Shoulder season woes

[unclemoustache]

What are the troubles you have with the start of a new burning season?

I'll list some I've had already:

1. Can't remember if I cleaned the chimney last Spring or not. Decided I'm not going to check on it now.

2. All summer we've been using the stove as a coffee table. I almost burned up a pile of bills and paperwork when I lit the stove and forgot to remove it all from the top.

3. Kids have always been good about knowing not to touch a hot stove. Never had an issue.
Until last week. One kid got some 2nd degree burns on his hand. The same one that broke his arm a couple years ago. If any of my kids would burn himself, it would be him!

4. Getting it nice and toasty in the morning, and then by noon we're opening windows and tempted to turn on the AC.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

The burning season started nearly 2 months ago.

 

[Erik B]

What are the troubles you have with the start of a new burning season?

I'll list some I've had already:

1. Can't remember if I cleaned the chimney last Spring or not. Decided I'm not going to check on it now.

2. All summer we've been using the stove as a coffee table. I almost burned up a pile of bills and paperwork when I lit the stove and forgot to remove it all from the top.

3. Kids have always been good about knowing not to touch a hot stove. Never had an issue.
Until last week. One kid got some 2nd degree burns on his hand. The same one that broke his arm a couple years ago. If any of my kids would burn himself, it would be him!

4. Getting it nice and toasty in the morning, and then by noon we're opening windows and tempted to turn on the AC.

Number 4 is happening as I type. It was cool this morning so I started a fire, burning some poplar. Temp in the living room (where the stove is) is up to 80 and windows are open. Too hot for the wife to work

 

[H-Ranch]

5. Readjusting my morning routine to add checking the woodburner.

 

[DSW]

Another vote for lighting the stove in the morning and then cracking windows in the afternoon. Pretty consistent 30 degree mornings and high 70's, maybe low eighties in the afternoon.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Been lows in the single digits, highs in the 20s-30s here.

 

[jrider]

None. I just light the owb and turn the thermostat

 

[Little Al]

For you guys having problems with # 4in the OP get some Vermiculite ? block cut to size & fit in your stove may have to cut your rounds/splits smaller it will make the fire smaller = less heat/less fuel used & money saved on "Leccy" for the AC when you want the " Full Monty"take the blocs out

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Shoulder season? I don't get the name.

I don't light the OWB until there's risk of death from cold housemates or freezing the hydronics. Seems to be a fair bit of boilover risk once it catches up and can't cycle fairly regularly. Its gotta be highs in the 40s. Today is the first day actually.

Also, sifting ashes. I still have years worth of scrap lumber to burn and picking out nails and screening twenty pounds of nails per screen frame is murder on your back and messy. Also all the pores on my legs plug up with black from the ash (despite regular showering).

Even if I'm not burning scrap, I reburn the charcoal in the ash and take the clinkers and separate them out. They are really valuable for sprinkling on and cutting through pesky patches of ice. All those and the fine ashes get used for ice melting and traction on the farm lane and my friend's farm lanes.

Putting on boots to go out and fill the stove before bed, then lying there wide ass awake from a blast of cold and wondering if you shut all the doors right...

Getting busy/lazy and letting the pile by the stove run out so you have to run back and forth to the storage pile every time you fill the stove...

 

[NSMaple1]

If all goes to plan my shoulder season 'things' will disappear next year after getting set up with a ductless heat pump. And my 3 years of wood supply I have stacked in the yard will magically turn into 4 years supply.

 

[bowtechmadman]

Only change is getting back into the routine of feeding the OWB...only once a day right now by the end of November I'd imagine I'll be back to twice a day.

 

[DX250]

Well all i can say is after running a brush down the chimney I am cleaning out the stove of the roughly 3 cups of soot that fell when the bag in my ash vac fails and I look to the right to find my well turn black. AHHHHHHHHHH

 

[unclemoustache]

Shoulder season? I don't get the name.

Yes, that's probably the biggie. Not knowing where the term "shoulder season" comes from. Maybe pdqdl can help??

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

It's in the dictionary.

 

[stumpy75]

Dictionary
shoul·der sea·son
noun
noun: shoulder season; plural noun: shoulder seasons; noun: shoulder period; plural noun: shoulder periods

1. a travel period between peak and off-peak seasons.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Ahh I get it. Like, if you were going to graph it it would look like shoulders.
>>>>>>_____
>>_____/
__/

The mid period before "full" output where people deal with bad pumps, creosote from less than full output of the stoves, hitches in the process from sitting or not being used to capacity etc. Interesting.

 

[DFK]

The problem with living this far South ( North Alabama ) is that Shoulder season last all winter.
It can also be 15 or 20 degrees or 70 degrees any day of the winter.
We are always lighting new fires, debating it it would be just as well to turn on the Electric heat and opening windows in the afternoon.
We seldom burn more than one 128 cu ft cord of Oak and Hickory in a winter.

David

 

[brandonstc6]

The problem with living this far South ( North Alabama ) is that Shoulder season last all winter.
It can also be 15 or 20 degrees or 70 degrees any day of the winter.
We are always lighting new fires, debating it it would be just as well to turn on the Electric heat and opening windows in the afternoon.
We seldom burn more than one 128 cu ft cord of Oak and Hickory in a winter.

David

Same for me in central Mississippi !


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[Del_]

The 'top down' method of fire starting works great for small, quick and efficient fires.

 

[lindnova]

Putting on boots to go out and fill the stove before bed, then lying there wide ass awake from a blast of cold and wondering if you shut all the doors right...

Been there many times..