Dieselhead
Minister of Fire
Ashes out! Uglies in. Wind storm be dammed. Pic is of fresh load 10 min ago, and ash collection from last 2 cleanouts. Why not share a pic of how I remove my ashes. Modified flat shovel.
What Is In Your Stove Right Now?
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Weird. I'm over in RI and I have only had to run my stove hard probably 6 days total this winter. I'm also burning much less wood this season that the past couple. It's been so warm most of the winter in new england.
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
still 24F outside, very light snow
I split and stocked inside a bit
just put on a nice piece of hazel and a little split of oak on some elm embers
along with the elm I have tree I'm unable to identify; nearly extremely difficult to split (maul just bounces right off)...grain looks just like the elm, but my climber service owner said it was an oak species...I'll post soon and see if anyone can help me identify it
I split and stocked inside a bit
just put on a nice piece of hazel and a little split of oak on some elm embers
along with the elm I have tree I'm unable to identify; nearly extremely difficult to split (maul just bounces right off)...grain looks just like the elm, but my climber service owner said it was an oak species...I'll post soon and see if anyone can help me identify it
I’m in Mass and also using less but it could change fast.
Maybe it’s my burning habit that changed. Last year I burnt through little over a pallet of biobricks. Almost every fire would include 2-4 bricks at minimum since my wood was not dry.
Whereas this year I’m almost completely cord wood. I’ve gone through maybe 4, 5 packs of bricks in total, reserving the bricks for only coldest nights.
I’m supposing those those bricks gave me a lot more heat last year than I give credits for.
On a different note, just checked in ski cabin at Jay Peak VT, and burning some weird gas fireplace that runs on a max 30min timer. It’s a blizzard out now and will be great powder for skiing tomorrow..:::
Whereas this year I’m almost completely cord wood. I’ve gone through maybe 4, 5 packs of bricks in total, reserving the bricks for only coldest nights.
I’m supposing those those bricks gave me a lot more heat last year than I give credits for.
On a different note, just checked in ski cabin at Jay Peak VT, and burning some weird gas fireplace that runs on a max 30min timer. It’s a blizzard out now and will be great powder for skiing tomorrow..:::
We ran the pellet stove until the first brownout tonight (I shut it off) the wood stove never saw a load today. After I shut the pellet stove off we used the propane fireplace/insert for heat.
The living area is 70 to 74 with the sleeper at 68, the outside temp is 35.4.
The living area is 70 to 74 with the sleeper at 68, the outside temp is 35.4.
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
It's been a steady 23F / -5C outside since about 1700 yesterday
Salon is just under 62F / 17C; bedrooms around 57F / 13C...Kitchen with zero heat is around 52F / 11.5C
I worked abnormally late last night to about 0300...hit the hay around 0400 and woke at 0730...I was certain the stove would be cold...thankfully I was wrong and was greeted by a fairly healthy tray of embers
spread them evenly and placed a split of elm and oak and it took immediately, phew
also, the electric rad set to 1Kw is on a meros timer in the salon...it used to take 3 rads on 2Kw to keep the Salon bearable...huge difference with the stove
Salon is just under 62F / 17C; bedrooms around 57F / 13C...Kitchen with zero heat is around 52F / 11.5C
I worked abnormally late last night to about 0300...hit the hay around 0400 and woke at 0730...I was certain the stove would be cold...thankfully I was wrong and was greeted by a fairly healthy tray of embers
spread them evenly and placed a split of elm and oak and it took immediately, phew
also, the electric rad set to 1Kw is on a meros timer in the salon...it used to take 3 rads on 2Kw to keep the Salon bearable...huge difference with the stove
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ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
Yahoo says -2C / 28F but my mercury reads -5C/ 23F
The powder that landed night before last is still powder, so it’s cold out there
Just put in a split of oak with along with a 2” branch of elm on a bed of embers that is mostly ash, elm, apple and oak from the earlier burns. I’ve been struggling to keep a nice bed of embers this past week, but now it’s just right
Now to call the new luthier in my locality, that’s time for a celebration around these parts!
The powder that landed night before last is still powder, so it’s cold out there
Just put in a split of oak with along with a 2” branch of elm on a bed of embers that is mostly ash, elm, apple and oak from the earlier burns. I’ve been struggling to keep a nice bed of embers this past week, but now it’s just right
Now to call the new luthier in my locality, that’s time for a celebration around these parts!
Could be worse. Says they got some rain on the tail end. Wonder how much. Love it up there. Got a great powder day last year. Always gotta have a switchback at least once when your up that way. Not a great winter for riding. hopefully that changes.
