# When are you going to light your first fire for the season?



## Bwhunter85 (Oct 8, 2019)

We have propane backup and an OWB for forced air and DHW.  I normally light first fire in middle of October, I am going to try and stretch it out and not start burning until November, especially since we normally get blasted by some freak weather event later in the winter in Michigan.  Polar Vortexs, Bomb Cyclones...Currently have 7 full cord stacked, will start cutting more after hunting season!


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## begreen (Oct 8, 2019)

When it gets cold day and night.


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## shortys7777 (Oct 8, 2019)

Might be sometime this week. Temps dont seem like they'll be out of the 50's for the remainder of the week. Just enough to get the chill out of the house. I turned the thermostats on Sunday just to get the chill out and make sure everything was working properly. All went well so I'll start using some pine and other scraps for the next few weeks.


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## Bushels20 (Oct 8, 2019)

I usually try to avoid having random fires. I don’t like relighting. We burn once I can go 24/7. That is usually mid October, but it has been unseasonably warm this year.


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## begreen (Oct 8, 2019)

Cold is coming in waves here. Supposed to be in the 30s tonight so we may have a fire if that happens before 8pm.


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## paulnlee (Oct 8, 2019)

Three days ago but not 24/7 yet, start in AM.


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## Rhodie (Oct 8, 2019)

Today! After the hail made it looked like it snowed, cats demanded it!!  One teen was asking for a fire days ago when we weren’t using coats outside.


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## begreen (Oct 8, 2019)

Rhodie said:


> Today! After the hail made it looked like it snowed, cats demanded it!!  One teen was asking for a fire days ago when we weren’t using coats outside.


Hail?! We are sunny and 53º in the South Sound.


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## Rhodie (Oct 8, 2019)

Friend said it’s started in Fall City so whatever it was is heading east.  But if you look soon you’d see it on radar.





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## begreen (Oct 8, 2019)

Yep, this area is full of micro-climates. Some are dramatically different from areas just 10-15 miles away.


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## Bwhunter85 (Oct 8, 2019)

Just got a line on boiler wood.  Approx 13-facecord split hardwood and delivered for $800.00.  I already have 7+ up for this winter, but only being able to cut on the weekends, it is sometimes hard to keep up with the beast of a conventional boiler.  Comes out to just around $60/FC


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## Dabster13 (Oct 8, 2019)

I had my first fire 2 days ago (this past sunday) Saturday and Sunday were cold (woke up to the house being 56 Sunday morning) and decided to just have a small fire to take the chill out. 

Used my "less desirable" wood (pine for my outdoor fire pit + sticks/branches) got the house to 70 (wife was happy as she was away at her sisters Saturday night). 

That's been it so far, the past few days have been quite warm (mid 70's)


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## Lakeside (Oct 8, 2019)

I am low on good dry wood maybe 2 cord. I think I will try to put off burning until X-mas and save my wood for the real cold of January and February here in Connecticut.  Also burning 24/7 is easy.


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## Microduck17 (Oct 8, 2019)

I'm thinking of lighting a small fire this weekend to test my blower and ductwork upgrades.  This is only the first day we haven't had any air conditioning running.  So I might postpone for another week.


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## johneh (Oct 8, 2019)

Done and dusted a week ago 
Hope I don't have to light it again till November


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## Diabel (Oct 8, 2019)

I have had 5 fires so far. Last week was damp and it felt cold. This week it is sunny, lots of solar gain. It suppose to be like this for several more days. They just called a frost warning for tonight....
Will run the NG in the morning to warm up the house while the ladies are getting ready for the day.


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## Grizzerbear (Oct 8, 2019)

High of 76 here Thursday with chance of severe storms.....then high of 40s with 30mph winds friday. Looks like friday for me. Gotta love ozarks weather.


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## MTY (Oct 8, 2019)

The first fire was in the Hearthstone about two weeks ago during a wet cold day.  Wasps had built a nest in the chimney since I cleaned it in may.  The BK was fired up tonight as it is supposed to cool off to about 30 tonight.  It could be weeks until the next fire, or it could be tomorrow.  The weather is pretty changeable this time of the year.


