# Wood Stove **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2016, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711 "2016-03-02T04:50:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/21 "2016-03-03T16:09:09Z")
> [@skylyn12](#): > > So that means that burning with wood takes a good amount of planning and somewhere to store wood for 6 months to a year while it seasons. Oh, but the things you can do! [https://www.offgridworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/creative-wood-pile1.jpg](https://www.offgridworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/creative-wood-pile1.jpg) [![](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/fb/1a/51/fb1a51fad318a0b9bbe41ad9ca4bc2ca.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/fb/1a/51/fb1a51fad318a0b9bbe41ad9ca4bc2ca.jpg) > **[Stacking Firewood • Insteading](https://insteading.com/blog/stacking-firewood/)** > > Amazing—but functional—stacked wood creations. Why not have a woodpile that looks like a little car? ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/22 "2016-03-03T18:36:33Z")
My home-owners insurance changed when I went to a wood burning stove in the house. Doesn’t change if the stove is outside not in any building. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/23 "2016-03-03T19:04:24Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > \*t takes quite a while for it to chase the chill away when you come home from work and light it. With a properly built stove, you don’t let it go out. You get up in the morning, put some wood in the stove and open the air vents. the remnants of the fire from the night before blaze up, and very shortly the stove is putting out a ton of heat. When you are ready to leave for the day, you add wood, and close the air vents. The fire damps down, but continues to gently heat the house until your return, at which point, you repeat the process. With a good stove and a reasonably insulated house, it never gets cold. Yes, it takes a little more work than turning up the thermostat, but it isn’t onerous. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/24 "2016-03-04T16:16:28Z")
Wood, in a brick fireplace. Yes, you clean it after & yes you always fill it with wood for the next time after that. Its the only civilized way to watch a good black-and-white movie while sharing good red wine and fine chocolate. My experience is my cite. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/25 "2016-03-04T17:14:34Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > With a properly built stove, you don’t let it go out. You get up in the morning, put some wood in the stove and open the air vents. the remnants of the fire from the night before blaze up, and very shortly the stove is putting out a ton of heat. When you are ready to leave for the day, you add wood, and close the air vents. The fire damps down, but continues to gently heat the house until your return, at which point, you repeat the process. With a good stove and a reasonably insulated house, it never gets cold. Yes, it takes a little more work than turning up the thermostat, but it isn’t onerous. Yep, I know how it’s _supposed_ to work, but even with the very best and the largest Vermont Castings (had three different stoves in a period of about 12 years) stove, I could never keep it going on one load of wood for 8-9 hours. And I was burning 50/50 soft/hardwoods. The only difference I can think of is that I live at 11,200 feet. But if anything, that should make it last longer I would think. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/26 "2016-03-04T17:17:37Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Wood, in a brick fireplace. > > Yes, you clean it after & yes you always fill it with wood for the next time after that. > > Its the only civilized way to watch a good black-and-white movie while sharing good red wine and fine chocolate. My experience is my cite. 😉 I’m betting you have brass andirons as well. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/27 "2016-03-04T18:36:07Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’m betting you have brass andirons as well. _looks down_ _looks up_ Oh, yeah… ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/28 "2016-03-04T19:26:59Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Yep, I know how it’s _supposed_ to work, but even with the very best and the largest Vermont Castings (had three different stoves in a period of about 12 years) stove, I could never keep it going on one load of wood for 8-9 hours. And I was burning 50/50 soft/hardwoods. The only difference I can think of is that I live at 11,200 feet. But if anything, that should make it last longer I would think. Softwood should only be used for kindling. I have used Vermont Castings stoves (excellent), and have had a full load of hardwood burn all night, with plenty left in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/29 "2016-03-04T20:26:37Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Softwood should only be used for kindling. I have used Vermont Castings stoves (excellent), and have had a full load of hardwood burn all night, with plenty left in the morning. Hardwood is great when you can get it. Not too much of it in the Colorado Rockies. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/30 "2016-03-05T22:22:26Z")
In Oregon, the best cord wood is oak and madrone. With some pine or fir for kindling. I tried the sawdust bricks. They don’t split, make a mess and don’t leave very good coals. I don’t really buy the environmental aspect of these. They are usually a byproduct of the lumber industry, but it takes a lot of energy to compress and ship them. Natural gas fireplaces are only for looks. Nothing takes the chill away better than a good fire ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/31 "2016-03-05T22:25:26Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I heated with wood as my primary source for about 15 years. Six cords a year. > > It’s a very dirty form of heat. From cleaning the chimney to bringing in wood to the house. Also, it takes quite a while for it to chase the chill away when you come home from work and light it. > > I’ve gone to a propane free standing stove. It’s on a thermostat too. It’s great. Wow! Six cords a year. You must live in Northern Canada ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/32 "2016-03-05T22:32:33Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Yep, I know how it’s _supposed_ to work, but even with the very best and the largest Vermont Castings (had three different stoves in a period of about 12 years) stove, I could never keep it going on one load of wood for 8-9 hours. And I was burning 50/50 soft/hardwoods. The only difference I can think of is that I live at 11,200 feet. But if anything, that should make it last longer I would think. There is substantially less oxygen at 11,000 feet (13.7%) than at sea level (20.9%) or, say, 2000 feet (19.4%). I would think that accounts for fires going out sooner at altitude than at sea level. ---
