wood box size & burn rate

[firefighterjake]

(or walla if you would . . . refers to another post)

It's wala, not walla. ;-)

Sorry about that . . . I'll try to get it right next time Wendell.

 

[firefighterjake]

I went with a stove that I know will be too small to handle my heat requirement for the cold days and I'm ok with this since my goal at this point is to put a good dent in my heat bill. This winter will be my first so I doubt I'll be heating 24/7. My family room/kitchen is only a 300 sq' room. I didn't want to go bigger, over heat the room and drive us out of it. The floor plan is not real open so I'm not sure how the heat will move around the house. I also had a requirement set by my wife who didn't want the stove to have a large foot print.

I figure an 30-NCL isn't too expensive, I can always add that if I get the bug to really make some heat or I'll add an insert to my fireplace in my living room.

All good points and arguments for going with a small stove . . . but the most important argument and point is this one . . .

". . . my wife . . . didn't want the stove to have a large foot print." And in my opinion, oftentimes honoring the wishes of one's spouse can trump all over arguments and reasoning.

I will say one counterpoint however . . . I bought my stove originally to help with the heating costs and figured I would a) mainly eliminate the need for heat in the living room and nearby rooms and b) I would only burn evenings and weekends.

I'm happy to say that having purchased the stove that I did I was not only able to heat the living area and surrounding rooms to a nice temp, but the bedrooms on the second floor and master bedroom a bit further away was warm enough (but not over-warm) so nearly the entire house stayed heated with just the woodstove.

Also, in the end, my initial plans to burn only on weekends and evenings never materialized . . . I soon learned how easy and comfortable it was using wood and ended up heating more or less 24/7 (sometimes the oil boiler would kick on in really cold mornings.) I suspect that many people start out thinking the wood will be a secondary, back-up heating source and once bitten by the wood burning bug change things around so that their oil/NG/propane furnace/boiler is the secondary heat source.

 

[karl]

There's nothing like coming in from the cold and putting on a pair of shorts.

Except that it's very wasteful.

You wouldn't be saying it's wasteful if you had a cute young woman who hops out of the shower and runs down the hall naked to get dressed in front of the stove. Oh and I rarely us AC in summer so don't give me the I'm killing the environment speech either.

 

[John_M]

Firefighterjake,
"Walla" sounds good to me. It is the western half of the city of Walla Walla, Washington, located down in the southeast corner of that great state. It's beautiful country down there and well worth a visit. They grow the best red "sweet" onions in the world.

John_M

 

[firefighterjake]

Firefighterjake,
"Walla" sounds good to me. It is the western half of the city of Walla Walla, Washington, located down in the southeast corner of that great state. It's beautiful country down there and well worth a visit. They grow the best red "sweet" onions in the world.

John_M

. . . and wala is either a new species of tree or a variation of voila . . . reference to past thread and inside joke here.

So if Walla is the western half of the city of Walla Walla, Washington . . . is the eastern half of the city of Walla Walla Washington also Walla?

 

[voner]

from crappieKeith:

This is kiln dried wood and it makes a really hot fire. You may want to ask if it voids the warranties.

crappieKeith

Hey! crappieKeith! Thanks! that is a real helpful comment. I just am ignorant of these EPA stoves - used to the cast iron style. LOTS of my lumber will be Kiln Dried....... Hard wood and soft wood......


Timv aka VONER

 

[FireWalker]

Regarding size, as with many things we get easily confused with lots or sometimes too much information. Make it simple, break it down.......my home has a furnace that when used will produce up to 130,000btu/hr, at it's current setup, it heats my house by burning oil at a rate of around 100,000btu/hr. Now, who was it that told me that a Dutch West X-tra Large capable of producing 55,000btu/hr would be plenty big enough. Well that person was me and I was wrong! I now have a stove that can produce well over 100,000btu/hr and beacuse I am a cleaver indivual and have learned from other smart people (thanks folks) and from my own mistakes I can make a wide array of different heat levels with my new stove and none of those different levels need be smokey/dirty fires.

