Seasoned Firewood

shelbycharger400 · November 12, 2011, 10:40:00 PM

i personally wouldnt be burnin wood if propane wasnt over priced. natural gas i assume is just as outrageous

on the subject. one filling of the stove or 2, keeps the house currently 60-80, then back down to 60 in roughly 10 to 12 hrs, now with the 80 percent efficient (read 2005 propane forced air furnace) that deal comes on several times in the night. at $2 a gal.

John Mc · November 12, 2011, 10:57:22 PM

Quote from: Al_Smith on November 12, 2011, 07:14:37 PM
Oh Lawdy please don't tell me the EPA isn't satisfied with already having the chainsaw police now they have the wood stove police .What next an EPA endorsed horse ?

Al, that woodstove reg is almost 20 years old. As a side benefit of burning much cleaner, they also burn a lot more efficiently. Basically, you can't sell a new stove that doesn't meet these regs.

Al_Smith · November 13, 2011, 04:27:26 AM

Ah-so didn't know that .The key word being "new".

SwampDonkey · November 13, 2011, 05:42:28 AM

Never gets colder than 65 unless I let it. On forced air wood and oil here. Oil only used if I'm away for a few days. I never built a fire here for 3 days and was still 65 in here. Today I stirred up the coals for a fire because going away for 3 days, but i doubt the oil will come on. Didn't last week when I was away.

I can't get warm for long unless I use wood. Wood warms the walls and floors and the heat gets "stored" for hours. Once the oil furnace is done it's cycle, it cools rapidly. So wood has more heat value than just burning, the heat sticks around. Don't ask me why, but that's the way it is. 8)

John Mc · November 13, 2011, 07:06:33 AM

Quote from: Al_Smith on November 13, 2011, 04:27:26 AM
Ah-so didn't know that .The key word being "new".

Yeah, they haven't banned the old stoves... yet.

There were substantial tax credits for a while if you bought a new stove and turned in your old "pre-EPA reg" one. I think it was up to 30% of the cost of the new stove, with a max of $1500. This year that is down to $300 credit, and I believe it expires at the end of the year.

With the OWBs, I think the deal is more like the "Energy Star" appliance label. The federal guidelines are voluntary, and the consumer decides whether they want to buy the EPA compliant model or not. I believe some states (or maybe even some municipalities?) have banned the non-compliant models due to air quality concerns.

doctorb · November 13, 2011, 08:14:06 AM

To the best of my knowledge, John Mc is correct.

Al_Smith · November 13, 2011, 09:24:41 PM

You know I really don't know .I'm out in the boon docks so to speak and thank heavens we neither have the chainsaw nor the wood stove police so I'm safe at least for the moment .

Oh they might get in a huff if I burned old tires in the stove I'd imagine but so would Mrs. Smith beyond a doubt .I'd rather deal the police . :D

SwampDonkey · November 15, 2011, 10:01:59 AM

They won't pay much notice out there among the corn stalks. ;D

Chris Burchfield · November 15, 2011, 07:25:51 PM

I cut, split, loaded, hauled, unloaded and stacked three cords of red oak last year. Burned one cord during last winter. Mostly on cold nights and the week ends where wife enjoys a fire. We have natural gas heat and the fire place is for the great room. Back in 93' we had an ice storm in Memphis and power was out a few days. I had just replaced the hot water heater changing from electric to gas. Nice warm showers or bath, heat from the fire place. We cooked on the grill from the freezer as I did not have a generator at the time. I even cooked buttermilk bisquits (?) in a cast iron skillet, with one on top of that one acting like a dutch oven. Life was good even then. Have two cords of seasoned wood ready for this winter. Green wood will produce a fair/good amount of creosote in the flue. Even with a hot fire of 1200°F, it will still form. Then, you could or might have a chimney fire after a build up of creosote. A chimney fire can produce temps more upward of 2000°F. A regular masonry flue is only designed for 800 - 900 °F. This is how masonry flue's develop cracks that cause fires in attics. Prefab on the other hand. Each joint of the three pipes are suppose to contain three screws. Not depending on the snap lock at all, this is an alignment feature for the installers to know when to put the three screws in.

Al_Smith · November 16, 2011, 05:30:33 AM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on November 15, 2011, 10:01:59 AM
They won't pay much notice out there among the corn stalks. ;D

Yeah we seem to be able to get by with less hassel . It makes me sometimes wonder though why in the world they would be so anal in the boondocks of Canada where the hoot owls romance the chickens .At least we have some chickens for the owls to romance instead of northern ravens which aren't too romantic .Grumpy ,somewhat "fowl " tempered .Corn fed chickens too ,nice plump ones to go along with our corn fed honeys . :D

SwampDonkey · November 16, 2011, 06:01:23 AM

Quote from: Al_Smith on November 16, 2011, 05:30:33 AM
It makes me sometimes wonder though why in the world they would be so anal in the boondocks of Canada where the hoot owls romance the chickens .

They aren't that I'm aware of. Never had a run in with these types of police. All you have to do is look at the neighbor's yard full of smoke like a fog bank and you will soon realize. :D

Al_Smith · November 16, 2011, 07:37:21 PM

Well yeah but some time ago you said he burnt anything from cat peed carpet to dirty diapers . I suppose in all it would depend on which way the wind is blowing .

We here in the great field of corn are more gentele with our cat peed carpet .We toss it on the burn pile rather than in the wood stove .Might toss the cat in too but they are hard to catch at times . :D

SwampDonkey · November 16, 2011, 08:13:50 PM

No your confusing the issue a bit. My next door neighbor burns wood in an OWB. My brother's neighbor was burning diapers and such in an old oil drum in his yard and some days would be smoke from that at my brother's place. That "bonehead" with the burn barrel has since fled back to Holland as far as I know after his little empire fell. ;)

Al_Smith · November 16, 2011, 08:29:58 PM

Why did he skedaddle of to Holland for ? Did your brother offer to put him in the barrel with the diapers or something ? :D---I just can't myself --- :D :D

SwampDonkey · November 16, 2011, 08:39:02 PM

Oh...debt, wife beating, divorce among other stuff. Yeah, my brother got in his face a time or two over the burning issue. :

doctorb · November 16, 2011, 08:40:53 PM

Sounds like addition by subtraction!

Al_Smith · November 16, 2011, 08:49:07 PM

Hmm perhaps tip toeing through the tulips with Tiny Tim as we type .

Raider Bill · December 01, 2011, 09:27:48 AM

While driving through downtown Atlanta Monday on 75 I saw one of those huge LED bill boards that said "kiln dried firewood for sale". Must have cost a fortune to post it there.

SwampDonkey · December 02, 2011, 04:54:32 AM

I had a wheel barrow load of old firewood that laid in the basement in a damp corner for a couple years. And the decay fungus got at it of course. I moved it this spring to another spot to dry. When it dried out enough to burn, which is now, it was light like dry aspen. A firebox full of that stuff is hardly enough to sustain heat enough for the fan to kick on. Well good to use it up while it's not real cold. Well maybe not quite as bad as all that, it seems warm enough when it's 24 outside. Albeit intermittent fan heat delivery. :D