We got heat ...

[Snag]

Got the pipe up today for the WBS and lit me a far ... and it's just swell ! I did a bit of tune-up before I hooked it up , repaired some broken fire bricks etc . This is a King Circulator , and I think it's going to work out just fine . My wood was wet and green , so it took some time to build a nice bed of coals . But once it got that sorted out it's been a steady heat . Looks like I better get used to the chainsaw ... and go ahead and get all the standing dead wood off my place . Part of that tune-up was replacing loose hinge pins and tightening clamp dogs , and it paid off . Not a trace of smoke smell from the stove , and that means there won't be a soot problem in the house . And once I get the logistics of fire wood worked out , I look forward to a toasty-warm and cheap heating season this year .

[Nate Nagel]

Just be aware that burning unseasoned wood means you get to clean your flue more often, or risk a chimney fire... and those can get scary...

nate

[Irreverent Maximus]

I do not miss fire wood, at all. Rainy nights and the mess. Starting a fire in the morning, taking a shower and running out the door before the house warmed up. Bugs, and more bugs. However, as a secondary source of heat, and ambiance, not a bad thing.

[Snag]

I saw one of those a few years ago , and it wasn't pretty - flaming chunks flying in the air and landing on roofs , including mine !! I wasn't really planning on using wood heat , just kind of fell into a deal for the stove . And since I live out in the woods and have about 15,000 trees ... I understand the dangers of creosote build-up , and how it happens . This year is going to be whatever I can get , but next year it'll be all seasoned wood . I have a lot of standing dead wood , and that's what'll be burned first , followed by the most-seasoned wood I have . The good thing is that I'm burning all hardwoods , red and white oak . Even so , the used stove I bought had a pretty good layer of buildup in the flue pipe . I think the PO over-stoked and damped it way down , a sure cause of creosote . Smaller , hotter fire should cure that . Best thing I found about this stove is - no wood smoke smell in my house ! Very tight , and that makes me happy as a Murff .

[Snag]

Been a while since you heated with wood , eh ? The technology has improved a LOT since I had a Ben Franklin in my living room out in Utahahaha .

[Ed Pawlowski]

I burned wood for 20 years. I find it much easier these days to just turn the dial on the wall. It does have advantages, but it was a lot of work.

[Irreverent Maximus]

Not really. I like building my fires outside. Inside, when the thermostat works, I punch the buttons or let the auto feature work (note to self: Self, fix that damn pilot assembly! Self, "FU, I ain't crawlin' through the ice and under the house fer nothin'!").

I actually help my neighbor with his fire wood. He is 70 something and needs a younger type of broken down body to help him with things. :-)

[Irreverent Maximus]

I spent a couple of years logging and selling firewood. Then moved to a different place that had a wood stove. Did fire wood/coal for a bit. After I moved out, my mother (yes, this was while I was young) got a pellet stove. She sure didn't do firewood. LOL!

Yes, the dial is a convenience that I currently, sort of, miss. I have my furnace on manual. I light rag of alcohol, insert into hole, turn ball valve. Voila, heat. It is not that easy, but it works. My furnace is a PITA to work on and the guts are only accessible from down below. I should go back to a standing pilot, but I kind of got attached to my electronic Honeywell valve. Too bad the pilot needs some work, and maybe some McGyvering.

I have half a mind to get some second hand Fireye equipment and custom install my own burner control system. Primarily because it would be something to build and tinker with. Secondarily because I do not like repetitive on/off cycles via the thermostat. Thermostat on until room temp is reached, system in standby until my set point is reached and the cycle repeats.

When it is really cold, the damned thing will turn on for 8 minutes, off for

10, then on, then off (ad infin). Damn that. On until 78, off until 68. Then when it is time for sleep, off until it gets down till 45, on till 65...repeat until wake-up call.

I guess I will have another project, too. Now. that I have evicted a raccoon, I need to blow in some insulation to cover up the blown in insulation that the raccoon messed up. Maybe I should move. This place is nothing but projects that I really don't want to do. Though, the burner control stuff would be a hobby type of project.

[Stormin Mormon]

You should take the dial on the wall, on camping trips. Makes for a much nicer night sleep.

[The Daring Dufas]

I love a fire in a fireplace as long as it's not in my place. I've been trying to get roommate to block the fireplace which hasn't seen a fire in several years and it only let's air in and out wasting energy. o_O

TDD

[krw]

They make balloons that you can stuff up a chimney and inflate, to stop drafts. It shouldn't be that big of a deal.

[The Daring Dufas]

I was thinking a big gob of silly putty might do the trick? ^_^

TDD

[krw]

I think you'll find that by volume, silly putty is a little more expensive. ;-)

[Stormin Mormon]

So you use the fireplace to store all the bags of foam noodles you get in packages? and keep forgetting them to take back?

[Stormin Mormon]

Bags of shred from the paper shredder? Mixed in with foam peanuts. Should block the fireplace after a while.