Trimming the winter fat!

[R7]

Am I the only one that has been a bit more lazy this winter than usual?
Less activity and a few more snacks after work has cought up to me this year worse than ever. Also my cloths are shrinking, though that could be a laundry issue?

Woke today full of energy and the need to do something. Looked out at the temp and it was a balmy 2 degrees at 8am. I went down to check the stove and the of firewood popped in my head. It had been a while sence I worked on next seasons firewood and may as well get an early start on it so I'm not splitting wood and dragging it out of the woods during riding season. Not to mention burning no oil helps with the toy funds

2 degrees out this morning, the house was 70 and I have no idea how much wood I burnt, but it was a LOT. I had to burn at full throttle to keep the temp...





Grab a quick bite to eat and I'm off into the woods. I had cut the trees down last spring and let them dry in full length all summer. Just before winter i spent a weekend cutting them up to firewood length and cleaning up the brush. The goal is to have it out of the woods and piled or stacked in the sun before the leaves come out on the trees in the spring, about 5 cord. I'm also cutting and splitting another 1-1.5 cords of pine.

Let the work begin...about 1.5-2 cords split today, all by hand. being frozen is a huge help when hand splitting, it's fast and one hit pops them open.











Tomorrows project, 4 piles scattered (not all pictured) and probably close to another 2 cords. I cut four 16" base oak trees from this area.





As of now, I feel great. First real workout I've had in quite a while, not so sure i'll feel the same in the morning though

[lrrs313]

Tomorrow morning's not the one I'd worry about. Seems like the 2nd day is the most painful. I'm trying to shed this winter's fat, along with last summer's and last winter's.

[MysteriousR1]

I just felt a little guilty reading this while eating cheesy garlic bread....

[stoinkythepig]

Too much snow in my yard for that sort of activity. I went for an 8 mile walk today instead, 'course I got all my wood prepped and drying for winter 2010/2011 last Fall.

[Crash Dummy Denno]

stop eating so much, fatty

[The Snowman]

stop eating so much, fatty

or switch to light beer.

[BMFR6]

those 20" lengths? furnace looks pretty deep, that's nice.

[TheIglu]

Jesus christ you burn a lot of wood. I have my stove going 24/7 since late october and have used a little over 1.5 cord of junk/wet/hardwood.

Remember, heating up the concrete in your basement is a losing battle!

[R7]

Tomorrow morning's not the one I'd worry about. Seems like the 2nd day is the most painful. I'm trying to shed this winter's fat, along with last summer's and last winter's.

Sorta like after a trail ride from hell, I don't feel it for 2 days after. So if I work at it again tomorrow, does that meen i won't feel it until thursday?

I just felt a little guilty reading this while eating cheesy garlic bread....

You wait until you're 10 years older kid, you'll be able to see exactly where that cheesy garlic bread decides to plant inself on your body

Too much snow in my yard for that sort of activity. I went for an 8 mile walk today instead, 'course I got all my wood prepped and drying for winter 2010/2011 last Fall.

Hmmm, not sure I could walk 8 miles at once. Does a mile a day for 8 days come out to the same?

[breakdirt916]

heating independence from oil/gas companies + exercise FTW!

[R7]

stop eating so much, fatty

or switch to light beer.

I already do drink light beer

those 20" lengths? furnace looks pretty deep, that's nice.

The stove takes upto a 24" log, I cut them 18-20" so I don't have to fight with any uneven ends.

Jesus christ you burn a lot of wood. I have my stove going 24/7 since late october and have used a little over 1.5 cord of junk/wet/hardwood.

Remember, heating up the concrete in your basement is a losing battle!

I've been burning since October as well and have used at least 2.5 cords so far, I burnt 5 last year. It also heats 100% of my house 100% of the time, well i did use my oil heat a couple times when I was away for the weekend. I'm also going on 2 years since my last oil tank fill, which is used mostly for hot water. I'm perfectly OK with using 5 cord a year Including my basement, that stove is heating just under 2,000sqft of space

I disagree on the concrete in the basement. The floor near the stove is so hot, you can't walk on it bearfoot without getting a burn on your feet. All the walls are warm, even the top 2' that's exposed outside and uninsulated. That stove goes out and there's heat coming off the floor and walls for hours.

[Omahastylin16]

can you guys give me some tips on finding a good stove?

im gonna start looking in the spring for a used one but im not really sure what to look for

I have a big fireplace that I plan to set it up in, im not really looking for an insert just a small stove that i can use with a stovepipe up the chimney.

