Egon
Epic Contributor
Donuts? gotta like them things. It takes will power but I haven't had one for well over a year.
We Have a New Wood Burning Stove
- Thread starter MossRoad
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OP
MossRoad
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- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
4' x 4' x 8' is a cord, isn't it? What's a face cord... same as a rank? 16" x 4' x 8' I think.
Anyhow, I got about 3/4 of a full cord. It's pretty easy using the kid, the PT425 with quick attach, pallet forks, our large bucket and a chainsaw. We have about 20,000 locust trees in the 14" and under category. I can drop about one every two minutes. The daughter pulls up with the forks and bunches them into threes and fours and I chain them. She backs up, I hook 'em up and she drags them out to our staging area. I walk behind the load and unhook the chain and she drives back. We can move quite a few trees in an afternoon. We lay them all parallel to each other and let them sit for two years. The bark falls off and the branches droop. Every few months I push them around a bit. When they are ready for wood (used to be for my in-laws, now for us) the daughter picks up a half dozen trees with the forks and I saw off 16" pieces 6 at a time. So in just a few minutes I can get 36 pieces of wood 14" down to 2". After the cutting, she pops off the forks and pops on the bucket. That takes about 15 seconds and she doesn't have to exit the tractor thanks to the PT425 quick attach system. I toss in the pieces and she takes them out to the trailer or truck or whatever we brought that day and loads them up. Since we are doing this more often, we may move the staging area closer to the parking area so we don't have to handle the wood twice, but I don't want it visible from the road. I'll have to think on that one.
OP
MossRoad
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- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
Donuts? gotta like them things. It takes will power but I haven't had one for well over a year.
Sorry to hear that. I have one every day. Hmmm... maybe that's why I weigh 70 pounds more than I did when I was a kid... naahhh!!! Must be the salads.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
My kindling come from what drops from trees in the woods, the splinters/junks of wood when I'm splitting cord wood, and the tops of trees that are down.
I don't have to collect sticks falling from trees much any more know that I'm doing the next two things. But our first couple of years with the stove tree dropped twigs/limbs was the fire starter.
When I'm splitting wood I often get slivers and junks of wood. I keep a bucket/container within arms reach. I just drop the wood into the container. Every once in a while I'll pick up whatever falls on the ground. I collected a couple rubber maid containers last year when splitting firewood. I'm still using that collection. I snap on the lids and it keeps the kindling dry
When I cut up trees I pile up the limbs. Might help out the wildlife and its a nice stash of fire starter. Once my rubber maid supply runs out I'll go after these piles. Break up the pieces and put them in the container. This gets stored so that its always dry.
I also keep some bigger rubber maid containers full of cordwood. I usually bring the firewood to the house in a big two wheeled wheel barrow. But if we run out of wood in the barrow during a rainy period the rubber maid containers are our back up wood.
Usually we don't have to start the fire from scratch once winter really settles in. We might have to toss in paper and the starter wood but there is usually a coal somewhere the lights it off. I'm still using the big box of matches that I bought 10 years ago!
Later,
Dan
I don't have to collect sticks falling from trees much any more know that I'm doing the next two things. But our first couple of years with the stove tree dropped twigs/limbs was the fire starter.
When I'm splitting wood I often get slivers and junks of wood. I keep a bucket/container within arms reach. I just drop the wood into the container. Every once in a while I'll pick up whatever falls on the ground. I collected a couple rubber maid containers last year when splitting firewood. I'm still using that collection. I snap on the lids and it keeps the kindling dry
When I cut up trees I pile up the limbs. Might help out the wildlife and its a nice stash of fire starter. Once my rubber maid supply runs out I'll go after these piles. Break up the pieces and put them in the container. This gets stored so that its always dry.
I also keep some bigger rubber maid containers full of cordwood. I usually bring the firewood to the house in a big two wheeled wheel barrow. But if we run out of wood in the barrow during a rainy period the rubber maid containers are our back up wood.
Usually we don't have to start the fire from scratch once winter really settles in. We might have to toss in paper and the starter wood but there is usually a coal somewhere the lights it off. I'm still using the big box of matches that I bought 10 years ago!
