Looking for your "Wish I knew then" woodstove thoughts.

[Dtunes]

Is it common to go a month or more without cleaning/ash removal with other stoves too? I used to have a pellet stove(quadrafire cb1200) and I was constantly sweeping, vacuuming, and cleaning the glass.

Interesting. I had the same pellet stove in insert form. What I loved about it was the every other week cleaning cycle during mild weather and once a week during heavier winter burning of a bag a day. I burned doug fir pellets which were pretty low ash. That may explain the difference.

With our current stove during shoulder seasons I go 4-6 weeks between ash and glass cleaning. This can change to once every 2-3 weeks in a cold winter, though the glass is still quite clean at that point. Again, this is burning doug fir. If I was burning maple or alder my ash removal cycle would be more frequent.

I burned mostly hardwood pellets(though high quality brands) because that's what's available in the northeast. I'd occasionally get softwood but the price premium wasn't worth it. I'd generally clean every 3 days or so.

Maybe I was overly fastidious but ash was constantly falling behind the ash pan, carbon would stick to the burn pot and the cause pull rod to seize. My frequent glass cleaning was probably was more a matter of cosmetics though. Still, overall I liked the stove but don't want another pellet stove.

 

[begreen]

There was no ashpan in the insert, just a big catchpan around the burner pot. Never had a problem with carbon sticking to the burnpot.

Edit - Well, it's been 20 yrs and thinking about this last night I see I am in error. There was an ashpan under the burnpot. I think I just benefited from having only softwood pellets available.

Most non-cat stoves keep the glass pretty clean as long as the wood is dry and the stove is run properly.

 

[Durantefarm]

I am super glad I have a straight vertical chimney - that I can sweep and inspect from the stove room without having to climb up on the snow covered roof. The short flexible rods were a few extra bucks compared to the long stiff ones, but much cheaper than a broken leg.

You too will soon be expert on handling wood as little as possible. It is easier for me to move many small pieces rather than a few large ones.

Don't be afraid to buy good tools, but keep an eye on your "savings". A good chainsaw, safety gear with a sharpening file and a gas can and some sprocket grease and a spare chain, it starts adding up quick. Better to buy once cry once rather than buy the cheap version of whatever, get it amortized and then buy the better tool and have to save the money you spent on both.

Electric splitter. Seriously. $300 OTD at Lowes Depot, consumes 2-3 kwh electricity per cord split. I get 30-50 cords out of each of mine.

so I don't need to buy a $1200 or more splitter ? I never thought the electric ones would work well .

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

They work well, I had a 5 ton electric a few years back. Worked really well. I upgraded to a 20+ ton gas splitter for the stringy stuff. I bought the used gas splitter for $350 and sold my electric for $100, so not so bad I think.

 

[Poindexter]

so I don't need to buy a $1200 or more splitter ? I never thought the electric ones would work well .

Depends on your wood I guess. I have no trouble with twisty spruce, twisty birch, but unusual to find a round > 12" diameter up here.

I do occasionally, less than once per cord stacked, get into a round where it is all I can do to break it open into pieces small enough to fit through the door of the stove and give those few pieces two years to season. Not a big deal.

As a one man operation I find the electric splitter is most efficient for me. I have used gas powered splitters before, to really get the biggest pile of splits for the least amount of gasoline burnt I like a crew of three.

 

[Jazzberry]

Depends on your wood I guess. I have no trouble with twisty spruce, twisty birch, but unusual to find a round > 12" diameter up here.

I do occasionally, less than once per cord stacked, get into a round where it is all I can do to break it open into pieces small enough to fit through the door of the stove and give those few pieces two years to season. Not a big deal.

As a one man operation I find the electric splitter is most efficient for me. I have used gas powered splitters before, to really get the biggest pile of splits for the least amount of gasoline burnt I like a crew of three.

Man thats cheaper than cheap. Working 3 guys to get the most out of your splitter gas. Thats taking it to another level lol.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

My electric splitter doesn't owe me a dime. It split 95% of what I've thrown at it. Splitting 5% of your wood by hand isn't bad.

 

[SuperJ]

Lots of good advice here... I'm going to look more closely at electric splitters.

My tip would be install in a central location in the house even if it isn't your favorite place to sit.
I regret putting my stove in the outside corner of the living room (rectangular bungalow). I wish I would've put the stove in the middle of the house for better heat distribution, even if the fire view isn't as good. Going central means less exposed chimney, mine is straight up but I probably have 8 feet of class A above the roof penetration, to get my 3/2/10 clearances.