Thursday, December 17, 2009

How Much Wood Could a ... Oh You Know


It was 4 degrees outside and 68 degrees inside this morning, thanks to the inside storm windows and the plastic outside on the windward side of the house.  I can't get over the fact that something I did made so much of a difference from last year!

Now I'm at the next phase of learning - I'm learning about wood.  Specifically, how using wood in the stove is a little symphony.  Sometimes you want fast-burning wood to heat up the stove.  Sometimes you want slow-burning wood to keep the fire burning low all night or all day while I'm gone.  Sometimes you want tinder to get the fire started and sometimes medium-sized wood to get it bigger.  Mama Pea wrote a blog posting about a year ago on this very issue!  Most of it went totally over my head at the time.  This is one of those things where you have to know a little before you can understand enough to learn more!

This picture shows the three sizes of wood that I have.  What I don't have are separate stacks for fast-burning or slow-burning wood.  I'm not using the medium-sized wood as fast as I thought I would, since I'm using birch wood to get the fire hot instead of smaller wood.

I am going through wood a little faster than I expected.  Good thing I have an extra cord sitting outside, and I know how to use the chainsaw if all else fails.  No worries about that cold day in February or March when I run out of wood in the woodshed.  This year I had about 2 cords in the woodshed in October.  Depending on how long that lasts, I'll know how much more wood to cut for next year.  Year upon year, building up the knowledge and experience to get good at this homesteading thing!!

1 comment:

  1. Jordan-
    I just love your red stove. Is it just tapped into a fireplace, or is it a chimney made special for the stove? I can't remember from other photos...
    We have 2 fireplaces, but they burn a lot of wood for a little heat. One is supposed to be a heatalator, but it hasn't worked like it since I've lived here. I'd like a little more heat for the amount of work of wood. I'd really like to have to move my chair 'cuz I'm too hot!

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