**Author:** ![skylyn12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@skylyn12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylyn12)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/33 "2016-03-05T23:25:52Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Softwood should only be used for kindling. I have used Vermont Castings stoves (excellent), and have had a full load of hardwood burn all night, with plenty left in the morning. That’s crazy. Softwoods are great. They burn hot and fast, are often free, and (the biggest plus IMHO) is that they season very fast. I can split fresh pine and it burns awesome 9 months later. It takes twice that amount of time to properly season oak from freshly split. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/34 "2016-03-06T01:29:56Z")
> [@skylyn12](#): > > That’s crazy. Softwoods are great. They burn hot and fast, are often free, and (the biggest plus IMHO) is that they season very fast. > > I can split fresh pine and it burns awesome 9 months later. It takes twice that amount of time to properly season oak from freshly split. Enjoy your chimney fires. Softwood is double-plus ungood for anything other than kindling. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/35 "2016-03-07T00:03:34Z")
OK, so what do you do if softwood is your only option? I don’t image that during the Klondike gold rush very many people had the luxury of burning oak all winter long. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/36 "2016-03-07T00:18:14Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > It’s a very dirty form of heat. From cleaning the chimney to bringing in wood to the house. Boo fucking hoo. How about your neighbors who have to put up with the smoke? I don’t care how modern your stove is or what you burn in it, if the wind blows your smoke into my windows, I hate you (obviously, I mean “you” in general). I liken people who use wood stoves (when there’s a cleaner alternative, which is 99% of the time) to people who just dump their garbage on their front lawn and wait for the wind or animals to spread it around the neighborhood. “Fuck the neighbors, I’m saving 40 bucks a month!” And if you want to rationalize that coal-burning power plants just eliminate the middleman, knock yourself out, but where I live, the power is from hydroelectric dams, so there’s no excuse. ---
**Author:** ![skylyn12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@skylyn12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylyn12)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/37 "2016-03-08T14:45:04Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Enjoy your chimney fires. > Softwood is double-plus ungood for anything other than kindling. Please, that is a silly old wive’s tale. There are huge portions of the country where they only can (and do) burn softwood yet there is no epidemic of chimney fires! How can that be? [http://www.caes.uga.edu/topics/disasters/winterstorm/heating/firewood.html](http://www.caes.uga.edu/topics/disasters/winterstorm/heating/firewood.html) I do enjoy this tale though as it has enabled me to scoop up free pine for years. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/38 "2016-03-08T16:12:30Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Boo fucking hoo. How about your neighbors who have to put up with the smoke? I don’t care how modern your stove is or what you burn in it, if the wind blows your smoke into my windows, I hate you (obviously, I mean “you” in general). > > I liken people who use wood stoves (when there’s a cleaner alternative, which is 99% of the time) to people who just dump their garbage on their front lawn and wait for the wind or animals to spread it around the neighborhood. “Fuck the neighbors, I’m saving 40 bucks a month!” > > And if you want to rationalize that coal-burning power plants just eliminate the middleman, knock yourself out, but where I live, the power is from hydroelectric dams, so there’s no excuse. I heat with a wood pellet stove. From outside I can’t see or smell smoke. 40 lbs of pellets (one day’s worth for me) produces less than a cup of ask. > [@](#): > > Pellet fuel appliances are more convenient to operate than ordinary wood stoves or fireplaces, and some have much higher combustion and heating efficiencies. As a consequence of this, they produce very little air pollution. In fact, pellet stoves are the cleanest solid fuel, residential heating appliance. From [Energy.gov](http://energy.gov/energysaver/wood-and-pellet-heating). My nearest neighbor is 1/3 mile away. I can guarantee that they aren’t bothered by my pellet stove. StG ---
**Author:** ![skylyn12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@skylyn12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylyn12)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711/39 "2016-03-08T19:23:16Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I heat with a wood pellet stove. From outside I can’t see or smell smoke. 40 lbs of pellets (one day’s worth for me) produces less than a cup of ask. From [Energy.gov](http://energy.gov/energysaver/wood-and-pellet-heating). My nearest neighbor is 1/3 mile away. I can guarantee that they aren’t bothered by my pellet stove. > > StG I do understand his frustration. I have lived near people who burn unseasoned wood in big old smoke dragon wood stoves and it stinks. Even 1/3 of mile away it would still be a problem. If you burn properly seasoned wood in a newer EPA stove (and you have a properly sized chimney, etc.), your neighbors should never get smoke in their house. I couldn’t even smell smoke from my own back yard when burning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wood-stove/747711.md?page=1)