They look at me like I'm crazy all spring, summer and fall messing with firewood.....then I look at them like their crazy spending all their money for half a year heating their houses!!
Yup, heat the mass of the interior of the house up...just like driving a truck with a heavy load...get a little extra speed up for the coming hill
I try to but what happens is when I come home from work, I load up just enough to get me till around bed time. Decent load, warms the house but I don't fill it all the way or I'll never get enough in for my overnight load. I usually have the blower cranking full blast (occasionally my wife will turn it down and gets sweated out) and that really heats up the house nicely but the burn cycle isn't as long. I know non-cat stoves have bigger dips in cycles, mine likes to race out sometimes if not careful and really heats up. Sometimes even with the air shut to max it still is like a Ferrari and get super super hot but don't last that long. Oak is just fantastic it burns much longer than others and heat output stays up. I know some have mentioned they don't run the blower as high or at all, but for me and my setup if I don't the other rooms will not warm up. Thermostat is in the other room, other side of the steps and the heat sometimes has a hard time getting past the steps. It's like a wind tunnel, cold air is coming down, hot air flying up......
Since converting to wood, our gas bill for heating and running the range, has been tiny. We're saving probably $2.5k on oil and the electric to run it. As prices go up, the warmth feels better and better. I'm with Scotty....push hard in nice weather, enjoy the multiple benefits of wood heat. Sca
I get the same from the people on my street, but I only cut December through Feb....and then split in March, or whenever the snow melts so I am not stacking on snow covered ground.
