Wood stove heat

[Burnham]

I don't get the same "mileage" as @Kaveman from burning coniferous wood, Doug fir almost exclusively. I need to clean creosote from my flue and its rain cap; usually do it in the spring after the heating season is done, but sometimes before that...either way always starting the season with a clean flue.

Like his, mine is a straight shot up, no bends. My exposed interior pipe is double wall, but has inlet and exhaust vents built in at top and bottom of that section between stove and ceiling. Transfers some extra heat into the house that way. Triple wall pipe through the ceiling and inside a boxed-in section through a closet upstairs.

Most of the creosote is deposited in the last few feet and in the outside cap.

 

[Altissimus]

Amazing how the popularity of outdoor wood boilers has grown , have given away tons of crapwood to them where it does make heat safely

 

[stig]

Sean, they say that the type of Oak we have here benefits from rain wash.
I can't really say. It does need to dry out for 2 summers , so most people don't want it for firewood.
Beech is the preferred here, so it costs a bit more than the other hardwoods.

I never pay full price for my wood anyway, so I don't care about that.
I did a biggish favour for the guy who owns the forest behind my house, so I doubt I have to pay at all this year.
We logged some Beech down there last week, but it is too muddy to have the forwarder drive over my hay field.
So I'm just letting it stay in the forest for now.
We have to log some oak later, hopefully it will have dried up some by then.
It is just so fine to have it delivered right next to my wood shed.

I hung an owl nesting box for the forest driver, so she'll probably do it for free.

 

[lxskllr]

I guess everything gets used on your jobs stig? The logged sites I see around here could support me almost the rest of my life with the slash left in the woods.

 

[Burnham]

Same here. We have an embarrassment of resources.

 

[stig]

Everything is forwarded and chipped.
We've got a slew of powerplants converted to bio fuel.
I always laugh when you guys write about paying to get rid of chips/logs. I sell mine for good money.

 

[cory]

Derail warning: Stig, you're still logging, planting, firewooding, etc. If memory serves, a year or 3 ago you said your knee was acting up big time and it threatened to end your career soon, how is it lately?

 

[stig]

Amazingly well.
Considering that the orthopedic surgeon who went walkabout in it with a camera said that in his opinion, I shouldn't be able to walk, I'm doing fine.
It does hurt sometimes and I use the other leg on the planting spade, but all in all I'm good.
Sometimes when we do warm up exercises in the dojo we'll all laugh about the fact that there are simple exercises I can't do, but I can still walk in cold and kick a 6 foot person in the head.

 

[cory]

Sounds like you are in good shape. If you feel the need to go further, as I've mentioned on here to others, the Knees Over Toes Guy has helped alot of people, including me, with knee and back health. Simple exercises with little or no equipment.

 

[Trains]

Since were on the other side of the pond, and Hemisphere, were well and truly into our burning season.
Start around March/ April, and burn till Nov /Dec depending on how it warms up.
We use the old Sagasco gas stove in summer.

Rayburn cooks, gives us hot water and heats the house via radiators.

Good when its working, just recently had to replace the boiler, that was a solid weeks worth of messing about.View attachment 129553


Also use the bread machines to mix up dough, and then use the oven to cook them in bread tins, since the oven is always on and hanging around 200 C ish.

View attachment 129554

ok, and it does roasts pretty well too.

Leg of Lamb and vegies
View attachment 129556

So were into Summer in warm old Aus.

Let the fire burn out a few weeks ago as it was low 30s C most of the weeks ahead, everything has dried out, and browned off, and fire danger season is now with us.

Few days ago, it was forecast low 40's C, high winds up at 60+km/hr, highest fire danger, have the fire unit set up on the ute, place all prepped and cleared, everything mowed down to ground level etc.

now its wet, cool at 12 to 16c, been overcast for 4+ days, and had to re light the stove so we can have hot water again.

Good to have wood stove bread again and a kettle at the ready, hope its cool for Christmas, will be able to use the stove to cook the turkey.

 

[Kaveman]

So were into Summer in warm old Aus.

Let the fire burn out a few weeks ago as it was low 30s C most of the weeks ahead, everything has dried out, and browned off, and fire danger season is now with us.

