Wood Burning Stove

A Masonery Stove? Wow. That would do it. We'd have to move the livingroom out of the house.

Pellet stoves are all the rage, but they do seem more souless.

It is minus 1, school is concelled, my wife's work is cancelled, will have to see if the Postman makes it. The storm is blowing snow and visability is bad.

I guess I've gone through almost a cord this year. Hard to say. A fully loaded and packed 8 foot pickup bed is not really a cord, though they're often sold as such.

Andreas, I wouldn't know how to look at my wood and see cubic feet!!!

>>>>>>>>>

How green do I burn? Well, you can't harvest green without a logging contract. However, the BLM recently weeded the place and many piles of dead trees were left around. These trees are often green, having dried less than one year. The best way to burn green is with a very hot fire and lots of dry wood to go along. I have a mix, mostly dry.

The Pine Beetle reached our part of the mountains last year and many trees are dying. We'll have wood for some time. I really ought to clean this place up and have a Great Northern Khuk Konvention here. You could chop to your heart's content. Well, all of 3 people who made it this far North could, anyway....


>>>>>>>>>>

On these masonery stoves; you could build one, right? I mean, it's a kiln practically.


>>>>>>>>

It is much more efficient to heat the home once it is snow covered than without.

munk
 
munk said:
A Masonery Stove? Wow. That would do it. We'd have to move the livingroom out of the house. ...
On these masonery stoves; you could build one, right? I mean, it's a kiln practically.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the Finns and Russians have used them forever. Turns out it's a really efficient way to burn especially softwoods, that tend to burn hot but not for a long time. The key, so far as I can understand it, is to have the flue take a huge long route through a big built up chunk of masonry, so the smoke gives up most of its heat to the stone or brick. Make a really hot fire a couple of times every day, and let the heat diffuse out through the masonry.

Ahem. NOT designed to fire up quickly to take the edge off the cold in the room ... these things can take a couple of days to fully warm up. And fully cool down. But it never gets beyond a temperature you can put your hand against.

My dream-version would have a cookstove and bread oven component facing the kitchen, and a Rumford design open fireplace on one wall (tall, shallow firebox), with a separate flue running through the masonry. A fireplace designed to heat instead of one designed to just look nice can actually throw a surprising amount of radiant heat - I've 2 old coal-burning fireplaces in my antique house, and they are amazing. I'd never have believed it.

So my dream version of a masonry heater would have such an open fireplace to take off the chill quickly, and the real workhorse part to keep the chill off long term.

nice to dream ......
 
Bufford,

Thanks. The stove appears to have been well maintained. I can't get up on the roof, but the chimmney is huge and stout... and appears new. Inside the stove is pretty clean, but it is old. My landlord (or property manager that is) said the prior tenant used it last winter. The owner completely remodeled over the summer (hence the new looking chimmney).

The actual fire box portion of the stove is pretty small. I doubt I could get anything longer than 12-15" inside to burn. I just don't like the idea of getting a fire going before bed and having it burn out during the night (doesn't look like there's a lot of room for a lot of wood).

What tools do I need to start burning wood? I expect an ash bucket, broom of sorts. I've got khuks... but no real room to chop inside (outside isn't a great option either).

I'll try to find a wood stove shop too. That's a good idea.
 
I believe the Russian style masonry fireplaces are built in the center of the house, so heat is not lost to the exterior. They are a very efficient way to get the heat energy from wood. The burn is hot, with plenty of oxygen to allow for complete combustion. If you see a lot of smoke coming out of a chimney that represents wasted energy, as well as indicating creasote buildup and a posible fire hazard.


ACS, you have what you need. Chop something up and burn it in your stove during the day while you can watch and see what happens. You will soon get comfortable with it.

You don't need any more tools now. You have khukuris to chop and a broom to clean up the mess. After you're familiar with your stove you might want to buy something else to make life easier. Then you'll have a better idea what tools will be helpful in your situation.
 
munk said:
as such.
Andreas, I wouldn't know how to look at my wood and see cubic feet!!!
munk
Click to expand...

well it is basically a measure if you buy or sell wood over here - It is called a "Ster" and it is 1m * 1m *1.05m of piled wood.
As I use my wood in about feet-long pieces I have to do some math how many "Ster" I need to fill all the wood-racks. If you really wanted to buy massive "cubic meters" that would be "Festmeter" - but that can only be estimated (or be from a massive tree-trunk)...

how do you measure wood if not by volume - by weight, in truckloads? :confused:

Andreas
 
It is not really possible to get a cord in a truck, though I've done it. My neighbor has some pictures that are hilarious. He was giving me some cause I'd run out. My oldest son Carter, perfectionist that he is, stacked it so perfectly, and so high...well, it was breathtaking. Think Joads in The Grapes of Wrath. On the way up the hill part of the load fell into the road. I filled an five foot box with this later.

