it sounds like you will need to pull out the stove to service the blower.. Maybe you can add a low friction pad for under the legs of the stove to make moving the stove easier? A drawback to having the stove in the livingroom is a cold basement but you will be much warmer and you will use less wood with the new location.. Personally I like the stove in the livingroom as it is convenient and easy to keep track of what is going on..

Ray

 

[VCBurner]

Thanks Ray,

The short legs should make the install look more professional. It also needs a good cleanning. Where can I find a fireproof low friction pad? I wasn't aware they were available. It would certainly be helpfull to have one considering, yes the stove will have to be removed for a yearly cleanning. This stove burns extremely clean by the way. Last year's build up didn't even amount to anything worth measuring. I just vaccumed the debris with a hepa vac. How often do you vac your blower? I had quite a bit of dust attached to it from only about a month of 24/7 use. I may be able to snake a hose back ther to clean the blower though!

As far as the basement is concearned, there are other plans in the works. I still have two other stoves to install whereever needed. The 1936 Atlanta Stoveworks box stove or the 1980 Surdiac coal/wood combo. We are expecting another child. Yes this means #5 is on the way The basement will turn into a playroom/ bedroom for the two oldest. Their bedroom will become the baby's room. I will have to make a choice of which one to install in the basement. The box stove is easier to operate, since loading the wood and starting a draft is simpler. The coal stove is very difficult to use with wood due to it's small firebox. Getting a draft is even harder due to the heat exchange system on it. But the technology is lightyears better than the antique. If I were to use coal it would only require a twice a day shake and a fresh load of coal every 24 hours or so. How old is old enough to load a wood stove? My two older boys are now in charge of bringing the wood into the house and up the stairs into the livingroom. This is a huge plus for me. They are 9 and 10. The 7 and 4 year olds even help if they want to. They are always up to it too!

 

[raybonz]

Thanks Ray,

The short legs should make the install look more professional. It also needs a good cleanning. Where can I find a fireproof low friction pad? I wasn't aware they were available. It would certainly be helpfull to have one considering, yes the stove will have to be removed for a yearly cleanning. This stove burns extremely clean by the way. Last year's build up didn't even amount to anything worth measuring. I just vaccumed the debris with a hepa vac. How often do you vac your blower? I had quite a bit of dust attached to it from only about a month of 24/7 use. I may be able to snake a hose back ther to clean the blower though!

As far as the basement is concearned, there are other plans in the works. I still have two other stoves to install whereever needed. The 1936 Atlanta Stoveworks box stove or the 1980 Surdiac coal/wood combo. We are expecting another child. Yes this means #5 is on the way The basement will turn into a playroom/ bedroom for the two oldest. Their bedroom will become the baby's room. I will have to make a choice of which one to install in the basement. The box stove is easier to operate, since loading the wood and starting a draft is simpler. The coal stove is very difficult to use with wood due to it's small firebox. Getting a draft is even harder due to the heat exchange system on it. But the technology is lightyears better than the antique. If I were to use coal it would only require a twice a day shake and a fresh load of coal every 24 hours or so. How old is old enough to load a wood stove? My two older boys are now in charge of bringing the wood into the house and up the stairs into the livingroom. This is a huge plus for me. They are 9 and 10. The 7 and 4 year olds even help if they want to. They are always up to it too!

Hello Chris,
I would think those little gizmo's used under furniture would work.. I just know it's hard to move these stoves especially alone.. Congrats on number 5 kid on the way! I have 5 myself and the youngest is 13 now..My kids used to like getting wood etc. until they got a little older so enjoy it while you can lol.. I pretty much handle 95% of the firewood here which is ok with me except if we are getting low and I am working then the kids will get enough to hold us over until I can get to it.. As for running the stove I do that for the most part and my wife will add some wood if I am at work.. I don't want the kids to run the stove because of the chance of getting burned plus a few other factors such as burning the house down etc. :ahhh:
My cellar is a junk collector and the laundry is down there so heat isn't needed.. I would worry if the kids were left playing in the cellar with a stove down there.. Too easy to get burned or place something on a hot stove.. That's just me and I have seen kids find creative ways to hurt themselves lol..

