Don't have my stove yet, but I'm getting ready for it!

[thewoodlands]

Wife thinks I'm going off the deep end, because I have not bought a wood stove yet, but I'm trying to get her to understand that even the best stove money can buy needs good seasoned wood to give the best performance. So I'm just trying to get ahead of the game. When I finally get the stove, I will have at least 12 face cords of Maple, Ash, Mulberry, American Elm and Black Walnut in the yard that will have been split and stacked for a couple of years.

I have the splits on pallets that are on bricks. Thought it might help keep things drier. Other picture is of my 2 favorite tools. A Jonsered 2054 Turbo and Fiskers X27.

Great job on gathering/stacking your wood timups40, the wife will enjoy the btu's coming from the stove.

zap

 

[ColdNH]

Im with you brother, i got about 4 cords split and stacked seasoning and no stove to burn it in. My wife however fully understands my reasoning, she has experienced how hard it is to start a fire and how crappy unseasoned wood burns, she also realizes how much wood a stove eats burning 24/7 in the winter.

looking to get a jotul F500 after tax season.

 

[thewoodlands]

Im with you brother, i got about 4 cords split and stacked seasoning and no stove to burn it in. My wife however fully understands my reasoning, she has experienced how hard it is to start a fire and how crappy unseasoned wood burns, she also realizes how much wood a stove eats burning 24/7 in the winter.

looking to get a jotul F500 after tax season.

Very nice ColdNH.

zap

 

[firefighterjake]

Im with you brother, i got about 4 cords split and stacked seasoning and no stove to burn it in. My wife however fully understands my reasoning, she has experienced how hard it is to start a fire and how crappy unseasoned wood burns, she also realizes how much wood a stove eats burning 24/7 in the winter.

looking to get a jotul F500 after tax season.

Good looking stack of wood.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Tim, you are one very intelligent man. Oh how I wish more new wood burners would take a lesson from you. Get the wood first, then the stove.

Those are also some great looking stacks of wood. You have done fine. Don't stop now!

As for the cat vs. no cat stove, we wrestled with that idea on the last stove we purchased. We had been a bit fearful of the cat but long story short, we now have a cat stove and have not been sorry. Good luck on whichever stove you buy.[/quote

Hey Dennis,
Thanks for the thoughts. Except for the hard work and gas for the pickup and saw, I have yet to pay for any of it. Guess I do have the sickness already! I find the cutting and stacking to be enjoyable even for a old fart. I see that you have a fireview. That stove is on my short list or should I say on the top of my short list! There must be a couple of dozen reviews of it on the Hearth Ratings and by far all rate it quite highly. Don't know if I will have the money for a stove this winter, but till then, I'll keep on scrounging!

Stay safe and warm,
Tim

Ok I'm really sticking my nose where it probably doesn't belong here, but her it goes: Dennis, don't you have a progress coming? And I couldn't help but notice you both live the Michigan and Tim's looking for a stove at a reasonable price and....well....

Forgive me, Dennis.

You are forgiven. We still have not decided on the stoves though. It will be hard to part with the Fireview.

 

[Blasket]

WOW, your going to be some kind of wood burning legend, awesome :coolsmile:

 

[timusp40]

ColdNH,
Very nice stack in your post. You even doubled up on the pallets!! I like it. My property restricts how long my stacks can be, so I am shoehorning where I can. Still got a way to go, and a decision on a stove once I have the cash. Sometimes it gets a little depressing reading the threads and posts about all the guys out there that have everything. I just want a good wood stove. IT WILL HAPPEN!! There is a rerason for everything.
Tim

 

[ColdNH]

Thanks, I had to do some fancy work with the pallets as i was stacking on a hill. i cut them in half and then diagonally so the back of the stack is only 1/4 of a pallet meanwhile the front is 3/4 of a pallet, if that makes sense. so far the stacks seem stable. I am somewhat restricted to where i can stack because of the way my house is situated on the property, hence im stacking on a hill.

As for picking out the perfect stove. For me it came down to 2 things, 1. will it fit in my fireplace opening 2. will it look good and heat my house. Thats why i decided on the F500. the last issue is the cost, and thats why we havent purchased it yet. still saving up. I don't have a probably spending more money for the exact stove I want as I know in the long run it will save way more money then it costs.

It takes time to accumulate all the toys the guys got on here. but again, once you start burning wood and saving tons of money on your heating costs you wont think spending 400$ on a new saw is that big of a deal when you will be able to scrounge 1,000s of dollars worth of wood.

ColdNH,
Very nice stack in your post. You even doubled up on the pallets!! I like it. My property restricts how long my stacks can be, so I am shoehorning where I can. Still got a way to go, and a decision on a stove once I have the cash. Sometimes it gets a little depressing reading the threads and posts about all the guys out there that have everything. I just want a good wood stove. IT WILL HAPPEN!! There is a rerason for everything.
Tim

 

[colin.p]

Oh how I wish more new wood burners would take a lesson from you. Get the wood first, then the stove.

.

I remember before I got my stove and chimney installed in November '07 (bought it in September), I had a guy drop off a few cords of wood. I had it all piled up when he came with the last load. He looked at my house and asked me where the chimney was and what kind of stove I had. I pointed to the chiminea on the deck and said "that's her".

 

[JrCRXHF]

This year i started getting wood thinking i would get a stove next year i started in the spring with 4 ash trees cut and split all day with the wife to get it done. Then 2 months later a good deal came on a wood boiler we bought it and started to work out the details.

The friday before labor day i was packing to go north and waiting for her to get back from ohio (she is going for her PHD at Kent State) and she pulls up to see me on the kubota getting 1 maple and 2 elm trees that were getting cut down 2 doors down from me.

Needless to say she was not really happy about being 4 hours late but on the other side i tell her remember what that gas bill is like in the winter.


Now that we have the boiler up and running she loves the heat and even puts wood in it when she is home. She really misses the wood fires when she goes back to school.

 

[timusp40]

Wife and I traveled across the state today. No snow here yet to speak of, and not winter cold either. Judging by the chimney smoke that we saw along the way, plenty of folks had their wood burners going. Some with just a trickle of smoke, but quite a few of the infamous "Smoke Dragons" too. Seems pretty obvious to me that the older tech equipment is putting alot of stuff in the air that probably makes the neighbors unhappy, but also means those units are losing valuable BTUs going up and out the chimney instead of being burned.

I'm thinking of this more and more while I continue to build my stacks, anxiously awaiting the day when I get my stove and officially start burning. I would appreciate your thoughts about clean burning low emmision wood burners be they CAT or NONCAT.

This thread has been tons of fun for me. Every day is a education.
Tim

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I passed by a neighbor's OWB today and could hardly stand the stink.

Burning a cat stove, compared to our old Ashley we are now burning only half the amount of wood we used to and stay a whole lot warmer.

 

[fredarm]

You're doing it the right way! I did the typical "get the stove first, then figure out what to burn in it" approach. Had some challenging fires until I discovered Bio Bricks to help the poorly seasoned wood along. As far as the stove goes, if money is an issue you can't go wrong with the Englander 30. It's one of the lowest paticulate emitting non-cats, has a big firebox, and we're getting to the time of year where you might be able to score one for a good price (some folks even got them for $649 last year).

 

[KTLM]

The wood stacks look great. Many of us have been where you are now.
Wife thought I was nuts. Wood everywhere- no stove. She truly does appreciate
it now. Wood heat is much warmer than oil or gas and a great way to stay in shape
if you are careful. Do alot of stove and chimney research in the meantime.
It will definately pay off if you buy and install properly.
Good luck
Kevin