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## thewoodlands (Oct 8, 2019)

They're calling for a low of 38 so I'll have a shoulder season wood fire (pine) tonight and again in the morning.


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## kyguylal (Oct 9, 2019)

had a couple night breaching the 30s so far. Had one small fire because my wife wanted to roast a marshmallow last weekend. 

The pellet stove is going at nights now. Probably another couple weeks from running the wood burner full out.


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## Vikestand (Oct 9, 2019)

Hopefully not for a few weeks. Consistently in the upper 60's and low 40's at night will prolly spark a few fires at night. Or atleast on the damp cool days.


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## Kevin Weis (Oct 9, 2019)

Don't see it happening here till the first week of November.  Temps here look to be in the 60's till about the end of the month.


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## Beer Belly (Oct 9, 2019)

Cold and damp this morning, caved and lit'er up


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## Woody Stover (Oct 9, 2019)

begreen said:


> Cold is coming in waves here. Supposed to be in the 30s tonight so we may have a fire if that happens before 8pm.


We've got a couple 40* nights coming but I don't know if I'll be able to fire up yet; Waiting on gaskets for the stove, and still haven't brushed the liner. Might have to break out the quartz heater, or make a pizza so I can fire up the oven.


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## Zack R (Oct 9, 2019)

I finally have a handful of fires under my belt on the new Jotul F55. Also lit the first break in fire on the new Jotul F45 downstairs. Its 40F out right now (mid day), was 21F this morning.

Cleanest the inside of the F45 will ever be:










First break in fire:





Inside a brand new F55. Only complaint is the back firebrick that is not flush with the sides, makes it a bit harder to load. It holds a lot of wood.






The F55 basking in the sun, waiting for the coals to burn down.


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## MTASH (Oct 9, 2019)

I would be burning today if I could, supposed to be 9F tonight.  But I'm still running on propane until my chimney liner shows up.


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## blades (Oct 9, 2019)

had up couple fires to chase chill and damp out,  was 41 this morning outside , got up to apx 65+ today but It is likely less than that inside at home as it was about 62F inside when I left this morning.   Biggest problem is more rain (a lot) none of my fuel is covered .   too much wind just rips anything off .


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## lindnova (Oct 9, 2019)

I lit a small fire in the wood stove last friday.  Plan to light up the outdoor furnace this Friday as it is supposed to be in the 30's for lows all next week.  

about 10 cords of wood stacked and ready to go in the shed and by the furnace.  After the early fall last year I have been ready for almost a month now to start burning.


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## vtwoodheater (Oct 9, 2019)

Hopefully not until December.  Going to see how well these minisplits perform. Haven't been able t find any real world data, going to collect my own.


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## WiscWoody (Oct 10, 2019)

I’ve had around 20 fires so far and this weekend when the snow comes I’ll be burning pretty regular I’m sure.


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## WiscWoody (Oct 10, 2019)

blades said:


> had up couple fires to chase chill and damp out,  was 41 this morning outside , got up to apx 65+ today but It is likely less than that inside at home as it was about 62F inside when I left this morning.   Biggest problem is more rain (a lot) none of my fuel is covered .   too much wind just rips anything off .


I use Menards canvas tarps on my racked wood then I make cement filled cans with a hook in them to weigh down the tarps. It works pretty good. Yes we’ve gotten a lot of rain here, we set the annual precipitation record on the 1st. It broke 2016’s record and the runner up year last year. It stinks....


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## Grizzerbear (Oct 10, 2019)

blades said:


> had up couple fires to chase chill and damp out,  was 41 this morning outside , got up to apx 65+ today but It is likely less than that inside at home as it was about 62F inside when I left this morning.   Biggest problem is more rain (a lot) none of my fuel is covered .   too much wind just rips anything off .



Another option including above post would be using old hay bailer or combine belts. I too live in a windy area....tin just doesnt work here without stacking a ton of wood on top of them....which defeats purpose of convenience for me. The belts are thick and heavy enough I dont have to weigh them down with wood. If you have a farm repair shop in local town ask if they have any. You may need two belt widths per stack depending on wood size....just overlap for water runoff. You can usually get them cheap if not free.


