thoughts on basswood

[TRTermite]

With the amount of dead ash around here I'd drive about 10 min east of you and start knocking on doors. Seriously. I've been gettin a lot of calls to look at woodlots that don't have much for merch timber but they would be a firewooders dream.

Beware of the widowmakers.

 

[blades]

066- if you want high fast heat- properly dried conifers will get you there ( no this is not heresy) course you will be feeding the stove about every 1.5 hours. An alternative sort of alluded to above is to get a decent hardwood( your Oak/Hickory) coal bed then use the conifers on top of that. Same for the Boxwood/Popple/Willow ect but it coals up more than the pine and other conifers. The pine & other conifers will provide fast heat & help burn down the coal bed.
Small splits of the Oak and Hickory will provide faster heat as well say about 2x2 or so, not big 6 and 8" monsters.
As always, particularly with the current crop of stoves the fuel has to be under 20% INTERNAL moisture content with around 15% being the the best area. That isn't going to happen in one year of cut split and stacked Oak or Hickory more like 2 at the inside particularly if not split small ( under 6" ) to start with in our area for the most part. ( summer before last was so humid I don't think anything really dried out much)
Several years back I had Oak( various types) and Hickory(various types) for a main winter fuel source - big splits- yep, after 2 years it still wasn't dry enough - stove got hot just not that great a heat output - struggling to get to 600 deg. NC30 not withstanding. Fast forward a few years smaller splits dryer wood having a bit of difficulty staying under 700+ deg. with small loads. Which brings to mind that an overstuffed stove will not always preform at its peak either. ( likely the reason Englander says not to stuff it to the tubes up top as well) And a mix of species does seem to work out better for over all performance. Just my observations with my stove and fuel supply.
Hope that hand healed up OK.

 

[066blaster]

With the amount of dead ash around here I'd drive about 10 min east of you and start knocking on doors. Seriously. I've been gettin a lot of calls to look at woodlots that don't have much for merch timber but they would be a firewooders dream.

that's the problem I've been having lately, everyone that calls me is 30 + miles away. And has a few tree's. It's not worth hauling a tractor to load up. But i don't really want to do it by hand. I know there is tons of dead trees by us , but most of the old farmers won't let anyone into cut, they would rather let it rot.. I offer money . If you come across something let me know. I have plenty of good wood for myself, but still want to sell some too.

 

[066blaster]

066- if you want high fast heat- properly dried conifers will get you there ( no this is not heresy) course you will be feeding the stove about every 1.5 hours. An alternative sort of alluded to above is to get a decent hardwood( your Oak/Hickory) coal bed then use the conifers on top of that. Same for the Boxwood/Popple/Willow ect but it coals up more than the pine and other conifers. The pine & other conifers will provide fast heat & help burn down the coal bed.
Small splits of the Oak and Hickory will provide faster heat as well say about 2x2 or so, not big 6 and 8" monsters.
As always, particularly with the current crop of stoves the fuel has to be under 20% INTERNAL moisture content with around 15% being the the best area. That isn't going to happen in one year of cut split and stacked Oak or Hickory more like 2 at the inside particularly if not split small ( under 6" ) to start with in our area for the most part. ( summer before last was so humid I don't think anything really dried out much)
Several years back I had Oak( various types) and Hickory(various types) for a main winter fuel source - big splits- yep, after 2 years it still wasn't dry enough - stove got hot just not that great a heat output - struggling to get to 600 deg. NC30 not withstanding. Fast forward a few years smaller splits dryer wood having a bit of difficulty staying under 700+ deg. with small loads. Which brings to mind that an overstuffed stove will not always preform at its peak either. ( likely the reason Englander says not to stuff it to the tubes up top as well) And a mix of species does seem to work out better for over all performance. Just my observations with my stove and fuel supply.
Hope that hand healed up OK.

I'm still learning on my stove ( first winter in this house) I guess if I open the Draft more on the oak it gets hotter , but am I losing a lot of heat out the chimney? Here's my stove, I just put tile down in front of it.. going to replace the carpet next.

 

[blades]

Ah an Insert, That explains part of the heat deprivation. Got to run strong fans to pull the heat off those vs a free standing stove. Any way to put an intake / exhaust system in that to recover heat lost to the back 1/2 or more of the unit? hard to see in picture how heat is pulled off.
Had a inexpensive insert from Menards back in the early 80's- definitely better than the open roaring fireplace that was there when we bought the place. pulled in air along the bottom front,expelled out top front face of unit.

 

[olyman]

I'm still learning on my stove ( first winter in this house) I guess if I open the Draft more on the oak it gets hotter , but am I losing a lot of heat out the chimney? Here's my stove, I just put tile down in front of it.. going to replace the carpet next. View attachment 462018

extend your hearth,,all round,,and get that insert set on it,,so air moves all around that stove....

 

[066blaster]

Ah an Insert, That explains part of the heat deprivation. Got to run strong fans to pull the heat off those vs a free standing stove. Any way to put an intake / exhaust system in that to recover heat lost to the back 1/2 or more of the unit? hard to see in picture how heat is pulled off.
Had a inexpensive insert from Menards back in the early 80's- definitely better than the open roaring fireplace that was there when we bought the place. pulled in air along the bottom front,expelled out top front face of unit.

There is a blower on each side. And it does throw a lot of heat. But I'm thinking I will use 4-5 full cords. The fire box is huge in this thing.

 

[blades]

What Make?

 

[CaseyForrest]

I'm still learning on my stove ( first winter in this house) I guess if I open the Draft more on the oak it gets hotter , but am I losing a lot of heat out the chimney?

Yes, you will lose more heat up the chimney. But thats the catch with burning in an airtight stove and being able to control the heat output. Not enough heat in the fire will lead to a clogged flue. I try to keep my chimney right around 250 degrees where the single wall meets the class A. So far its leaving a clean chimney. The translates to around 450 degrees where the single wall connects to the stove.

I also let the pipe get up to 750-800 when I start the stove and let it stay there for a bit. Insures a good draft and helps cook off the inside of the chimney.

You're still ahead of the game with the insert because in general, an open fireplace sends 80%+ of the generated heat up the chimney.

 

[Johnny Yooper]

i burn what I can get my grubby paws on, and that includes basswood if it's free and/or handy. My saying is: "I never met a Btu I didn't like". That said, it ain't very high on the Btu scale, but free and handy is hard to beat. It's one of my top two for chucking in the syrup stove in the spring as it gives a quick hot fire (other top choice is popple)

 

[bitzer]

that's the problem I've been having lately, everyone that calls me is 30 + miles away. And has a few tree's. It's not worth hauling a tractor to load up. But i don't really want to do it by hand. I know there is tons of dead trees by us , but most of the old farmers won't let anyone into cut, they would rather let it rot.. I offer money . If you come across something let me know. I have plenty of good wood for myself, but still want to sell some too.

I'm going to be cutting lizard mound again this winter and another job just down the road on A. They may want some top wood gone after I'm gone. Lizard mound is real easy to get around in and it will be close to the lot where I'm cutting.

 

[066blaster]

I'm going to be cutting lizard mound again this winter and another job just down the road on A. They may want some top wood gone after I'm gone. Lizard mound is real easy to get around in and it will be close to the lot where I'm cutting.

Definitely let me know. I am willing to pay something for the wood

 

[066blaster]

What Make?

Arrow woodstoves. The people we bought the house from said their dad paid $5000 for it I'm sure that was installation too.

 

[bitzer]

Definitely let me know. I am willing to pay something for the wood

Will do. I need a guy in the area to cut tops when I'm gone. I have guys in other areas. Nobody really close to home tho.