Colder here. What's your temp? What ya burnin?

I’m standing with Dennis! You’re not teaching! You’re not not making them tough! You’re not making them survivors of a future dystopia!

Teach them to be tough, resilient and survivors. Give them to tools to do so. Be careful that the lessons you’re trying to impart isn’t pushing them the wrong way.

If that’s you with all the cinder blocks on and around your stove for heavens sake take that down. The reason you see no one else do this is because it does not work. If it did when we all bought stoves they would come with a pallet of block. And clean the ash up around your stove, if there are any coals in that. It could lead to some kind of unintended consequence.

God bless them and take care of them. Be the man, husband and father they need. Be the best version of you. And most importantly God bless you, give you the strength and wisdom to go do great things.

 

Actually thermal mass does work to a certain extent, what that is I don’t know but at a certain point you’re just heating the blocks and not the room.

 

It sure does however check out his handy work. Have you seen the cool rocket stoves with warming benches that’s several tons of masonry. Seems popular in Eastern Europe.

 

I have a OWB and have radiant floor heating, loops in the cement floor. I see the effects of thermal mass when we get a cold weather front say like 2 weeks ago we dropped from -20 to -60 and it took the two day to bring the house temp from 69 to 73. And when another pressure system warmed us to zero a few days later and it was 82 in the house for 3-4 days.

 

This would be cool!

 

First off, you do you buddy, if your system works and your wife and kids love you for it, God bless you then! Since you don't know me or know who I am, take what I say with a grain of salt if you like, but if I would toughen my wife and kids up by having temps in the 40's in winter and upper 90's in summer they would despise me more than thank me for getting them ready for what's coming in this country. Now I agree the future in this country does look bleak at times, but I like to toughen my wife and kids up by teaching them how to garden and hunt and butcher the animals; by cutting trees and splitting them for a future fire; as well as canning and outdoor cooking.
Now everyone has a different way of parenting, and I pray your way works for the family.


Almost forgot: 8 degrees and 73 inside with oak and hard maple in the stove

 

If you asked me I’d say hunting doesn’t make a child tough and hardened. I have been a supervisor at an adult daycare center for over 30yrs. Two of the softest, dumbest, most fragile, devoid of work ethic boys I’ve ever known are both deer hunters. Hopefully they learned gun safety. They are young, drive trucks, live in rural communities and are the biggest gaping V’s ever. The fact that somebody signed off on an education certificate is an American tragedy. I’ve given a lot of thought to this, because I deal with it everyday. I’m sure, I have to believe there’s exceptions, because we’re doomed if there’s not folks doing a better job raising and educating their kids. The only thing I have come up with is phones and lowered expectations in education. Young folks are in a race to get back to TikTok and apparently TikTok is a US priority. I didnt have a phone, my parents beat my azz when I did dumb stuff, I had to earn anything, I had to work as soon as I could, both my parents worked, I spent a lot of time on the streets, I spent a lot of time at the grandparents farm. If it’s cold dress warm, if it’s hot find the shade. The genie is out of the bottle with phones and social media. AI is already prevalent in the schools. My wife homeschooled our daughter and she is forbidden from having TikTok. She will be a freshman at WFU next fall. Do your best raising your kids. Give them a good foundation. Social media is toxic. Stay warm folks. College baseball season is only 3 weeks away.

 

Thank you Dennis,
I did not respond last night as I needed to ponder a bit. I agree that this behavior is not kosher. That is why I brought it up when I saw 41 degrees. I pray that this is a wake up call. Sometimes things look bad in this country but I don't believe that we are going down that low before the return of Christ, after that, maybe.

 

26/73 ash on the buffet

 

Seeing all the great pics of fireplace inserts. I think its rim to shop for one . Burnin* in the fireplace tonight for fun. Might as well be getting benefit if better heat

Has a dustin* of snow in late afternoon ! But with a tropical 30 degrees, i was out cutting branches away from a hickory. Took the cutting to the boiler. Tomorrow morning the Stihl and I will team up and getsome big stuff.

Saturday is in the forties.

 

Well sir, I assure you what I post I'm serious about.
Not a joke.
Our family lives how we choose to.
It may not be right for your family, or for many families.
As far as the blocks, I have noticed a good gain from them as far as heat retention goes.
I realize it doesn't put more heat into the house, it does give it a slow release and stabilize temp spikes a bit.
I don't purposely wait to 55 to reload, just so happens a lot of times overnight it drops to that.
When we're home all day we feed the stove constantly.
If my wife and daughter are at home and I'm at work she feeds the stove.
I've learned a lot from this site, I enjoy reading and learning on here.
What you do or don't think is appropriate for my family frankly has no effect to my life.
I value your concern, and will still read your posts with as much interest as before.
No hard feelings from me, people should always speak their minds

 

I teach my family all of those things as well sir.
Believe it or not I'm not an idiot.

 

Let's give this guy and amen. The answer to hard times isn't to just be comfortable with being uncomfortable...you need to take responsibiltiy, take control, and overcome. My wife and kids have never once been cold in this house...and I can assure you that's not because I'm soft, or they're soft. Quite the opposite.

 

Headed for 5* tonight with below 0 wind chill. It will be precisely 71 degrees in the house when we wake up...boiler is loaded up with ash.

 

I'll add this, I work long long hours sometimes.
Today will be 15 to 17hrs from time I left home to time I get home.
Not an atypical day for me.
Kinda hard to reload a stove from work.
Wife got home and loaded it up, I asked her about temps and she said 55f.

 

Sounds like it's time for a new pressure switch. They're inexpensive. About $20. The contacts stick after so many cycles. You could check up the contacts, but that needs to be done when disconnected from electricity. You might as well just swap a new one in then. BTDT

 

Cold again tonight. I think this is the last night of really cold temps. For now at least

7° outside and 69° inside but going up as I just reloaded with ash and paper birch.

 

The blocks will retain heat, but they are blocking all of the radiant heat that would heat the floor, walls, and ceiling of the house. Radiant heat is most of what a wood stove makes and you are blocking it. I have no doubt the blocks are hot and give off heat, but you are concentrating that heat in a relatively small pile of bricks. If they were under and behind the stove, they would still get warm and act as a thermal battery, and the stove would warm the entire area.

I’m not trying to bash, just pointing out how stoves work.