Insane wind and rain last night. No fire and no trees down. 50’s here.
Bobbob
Burning Hunk
Still windy here also with a mix if rain and snow. Just filled the Buck Stove up with a load of ash. 34 outside temp, but a cozy 72 in here
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
just tried a little experiment with blackthorn...I read it burns a long time...so far, very good
I have a lot of small blackthorn on my property and I've just been burning it outside as waste
I have a lot of small blackthorn on my property and I've just been burning it outside as waste
mpaul
Burning Hunk
. Loaded the stove up with hickory before leaving for work at 7am.
At noon got notified by power company that we lost power with an expected resolution at 4:30.
4:30 power company identified down pole and changed resolution time to 9:30.
Told wife to reload stove and I’d be home shortly.
Got to my street at 6pm and was completely blocked by fire trucks and police. Neighbors house on fire and road closed.
Went to local pub to wait it out and finally got home at 8:30. Still waiting for power to come back on. Fortunately it’s in the upper 30s and the load of hickory keeping house at a comfortable 72 degrees. Really hoping neighbors house is ok. I’m not able to assess given its dark out.
At noon got notified by power company that we lost power with an expected resolution at 4:30.
4:30 power company identified down pole and changed resolution time to 9:30.
Told wife to reload stove and I’d be home shortly.
Got to my street at 6pm and was completely blocked by fire trucks and police. Neighbors house on fire and road closed.
Went to local pub to wait it out and finally got home at 8:30. Still waiting for power to come back on. Fortunately it’s in the upper 30s and the load of hickory keeping house at a comfortable 72 degrees. Really hoping neighbors house is ok. I’m not able to assess given its dark out.
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
0300 time to hit the hay
nevermind the freezing temps, high air pollution has rolled in...smells like burnt coal...looking at the IQ web site, it's probably comin from Poland looking at the map
the outside the mercury has been pegged just below -5C / 23F
put in ash and oak
nevermind the freezing temps, high air pollution has rolled in...smells like burnt coal...looking at the IQ web site, it's probably comin from Poland looking at the map
the outside the mercury has been pegged just below -5C / 23F
put in ash and oak
We never lost power but did lose cable that just came back on overnight. Before the winds moved in we ran the pellet stove and then shut it down before the winds picked up. We didn't use any type of heat that night with the house still between 65 - 67 the next morning with an outside temp of 37.6.
This morning the outside temp was 26.2, the basement started out at 73, the living area 67 & 68 with the sleeper at 68. Yesterday we burned a combo of beech an ash, we'll do the sane for today.
This morning the outside temp was 26.2, the basement started out at 73, the living area 67 & 68 with the sleeper at 68. Yesterday we burned a combo of beech an ash, we'll do the sane for today.
Been the same old story here - full overnight load of mostly ash with a chunk or two of sugar maple, honey locust or hickory; then 1 or 2 shoulder season loads during the day. Cold stretch coming starting Saturday night where I'll need to push it a bit harder.
Long term forecast doesn't look like we'll be above freezing until mid February. Snowed again last night and possible blizzard conditions coming tomorrow. Left my bigger snowblower up north so fighting through with the little 5hp 24" 😔.
Long term forecast doesn't look like we'll be above freezing until mid February. Snowed again last night and possible blizzard conditions coming tomorrow. Left my bigger snowblower up north so fighting through with the little 5hp 24" 😔.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
We had a few dips and brown-outs in all the wind last night, nothing unusual for our forested semi-rural location. Then a little later, I noticed the blower on one of my Ashfords was running crazy fast, and wondered to myself if the rheostat had been partly damaged in a surge. Then later in the evening I noticed the other Ashford's fans were also screaming, which was my cue to start looking for signs of over-voltage.
Our indoor lighting is almost all on dimmer switches, but my outdoor lighting is on hard switches, and indeed the 3x 25W bulb lamp posts were throwing light like the noon-time sun. I checked a few of our computer UPS's, and they were all reading around 136 volts. Grabbed a meter and checked a 230V receptacle to find it reading 265 volts.
This has happened at least a half dozen times over the last dozen years, so I called PECO to report the issue. Usually they send someone out right away, but it's been about 12 hours now and we're still running hot.
My espresso grinder and bathroom exhaust fans have never run so fast!