Later,
Dan
OP
MossRoad
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- South Bend, Indiana (near)
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- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
I had a pretty toasty fire going last night. Around 5:30 I threw in some crumpled papers and piled up the few pieces of charred wood that was left from the night before on top of the papers. I put a 6" log on each side of that about two inches apart and placed a 3rd log on top of that. I lit it up and it started O.K. but kept going out before the logs lit up. I just kept shoving paper in there and the coals would light them up. After about the 3rd sheet of crumpled paper, it stayed lit and burned all night. I leave the door open just a crack while I start it and for about 10 minutes until it starts making that roaring sound. Then I closed the door and left he air control all the way open. There is a small air vent at the bottom center of the stove that blows air away from the door and right down the center of the stove. That works well to blow air onto the fire between the bottom logs. The manual says not to leave the air control full open for more than 30 minutes and I can see why. The flames were intense! I closed the air control all the way down and then opened it two notches. The logs burned pretty nice for 3 hours. By then, the top log had collapsed in between the bottom logs and made a nice bed of coals. Just before 9:00 I stuck two more logs on top and started counting. A bit of water bubbled out of the ends, so I know they are not dry enough yet. But after 120 seconds, poof! They burst into flames. When I went to bed at midnight the house was a comfortable 74 degrees in the dining and living rooms and the two kids rooms. Our room, directly over the stove and with the exposed pipe that has not been enclosed in a chase yet was toasty. The floor was warm to walk on. We slept under a light quilt. It went down into the high 30s last night. The house was 72 when we woke up and the fire was out except for a few coals. I think this will work out well.
I closed the air control all the way down and then opened it two notches. The logs burned pretty nice for 3 hours. By then, the top log had collapsed in between the bottom logs and made a nice bed of coals. Just before 9:00 I stuck two more logs on top and started counting. A bit of water bubbled out of the ends, so I know they are not dry enough yet. But after 120 seconds, poof! They burst into flames. When I went to bed at midnight the house was a comfortable 74 degrees in the dining and living rooms and the two kids rooms. Our room, directly over the stove and with the exposed pipe that has not been enclosed in a chase yet was toasty. The floor was warm to walk on. We slept under a light quilt. It went down into the high 30s last night. The house was 72 when we woke up and the fire was out except for a few coals. I think this will work out well. dmccarty
Super Star Member
I start the fire with balled up not rolled up newspapers. I put two short logs perpendicular to the stove door the put in the papers topped with very small wood. The wood chips, twigs, small wood maybe 1-2 inch in diameter. The trick is to have something small that catches fire and then bigger pieces to catch as the fire progresses. I let this burn down to coals and the put in the big wood. Might take 45-60 minutes to burn down to coals.
This year is the best dried wood we have ever had but in the past I have burned somewhat wet wood. Did not want too but its what we had. A few pieces of wood last year had some moisture in it but not a big deal.
The BEST thing we did for getting the most heat out of our stove was to buy a thermometer for the stove. I finally found one at TSC. Big box and local hardware stores did the thermometer for wood stoves. The temp gauge helps you keep the stove in the right zone. Its pretty obvious when you need to open the damper to start the fire. But we really crank down the damper once the fire has heated up the stove. The thermometer shows you when its time.
Later,
Dan
This year is the best dried wood we have ever had but in the past I have burned somewhat wet wood. Did not want too but its what we had. A few pieces of wood last year had some moisture in it but not a big deal.
The BEST thing we did for getting the most heat out of our stove was to buy a thermometer for the stove. I finally found one at TSC. Big box and local hardware stores did the thermometer for wood stoves. The temp gauge helps you keep the stove in the right zone. Its pretty obvious when you need to open the damper to start the fire. But we really crank down the damper once the fire has heated up the stove. The thermometer shows you when its time.
Later,
Dan
BigE_
Platinum Member
Nice stove, Moss. That looks very similar to the Quadrafire, although I didn't check to see the technology on the inside.
Blower: It was painful for me to spend the $250 on the blower, but I'm glad I did it. With our old stove, we just had a fan we pointed at it. While the fan did pretty good, it was always getting in the way. Also, on the warmer nights, we just let the fire go out in the night. The fan would keep blowing, but the blower has a thermostat on it, and it turns on/off automatically. The nicest thing about the blower, though, is that it really circulates the air through the baffles in the back and across the top of the stove, making the transfer efficiency better. Oh, and the blower is really quiet -- you can hardly hear it.
