Never heated with wood before, new to the forum and I have been really loving all the good info about seasoning times and saw maintenance and different stove types. The wife and I just bought our first house in May and the stove came with the house. Figured that I was gonna give it a real good shot so pretty much every weekend since we moved in I have been building our wood pile and cutting off of our three acres. Any advice that you guys have or any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated
Welcome aboard! Best tip is don't be afraid to ask about anything. We have tons of old pros on board and they are more than willing to assist. If you are wondering someone else probably is too.
Thanks greenstick and deacon for the warm welcome, looking forward to meeting more good folks and learning as I go.
Welcome, Keweenaw! I've been aboard since January. And have learned TONS! CSS like mad, and if you're really new to wood burning(I read the thread title, but my point is that if you've been exposed to wood burning like I have in the past...) get a moisture meter to make sure you don't face the issue of burning sub par wood. Nothing worse than a smoldering fire with bubbling fizziness emanating from the firewood!
Looks like your doing pretty well from your pics. Start small and work your way into a full fire. And welcome.
Yeah, it's been kind of slow going so far because I have to move everything from the woods to the wood pile by hand. Next on the purchase list would be some kind of two wheeled cart so I don't wear myself out so fast. Everything I have cut so far has been dead standing ash, elm and yellow birch so with any luck I should be able to burn that in the real cold months without too much trouble. I also have a ton of bone dry spruce that I plan to burn as shoulder wood this fall
I don't want to sound harsh, so please don't take this as such. That vent by the stove makes me wonder. Is it a return? If so, get rid of it. The outlet also makes me nervous. I think it is too close to the stove, but that is just me. Burn dry wood as was stated up there ^ and keep the chimney and connector clean. Keep a rain cap on your chimney. Get years ahead on wood storage and keep it that way. You will end up getting free wood at some point, and a lot of it will be difficult or impossible to split by hand, so think about a good splitter. I split by hand for over 10 years and finally got a splitter because I started cutting more hard and knotty wood. Most of the wood I get is from removals. Call your local tree services and ask about wood. Most of them are more than happy to have a place to get rid of it.
Sounds like you've been doing your homework Still wouldn't hurt to look into a cheap MM from amazon... I got one delivered for $15... Very helpful.
The vent is literally just a cover over a hole in the wall that goes through to my bedroom and the stove has a blower on the back that needs a power source, I'm new to this so I might not get it but the cord for the blower is only four feet long so I guess I don't know where else the outlet should go
Hey Keweenaw, welcome to FHC! Great job. We all know how much work is involved. Keep us updated on the progress and how you like burning. We like that stuff. No duh, eh? I'm also concerned about the air grille. At the least, it's probably not a good idea.....at the worst, it's a possible code violation. Does your Ins. Co. know you burn? If not, let 'em know. Hate for them to deny a claim for something silly. Not trying to scare you, just something to be aware of.
Ok, so I'm thinkin' that's gotta' be a no-no. The stove also looks to be fairly close to the wall. I'm wondering if clearances were considered when the stove was installed. That's a Vogelzang, correct?
Welcome You have a good plan Wood cut, split & stacked off the ground, & top covered is a great start ! Nice pictures ! You'll learn lots the first winter. Knowing how much wood you need is tough the 1st year. If you have lots of dry wood, how much isn't a factor & more is good. Dry wood is the biggest key to successful wood burning . Standing dead don't mean it's dry but usually better than green for sure. The ash should be good to go, might be your best stuff. Most here figure a year , minimum , after CSS ( Cut Split & Stacked) to be well seasoned . But you burn what you got, seasoned or not. Inspect the chimney monthly , that'll tell you how good you wood is & prevent any surprises later in the burn season. Check/clean the chimney ... . Need to know you & your family are safe & good to burn. You will learn a lot from it being clean when you start burning. Shoulder season will give you a chance to learn the nuances of the stove & set up. Have fun & keep your wood dry
Yeah the insurance company made us take pics of the whole setup before they gave us the OK. The way I see it is its on them now.
Hi Keweenaw, welcome! Please check if you have a functional CO2 alarm in the stove room and smoke alarms in all relevant rooms. Don't forget the bed rooms! Also you might want to dish out some money for a good fire extinguisher. The powder ones are compact and cheap but the dust will really damage all electrical equipment it comes into contact with (and the powder goes everywhere) so I have water/foam. Safety for you and your loved ones comes first!