Ray

As for the blower I clean it a couple times a year and oil the motor 2 times a year and suggest you do too or you will be replacing it more than you want to..

 

[VCBurner]

Thanks for the tips Ray. I try to have the boys learn a little of everything. But the stove is too dangerous for any of them and probably will be for a long time. I just this year let the the oldest use the microwave and even then they are not allowed to touch it unless they ask. My 7 year old Max threw a bag of popcorn in this weekend. The longest number he's ever put in so far! My wife is a hands on kind of girl so she will eventually learn the stove, I hope! She's still tentative about this one. But had no problem with our first two.

As far as today, with the warm weather upon us and I let the fire die. It was 78 in the middle of the house @7am. These were desert-like conditions compared to trying to heat the house with the antique. I had to let it burn out and still had coals well beyond 10 am. That would mean about 11 hours between loads. It's still 71 in here so I'll skip a fire for the night and go without any heat. We'll probably have a house in the mid 60's in the morning. We're getting an oil delivery of 100 gallons tomorrow. My last two deliveries of the same size were in November 09 and May09. For a total of 200 gallons in a year. Most of it goes to heat the water. The central heat is off as it has been 95% of the time since we started burning wood. I no longer have to cringe at the sound of the furnace kicking on. I can't believe I ever lived without a heat supplement!

 

[raybonz]

Thanks for the tips Ray. I try to have the boys learn a little of everything. But the stove is too dangerous for any of them and probably will be for a long time. I just this year let the the oldest use the microwave and even then they are not allowed to touch it unless they ask. My 7 year old Max threw a bag of popcorn in this weekend. The longest number he's ever put in so far! My wife is a hands on kind of girl so she will eventually learn the stove, I hope! She's still tentative about this one. But had no problem with our first two.

As far as today, with the warm weather upon us and I let the fire die. It was 78 in the middle of the house @7am. These were desert-like conditions compared to trying to heat the house with the antique. I had to let it burn out and still had coals well beyond 10 am. That would mean about 11 hours between loads. It's still 71 in here so I'll skip a fire for the night and go without any heat. We'll probably have a house in the mid 60's in the morning. We're getting an oil delivery of 100 gallons tomorrow. My last two deliveries of the same size were in November 09 and May09. For a total of 200 gallons in a year. Most of it goes to heat the water. The central heat is off as it has been 95% of the time since we started burning wood. I no longer have to cringe at the sound of the furnace kicking on. I can't believe I ever lived without a heat supplement!

Chris I'd say your furnace is your backup not the stove At least that's how it is here.. I too use my oil to heat my hot water via a tankless coil and buy oil 100 gals. at a time (sometimes 159 gals. IF the price looks like it's gonna soar).. The weather is getting colder so it will be easier to heat with wood now and much less cold starts.. With 5 kids we sure have alot in common!
Stay Warm!
Ray

 

[VCBurner]

Some people, maybe most people probably think we're crazy to have this many kids. But there's nothing I'd rather do with my life. We are definately in the minority here. My inlaws just ordered the short legs from The Stove Place in Worcester. They had it for a good price: $46 for a set of four. Santa will put it under their tree! :cheese: Hey Ray how do you like the 5 ton electric splitter? I've been thinking about getting one. There's one on CL for $275 brand new. I don't even remember the brand. I'll have to look it up again. What size logs can you split with yours?

 

[Green Energy]

Some people, maybe most people probably think we're crazy to have this many kids. But there's nothing I'd rather do with my life.

Does not sound crazy to me. Children are the heritage of the LORD and the fruit of the womb is His reward. It is just the world that has a lost way.

