Howdy gang! I'm not a firewood hoarder yet but hope to join your ranks someday soon. Here's my intro: I've been reading lots of good info on the forum and thought I'd join as I'll likely have some questions soon. My wife and I have started the house shopping process and I have my eye one one piece that's on 22 acres with outdoor wood boiler. I imagine I'll be getting the specs and asking you all to comment on the near future since this would be a new venture for me. What I do know from my initial talk with the owner: - burns up to 10 cord a year, has oil backup (which he showed me the control panel and it light right up on oil - didn't have a fire going at the time). - House has radiant heat that circulated through the OWB - OWB is in a shack about 20x20 that has a good bit of room to stack wood - house comes with a back hoe for logs and snow - who doesn't love heavy machinery? I think it's an 85 Case 580 (not sure what model) - owner said he has a bunch of trees dropped out in the woods that need brought in I grew up in a primarily oil burning house but we supplemented with wood in an old All Nighter stove. Mostly oak split by hand but various others my dad picked up. Only ran a hydraulic splitter twice - once at my grandpas and once when dad and I were so buried in rounds we needed to get caught up and rented one. Looking forward to learning more from you guys if this house works out I'll likely be asking a lot of questions- thanks!
Welcome my friend . You found a great place to hang out . I don't post much myself but the info here is over the top. Good luck finding a home you have a hell of a task in front of you . Looking forward to reading your post. Good luck.
Welcome to the Hoard. Great folks here with a lot of experience. Feel free to ask away. Meanwhile, pull up a round and enjoy the fire..
Great to meet ya CtRider You've found the place to be, and for way more than just firewood, saws, OWB's..... Hope to see some pics of what may become y'all's new digs- surely you stumbled across the saying "pics or it didn't happen!" if you've Looking forward to seeing what you come up with, young man
Welcome. 10 cords of wood is a lot of wood. Is the house large, insulated? It is a lot of work processing ten cords every year. Welcome to the forum.
CtRider , welcome aboard. These aren't quite right, but came to mind when I saw your name.............. Looking forward to some pics of the new place.
Thanks guys! The name came from all my other forum names, the first of which was a motorcycle forum - so I live in CT and ride a motorcycle - not that complicated haha
Welcome to the forum CtRider Some outdoor wood boilers don't seem to be too bad but most are a smoke factory for sure and that is why so many folks frown on them. We have many in this area who have them. One lives a mile from us and he and I have been friends for many, many moons. His does not smoke like others but only because he is smart enough to let his wood dry before burning it. Most, you will find, burn green wood in them and many dealers tell them to do it. That is bad. Getting back to the one who burns dry wood, it is not bad most times even going past the OWB but whenever he comes here or I go there, if we are indoors in the winter months, all I can smell on him is creosote stink and it is extremely strong. Of course he gets this when he has to refill the OWB. In addition, if I had to cut 10 cord of wood per winter I'd definitely do some changing because I could not handle that much wood every year. That is a tremendous amount of work no matter what equipment you have. Also think of the space required to store that much wood. If you are wise and get on the 3 year plan, that would mean you would have 30 cord of wood on hand always. Lots of space and lots and lots of work to get there. Might cut into some of the time you have to ride! Still, we really do wish you luck especially in finding the right place and the right set up based on what you want. Good luck to you and your wife.
Welcome to Home away from Home CtRider ..... Sounds like a whole lotta of wood, but a whole lotta fun time too.... Enjoy!
Thanks Savage - based on the time of year, I'm thinking the first winter might be oil anyway due to limited seasoned wood supply and reasonable oil prices. 10 cords did seem like a lot but it's a good sized house. What kinda of things can you do to reduce wood use other than use more oil? What are go to efficiency mods? Is the creosote stink because smoke is blowing around? Or just when you open the door to fill it? Would a chimney/stainless stack get the smoke high enough in the air not to stink things up?
Welcome CtRider! Glad you joined up. 10 cords, as already mentioned, is a crazy amount of wood to use in a year. I just spoke with a friend that has an OWB. He says an average year for him is about 6 1/2 cord. His home is relatively new and well insulated, so 10 may not be out of the question. I couldn't imagine trying to keep up with it. That much wood will definitely make sure the miles stay low on your bike! Hope you find the perfect set up!!
Dry seasoned wood burns hotter than wet unseasoned wood. Also we fixed some bad windows, and sealed and insulated much of our home, that made a huge difference.
Good point wildwest. The first thing I did before putting in the stove was to work on sealing air leaks and adding extra insulation.
I wonder if he was using face cords instead of full cords? OR, was he on the 3 year plan, meaning 3 full cords per year with another two stacks of 3 cords seasoning?