[theothersean]

get one bigger than you think you want it , you can always put smaller wood or not as much wood if you want to .
I bought one for my basement and at the time thought I only wanted to heat the basement with it , but its too small for anything else, its a 3 log front loading .

problem is it will only take logs up to about 14" long and burns through 3 logs quckly . Which may be fine for you in a living room.

your problem will be that if you get one big enough to heat your house with and burn it hot enough , you will be blown out of the living room as it will be too hot to sit in there . But if you get a small one that you can sit around you will be comfortable but the rest of the house won;t be as warm .

also look for one that loads from 2 places like the front and top or front and side . its easier to get the wood in from the side , but having the front able to be opened, you can put a screen on and use it like a fireplace for those romantic evenings on the bear skin rug.

can you guys give me some tips on finding a good stove?

im gonna start looking in the spring for a used one but im not really sure what to look for

I have a big fireplace that I plan to set it up in, im not really looking for an insert just a small stove that i can use with a stovepipe up the chimney.

[stoinkythepig]

Hmmm, not sure I could walk 8 miles at once. Does a mile a day for 8 days come out to the same?

I think you'd never catch up that way; I walk a lot and did another 7 miles today.

[naked-daytrader]

gee....I look absolutely breathtaking! I'm about 208 pounds now and feel like I could fight a war....too bad about your weight problem Mark, perhaps you shouldn't be so undisciplined?

[R7]

gee....I look absolutely breathtaking! I'm about 208 pounds now and feel like I could fight a war....too bad about your weight problem Mark, perhaps you shouldn't be so undisciplined?

Wow, you lost 100lbs? Congrats

Wasn't quite as motivated today, but not real sore. I cut up a big tree, split most of it and burnt all the brush. Just taking it easy now and having a bowl of icecream

[Omahastylin16]

get one bigger than you think you want it , you can always put smaller wood or not as much wood if you want to .
I bought one for my basement and at the time thought I only wanted to heat the basement with it , but its too small for anything else, its a 3 log front loading .

problem is it will only take logs up to about 14" long and burns through 3 logs quckly . Which may be fine for you in a living room.

your problem will be that if you get one big enough to heat your house with and burn it hot enough , you will be blown out of the living room as it will be too hot to sit in there . But if you get a small one that you can sit around you will be comfortable but the rest of the house won;t be as warm .

also look for one that loads from 2 places like the front and top or front and side . its easier to get the wood in from the side , but having the front able to be opened, you can put a screen on and use it like a fireplace for those romantic evenings on the bear skin rug.

these sound like good suggestions, im not really looking to heat the house, more just offset the use of oil in the evening when everyone is pretty much in that area.

as far as looking for used stoves, how much should i expect to pay roughly? anything that i can know to look out for that i should stay away from? any specific things to look for that will seperate the good from the bad?

btw, down 12lbs since christmas

[R7]

can you guys give me some tips on finding a good stove?

im gonna start looking in the spring for a used one but im not really sure what to look for

I have a big fireplace that I plan to set it up in, im not really looking for an insert just a small stove that i can use with a stovepipe up the chimney.

I don't really know where to go to get one but I'd avoid the lowes and homedepot stuff, new or used. I like Vermont Castings (which is what i have) and Timberline. Like Sean said, a stove in your living room is going to make it very hot in that area, so if it were me, i'd go with a small insert type stove

[naked-daytrader]

Just taking it easy now and having a bowl of icecream

Therein lies the problem...

[elissama]

ooooh a lumberjack

[RandyO]

Am I the only one that has been a bit more lazy this winter than usual?
Less activity and a few more snacks after work has cought up to me this year worse than ever. Also my cloths are shrinking, though that could be a laundry issue?

your getting older

[R7]

ooooh a lumberjack

[stoinkythepig]

If I were going used, I'd get a Vermont Castings Vigilant or Defiant. Those should fetch $300 to $450 in good shape. They burn nicely.

[Omahastylin16]

thanks for the tips guys, i did a lot of cutting during the summer and it looks like i have about 5 cord cut and split for next winter, mostly oak and maple, i didnt know what size to cut the lengths to, so i went with 16" and im hoping that im not gonna have to cut it all now that ive heard 14"

mark i noticed that you said you had over a cord of pine split up, i thought burning pine was a sin in a stove

[RandyO]

mark i noticed that you said you had over a cord of pine split up, i thought burning pine was a sin in a stove

not true, it burns fast and hot, your basicly burning a light density wood that has been soaked in turpentine,

needs a lot of air to burn clean, most of the heat goes up the chimney, so its not efficient, but it does a good job cleaning the chimney of all the creosote that builds up when you slow down a hardwood fire

I use it for the first half hour of starting a fire, gets the flue up to 800-900 degrees, creosote condenses at 300, if your stovepipe temp is only 300, the smoke is condensing creosote on the chimney walls that are cooler temp, if you get the flue up to 800-900, the temp out in the chimney gets above 300 and burns off the creosote before it builds up, however if you have let it build up for several months with cooler fires, it's a good way to start a chimney fire


it has to be dry, and sometimes drying takes a bit, but also remember, its the favorite food of carpenter ants