First Burn Achieved!
Finally my fireplace was installed 2 days ago and I have had a fire burning almost continuously for about 36 hours.
First I want to thank everyone for their input into this journey Ive been on, what a wild ride but informative with the rest of you chipping in.
The install cost $1180, which was the lowest estimate and there was only 2 installers in this area that would give an insurance certificate for installation, I feel ripped off, but that's the price you pay for getting someone else to do it I guess.
A clarification also, $280 a cord mentioned earlier was actually a full cord 4x4x8 not a face cord. I actually had 5 face cords delivered for $350. $70 a cord. In my area prices range from $50/cord if you pick it up, split and haul away yourself to $90/cord c/s/s delivered. I still have to buy a moisture meter, which I'll do this weekend to measure the wood. The wood delivered was a mixed bag of ash, oak, maple, and hickory. I can tell some of it is definitely more seasoned than others, although I have not had any 'bubbling' wood that Ive noticed yet. So it seems like all of it is seasoned a bit. I was told it was all cut down Oct 2010, and split in the spring 2011.
Also, my house is 60 years old, but has been reinsulated, new windows and doors etc. Its not as sealed tight as a new home, as evidenced by the amazing draft I get off the fireplace, but its alot better than a typical 60 year old home.
I will start to line my fences with wood in order to store upto 2 years worth, the wife/neighbours will just have to live with the consequences. With all the comments in this thread/forum about the must-have dried seasoned at least 2 year old wood, I'm grateful for the advice.
A couple other questions...
I have had 2 nights of full burns, one at 8 hours and another 9 hours. The first night, it burned 8 hours with enough hot coals to rake and throw a couple splits on and it started right up. The second, I had barely enough hot coals and pretty much tried to start from scratch.
My first cold start was horrific and its good the wife wasnt home. Tried bottom up, like a campfire and the smoke was crazy... had to open crosswind windows and put the ceiling fans on, but the fire started no problem. This morning I tried bottom down, newspaper bows, thumb-size kindling of hardwood, and splits on the bottom. I literally ended up throwing in an entire newspaper, then went to my shredder basket and throwing half that on and it still didnt catch the kindling. This was with the draft wide open and the door open 1 inch. Luckily, the few remaining hot coals have actually set the splits afire and I have a decent start again. Top-down there was barely any smoke.
Where did I go wrong on the top down? Should I be using softwood for kindling? Maybe the wood is just not dry enough for kindling?
Is coloured/somewhat glossy paper like flyers really that bad to be using as firestarter?
For an insert what is the best way to measure flue temperature or to measure over-firing?
If I leave the house, should I also close the draft in order to prevent over-firing? Or is it safe to leave it open 1/4-1/3?
Shoulder season burning, should I burn 24/7 with small smoldering fires enough to take the chill out? Or just restart a fire every night after work? I spend about 50% of my time in a home office, so tending throughout the day is usually possible, or I could just use NG during the day.
More advice is greatly appreciated. I will post some pictures up soon.