Most the time, though, with any reasonable packing, a eight ft bed falls just short of a cord. You can get a cord if you've staked sides or plywood enlarging the box.

Wood is cheap here. You can get a neo cord, ready to burn, for about 65 bucks. One wonders why I cut my own. Well, the cords so sold are often by irresponsible individuals who cut green, (like on the RES) or woke up one morning and decided to make enough money to get their next gram. There are reputable wood cutters, but I've not had reason to find any.

I need the exercise. My boys and I need the time together.

It's a win win.

munk
 
I used to have a little pickup. I made wood rails that went up past the top of the cab out of 2x4s. I used to take it into the clearcuts and get the trash logs. (with a permit from the timber co.) I would cut the logs to fit the truck and stack them in. I'd stop when the back bumper still just cleared the ground. Then it was an adventure getting back over the rutted logging roads. That little truck took a lot of abuse. It was still running when I finally sold it.

When I got home I would chainsaw the logs into stove-size chunks and then split the big ones. If they were small enough I just left them in the round and fed them to the stove that way.
 
Yeah,

I'm adding a wood fired stove to the "must have" list on the next house.
 
Yesterday there was no school- snowed out. Today there is no school; the only road for hundreds of miles 'for emergency travel only' is the one the teacher takes to reach my town. No school bus, no travel to the county seat for the older kids, sixth grade and up.

Wood stove is cranking. Outside Saddle Butte goes in and out of sight with the blowing snow.


Another day spent playing "Diablo" and goofing off.

My wife had a day like that yesterday. It was too much for her. She was appalled by the mass non chalance of her household, the lack of concern, the games, and how little "Cleaning" seemed to weigh on her family. Today she's going to work no matter what. She'll drive around the mountains but I'm still a little worried. She has to make Havre later this evening for a sleep study. The whole world has now been determined to be sleep deprived.

I don't think I'd make the hundred plus miles to Havre for a sleep study in this weather. And miss Diablo?



munk
 
ACStudios said:
Bufford,

Thanks. The stove appears to have been well maintained. I can't get up on the roof, but the chimmney is huge and stout... and appears new. Inside the stove is pretty clean, but it is old. My landlord (or property manager that is) said the prior tenant used it last winter. The owner completely remodeled over the summer (hence the new looking chimmney).

The actual fire box portion of the stove is pretty small. I doubt I could get anything longer than 12-15" inside to burn. I just don't like the idea of getting a fire going before bed and having it burn out during the night (doesn't look like there's a lot of room for a lot of wood).

What tools do I need to start burning wood? I expect an ash bucket, broom of sorts. I've got khuks... but no real room to chop inside (outside isn't a great option either).

I'll try to find a wood stove shop too. That's a good idea.
Click to expand...

Firstly, fire your woodstove like you would drive a car. Not too much wood, and watch your rate of firing. A roaring raging fire is like stuck gas pedal.

Place a few logs and enough small stuff to get it going. Establish your fire and you will determine how much wood you need to stoke by the heat it provides. Once the fire is going well and there are a bed of coals developing adjust the dampers. Think of the damper as a throttle, by closing it off bit by bit the fire will settle down. Play with it.

Get a metal pail and a metal scoop (coffee can) to dig out the ashes. Buy a decent chainsaw like a Jonsered or Sthil etc, and a splitting axe- 6 pound head works well, on a long handle. Short handled splitting axes dont have the swing like a long one does, and short ones get tiring to use because of that.

You will have to find a solution for wood storage. I have my wood delivered in a large logging truck. He drops a 10 cord load of birch on my property in 8 foot lengths. What I do is cut and split the wood in the fall for the following winter. By cutting the wood a full year ahead of time, it drys thoroughly, and it keeps plenty of wood on hand incase my health prevents me from working on the woodpile.

Firewood is a number one priority for me, winters are still quite long, and I could not afford to burn oil.
 
http://www.tempcast.com/

Pretty darned expensive unless you do it yourself. These things are massive and you need pretty stout floors to handle the weight. I like the option of a separate baking box for pizza or bread. From what I understand you can keep it stoked up all winter and only use two cords of wood.
 
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