Archive through November 14, 2010

[fcurrier]

I should've known the Bug was working when it took 3 tries to upload this:

 

[jbaker]

Heres a few of my heating stuff it was 4 above this morning in No. ILL
I start the year with about 10 cords by the boiler

My wood consist mostly of blacklocust,oak,and hackberry

 

[digger]

182 degrees?
You trying to cook turkey in that thing! LOL

 

[aschumacher]

Charlie, cooking turkeys !

When I took a quick look at the bottom picture I saw a bulge on the right side and the word "Classic" and wondered why he had a coin operated Coke machine in his back yard!

 

[jbaker]

Charlie I jump up to 180 when we go to single diggets because it goes thru 5 seperate heat exchangers my normal operating temp is 170. What do you run?

and I am a pepsi guy Allen but your welcome to come pump some quarters in it anyway

 

[digger]

I start out in October at 140 and might bump it up to 155/160 if we start getting close to 25 or 30 below later on.

Mine is a closed pressurized system too, so that might make a difference in heat output.

180+ is way to close to the boiling point for me, since the temps vary so much and the air pressure varies and the altitude where I am gets to close for comfort when things get past 160.

But then again, I don't have all those bells and whistles on mine like you do. It's bare bones and likes to put out heat without a circuit board telling it to, LOL

I fire it up around the middle of October and just this morning cleaned out the ashes and had less than a 5 gallon bucket full!

I decided to try all oak this year and it seems to be doing fairly well. I've burnt one cord since October and we're heating pretty close to 4000 sq. ft. at 72 degrees.

I can't complain at all with the old beast.

 

[aaytay]

I'm sorry to swing the topic in another direction, but does anyone here have experience burning ELM?

I cut down 3 LARGE Elm trees at a family-relative's house two years ago. The wood was split right away and dried on a concrete pad for those 2 years. This year I started using it in the insert-fireplace in our dining room.

It seems to start slower and burn "cooler" (if that's possible) than Oak does. Is this possible? I gotta say, for the work of cutting down the trees, hauling off the limbs, splitting and stacking the wood.......this stuff just wasn't worth it. Next time I'll just stick to OAK. I'll get off my soap-box now.

Any thoughts here?

 

[mgonitzke]

I'd say that's possible. We basically live in the woods so there is a nearly never-ending source of trees dying and falling down. Most of them are oak trees, which we use in the fireplace in the house. We also have some other stuff like pine, Chinese Elm, Crabapple, etc. that we only burn in the garage stove for just the reason you mention. It's not worth wasting the 'good' Oak in the garage. The oak definitely heats things up better. I remember my dad saying that the Elm in particular is the worst.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Art, I've not tried burning elm in my wood furnace. I prefer Hickory when I can get it and usually get some in the semi loads I buy, but I mostly get White and Red Oak with some Birch in the loads. This may be of interest:

Heating Value of Common Wood Species

Poplar isn't listed in that chart, not sure if it performs like Aspen or not but I like to have some Poplar on hand to burn, it starts really nice and burns quick. It makes for great kindling. It's also nice for making a small fire when it isn't too cold out and I just want to warm the house a little.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Whatever you do, don't use Boxelder in your fireplace, that stuff smells like cat urine when it burns...

 

[kmcconaughey]

Art, I just found this:

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

Beech wood fires are bright and clear,
If the logs are kept a year.
Chestnut's only good, they say,
If for long it's laid away.
Birch and pine logs burn too fast,
Blaze up bright and do not last.
Elm wood burns like a church yard mold,
Ev'n the very flames are cold.
Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke.
Apple wood will scent your room,
With incense like perfume.
Oak and maple, if dry and old,
Keep away the winter cold.
But ash wood wet and ash wood dry,
A king shall warm his slippers by.
Anonymous <!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

HERE'S where I found it.

 

[digger]

Art,
Elm burns super fast and is a poor heat source.
The electric co-op cut one down last summer close to me and dropped it off, so I thought why not see.'
It was still green and that stuff burnt faster than 20 year old popple, LOL

 

[aaytay]

Thanks for all of the quick thoughts..

Kraig-
I like that "Heating Value of Common Wood Species" site. Who would have thought that Elm is just barely better than Jack-Pine for heat-content?? That right there says a lot. Had I known that I would have told her to cut down her own trees. LOL!

Of course the poem pretty much says the same thing in a little different manner..

It's funny because I've been building fires on the weekends with this stuff now that it's dried out, and usually the OAK will drive you out of the room it gets so hot, but with the ELM I can just keep tossin on the logs and it does nothing but make a pretty fire.

I guess if I was smart I'd start "mixing" in some oak logs from the load I got two summers ago to tailor the heat to my liking..."IF" I was smart...

 

[digger]

Art,
If we were smart!
We'd live somewhere where a fire/stoves/boilers were NOT a part of everyday life in winter!

Damn I miss Missouri!

 

[fcurrier]

Thanks, Kraig!! I'd read that poem years ago and just remembered the lines about ash.

 

[dtanner]

Art
I think apple tree wood is dangerous ! you can melt a furnace with a good load of that. I melted and out side burner with it piled full and lets say it was really deformed after that .

 

[jbaker]

My wood trial: Oak is great, black locust was excellent, and orange osage well can you sat HOT, I have burned several cords of poplar but it was a hybred version and it did well. the cherry I have used also was very good. The elm I used last year was not hot and left alot of ash.
I started my boiler in October and have cleaned out about 30 gallons of ash this year.
Don did the burner keep burning the apple after it met its setpoint? My burner shuts the intake damper after setpoint and once in a while will go above the setpoint but only by a degree or two

 

[digger]

Jeff B.
Years ago we used to throw green hedge balls in the coal stove to clean things up. Have you ever tried that?
BTW,
There's not an Osage orange tree within 300 miles of my place! LOL
They are good for keeping bugs out of the house in the summer too.

 

[jbaker]

Charlie, no I have never tied the hedge balls but I am going to now. you have peaked my intrest

 

[digger]

People up here see them around our house and say WTH are those things!
I have some shipped up every year to keep bugs/Skeeters out of the house.