Our indoor lighting is almost all on dimmer switches, but my outdoor lighting is on hard switches, and indeed the 3x 25W bulb lamp posts were throwing light like the noon-time sun. I checked a few of our computer UPS's, and they were all reading around 136 volts. Grabbed a meter and checked a 230V receptacle to find it reading 265 volts.
This has happened at least a half dozen times over the last dozen years, so I called PECO to report the issue. Usually they send someone out right away, but it's been about 12 hours now and we're still running hot.
My espresso grinder and bathroom exhaust fans have never run so fast!
You'll probably start blowing light bulbs running that kind of voltage... One city we have rentals in tends to run between 122 & 124 and renters are always complaining about how they are constantly blowing light bulbs.We had a few dips and brown-outs in all the wind last night, nothing unusual for our forested semi-rural location. Then a little later, I noticed the blower on one of my Ashfords was running crazy fast, and wondered to myself if the rheostat had been partly damaged in a surge. Then later in the evening I noticed the other Ashford's fans were also screaming, which was my cue to start looking for signs of over-voltage.
Our indoor lighting is almost all on dimmer switches, but my outdoor lighting is on hard switches, and indeed the 3x 25W bulb lamp posts were throwing light like the noon-time sun. I checked a few of our computer UPS's, and they were all reading around 136 volts. Grabbed a meter and checked a 230V receptacle to find it reading 265 volts.
This has happened at least a half dozen times over the last dozen years, so I called PECO to report the issue. Usually they send someone out right away, but it's been about 12 hours now and we're still running hot.
My espresso grinder and bathroom exhaust fans have never run so fast!
Hmm interesting...... My utah house tests at 125V, I test it all the time as i'm always upgrading older outlets and switches. Never had any bulb trouble, but they mostly are all either LED or compact fluorescents at this point. Still a couple old school filaments mostly for work lights. Also i'm not there that much so the usage is very low.
The crazy weather continues. Mid 30’s this morning. Had a quick fire of maple oak and cherry. Heated the house. Let is die out since mid 40’s today. Used the heat pump mid afternoon. 30’s again now and did a larger load of oak and cherry. High 40’s tomorrow and high winds coming again tomorrow night. 50’s Saturday. Next week should be colder.
Letting the geothermal take the load for now. I'll be starting the stove up tomorrow evening as the temps are supposed to be falling into the teens and won't recover for the whole week from the look of it. I've got lots of hickory, honey locust, and oak staged and ready to go. It will be nice to have some cold weather to freeze the ground up to skid some trees out of the woods so we can start cutting and splitting.
mpaul
Burning Hunk
Power came back on at 1:30am. Fireplace gave me a little scare. Because it’s a ZC fireplace, running it without the blower requires smaller, shorter fires. Luckily the temps outside were mild but I still needed some heat. So I did a half load and dialed it down to about 2 - 5% open. Pretty much smoldering the whole night. Around 11:30 I started smelling the burning dust smell you get when turning on the heat for the first time in the season. I cut the air all the way off and the smell started to subside shortly later. But still gave me a scare not knowing how hot the top of the ZC was getting.
These weather outbreaks are getting worse and worse. I think it’s time to invest in a generator to run my well pump, fridge and blower during outages.
Would a full house power surge protect help with these surges?We had a few dips and brown-outs in all the wind last night, nothing unusual for our forested semi-rural location. Then a little later, I noticed the blower on one of my Ashfords was running crazy fast, and wondered to myself if the rheostat had been partly damaged in a surge. Then later in the evening I noticed the other Ashford's fans were also screaming, which was my cue to start looking for signs of over-voltage.
Our indoor lighting is almost all on dimmer switches, but my outdoor lighting is on hard switches, and indeed the 3x 25W bulb lamp posts were throwing light like the noon-time sun. I checked a few of our computer UPS's, and they were all reading around 136 volts. Grabbed a meter and checked a 230V receptacle to find it reading 265 volts.
This has happened at least a half dozen times over the last dozen years, so I called PECO to report the issue. Usually they send someone out right away, but it's been about 12 hours now and we're still running hot.
My espresso grinder and bathroom exhaust fans have never run so fast!
Winter storm warning from 6am tomorrow until 11am Saturday. Just loaded up with ash & sugar maple. Temps are supposed to nose dive starting about midnight Friday.
We have an outside temp of 24.6 tonight, the basement started out at 75, the sleeper at 68 and the living area temps are between 70 & 72.
I loaded up the Liberty with all ash splits tonight, that should keep the house warm enough with these temps.
I loaded up the Liberty with all ash splits tonight, that should keep the house warm enough with these temps.