Kindling: When I'm limbing the tree, on the bigger branches, I'll start about 32" (or more) out, and cut the limbs into 16" pieces while they are still attached to the trunk. These get stacked mixed in with the regular firewood, and I always have kindling ready and easily accessible without having a separate storage place for it.
Fire starting: While I can make a fire with just paper and kindling, with my branches for kindling, it can be hit and miss. Rather than messing around with that, I buy the little wax fire starter cubes for around $3 per box. My kindling can be up to 1.5" in diameter and start light with no problem. Paying $0.10 to light a fire with no hassle is worth it to me. Two boxes will last me all winter -- once it gets really cold, the only time the fire goes out is when we go on vacation or clean out the ashes. My father in law will use the easy starting charcoal at times, but it can be messy, and once that stuff gets old, it doesn't light as well.
Firewood Storage: I have enough room next to my stove to store 1/2 a cord of wood (2x4x8). I used to store the wood there, but I noticed a huge increase in the number of spiders in the house. When I found termite evidence in the attic around the chimney, that was enough to convince me to stop storing it in the house, especially after the exterminator bill. Now only an armful gets carried into the house at one time, and the one or two pieces that won't fit in the stove go into the storage area.
-Steve
Blower: It was painful for me to spend the $250 on the blower, but I'm glad I did it. With our old stove, we just had a fan we pointed at it. While the fan did pretty good, it was always getting in the way. Also, on the warmer nights, we just let the fire go out in the night. The fan would keep blowing, but the blower has a thermostat on it, and it turns on/off automatically. The nicest thing about the blower, though, is that it really circulates the air through the baffles in the back and across the top of the stove, making the transfer efficiency better. Oh, and the blower is really quiet -- you can hardly hear it.
Kindling: When I'm limbing the tree, on the bigger branches, I'll start about 32" (or more) out, and cut the limbs into 16" pieces while they are still attached to the trunk. These get stacked mixed in with the regular firewood, and I always have kindling ready and easily accessible without having a separate storage place for it.
Fire starting: While I can make a fire with just paper and kindling, with my branches for kindling, it can be hit and miss. Rather than messing around with that, I buy the little wax fire starter cubes for around $3 per box. My kindling can be up to 1.5" in diameter and start light with no problem. Paying $0.10 to light a fire with no hassle is worth it to me. Two boxes will last me all winter -- once it gets really cold, the only time the fire goes out is when we go on vacation or clean out the ashes. My father in law will use the easy starting charcoal at times, but it can be messy, and once that stuff gets old, it doesn't light as well.
Firewood Storage: I have enough room next to my stove to store 1/2 a cord of wood (2x4x8). I used to store the wood there, but I noticed a huge increase in the number of spiders in the house. When I found termite evidence in the attic around the chimney, that was enough to convince me to stop storing it in the house, especially after the exterminator bill. Now only an armful gets carried into the house at one time, and the one or two pieces that won't fit in the stove go into the storage area.
-Steve
Highbeam
Super Member
For kindling I just use the straighest grain piece of firewood I can put my hand on and split it up very fine. About thumb size. It works great. Especially when you have some western red cedar which burns very well as kindling.
I'm also a stove burner and find the whole process very satisfying.
I'm also a stove burner and find the whole process very satisfying.
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ultrarunner
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Looks like your set...
Did the kids stack the wood so neatly? It was always my job growing up to keep the wood pile orderly.
arrow
Super Member
Great stove Moss. the gentleman who compared it to Quadrafire is right on. All those stoves that have a secondary top air inlet to burn gases are about the same in their construction. I can get an extra 3 months of burn from the same amount of wood that would only last 4 months with my old Timberline. You have a great firewood making technique with just about the best wood you can get for burning. I'd kill to have a locust stand such as you desribe. If the wood splitter was one of the best inventions to come along, when is someone going to invent the "wood stacker" where you just throw the wood into a hopper or something and the machine stacks it 4' high.