City kid in Vermont with his first real woodpile, and the stove monitoring system I built

Full disclosure up front: I make the thing at the end of this post. I read the rules first and saw that commercial posters are welcome if they behave, so I'll behave.

I grew up in New York City. A few years ago my wife and I bought a house in the woods in Vermont (she's from here originally), and the house came with two woodstoves. I'd never run one. That first winter I made every mistake in the book. I smoked out the house more than once, burned way too hot, burned too low, and almost had a chimney fire. My wife was pregnant, and I was really worried about her breathing in wood smoke, so I spent hours on the r/woodstoving subreddit, learning from that community on how to burn wood safely, how to start top-down fires, how to prevent get the chimney drafting properly, etc.

The other thing I learned that first winter: I work from home on the other side of the house, and I'd get up to check the stove every 30 minutes whether it needed it or not. I'm an engineer, so I stuck a temperature sensor to the stovepipe with a magnet, wired it to a Raspberry Pi, and had it text me.



That turned into a small walnut lamp that sits in whatever room I'm in. If the lamp glows amber, it means the fire is burning well, if it's yellow means it's time burning too low, or it's time to reload. Red means it's running too hot, and could be close to overfiring. I can put the lamp up in my office, or in my bedroom, and just glance at it to know how the fire is doing.



There's an app too, for when I'm not home.



I posted the first version on the r/woodstoving subreddit last January, I didn't really expect anything except for "hey that's cool," but people asked to buy one, and I built that first batch by hand. This year I redesigned it so it can be built on a production line.

I've been filming the whole process to actually shipping these, and have sold a few hundred already on pre-order.

This is the first episode:

After 3 years up here in Vermont, I've actually come to really enjoy the process of bucking, splitting and stacking my own firewood. My 2 year old son even comes to join me, and I love spending that time with him, even if it's more time wrangling him than it is stacking.

This summer my neighbor and I cleared about two acres around the house. Ash, maple, oak, cherry, elm, another walnut, and two pines that were 80 or 90 feet tall. The logger took four truckloads, and what stayed behind is about 5 cords, all bucked up



I'm splitting it now, most of it on a splitter I borrowed from that same neighbor, and the rounds too big to lift go by hand. He grew up on a dairy farm here, and he and his brothers put up 20 cords a year by hand to heat the farmhouse. I'm learning as much as I can from him. This pile is next year's wood, not this year's. I learned that one the hard way too.




I'd like to learn from people who've been doing this a lot longer than I have:
1. How long do you let ash and oak sit before you burn them?
2. Have you started burning yet? We have up in Vermont.
3. When you're not in the room, how do you keep track of the stove?

 

Welcome to the club!!

Its always good to review this posting

Primer on Woodburning by Backwoods Savage

And there's this -

Firewood BTU & Drying Chart

 

First and foremost, I'd like to welcome you to the forum. There are a lot of good people here with decades of experience keeping their homes warm with wood heat. What I like most about burning is the simplicity. From cutting it, to splitting it, drying to burning, it's all ancient voodoo which is a lot of the appeal for me. In the age of technology I like keeping some things primitive, so that app stuff and indicator light is not for me. There's nothing wrong with that for you though! Whatever makes the experience more enjoyable/comfortable for you. From moisture meters to multi year calendars it can be as simple or as complicated as anyone wants. You're in the driver's seat.

As for your questions:
I prefer to dry (live cut) oak for a bare minimum of 2, but preferably 3 or more years before burning. The chart in the resources section recommends 36 months as a general guideline. Dead oak with no bark I found to dry faster than live cut, and I've burned that after about 6 months in a pinch, but usually a year to 18 months is safe on the dead stuff. Oak dries slowly so plan ahead.

Live cut ash (rare as that's getting) I like to give 18 months to 2 years. Dead without bark 6 months to a year.

No burning here yet in Connecticut but next weekend looks like launch time.

As far as keeping track of the stove when I'm not in the room, I babysit it until it's on cruise control, making sure not to over fire it or choke it off too early. Once the burn is established, I'll choke the air down, watch it for a few minutes, then not worry about it much until the coal bed is burning low. My wife knows when to mess with air if I'm at work, and when/how to reload. Opening the door VERY, VERY slowly alleviates a lot of the smoke rollback into the room. That's something I'm acutely aware of having a couple asthmatic kids at home.