Keep it simple, consider the worst case first (mid January cold spell), find a unit that will provide enough heat and not be running at 100%, think of it as a "factor of safety"......when designing structural systems, engineers calculate for the loads applied and then add (sometimes double or more) more just in case. What is a good factor of safety for a wood stove? I like room to move so I think 20% to 30% sounds good, others may not agree but I want to be warm in the middle of an ice storm when the power is going to be out for 3 weeks. Also remember the output numbers on new stoves are likely a high maximum number based on ideal conditions that you may never be able to replicate, so in your own head, knock 10% off the top just to be safe. Thinking about heating your home in spring and fall should be a secondary consideration not the primary one.

 

[BrotherBart]

it may be illegal to install a non-epa in co.
kiln dried wood definitely wants an epa stove.
wonder how a MAGIC HEAT would help control from overfiring.

(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/horobber.htm)

 

[Todd]

wonder how a MAGIC HEAT would help control from overfiring.

ARGGGGGG

 

[John_M]

My suggestion is that before anyone starts burning a lot of dimensional lumber (2x4's etc.) or millends in their wood stoves I would humbly suggest reading the info. in this link:
(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/homillends.htm)

firefighterjake, You gots it! Continuing your inside joke, how did You know the eastern side of the wonderful and peaceful city of Walla Walla, Washington was also called Walla? That, my friend, is a little known fact. By the way, the "Walla Walla reds" really are outstanding onions with an international reputation for excellent taste. We ate them raw - the same as you would eat an apple.

Good health,

John_M

 

[BrotherBart]

duh, i thinx epa does stove testing using kiln dried 2x4"s as the fuel standard

And you would think wrong. The EPA does not test stoves. And the Douglas Fir used by testing labs isn't kiln dried.

"7.1.1 Fuel Species. Untreated, air-dried, Douglas
fir lumber. Kiln-dried lumber is not permitted. The lumber
shall be certified C grade (standard) or better Douglas fir
by a lumber grader at the mill of origin as specified in the
West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau Standard No. 16
(incorporated by reference - see §60.17).

7.1.2 Fuel Moisture. The test fuel shall have a
moisture content range between 16 to 20 percent on a wet
basis (19 to 25 percent dry basis). Addition of moisture to
previously dried wood is not allowed. It is recommended
that the test fuel be stored in a temperature and
humidity-controlled room."

 

[Highbeam]

I live near walla walla, well relatively near and it is also well known for its prison and proximity to the Hanford nuclear reservation (waste dump). Maybe that's why those blaze kings burn so long.

 

[John_M]

Highbeam, I had forgotten about the prison and Hanford; forgetfullness comes with age. So, my bubble is burst. However, seeking a silver lining to this hovering cloud; their Walla Walla reds are still the best onions in the world and the climate/weather there is relatively dry and very comfortable year round.

Best wishes,

John_M

 

[Rob From Wisconsin]

I'm going to be different here......(what's new).....

I personally disagree going with a larger stove, especially if you have physical limitations.
After having owned a "beast" in the past, and needing vast amounts of wood each season
to get any decent heat & clean burns, I'm happy with my small stove.
I don't need 5+ chords to get me through a heating season, and I only need several hundred
dollars of propane to fill in the gaps.

All I will say is that if you plan on going with a large stove, either be prepared to cut a lot of wood,
or purchase it "prepared" from someone else.......

 

[FireWalker]

I'm going to be different here......(what's new).....

I personally disagree going with a larger stove, especially if you have physical limitations.
After having owned a "beast" in the past, and needing vast amounts of wood each season
to get any decent heat & clean burns, I'm happy with my small stove.
I don't need 5+ chords to get me through a heating season, and I only need several hundred
dollars of propane to fill in the gaps.

All I will say is that if you plan on going with a large stove, either be prepared to cut a lot of wood,
or purchase it "prepared" from someone else.......

Good point......but having just moved from a stove with less than half the btu rating as my new one, I'm not sure if I used more wood. In fact I'm pretty sure I used about the same amount. In years past I never counted cords I just got as much wood done as I could and had a good idea what I needed based on what I used the season before. Now because of all you crack-pots, I tend to be a little more scientific although my regular way has always been to just stack wood in 4 foot high rows 12 feet long and stop when I have a a total of 110 feet which works out to be just over 4 cords. That has been my wood gathering formula for years now and I have only had two stoves.

So, like everything it all depends.....I went from running a good sized stove (DW xtra large) at high settings to a larger stove at more relaxed settings with no apparent change in consumption which would indicate my old stove was almost large enough to do the job. You see folks it's that "almost large enough" part that you want to avoid.