Stuck outside wood burning heaven, what can be done now ?

[Frank625]

Cold temps plus the wind is the worst scenario to try and overcome. Nothing wrong with stacking a bunch of wood inside. I have a nice big rack with a couple days wood on there. I don't have any kids or pets at home anymore so I don't have to worry about that.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Get some large plastic tote bins at walmart, put them in the stove room, load them full starting with loading them in the bins on end, then top off with splits laying across the tops. Even in several days to a week or two, you will notice a difference. Mix them up in loads and you may find better results.
Photos of totes I had full in the living room. I was laid up from a hernia op, and everything was hard & hurt, so kept the wood as close as I could.

It's no wonder you got a hernia from lifting those bins......oh, wait......

Just funnin' with ya Hog....I get groin pain at times from getting older and lifting so I feel your pain. Told me 2 years ago what I have is a "sports hernia" which is a fancy way of saying that where everything is connected on my left side is inflamed, so I do some funky stretches for it; sometimes they help, sometimes they make it hurt worse, or make other body parts hurt

Smart idea to load up on it like that!

 

[Poindexter]

My original post only hinted at the real issue; last night's extreme weather exposed the limits of my stove given my current wood supply.

Don't forget air leaks and the thickness of your insulation envelope are part of this picture. I don't bother with the caulking gun in winter for air leaks. The stuff just doesn't cure right. I cn weither wait until summer and do it right the first time with a good cure, or do it once now, clean up the mess I made come summer and then caulk it again.

What I do use in the winter is blue chalk to mark up the places I feel air leaking during cold weather.

Truth is, I'm not really sure if 3 year seasoned oak/locust would have been enough to help me maintain the house temps I have come to enjoy up until last night. I guess everyone eventually finds the limits of their appliance and for me, last night's extreme wind showed me a few things. Without the wind, I am able to maintain the temps I want all the way down to 0 F, but once the high winds came yesterday I started losing the battle to maintain the temps I like. Around 9:30 last night it was obvious the battle was lost, so I decided to take a break and let the furnace kick in and carry the load.

I was a bit discouraged by this last night, but given a good nights sleep, I'm pretty pleased how the heating season has gone so far. Learned a lot in the process and have really enjoyed hearing all the ideas from everyone on this site.

Thanks.

If the stove is running you are spending less money running the furnace. Other than a couple tubes of caulk and maybe a roll of weather stripping over the summer you may not want to change a thing. Plus you'll have two year old oak next winter....

 

[Hogwildz]

It's no wonder you got a hernia from lifting those bins......oh, wait......

Just funnin' with ya Hog....I get groin pain at times from getting older and lifting so I feel your pain. Told me 2 years ago what I have is a "sports hernia" which is a fancy way of saying that where everything is connected on my left side is inflamed, so I do some funky stretches for it; sometimes they help, sometimes they make it hurt worse, or make other body parts hurt

Smart idea to load up on it like that!

I don't remember the technical term for my hernia. It was in my abdomen/groin area where all the muscles, tendons, nerves run through the abdominal wall. That is where it ripped a big hole. My intestines started to "push through" the hole and I had what looked like an large egg shape pushing out visibly there. They stuffed th intestine back through the hole, filled it full of plastic mesh, then put a big plastic mesh patch over the hole, around the nerves, muscles etc. Never was right since. Every time I lift, cough, have fun with the lil woman etc., I feel the muscles and stuff pulling on the mesh which pulls on the nerves. It gets pretty painful at times. The complete opposite down further in my right groin. That area is numb. I think the nerves were damaged of maybe choked off from the patch. Going near 5 years after, and I don't think it will get much better by now. Then I learn of how they do it in Europe with no mesh and high success rate, go figure. I think it is similar to the mesh they used on women that there is a big lawsuite about. Wish I could have gotten some of that cash. Like anything else, ya learn to live with it. It truly sucks aging and falling apart.
Part Neanderthal, part plastic man.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I don't remember the technical term for my hernia. It was in my abdomen/groin area where all the muscles, tendons, nerves run through the abdominal wall. That is where it ripped a big hole. My intestines started to "push through" the hole and I had what looked like an large egg shape pushing out visibly there. They stuffed th intestine back through the hole, filled it full of plastic mesh, then put a big plastic mesh patch over the hole, around the nerves, muscles etc. Never was right since. Every time I lift, cough, have fun with the lil woman etc., I feel the muscles and stuff pulling on the mesh which pulls on the nerves. It gets pretty painful at times. The complete opposite down further in my right groin. That area is numb. I think the nerves were damaged of maybe choked off from the patch. Going near 5 years after, and I don't think it will get much better by now. Then I learn of how they do it in Europe with no mesh and high success rate, go figure. I think it is similar to the mesh they used on women that there is a big lawsuite about. Wish I could have gotten some of that cash. Like anything else, ya learn to live with it. It truly sucks aging and falling apart.
Part Neanderthal, part plastic man.

Jeez man, that's TERRIBLE! I had heard of the problems with mesh; you would think in this day and age they would be able to fix things like that.....you're probably correct, it won't get any better unless they go in there again, and they might make things worse! Sorry to hear of your problems!

I know with my "issue" in the left groin, hip and inside thigh, I also think that they could "fix" it, but I've seen several people-chiropractors, physical therapists and 2 years ago an orthopedic doctor and then her physical therapist. I could've sworn that I had a hernia, but they never found one. She did x-rays and an MRI, and they came up with it being a "sports hernia" which like I said is an umbrella term for pain in that area. I do the exercises and stretches, but it isn't as simple as just doing them and it's all sunshine and rainbows; I also feel it down there when I work, sit, do anything really-the only time that I seem to get some relief is when I sleep. Somedays it isn't too bad, sometimes it hurts like hell, exercises or not. Like you said, you learn to live with it and deal with it the best you can. I wish you luck with it, and hope that somehow the pain DOES go away for you!

