Good Morning!

[stehansen]

Al, if you don't mind, how big is the opening in the bricks that your stove fits into. This is my fireplace and I can't convince the wife to put a insert/stove or whatever into the fireplace itself but I have the BBQ thing on the left side that we never use. I was thinking of putting a stove in the lower part (which is supposed to be a wood storage area, but houses my wife's old LP collection) of the BBQ and building some kind of flu to go up and use the existing chimney for the BBQ.

 

[Al Smith]

I'll have to measure it if I can pry myself off this danged 'puter .It's been one of those long mornings for some reason today .

That set up in the pic would be a piece of cake to set a stove in .Just plate the opening in the chimney and duck a pipe in it .Set the stove far forward on the hearth .

Mine has a majority of the radiant surface buried in side the actual fireplaace but it's been retrofitted with an air chamber and fans so it really puts out the heat .

 

[brendonv]

Done for the day. Dead wooded a Red Oak, and pruned it back over a roof. Took down 2 Sugar Maples, and a few branches off the neighbors tree.

 

[Che]

Al...how is it you're able to go this long before firing up the woodstove? I'm sure you've said before, but I forget.

Mike put in an external air source a couple years ago and I'll have to admit, I really like it. Ugly.....but nice that there are no sparks to contend with. Speaking of sparks.....a good hedge fire will clean out that creosote.

 

[Al Smith]

Che the reason there as of yet to be a fire is it's too hard to control the temp .The temp has been mid 30's low twentys a night but it's getting close to the time now . I should have addressed the flue months ago but too many irons in the fire . Any way at these temps the geo thermal does great, it does great anytime just like that cozy woodfire thing when the frost is really deep on the pumpkin .

I spppose I could fire the stove full of small split hickory and burn it out but I'm a chicken to do that .

Now the firebox size for that fireplace is 40" wide 26" high but it's an arch type .The house was built when interrior brick was the rage and there is tons of it here .

The actuall stove size is 28" wide and 20" high but that includes the air chamber . I didn't measure the depth of the stove but it sticks back a tad longer than it is wide .

The pics might indicate more .

 

[Che]

I'd forgotten that you had geothermal, Al. duhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[Al Smith]

Oh the stove thing serves several purposes besides heat .I get plenty of exercise ,I get to test out my saws and I have oodles of wood that I don't have dime in other than my sweat . Oh a few bucks here or there like to build the spliter or gas for the saws but not much .

Besides all that the satisfaction that uncle Sam has yet to devise a method to tax me on my own labor which sits especially good with me .I suppose though that given enough time the powers to be will come up with some brain storm how to do so but until then ---

 

[Che]

It's probably time for the annual firewood & wood-burning-stove thread.

I did plenty of splitting wood this morning....old hedge, like bouncing the mall off a rock. I only split three pieces, but as far as I was concerned....it WAS plenty!

 

[MasterBlaster]

Your children should be doing that chore.

 

[Che]

My son does usually, we're just not up to speed right now.

I use that Monster Mall I gave him some years ago, I think I posted about it here or at AS....the one with 'wings'.

 

[squisher]

I've been burning like crazy so far this year. I overdid it two days ago and had the house up to 82 on the thermostat, probably a easy 90 in the basement. That's to much heat for me. Still got my plain jane old airtight in the basement, dead center of the basement, heats the entire house no problem with help from a grate in the floor and a fan.

 

[Al Smith]

I did plenty of splitting wood this morning....old hedge, like bouncing the mall off a rock. I only split three pieces, but as far as I was concerned....it WAS plenty!

My fair lady,you need a hydraulic splitter . As much wood as you burn in a season you certainly warrent owning one . If you then feel the need to swing a maul to expend some frustration then have at it .In the mean time though you will split 10 times the wood with 10 percent of the effort of the old axe thing .

 

[squisher]

For sure. This is my first year with a splitter, mounted on my mini. What a dream, it's so easy I almost feel guilty, almost. My whole life I've slugged firewood and I can split up a storm by hand but man oh man the mini splitter is just to damn easy.

 

[Al Smith]

Well,most of my life including when I sold firewood it was done with old Excaliber my 5 pound 100 year old splitting axe .When I was younger I could drive dead center through a 20" oak round ,no problem .

Alas ,got long in the tooth ,it happens . Instead of fiddley farten around for twenty years to build the splitter I recently completed I'd have been time and money ahead to have done so long ago .

 

[Old Monkey]

Well I am nauseous this morning. A customer called last week to let me know that her checking account was overdrawn because the check that she paid me with in June had been resubmitted for payment and her paid on the same check twice. I checked out my bank to see if I had been recently credited with that amount and I had not. My bank said it was probably a mistake at her bank. Well that's where I thought it would end but now her bank returned the check to my bank and they deducted the amount from my account. How they were able to do this is a mystery to me because by their own explanation someone cannot decide not to pay a check after it is paid out and certainly not months later. The whole matter just sickens me, not because it happened but because there is so little I can do about it. I called my bank this morning and it took forever to talk to someone. The lady I spoke with said they would research the matter and it would take a week or two.

 

[squisher]

Damn Darin that sucks. I'd be pressing them to figure it out a little quicker than that. One thing I love about my local credit union I deal with is their call center is manned by actual live tellers who can get things done. Paying bills/transferring is just as simple as asking them to do it, presto.

 

[Al Smith]

Something smells a tad bit fishy about that . I would think a bank would process a check faster than that .

 

[Old Monkey]

When she paid me in June, her check went through and I received the funds. My account never double billed hers but that is what her bank thinks. Now I am out the $2250 I was paid for the job.

 

[squisher]

I'd be hitting the ceiling! Imo that's bs on your banks part, where's the proof that you were paid for that cheque twice. That's what I'd be asking to see otherwise your bank should just grab the money back or front you the money themselves while they straighten it out as someone at your bank must've aproved the withdrawl from your account by the other bank. Someone screwed up imo.

 

[stehansen]

Sounds pretty bogus to me. I'm sure they will get it all figured out.

 

[SkwerI]

That's bullshit. It doesn't matter if they can figure it out in a couple weeks, they took the money out of his account yesterday! I'd be raising all kinds of holy hell because that much money illegally withdrawn could seriously affect my ability to cover my other obligations. Maybe Darin is rich and can cover it for a couple weeks, but not me.

 

[Dave Shepard]

That kind of thing is one of the few things that I can't just take a deep breath and wait it out. Ever notice it only happens on the weekend or friday night? Then you have to worry all dang weekend. After it's all fixed, I'd be making a stink somewhere about it. As Brian said, it could really frig up your other checks, then you'd be on the hook for overdrafts that weren't your fault. Someone needs an ass-chewing over this!

 

[woodworkingboy]

I'd sure be wanting an apology after it gets straightened out. That is very rude.

 

[Paul B]

I would head down to your branch and go right for the manager's office Darin, seriously. This kind of treatment is time to change banks kind of stuff.

There is no way they should be able to remove those funds, thats YOUR money! I would call it theft!

 

[Old Monkey]

I want this mess sorted and I want an apology. I have been out of sorts all day. Brian, I am not wealthy but I can cover this for a week or two until it resolves itself. That's the good side.