Few days ago, it was forecast low 40's C, high winds up at 60+km/hr, highest fire danger, have the fire unit set up on the ute, place all prepped and cleared, everything mowed down to ground level etc.

now its wet, cool at 12 to 16c, been overcast for 4+ days, and had to re light the stove so we can have hot water again.

Good to have wood stove bread again and a kettle at the ready, hope its cool for Christmas, will be able to use the stove to cook the turkey.

My prayers are with you for the fire season. I was just wondering how things looked in that regard, down your way.

 

[Trains]

My prayers are with you for the fire season. I was just wondering how things looked in that regard, down your way.

Thanks Mate, appreciate it, were not too bad about here, some places are better prepared than others, its when the wind is over 50ks and hot and dry, you can do much if a fire starts, its like a blow torch.

Fire near a mates farm on friday arvo, was watching the planes go to and fro, I think there were 9 drops, plus units on the ground, had to go out to school presentation night, thankfully, the fire was sorted by the time to go out.
Eastern states have had quite heavy rains in spring, so their fuel loading will be quite high, be interesting to see how we fare now with this rain, will keep the mower on the tractor for a bit longer me thinks.

 

[Kaveman]

Grass fires are terrifying in just how fast they can run before the wind. Good luck to all of you.

 

[lxskllr]

Grass lights up fast, even without high wind in a desert. When I was kid, maybe around 8, me and a friend were playing with fire on an undeveloped road. The grass lit up and took off, and my asshole friend ran away. I managed to get it out with a jacket. Another time on a job, someone who was waaay old enough to know better was playing with fire in a cut cornfield. It got away from him, and I had to race down in the truck and do donuts in the field to put it out. Yet again, there's was another guy there in a jeep that just sat there and watched instead of helping put it out. Why are people so worthless?

 

[Trains]

Grass fires are terrifying in just how fast they can run before the wind. Good luck to all of you.

yeah, grass fires are quick, but you have a chance of knocking it down if the grass is kept low, its when the fire gets up in the canopy of the trees that you run out of options.
Green euc bark once burning holds an ember /burns for a long time, that being carried ahead of the fire front starts spot fires before the main flame front hits, not fun.

Here is some vid footage from Kangaroo Island fires 3 years back, shows you how the front creates its own wind and how things change quickly.

 

[Burnham]

That is a great question. And I don't think it has an answer.

Edit: to John's last point in his post above Trains.

 

[Burnham]

@Trains That video is scary af.

 

[Cobleskill]

I don't get the same "mileage" as @Kaveman from burning coniferous wood, Doug fir almost exclusively. I need to clean creosote from my flue and its rain cap; usually do it in the spring after the heating season is done, but sometimes before that...either way always starting the season with a clean flue.

Like his, mine is a straight shot up, no bends. My exposed interior pipe is double wall, but has inlet and exhaust vents built in at top and bottom of that section between stove and ceiling. Transfers some extra heat into the house that way. Triple wall pipe through the ceiling and inside a boxed-in section through a closet upstairs.

Most of the creosote is deposited in the last few feet and in the outside cap.

What do you have it boxed in with?

 

[Burnham]

@Cobleskill Wood studs and sheetrock. Normal interior finish.

 

[cory]

Brutal fire vid. What is that area like now, 3 years on?

Stig, we've all seen a zillion tree cutting vids, you should post a tree planting vid from the boondocks

 

[Steve Mack]

Bit of smoke around tonight.
Not from house fires, this time last year there were a few going though.

 

[stig]

I just bought my apprentice a GoPro, I'll see what he can do.
I quit messing with videos a while back.

 

[cory]

Good chit!!

 

[cory]

Which is generally more difficult overall, mentally and physically- a good hard day of logging, or one of treework, or one of planting?

I understand many factors are in play and can vary day to day but just wondering in general, if indeed there is a generalized answer. Plus it could vary from one individual to another.

 

[treebogan]

I learned how to calculate firewood volume when I lived in Alaska.

I burn 14 and 4/16 muskoxen X 4 Eagle span per annum. I try the wood down to 12% Budweiser dew point.

It's more art than science.