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## Grizzerbear (Oct 10, 2019)

O yea blades old rubber truck bed liners work well also.....probably can find some on craigslist.


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## KJamesJR (Oct 10, 2019)

Been burning half loads every night. Two or three big splits in the morning. For about two weeks now.


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## heavy hammer (Oct 10, 2019)

I haven't yet but I'm hoping to make it a few more weeks but this weekend is calling for cooler temps with rain.  So I would not be surprised if I lit the basement stove.


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## PA. Woodsman (Oct 11, 2019)

The last few years Winter and burning season has come later and stayed later for me here in PA., I used to start burning in October and usually ended mid March but now it stays warmer so it isn't until early November that I start and go into April now!


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## SuperSpy (Oct 11, 2019)

As soon as I need heat, I start one and keep the boiler running for the entire season.  This year it was last week, when the night temperatures dropped below 40F.

It's a little earlier than I was planning this year, but it also about halves my electrical bill not running the water heaters, so I'm ok with starting a bit early.


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## HisTreeNut (Oct 12, 2019)

I haven't yet, but I am hoping not until November this year. Much of it will depend on the daytime temps & the nighttime lows. Currently, daytime is 70's and nighttime is 50's. No need yet. But more importantly the determination will be made by our CHO (Chief Heating Officer), and when the wifey starts to feel cold, we will start burning... 
[emoji6][emoji3][emoji3][emoji6]

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## Knots (Oct 12, 2019)

Soon.  Supposed to be some 30's at night this week and the basement is getting dank...


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## mirwin22031 (Oct 12, 2019)

Still pretty warm here in Northern Virginia so I've not even thought about firing the pellet stove yet.

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## sweedish (Oct 12, 2019)

So far 2 fires, one last week, one tonight. House seem to be pleasant if it gets about 60 as a high during the day. Next week high in mid 50’s. So may have a few night fires off and on of pine.


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## Microduck17 (Oct 12, 2019)

I lit mine today at around 5 pm to test my blower and ducting installation. As of yet it hasn't reached the target temperature to shut off the blower (71 degF) but i have only loaded two small loads of softwoods having had one too many 2 am awakenings with sweat pouring and it being 98 degrees in the house from overdoing it on a not so chilly night. I think we are going to take out the window air conditioners tomorrow.

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## firefighterjake (Oct 13, 2019)

I burn when I am cold or my wife is cold.

We've been cold for awhile now . . . but usually a fire in the morning or evening will suffice.


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## ZZ Tom (Oct 13, 2019)

Last Sunday I cleaned my chimney and stove. On Monday a sheet of ceramic fiberboard arrived. On Wednesday I cut the fiberboard to size and replaced the broken ones in the stove. As soon as I had it put together my wonderful wife asked if we could have a fire. I lit a fire Wednesday afternoon and it snowed (ever so little bit) Wednesday night. We kept the fire going till Saturday morning.


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## Ashful (Oct 14, 2019)

39F tonight. It is time.


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## Molsonc1 (Oct 14, 2019)

I just got one installed on Friday and wanted to have a fire but wife wouldn't let me until all the stone is done. It's our Thanksgiving here in Canada so with all the Turkey dinners this weekend this is where I'm at


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## Bwhunter85 (Oct 14, 2019)

Molsonc1 said:


> I just got one installed on Friday and wanted to have a fire but wife wouldn't let me until all the stone is done. It's our Thanksgiving here in Canada so with all the Turkey dinners this weekend this is where I'm at


Nice work! Looks great!

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## TradEddie (Oct 14, 2019)

Normally I hold off as long as possible, but this year I had several mature trees taken down and have now exceeded the cosmetically acceptable wood storage capacity of my property. My goal this season is to burn all the  wood that I had on hand, making space for the 5+ cords of mostly oak. I'm hoping for a cold winter, and high propane prices, but either way I need to get rid of lots of wood this season before my wife's patience runs out... Unfortunately due  to Lanternfly quarantine, I can't give any of it away.

I'm going to light that insert any morning I wake up to a house below 65F. That's been three days so far, and still haven't run my furnace.

