First Snow, First Stove
Just in time for the first snow of the season, we got our wood stove up and burning.
Of course, we still have lots of f wood to cut and split, and I realize that one point of view might see the fact that if we would have worked as many hours as we have spent cutting wood for this season, we would have been able to buy enough pre-cut wood for several years, but it sure would not have been as fun.
The only "not-so-fun" part was when I ruined our new (used) chainsaw after only three days. I asked the nice man at the hardware shop where the 2-cycle oil was (which needs to be mixed 25:1 with gasoline for use in the chainsaw), and he pointed me to a canister that, in big letters, said "2-cycle 25:1". I Guess I should have read the fine print, because it was actually already mixed with gasoline. So, when I mixed it again, it made the mix ratio about 500:1 and I ended up burning my chainsaw engine. Nothing is more annoying than realizing that you basically spent $100 a day to use a chainsaw.
My neighbor must trust me more than I trust myself, because after that fiasco, he lent me his chainsaw to finish all the wood. Of course, he *is* careful to lend me gasoline that he has pre-mixed himself.
The wood is all from an old house that was demolished this spring. Its not the best wood for burning, because it burns so quickly and is quiet dirty (lots of soot in the chimney), but it was free and close and we felt it would be a waste to just let it rot or be thrown into the dump. It also saved the owner of the house the cost of disposing of it, so we consider it a type of neighborly favor.
The photos show our neighbor helping us with the chimney, while other neighbors gather around to watch the first smoke from our famous (in the village) fire stove. They all came over to our living room door to check it out and give their advice about how to best use it. There is also a photo of us peeling persimmons. While we had decided to make mostly vinegar this year, the persimmons I dried the other day turned out quite nicely, with less mold than last year, so we are tempted to try more. It is the one thing that we can give to our neighbors that may have some value.
There is still a lot of work to make the stove situation "perfect". More wood to cut, and we have to make a drying rack to hang above it so that we can utilize the heat for drying fruits, veggies, and socks and underwear over the long humid winter.
Comments
What is it about the stove that is so fascinating? Are they really that unusual, or is it more the type you've used? I guess it must be really odd to put one in to the house as opposed to taking it out in favour of an electric fire or whatever.
Posted by: Dan R | November 21, 2008 06:24 AM
congratulations on the first snow!!
Posted by: Paul | November 21, 2008 02:59 PM
Way to go on the maki-stove. Just in the nick of time too, ne. I'll stick up some pictures of our maki-stove later. Stay warm, it's gunna be a cold un' this year. Brrrr.
-ken
Posted by: KenElwood | November 21, 2008 10:11 PM
Woo hoo snow! I wish i had some here. Is everyone interested in the stove because no one else has one? It's so odd how people have become so disconnected with the old ways.
Posted by: Curtis | November 22, 2008 01:21 AM
Hi Kevin
We had a flurry last week too and have the fire going part of the day now. I put saltillo tiles under my stove and they work as a heatsink.
Posted by: jake | November 28, 2008 08:16 PM
I remember many fall days spending time either cutting down trees with an antique cross-cut saw with my father, or splitting them with an axe. There's something about a wood stove that's truly warming to the heart.
Just a few thoughts: I'm sure you had the new stove properly installed but please be very careful with carbon monoxide poisoning. You may want to purchase an alarm to be installed nearby unless the stove area is well-ventilated.
Also, you probably know this but the wood you cut this year should ideally be burned next winter, after it has had time to truly dry out. There's a good argument to buying wood for the first winter that's already dried.
Posted by: gen | December 2, 2008 10:25 AM
Gen,
So when are you coming out to feel the heartwarming warmth? February should be a cold time.
Thanks for the advice - the carbon monoxide detector is a great idea - although this room is pretty ventilated (i.e. extremely drafty). As far as the wood, yeah, we were too late to start cutting, and thus had to use a chainsaw rather than the saw (and haven't been able to find one of the two handled saws which seems like it would be much faster if I was working with someone else http://www.starinfo.com/xcut_pic.html ) The only saws we have now are old saws from inside the house, but Japanese saws only cut on the pull stroke - while it might be less tiring, it seems to take longer (or maybe it is just my imagination)
Being late to cut our wood means that we also have a lot of green wood that I split and keep next to the stove to dry it somewhat. As far as dry wood, we have the remains of an old house, but it is sugi so it burns extremely quickly. We find that putting in one block of the dry sugi and two blocks of the green wood keeps the house warm and should last us through the winter. We *did* buy some wood, but still feel stupid about it. Every sunny day now though I feel like I have to go into the mountain and collect more wood for use next winter - but I think I will wait until I can find a good saw.
We put the stove in ourselves (with help from the neighbor who was a certified stove installer back in his youth)
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