 

Nice post and welcome to FHC! Those long time members will be along shortly to help address your concerns. As far as how long to season your firewood it depends on a few variables: Was the tree dead when dropped or still living and what species. Dead standing will season much quicker obviously. Stack your firewood where it can get maximum sun and airflow. A moisture meter is helpful in determining the “seasoning” but a three year plan works too. Cut, split, stack year one, burn by year three. Serves two purposes. One being that you’re always burning dry firewood and two you’re staying ahead with your wood inventory. Best wishes!

PS I see Eric Wanderweg must have been typing as I was

 

Welcome to the FHC! Great folks and a great place to learn.

1. Fresh cut living ash needs at least a year ideally. Most ash trees here have been killed off by the emerald ash borer so most of the ash I score is dead. Dead stuff can sometimes be burned right away, bigger logs may require a few months once split.

Oak is another story. Ideally 2-3 years if cut green. My main pet peeve against it. Few average burners wait that long. I let it go 18 months and two Summers before I sell it. Remember, the drying countdown starts once the log is turned into a physical split, as wood dries a lot slower in the round. A moisture meter is an invaluable tool in the hoarders arsenal. Be sure to check the INTERNAL moisture content. If under 20% you're considered "seasoned". We prefer the term dry vs seasoned here on the FHC. Once you burn truely dry wood (quoting Backwoods Savage here) you will greatly appreciate it and there's nothing more rewarding than making it yourself.

2. I no longer burn as the house we rent doesn't have a fireplace or stove. The house I owned had a Pacific energy "Summit" model insert. My folks burned fireplaces prior to that. Its basically a judgement call on the individual when one starts burning. With the cost of HHO (home heating oil) I would've started already. A couple chilly mornings here.

Some burners will sort wood based on heat output with lower BTU woods burned during the "shoulder season" when a lot of heat is not needed. As mentioned prior there is a great reference on wood drying/btu's in the resources section.

3. When I burned 24/7 I would load the stove early morning, let it catch on full draft, then turn all the way down. Upon returning home 8-10 hours later there'd be a pile of glowing embers. Id either let them dissipate or add a piece of wood. Normal burn (part draft with some flames) until bed time then full load for another extended burn overnight.

The insert was in the family room where we always stayed so it was only monitored then. I watched the fire more than the TV. My neighbor was freaked out as I left an unattended fire in my house when I wasn't home. My reply was you do the same with the furnace in your basement but your burning oil.

You'll have to monitor the rate of burn in your stove until you learn how fast it uses wood as they can vary widely. Make sure the door seals are tight as too much air intake will accelerate the burn and waste wood.

Good luck and keep us posted. We love pics btw.

 

Welcome to the club!!
I’ve only been burning for about 16 years. Game changer for me was getting on the 3 year plan. That is, getting a stash of wood that puts you 3 years ahead. I burn about 4 cords a year. I’m now 4-5 years ahead. It allows several things. #1 is plenty of time for oaks to properly dry. I’ve found cutting live/healthy ones takes at least 2 years split and stacked to get under 18-20 mc. #2 it allows a buffer in case one would suffer an injury severe enough to prevent you from hoarding more wood. Happened to me with a motorcycle related knee injury. I missed a season of cutting and never had to worry for a minute about the next years supply.
I run an add-on wood furnace. Once I load up a full firebox, I know where the draft needs set for that burn. Pretty much let it do its thing. If the coal bed was particularly low, there’s some baby sitting to get it to a point I know will be fine but really no other need to monitor it on a non-stop basis. After a season or two with your stove, you should know what it needs. If that wood is consistently dry, you should get predictable results w/o a lot of baby sitting.
No fires yet here in southern PA. At the very end of the 10 day forecast, I see the first prediction of the 30’s (39). We try to hold out as long as possible. Used to turn on the home hearing oil furnace but with the current state of all that, probably won’t.

 

These links are amazing! thank you!

 

Thanks Eric, I appreciate the welcome.

I hear you on the simplicity. Cutting, splitting and stacking turned out to be my favorite part too. I love the time I get with my 2 year old while I'm doing it. I think I may have mentioned that in my post.

Your timing is really helpful. Everything in this pile was cut live this summer and I'm splitting it now, so by your numbers the ash is 2028 wood and the oak is closer to 2029.

