I dug out John Vivian's 1976 book "Wood Heat" during the current wet spell in the Midwest and browsed it for some interesting contrasts with today's wood heating. I purchased a used copy of Vivian's book at a flea market when I first started heating with wood in 1995. He moved to rural New England in the early 60's and learned to heat with wood the hard way. Vivian seasoned/dried his wood for one season as a stack or rick of 4 foot long rounds on the ground in the woods. In the fall, Vivian would haul and cut the ricks into stove length pieces. Splitting was partitioned into four sizes for purposes ranging from starting his stove to overnight burns. Overnight burns were unsplit rounds as large as the stove door permitted and selected from the heavier wood species (maple...). Dry firewood was 20-25% moisture but he does not mention how he measured moisture. Heating an an entire house was an extravagant use of firewood while Vivian would light the stove nearest the family activity. Vivian also purchased cut/split firewood for around $40 per cord plus $10 per cord for delivery. His favorite stove was a Jotul Combi vertical style. Vivan's other books included raising poultry, building rock walls, bees, and homesteading. Vivian is in his 80's now but I do not know if he still heats with wood. My copy of "Wood Heat" is falling apart and I ordered a copy in better shape.
