Hi All,
It's been some time since I've posted. Last winter I got a QF 5700. I was pretty happy with it, especially as compared to the smoke dragon I'd been using.
This season, however, running this stove has mostly just been a chore. Why? Well, it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that I've been burning largely unseasoned wood, could it? !! ;-) Long story, but I just never had time to get my wood in - and I refused to spend the money to buy my year's wood. (Yes, I know, huge mistake, etc... - won't happen again.) Early on I burned black locust branches (a huge tree that feel in our yard - though branches they were still 6-8" in diameter) and that was okay but after that was gone I had to get into the main trunk and into my real wood pile (lots of cherry, maple, etc... that I bucked and split within the same week).
As all of you probably know, burning greenish wood is LOTS of work (heavier to carry; takes forever to get a good fire going; any time you load it up you've got, say, 1.5 hours before you get any heat to speak of, probably have more creosote than ideal, etc...). And maybe this alone accounts for my dissatisfaction.
But, even with pretty good wood last year I never got a burn that lasted through the night. There were many mornings when it was 55-60F in the house. It's not the biggest deal in the world but I'm thinking there must be a better way. I'm too busy for what, sometimes, feels like another part time job.
So here's what I think I know about, say, a Blaze King King.
- large wood box
- has a thermostat that can be set to burn extremely low
- very long burn times possible
- (probably) has no glass and the aesthetics suck (the fires in the quad are beautiful!)
- needs a replacement element every 5 or so years which'll cost about $300 bucks
- very low polluting
- is VERY intolerant of unseasoned/less seasoned wood
So, my dream would be:
- have lots of seasoned firewood (!! ;-)
- once every day (if really cold) or every couple of days when not too cold, I fill up the firebox, set the thermostat and then I don't think about it for a day or two.
That sounds great.
Is this reasonable? And, if yes, why the hell isn't everyone using catalytic stoves. They sound amazing. Perhaps I need to reread some articles on the downsides of catalytic. Perhaps I'm missing something.
Thanks much,
JR
It's been some time since I've posted. Last winter I got a QF 5700. I was pretty happy with it, especially as compared to the smoke dragon I'd been using.
This season, however, running this stove has mostly just been a chore. Why? Well, it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that I've been burning largely unseasoned wood, could it? !! ;-) Long story, but I just never had time to get my wood in - and I refused to spend the money to buy my year's wood. (Yes, I know, huge mistake, etc... - won't happen again.) Early on I burned black locust branches (a huge tree that feel in our yard - though branches they were still 6-8" in diameter) and that was okay but after that was gone I had to get into the main trunk and into my real wood pile (lots of cherry, maple, etc... that I bucked and split within the same week).
As all of you probably know, burning greenish wood is LOTS of work (heavier to carry; takes forever to get a good fire going; any time you load it up you've got, say, 1.5 hours before you get any heat to speak of, probably have more creosote than ideal, etc...). And maybe this alone accounts for my dissatisfaction.
But, even with pretty good wood last year I never got a burn that lasted through the night. There were many mornings when it was 55-60F in the house. It's not the biggest deal in the world but I'm thinking there must be a better way. I'm too busy for what, sometimes, feels like another part time job.
So here's what I think I know about, say, a Blaze King King.
- large wood box
- has a thermostat that can be set to burn extremely low
- very long burn times possible
- (probably) has no glass and the aesthetics suck (the fires in the quad are beautiful!)
- needs a replacement element every 5 or so years which'll cost about $300 bucks
- very low polluting
- is VERY intolerant of unseasoned/less seasoned wood
So, my dream would be:
- have lots of seasoned firewood (!! ;-)
- once every day (if really cold) or every couple of days when not too cold, I fill up the firebox, set the thermostat and then I don't think about it for a day or two.
That sounds great.
Is this reasonable? And, if yes, why the hell isn't everyone using catalytic stoves. They sound amazing. Perhaps I need to reread some articles on the downsides of catalytic. Perhaps I'm missing something.
Thanks much,
JR