 

[Hogwildz]

Jeez man, that's TERRIBLE! I had heard of the problems with mesh; you would think in this day and age they would be able to fix things like that.....you're probably correct, it won't get any better unless they go in there again, and they might make things worse! Sorry to hear of your problems!

I know with my "issue" in the left groin, hip and inside thigh, I also think that they could "fix" it, but I've seen several people-chiropractors, physical therapists and 2 years ago an orthopedic doctor and then her physical therapist. I could've sworn that I had a hernia, but they never found one. She did x-rays and an MRI, and they came up with it being a "sports hernia" which like I said is an umbrella term for pain in that area. I do the exercises and stretches, but it isn't as simple as just doing them and it's all sunshine and rainbows; I also feel it down there when I work, sit, do anything really-the only time that I seem to get some relief is when I sleep. Somedays it isn't too bad, sometimes it hurts like hell, exercises or not. Like you said, you learn to live with it and deal with it the best you can. I wish you luck with it, and hope that somehow the pain DOES go away for you!

Thanks Woodsman, I expect I am as healed as I will get, and have come to accept that. I was given 3 choices. Do nothing, and chance pinching off the intestine and having that part of it die, which they would have to cut out and reattach, then fix the hernia anyway. Um, no thanks.
Go in ans stitch the hole shut, but would most likely re-open. Um again, no thanks.
Go in, stuff the mesh in the hole, patch the hole, let the body grow in around & through the mesh for a strong bond. Uh, okay door #3 please.
Never told me of the issues mesh can cause, or the options they use in Europe. Told me the numbness would go away, hasn't. Told me the pain would go away, hasn't.
Told me the scare tissue would soften, hasn't.
You have the same pain issues I am experiencing. Groin, thigh, hip, inside thigh. The plus I have, is the hole it patched, and I don't have to worry bout pinching off & killing my intestine. So I guess lesser of the two evils.
Keep an eye on that stuff, and if the time comes, fully know your options. They don't always give you ALL the options, just the ones they feel like dealing with.
Stay warm

 

[Paulywalnut]

I've never shut down the heater, it does heat my hot water. It set at 65. It comes on when the house is 64 which is rare but I don't have a stroke if I'm using a little oil.
The oil guy comes for auto fill up and gives me 70 gal. I agree with Hogwildz.

 

[bag of hammers]

Do

yourself a favor, don't stack the wood on the stove, or anywhere within say a couple feet of it. That is just inviting a potential serious issue.

+1. I'm recalling stories reported in threads here that describe such tragedies. Please take Hogwildz' warning seriously.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

You have the same pain issues I am experiencing. Groin, thigh, hip, inside thigh. The plus I have, is the hole it patched, and I don't have to worry bout pinching off & killing my intestine. So I guess lesser of the two evils.
Keep an eye on that stuff, and if the time comes, fully know your options. They don't always give you ALL the options, just the ones they feel like dealing with.
Stay warm

Thanks, it's good to know. Hopefully I'll never get to the point where I will have to get anything done. I started getting pain on the lower left side years ago, and automatically thought "I must have a hernia", but I can't tell you how many times I went through the "grab the ole' beanbag, turn and cough" exam, and they couldn't find anything, no bulge or lump, which I'm happy about. Even had an ultrasound done of the beanbag, and aside from a little cyst and a swollen vein nothing that would be causing me pain. After seeing this one general doctor too many times, he finally suggested that I go to an orthopedic doctor-I'm glad he did but I wish he'd had done that YEARS EARLIER, as she was the one who checked me out (not by grabbing the beanbag lol) but by stretching me and pushing and pulling and having me resist against her pushing etc., and said "I think I know what it is, I think you are just overtight on your left side", but did an MRI which ruled out anything really bad. So I then went to the physical therapist in her building, and they gave me some REALLY funky stretches and exercises from the "Hruskas Clinic" developed by a guy somewhere in Nebraska I think. They told me that everyone has an "angry" side, mine just happens to be on the left side, and to do these exercises to stretch and keep my core strong etc. etc. etc., you know the story. But like I said, and I know others that have said the same thing, we are willing to do the exercises if all you had to do was do them to make the pain go away, but it isn't that easy; I think the exercises are just going to help somewhat, and I'll (like you) be caught in "limbo" forever, not healed but not too bad, better somedays and worse others. Oh well, we carry on, best that we can.....

Stay well......

 

[mass_burner]

Stacking wood in a living space? You must not have small kids. Mine toddler would be at the top of that pile in 5 seconds flat.

Forget small kids, my wife would freak if she saw that!

 

[mass_burner]

The OP sounds disappointed in wood heat. I'm not sure if I would work as hard at it if the natural resource wasn't abundant and free. But probably.
Its messy and dirty and heavy and time consuming and did I say messy?
But I just love it. The added bonus is that it helps me save money on fuel oil costs.

I'm not convinced that blaming your stove is the take away. Windy days expose air leaks in your envelope. Invest in a door pressure test, or whatever it s called to find your baseline, then improve sequentially from there.

 

[HarvestMan]

I've never shut down the heater, it does heat my hot water. It set at 65. It comes on when the house is 64 which is rare but I don't have a stroke if I'm using a little oil.
The oil guy comes for auto fill up and gives me 70 gal. I agree with Hogwildz.

Thanks Hogwildz & Paulywalnut; I like your thinking on this. I decided to work in harmony with the furnace and use it each morning to bring up the house temps to my target range. Keeps it in shape and gives the basement a taste of warm each day.