TE


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## heavy hammer (Oct 14, 2019)

[B]Molsonc1[/B]* nice stone work.  We have just been running the furnace here and there still a little to warm yet I think.  Tomorrow high is supposed to be about 70, but Wednesday is calling for 50 and rain so I might be firing it up soon.*


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## Woody Stover (Oct 14, 2019)

firefighterjake said:


> I burn when I am cold or my wife is cold.


Wife got cold, and I wasn't exactly overheated..


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## moresnow (Oct 14, 2019)

Cleaned the pipe. Cleaned the stove. Vacuumed the Cat front and back. Loaded up a medium load and touched her off.   Soooo nice

First of the year


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## walhondingnashua (Oct 15, 2019)

Burned in the cabin in the Upper Peninsula all weekend.  Cleaning the stove and pipe in the house tonight and lighting first fire tomorrow.


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## SpaceBus (Oct 15, 2019)

Zack R said:


> I finally have a handful of fires under my belt on the new Jotul F55. Also lit the first break in fire on the new Jotul F45 downstairs. Its 40F out right now (mid day), was 21F this morning.
> 
> Cleanest the inside of the F45 will ever be:
> View attachment 248884
> ...



Your jotul fireboxes look just like my Morso firebox with the stepped rectangular secondary manifolds, just much wider and taller!


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## SpaceBus (Oct 15, 2019)

Woody Stover said:


> Wife got cold, and I wasn't exactly overheated..
> View attachment 249333


This is how most of the fires I've lit this season have been.


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## Kevin Weis (Oct 15, 2019)

Got 2 breakin fires done.  Two more and I'm ready to go.


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## Woody Stover (Oct 15, 2019)

Kevin Weis said:


> Got 2 breakin fires done.  Two more and I'm ready to go.


You can proudly put your stove in your signature..


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## Zack R (Oct 15, 2019)

Another hard break in fire on the downstairs Jotul F45. Getting the paint really cured this time. With 30+' of chimney and only the two 45 degree bends this thing really has some serious draft.


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## Knots (Oct 16, 2019)

Zack R said:


> Another hard break in fire on the downstairs Jotul F45. Getting the paint really cured this time. With 30+' of chimney and only the two 45 degree bends this thing really has some serious draft.



I have an F55 with ~26 feet of straight pipe.  I had to tape off most of the opening for the secondary air.  It really pulls...


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## SpaceBus (Oct 16, 2019)

Zack R said:


> Another hard break in fire on the downstairs Jotul F45. Getting the paint really cured this time. With 30+' of chimney and only the two 45 degree bends this thing really has some serious draft.
> 
> View attachment 249406


Try shutting down the air earlier and watching flue temp vs stove top. I bet that number is even more misleading since that's a clad stove.


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## Zack R (Oct 16, 2019)

SpaceBus said:


> Try shutting down the air earlier and watching flue temp vs stove top. I bet that number is even more misleading since that's a clad stove.



That was the hottest part I could find (although that number did get closer to 800F as time went on).  Most of the stove was closer to 500-600F. On the sides where the cast iron jacket is separated from the stove to allow air flow its much cooler, more in the 200-300F range. 

On the F45 I can close the air all of the way and it still pulls strong, if I do that on the F55 it will choke it out so I I close it about 75% of the way instead.


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## Woody Stover (Oct 16, 2019)

Zack R said:


> On the F45 I can close the air all of the way and it still pulls strong, if I do that on the F55 it will choke it out so I I close it about 75% of the way instead.


Huh. I didn't think you could smolder a non-cat stove. What is the chimney setup on the F55?


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## Zack R (Oct 16, 2019)

Woody Stover said:


> Huh. I didn't think you could smolder a non-cat stove. What is the chimney setup on the F55?



By choke it out I mean the fire is still going but visible flames die off and the temps start to slowly go down. If i move the air control about 75% closed it runs as usual with secondaries and dark blue flame. 

I imagine when I run it harder (fuller loads and more coals) as the weather gets colder I'll be able to move the air primary control all the way closed.


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## Woody Stover (Oct 16, 2019)

Zack R said:


> By choke it out I mean the fire is still going but visible flames die off and the temps start to slowly go down. If i move the air control about 75% closed it runs as usual with secondaries and dark blue flame.
> I imagine when I run it harder (fuller loads and more coals) as the weather gets colder I'll be able to move the air primary control all the way closed.


