Wood Heat Thread ~ post pics

Our area can have "no burn days" if the AQMD calls for it, but it doesn't apply if wood heat is your primary heating source.

Once my stove gets to operating temperature and I'm burning dry wood, there are almost no visible emissions.

 

http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/05/15/the-worst-media-myths-about-epas-move-to-cut-wo/203667

 

https://youtu.be/XasJ6rwWc6U

 

As long as you have straight grain wood, and not too large around, this could be great. I'm sure it's only about $150,000 worth of equipment.

 

Fire starting. How many of us use the "upside down" start? I use it when starting from scratch (usually have coal bed from November to April for firing).

Bottom is final sized split wood. Next up layer is smaller split, next layer kindling/cardboard/birch bark, then some newspapaer (not needed if birch bark is available). Light the top and leave it. By the time the bottom layer is burning well you add your night or day's wood. No need to tee pee or boy scout fire build. This is much faster. I do sometimes put a layer of cardboard between the bottom and second layer. The first time I did this I thought it would never work, now use nothing else.

I burn about 5 full cords in a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 (same firebox as the Summit). A full fuel load of Oak, Ash, Hickory or Maple will last 12 hours with coals to rake up for the next firing. Does all the heating for an 1100 square foot house, stove in the full basement.

Ralph

 

I've never tried that, but my problem with that is mostly the wood I burn. I have mostly pine on my lot, and I've been cleaning them up since I moved here 3 years ago. I split the pine into bigger pieces intentionally so it will last longer. Otherwise, I have to get up in the middle of the night to reload the fireplace. The old furnace was dying at my house recently, and wasn't pushing any heat through the electric elements. We would load the fireplace up right before bed, load it again about midnight to 1 am, then I would have to revive it about 5am as I was getting ready for work.

 

Media matters is NOT a reliable source. Same with all the other George Soros funded organizations. They are politically biased as who they point fingers at.

With that said, we should all strive to breathe cleaner air and more efficient wood burning stoves are a good thing.

 

When I had my home built, my builder thought I was crazy for having a wood burning fireplace installed. Not the norm for around here, but growing up in the PNW, I've always enjoyed the warmth and smell of a wood fire. For daily use in the winter, I have a gas fireplace too.

 

I'll see if I can find something on Briebart for you , hang on

 

Ok folks let's not get this thread locked.

 

Whateva , I do what I want

 

It is your thread...

In other news, I'm burning a mix of hickory and cedar. Any issues with burning cedar in a fireplace? I know pine is discouraged, but this is the first time I've run cedar for heat.

 

Cedar can really pop a lot and throw embers , kinda depends on moisture content

I burn it in my woodstove

 

Mine has seasoned for about 8 months, but creates a very hot fire or so it seems.

Glass doors and a chimney screen help with the sparks and embers.

 

You're fine

 

When I was s kid our medium length haired mutt used to sleep right in front of the fire and one night an ember came flying out of the fireplace and caught her hair on fire , there was a big column of stinky smoke rising up off her that obviously hadn't got to her skin yet cause she was still asleep when we got over to her to get the ember off of her lol

 

God! ....this month I went through a bad batch of wood...it appeared to be red oak ...it was heavy , needed and to be seasoned longer. I burned it with scraps of pine from work and kept it hot. Still it left big coals I had to stir. I don't normally have this problem, but I do burn trees that are standing dead or wind blown. Just venting, but man this month was sucking for the wood I was burning. You get that scavenging around a property I guess. Anyway I have my cute kitten as a avatar sucks he is a dick of a cat now.

 

I've had the opposite problem lately, lol. I've been working through a big maple that I harvested dead standing, cut, split, & stacked and then had it at the back of the pile for 2 years seasoning some more. I realized I hadn't cycled through that wood this summer, so I put it at the front of the shed. It's so dry now that it'll light with a match, no kindling required, and it burns so hot, fast, & completely that I have to damper the stove completely back or else I'm left with just grey ash in the morning, no coals at all. Fortunately I'm almost done with it and back into regularly-seasoned wood now.

 

Yeah...it's funny that there is such a thing as, too seasoned...lol...I shouldn't have that problem beacause I wait till the last month or two to fill my wood room. That why I really can't complain about that unseasoned wood because I put it in there....I will still complain though