Split size, stove size, burning habits, and wife's favorite wood (phrasing)

Learned a few things over the previous winter.

Split size:
Smaller works better than huge splits. I thought I was sitting pretty last year with big slabs since all three stoves can take 20+" splits. That was a mistake. Having some large splits is fine, but having nothing but huge splits is a pain in the azz. It was tough getting a full load in the stove. Restarts and reloads were slow with the massive splits. Also, my wife hated them since they were so heavy.

I re-split the 5 cords of large splits I had left and all the wood I had delivered is back to normal size (9 cords dry delivered.. actually dry. This guy is awesome. Another 6 unseasoned).

My wife is loving the pine. It's light, ignites fast, burns hot. She is loading the Defiant more this year since it is so easy.

Stove Size and burning habits:
I wasted a TON of fuel last year. A TON. I easily went through two cords of wood in September and October. Part of it is the milder (and more appropriate) weather. The other part is me being less stubborn. I fought so long getting a good set up I was dead set that I wanted to be sure I finally got this right and wore a t-shirt all winter refusing to wear anything more as some sort of strange protest to the cold weather.

This winter, I'm being less obsessive. I have the Defiant going in the living room and only loading that up with a few splits and not worrying about overnight burns at this point.

Right now, I haven't even burned a quarter of a cord at this point. So, hopefully I can knock my wood usage down significantly in comparison to my 10+ cords of wood I used last winter (probably closer to 12 cords).

Only the Defiant is being used at this point. When my wife is home, the stove is used more. When at work, a small fire in the morning and I restart at 5pm before she gets home when weather calls for it.

Last year I was using all three stoves trying to figure out what to expect and what worked best. So much waste. I was loading the stove full to see what I could expect and how the house would hold the heat. I could only imagine how bad it would have been if last winter wasn't mild.

Going forward:
I am insulating the chit out of my attic in two weeks. I'm in the process of cleaning everything out and I am blowing in massive amounts of insulation. It won't solve all of my problems, but I have a good feeling that the second floor will be a lot warmer and, in return, my burn times should increase as I won't be losing as much heat through the roof. It should also give me a better idea what stoves can be used to replace the VC stoves when the time comes. Pretty excited about this. I hope I'm not disappointed by the results.

 

My experience with adding insulation to attics is that you get instant gratification. You will feel it within minutes in the room beneath if the heat/stove is running. 10+cords for 2150 sq feet is quite a bit of wood. I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

I hope that is the case. I can't get the temp above 65 during the winter months. If it is cold and windy, 62 at most. And then in the morning, I'm back at 55.

 

Some states have some energy incentives.
I got some $$ back for adding attic insulation, spray foam insulation & foundation insulation.
Noticeable difference for sure.
Might be worth looking into it.
Even with no state incentives, doing the upgrades will save you $$ from here on out.

 

I think we already used up our incentives, but it doesn't really matter. It will be about $500 to do the attic myself. I didn't spend any money on stoves this year, so I have a few extra bucks this time of year.

 

When I did mine, the wife kept feeding the machine
& I was in the attics all tyvec'd , goggled & respirator'd up.
Went pretty fast.
Have fun !

 

That's our plan, also.

 

I was really surprised how awful of an idea it was to have huge splits. I thought for sure that would have worked out better than it did.

 

We changed all the windows and doors this year. Went to triple pane gas filled. The difference is amazing. Outside noise is alot less. Warmth factor is very noticable. Wasn't cheap, but definitely worthwhile.

 

Took my attic to R-40 this past summer and can really tell the difference now. Can't wait for it to get cold.

 

$20 in window film saves me a lot of wood every year. Insulation only helps if you aren't trying to heat a wind tunnel.

As far as split size, I think it depends on the stove. 8x8x18 is ideal for my NS loading stove with as perfect burn control as I've seen in a stove. With long burn cycles, my wife rarely touches it. Big splits would have been a disaster in my old stoves but then so were smaller ones

 

With 3 stoves going!

 

Yes. The problem is not insignificant. Hopefully this insulation provides a very noticeable difference.

 

BBar, I'm trying to get the stove room ceiling re-insulated too.
Got down to 18 last night, so knowing that I loaded the Ashley with 4 Oak splits across the bottom, with 5 Maple on top.
The stove was running about 600 when I went to bed, and was 300 when I got up 8 hours later.
The house was down to 65 in the living room.
R-11 batts in the attic, with loose vermiculite on top in some areas, which flattened the batts to about 1.5", effectively making what's up there pretty useless.
Slow process for me, but I'm sure it will help.

 

This is why I have been pushing you to go larger with your new stove purchase. You have a 300 degree stove top and the living room was 65 and we aren't even to winter, yet. Your draftiness is nearly as bad as mine. Don't screw yourself and underestimate your heating needs with the new stove.

 

Get yourself an instant read thermometer if you don't have one. You will be able to measure the before and after effect of the ceiling insulation quite easily.

 

Already have one. I'm hoping for a 10 degree difference in the upstairs.

 

Well, yep, although not much pushing needed........verification, yes. You've been a very big help.
I'm trying to get Rickb on another site to give more info on his S 20, but he's a little shy or something.
My thought has been to go bigger (Sirocco 30), with the ability to go low and slow if needed (Sirocco 30). The S 30 will still be a good stove to use because of those attributes, even with such a smallish house.
I've refined my thought process for several years now.......I may have it right soon.
Then, of course, someone will come out with a new stove that burns anything, and gives a great view, great heat for a month at a time, and makes my coffee in the morning to boot.
I'll want that.

 

The 20 is a 1.85 cu ft stove. That isn't not going to cut it for you.