Gotcha. How tall is the stack on the F55?
Something I've wondered about..in certain situations, can a secondary stove somehow still burn clean, even if you don't see flames coming off the secondary? I haven't had enough experience on my SIL's new T5 yet, to know all the ins and outs of it. I've only operated cat stoves, or an old smoke dragon.
All I know is that it was pulling like crazy on only 15' of stack, I couldn't squelch the fire by closing the air all the way, stove top was pushing 700, and it was like 45 outside! No control!


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## SpaceBus (Oct 16, 2019)

My stove used to keep going with the air control turned all the way down and the hottest part raging at 700df. Then I stopped looking at stove top temp and only looked at the pipe thermo. Now I can close it down earlier, run it 20-25% open in the shoulder season and then get most of the heat out of the wood. In mid winter it's more like 5-15% open but I still started turning down sooner. Begreen suggested it in several threads and I did the same and it worked, total control over the fire. I obsessed so much over stove top temp and it's better for me to just not know what it is. Once I get the insulated liner dropped in I'll have to be even quicker with the turn down, it runs like a greased pig with an 8" square tile liner!


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## geoxman (Oct 16, 2019)

Been working on a hedge row for the past couple of years, plenty cut and stacked. I have a bunch of locust, elm, mulberry, oak and hickory left over from last year.
 Just lit my first fire today with some old elm and threw on a few locust logs on top. Feels great!!


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## Woody Stover (Oct 16, 2019)

SpaceBus said:


> My stove used to keep going with the air control turned all the way down and the hottest part raging at 700df. Then I stopped looking at stove top temp and only looked at the pipe thermo. Now I can close it down earlier, run it 20-25% open in the shoulder season and then get most of the heat out of the wood. In mid winter it's more like 5-15% open but I still started turning down sooner. Begreen suggested it in several threads and I did the same and it worked, total control over the fire.


What flue temps are you seeing? I have a surface meter, maybe 15" above the stove top.
I fired her T5 tonight, top-down start in the _back,_ where the fire would have to work its way upstream to get more wood burning. It went pretty well, I cut air pretty early, and flue temp surface meter leveled off at maybe 450, stove top looked like it would go a little over 700 and level out, the way the load was burning. I told her to keep an eye on it, and call me if it headed north of 750. I didn't hear from her. 
But it was still 50 outside when I started that load, so low draft was moderating the burn..
I'll try being even more aggressive cutting the air tomorrow when I burn another load. But at the same time, I want to get stove temp up quickly for a clean burn, so it seems like it's going to be a balancing act between getting reburn temp quickly, yet not getting too much wood burning and gassing.
Then, after these two 40* nights, it gets warmer and we won't burn again for several days.


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## SpaceBus (Oct 17, 2019)

Woody Stover said:


> What flue temps are you seeing? I have a surface meter, maybe 15" above the stove top.
> I fired her T5 tonight, top-down start in the _back,_ where the fire would have to work its way upstream to get more wood burning. It went pretty well, I cut air pretty early, and flue temp surface meter leveled off at maybe 450, stove top looked like it would go a little over 700 and level out, the way the load was burning. I told her to keep an eye on it, and call me if it headed north of 750. I didn't hear from her.
> But it was still 50 outside when I started that load, so low draft was moderating the burn..
> I'll try being even more aggressive cutting the air tomorrow when I burn another load. But at the same time, I want to get stove temp up quickly for a clean burn, so it seems like it's going to be a balancing act between getting reburn temp quickly, yet not getting too much wood burning and gassing.
> Then, after these two 40* nights, it gets warmer and we won't burn again for several days.



I've been loading some 1x12 material left over from projects split down to 2" wide along with some small splits. Maybe 8 lbs of fuel total. My flue temps are lower than I'd like with the giant flue, they never go above 350df surface temp. This is partly due to my stove design and of course the oversized flue. We shall see how things go in the future with a proper insulated liner. We've had a few mornings in the 30's but it's been 40's mornings and nights lately. It's crazy warm here today from the Noreaster, so no fires today. The wind would probably be difficult to deal with anyway.