Sounds like I need to get a couple of years ahead. We have the same problem with the Ash. We had one living ash tree in our lot, and the other 4 - 5 were all dead. When we cut them down the area near the trunk was hollowed out, so the beetle had gotten to them unfortunately.

Good luck with the first fire next weekend.

 

Thank you!!

 

Welcome to the FHC neil_s
A fellow Vermont(er) (imports are ok especially if behaved ) oak needs minimum 3 years aged here. Ash will dry in less than year split small same with (tulip) poplar and it grows like weeds. I’m in Champlain valley and we haven’t lit stove yet.. BUT my wife likes it cooler and our house gets a lot of sun..

what is your stove?

if your splitting it now? To burn this year ? That’s a problem. Sort your wood by fastest drying and you will be happier. Because no one has figured out how to burn water yet.

 

Thanks Brad, this is great.

I'm curious about one thing. When you turned the stove all the way down for the 8 to 10 hour burn, did you worry about creosote? On my stove, turning it all the way down pretty much guarantees the stovepipe drops under 250°F and basically just smolders, which is when I start to worry about it.

Same here on the fuel cost. We're on propane, and the price pushed us to start burning earlier this year than we would have liked.

 

Thanks for the welcome!

The three-year plan seems to be the answer from everyone here. Everything in this pile was cut live this summer, so I'm already behind on the oak.
Re: learning the stove, matches my experience. Now with the monitor I made, I mostly rely on the app when I'm out of the house. My wife and mother-in-law love the lamp because they don't know the stove as well as I do. But that first winter, I babysat it constantly, now I'm a lot less nervous about it.

How did you get from one year ahead to four or five? Did you cut double for a couple of seasons, or did it just build up?

 

I made a lot of mistakes my first year, but the biggest one as far as getting ahead goes was cutting oak almost exclusively. I should've been cutting fast drying species. That would be my advice to anyone new that's trying to build up (ready to burn) inventory quickly. Being in New England, I think red maple and yellow or black birch will give you a good balance between drying time, burning time, and BTU's. Red maple is good in about 6-9 months, and yellow/black birch about 12-18 months. Those two birches pack a punch in BTU's per cord BTW. Don't overlook conifers like pine or spruce, or "trash wood" like poplars, cottonwood, or white/gray birch either. Once you've got a good volume of the faster drying stuff, then focus on the oaks and hickories.

 

Cut baby cut!

 

When I started to burn, I bought a permit to cut on Knouse Foods property. They bulldozed orchard after orchard of apple trees. I ended up with 6 cords if I remember, from that $1 permit.

Adams apple

But it took me several years to really fine tune and learn the nuance of burning. I stumbled on FHC while learning to square file my chainsaw chain. After that is when I really became more educated on all things wood burning.
This really pushed me waaaaay ahead:
New oak honey hole!
Opportunity knocked so I made hay while the sun shined so to speak.

Another one of the biggest benefits of the 3 year plan is, when you are burning properly seasoned wood, you get much less creosote in the chimney. Along with that, less worry of something to go wrong. I sweep every 2-3 years so I’m up on the roof less, which is good for my asphalt shingles and my issue with heights.

 

I did not. Burning dry/seasoned wood greatly reduces the chance of creosote build up. Creosote is caused from burning green or wet. It forms when smoke (unburnt fuel) goes up the chimney and condenses inside the flue. When the fire is burned real hot it causes it to combust. Burning pine DOES NOT cause chimney fires nor does burning any conifers (softwoods)

I burned my insert for nearly ten years and only cleaned it out once at the end. Never had cresote build up, just gray powdery ash.

I, like you, was worried about that as the first time I turned the draft down with a full load there was BARELY a flame visible. I questioned the guy who sold me the stove and he said it doesn't have to. Too much flame equals wasted fuel. Checked the chimney when I left and no smoke. Bingo I was good to go.

The house was built in 1999 and the insert installed in 2001 with full stainless liner going all the way to the top.

 

I love that pic Jason. Nolt only the fact its all apple and can appreciate the amount of work involved, but knowing the age of your two kids now.

Makes me feel old!

 

Another FHC quote of the year there!

 

Another trick to accelerate drying is to make small splits. More work but it'll dry faster plus easier for the ladies to load the stove. I've also heard of burners crib stacking splits near the stove to dry them out.

Ant access to dead wood neil_s? Even if you have to burn lower BTU and or "junk wood" it will still heat the house as long someone is home to help it going.