 

[raybonz]

Some people, maybe most people probably think we're crazy to have this many kids. But there's nothing I'd rather do with my life. We are definately in the minority here. My inlaws just ordered the short legs from The Stove Place in Worcester. They had it for a good price: $46 for a set of four. Santa will put it under their tree! :cheese: Hey Ray how do you like the 5 ton electric splitter? I've been thinking about getting one. There's one on CL for $275 brand new. I don't even remember the brand. I'll have to look it up again. What size logs can you split with yours?

I've heard it all having a large family too.. Many people actually are envious but hate to admit wanting to do the same thing.. I see it this way I raise them, I feed em, I pay all the bills so nobody has the right to complain..
On the splitter it handles oak and maple very well and only elm stops it dead.. I paid less than that brand new at Lowes.. Read about it here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/44366/ .. I got bad tendonitis using a sledge and wedge for 2 days so I had to get one.. Took forever for it to heal..

Ray

 

[ispinwool]

Some people, maybe most people probably think we're crazy to have this many kids. But there's nothing I'd rather do with my life.

Does not sound crazy to me. Children are the heritage of the LORD and the fruit of the womb is His reward. It is just the world that has a lost way.

Absolutely correct! Glad to find a couple of 'kindred spirits'

 

[VCBurner]

Glad to find a couple of ‘kindred spirits’

ispin, thanks for the positive feedback, good to see others who share my views.

I’ve heard it all having a large family too.. Many people actually are envious but hate to admit wanting to do the same thing.. I see it this way I raise them, I feed em, I pay all the bills so nobody has the right to complain..
On the splitter it handles oak and maple very well and only elm stops it dead.. I paid less than that brand new at Lowes.. Read about it here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/44366/ .. I got bad tendonitis using a sledge and wedge for 2 days so I had to get one.. Took forever for it to heal..

Ray

Thanks for the link and cool thread about the splitter. It'll have to be my next purchase for sure. I also have had tendonitis in both wrists and one elbow. When I was a waiter I used to wait on bus tours of 50+ by my self and carrying the trays full of glasses or dishes caused it on both wrists at one point. I had to wear a brace on each and still carry the trays!! :exclaim: Fast forward 12 years and I'm a uniion carpenter so injuries are somewhat common but one of the worst was tennis elbow from carrying sheetrock and cutting wood with a crappy chain saw as a side job, plus all the hard work involved with wood processing. It sure was nice though, that was my first year burning wood fulltime, I made $1300 (on one job) from the tree work plus about 4 cords free out of the deal. I spent just about $530 in oil plus $550 on my Dutchwest and blower. I'd say that was a good year 2009. The cost of the stove and the oil was still less than the cost of heating the previous year!

It is just the world that has a lost way.
Green Energy

I agree. People seem to have their priorities out of sorts.

To end my post I'd like to say: "How can I get away from all this heat, my house is 72 °C every morning. And that's outside the stove room! Feels like the desert. HA HA! :lol: "

 

[jharkin]

I don't think that people who have 1 or 2 children only have lost our way. Some of us just don't feel the earth can feed 10 billion people....


This is just an observation of a different viewpoint - not trying to judge anyone or get this thread kicked to the ash can.

 

[Green Energy]

I've heard it all having a large family too.. Many people actually are envious but hate to admit wanting to do the same thing.. I see it this way I raise them, I feed em, I pay all the bills so nobody has the right to complain..
Ray

Exactly, we even educated them, home schooling for the most part, so we saved the taxpayers over $120,000 per child by providing K-12 education without using the public schools. They are turning out to be well rounded, young people who understand the importance of character, high academically minded, and who can do manual labor, like splitting and stacking wood (see I got firewood into this).

Not only do people not have a right to complain, it used to be that we all understood the importance of developing the next generation so that our country can be strong and a blessing to the rest of the world. I know that I am risking getting off topic of wood burning and hijacking this thread, so I will quit for now.