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## PaulOinMA (Oct 17, 2019)

First fire last night, October 16.  Gypsy immediately took the little shearling throw on the couch when my wife got up.  Whiskers didn't join me on the porch for a cigar (not that he has one), preferring the back of the loveseat in the 70-degree den.

Quite the nor'easter last night.  90 mph wind gust in Provincetown.  Worcester received 3 1/4 inches rain.


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## SpaceBus (Oct 17, 2019)

PaulOinMA said:


> First fire last night, October 16.  Gypsy immediately took the little shearling throw on the couch when my wife got up.  Whiskers didn't join me on the porch for a cigar (not that he has one), preferring the back of the loveseat in the 70-degree den.
> 
> Quite the nor'easter last night.  90 mph wind gust in Provincetown.  Worcester received 3 1/4 inches rain.


It is still going here.


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## Chas0218 (Oct 17, 2019)

I've burned once when the overnight was 36* but until we get down to overnights consistently in the 40s I will hold off as long as possible. I'm trying to get down to 5 cords/year for burning. I want to stop burning the end of April hopefully sooner but that doesn't usually happen in N.Y.


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## ohlongarm (Oct 17, 2019)

Had to happen last evening ,raw windy and damp,first light up in the BK Parlor.
Elm ten years old it felt like bricks instead of wood ,up to temp at 6PM,
Ten thirty now still burning and producing heat but waning,house never deviated one degree in this time frame,love those BK's.


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## HisTreeNut (Oct 17, 2019)

The CHO of the Household (Cheif Heating Officer, was cold today, and I came home to my son stoking the fire for her. So much for waiting until November to begin burning...
[[[sigh]]]

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## Woody Stover (Oct 17, 2019)

SpaceBus said:


> I stopped looking at stove top temp and only looked at the pipe thermo...Begreen suggested it in several threads and I did the same and it worked, total control over the fire.


What a difference a day makes!  I built a top-down load in the T5 with a couple big White Ash on the bottom, then a couple small splits, soft Maple and Red Elm, a couple kindling and a SuperCedar chunk, starting the fire in the back of the box. I started cutting air at 250 on the surface flue meter. The secondary was firing and plume was clean at 15 minutes. I shut the air and key damper soon after that, the big rounds were starting to catch, secondary still firing, so I left it in the hands of my SIL shortly after. 
Again, it was 50 outside, so strong draft wasn't a factor. But I feel that by the time cold temps and strong draft gets here, I'll be able to control the stove in spite of that..one way or the other.


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## Woody Stover (Oct 17, 2019)

SpaceBus said:


> My flue temps are lower than I'd like with the giant flue, they never go above 350df surface temp. This is partly due to my stove design...We shall see how things go in the future with a proper insulated liner.


You may find that with the chamber on top of your stove extracting heat from the exhaust, it may keep the flue a bit cooler and strong draft won't affect you as much as it might with a different stove..


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## SpaceBus (Oct 18, 2019)

Woody Stover said:


> You may find that with the chamber on top of your stove extracting heat from the exhaust, it may keep the flue a bit cooler and strong draft won't affect you as much as it might with a different stove..



Yeah, the top definitely extracts more heat out of the flue. Unfortunately the chamber is the first place fly ash, soot, and creosote start to accumulate. At least it's fairly easy to clean. My wood last year was crap, so maybe this year there will be even less.


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## Ashful (Oct 18, 2019)

Had a few one-stove nights already, but tonight is our first two-stove night. 












All red oak, baby... it’s all I have in this wagon load!


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## shortys7777 (Oct 19, 2019)

Had my first one last night.  35 outside currently


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## 49chevyman (Oct 20, 2019)

Fired the EKO gasifier up today, mostly to test some upgrades and new controls.  All working good.  Had some issues with expansion tank pressure but Maple1 was able to give me some advice ans set me straight.


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## Chas0218 (Oct 21, 2019)

Well Friday night was the first fire, the telephone company came through and cleared what I think is cherry and some pines. I cut the cherry up and plan to burn that to take the chill off.  It has been burning for quite a while and have gotten 4" chunks to coal up after an 8 hour burn. I'll have to check if it actually tulip poplar but very sweet smelling.

EDIT: So I was thinking it was young cherry but it is mountian ash by the looks of it. No wonder it is burning so well.


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## RFarm (Oct 22, 2019)

Cleaned the pipe out today and swept out a dead Bluebird, poor little guy.  I got a fire laid in now just waiting for the house temp to drop below 63F.  Currently at 71F so we got a couple more weeks at least until firing up,


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## Sodbuster (Oct 23, 2019)

RFarm said:


> Cleaned the pipe out today and swept out a dead Bluebird, poor little guy.  I got a fire laid in now just waiting for the house temp to drop below 63F.  Currently at 71F so we got a couple more weeks at least until firing up,



Was fortunate to have Natural Gas run down our road, and just had a new 96% furnace installed. I'll probably start burning in December. Wife and I are gone the whole month January, my daughter is going to house sit, and I told her to just use the furnace, I have one of those thermostats that I can control with my phone, so I can monitor what she's running it at. Then I'll start up again with wood when we get home.


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## ChrisRoss (Oct 23, 2019)

maybe next week or later. To be precise, whenever it gets cold day and night


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## Vikestand (Oct 24, 2019)

Looks like tomorrow for me! Going to put all my new gaskets and parts on and break them in.


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## heavy hammer (Oct 24, 2019)

Whenever the day time temps are not enough to keep warming the house up and the furnace is kicking on more than a couple times a night.


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## mirwin22031 (Nov 7, 2019)

I've been firing my Castle Serenity intermittently for the last week. Last weekend here in Northern Virginia we had 2 days below freezing, but the last week or so it's been quite comfortable. 

That changes starting this evening, apparently, with a cold front coming in. 

Bring it. Just bring it! I have pellets and a 100-pound German Mountain dog to keep me warm!


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## thewoodlands (Nov 7, 2019)

Before we bought the property I get our firewood on, we had a pellet stove so tonight we'll let the wood stove go cold and burn a bag of pellets.

We receive around three inches of snow today with a high of 38 and the low at the moment is 23. We heat from the basement so the temp down there is 79 and 71 up here.

We're still burning pine during the day in the wood stove with the overnight load usually four splits of pine and four splits of cherry.


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## heavy hammer (Nov 8, 2019)

I have been burning ash with some cedar splits and some older not as hard locust pieces these last few days.  The new cat on the Sequoia has been glowing a bright orange once up to temp, the basement stove is running like brand new!  Upstairs the summit insert has been running great just about all my current firewood being burned is three plus years old some close to five.


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## Vikestand (Nov 8, 2019)

Been burning here full time for a week now. It’s cold in MO this AM!


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## Chas0218 (Nov 8, 2019)

2 fires back to back, last night and this morning. I really didn't need one this morning the house was still 70 but the wife is going to be tending the fire tonight and I wanted her to have some coals for an easy restart when she gets home.


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## robj80 (Nov 8, 2019)

My first fire was Nov 3 in the morning. NFL game came on at 9:30 am so figured I'd have a little fire while it was going on. Next one was November 7th. I only have an open fireplace as of right now. Boy do I love the big open view and watching the flames but I know it just wastes heat. Last night my furnace didn't come on until few hours after the flames died. It was 39° outside and 72 in my living room. Upstairs was thermostat said 71°. The upstairs bedroom that shares a wall with the room the fireplace was in always stays toasty warm. The far bedroom upstairs usually is much cooler so I put a fan in the door way blowing toward the fire. Still amazed this works! That room also stayed warm. Only room not warm is on the first floor on the opposite end of the house. That room if I had to guess was low 60°. The door was shut or it would have been a tiny bit warmer. Normally I have that door open and ceiling fan going in reverse. 

My point is even with the open fireplace I seem to heat the house fairly well. Maybe the OAK built in helps with that I don't know. I can't imagine how well it will work once I get the Enviro Venice 1700! We're probably going to need to open some windows. Disregard the messy house. I have two small children and by this time of night I was just done cleaning up after them. I was burning red oak and ash.


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