100,000 BTU's

I think my brain got tired of hearing the winds howling outside and my nose started to get cold so here I am up bright and early firing the Vermont Defiant and the Countryside pellet stoves.  I tried to remember what it took to heat this 3,300 square foot 1880 brick farm house so I looked them up.

It looks like I am probably running 50,000 BTU's or so with both of them fired up.  My first search turned up reports of 10,000 to a whopping 74,000 BTU's out of the Vermont Defiant.  I knew the Magnum Countryside was around 50,000 the way I run it which is nearly wide open on a nasty day like today.

The wind is howling and it's 28 degrees F outside.  Cold air will find every crack in a building in a day like today.  This is the kind of day I can keep both stoves on moderate to high and keep this house warm from end to end.  It's about 24 steps from the Defiant to the Countryside and there is a lot of 2 story house inbetween with only the mudroom section connecting the main house and the old summer kitchen being one story.

I haven't burned both at the same time many days the last couple of years or so.  The outside air is too warm and damp and the fires don't burn well or they get the house too warm.  I can get the whole house over 70 degrees with both going on a cold or not so cold day.

The Defiant runs the most because of its location, most central to the main part of the house.  If it's above 50 degrees outside, it gets harder to keep it burning properly.  I have to have well cured wood like I am burning now, that 1000 foot fence row we took out March of 2010 when we got back home from Disney World.  That's the same wood I took to Will and Becky and our little elves pictured above.

I told the Newman boys I never cut two pieces of wood the same length because I cut between knots and curves in the tree.  I showed them how hard it was on the saw chain to cut into some of those knots.  Sparks flew on one oak knot.  So my wood is 18 to 24 inches long normally with at least 5 different species of wood.  When I burn them, I get all kinds of variation in heat output.  Basically I just try to keep the stove full on a day like today.

When I get it full of 24 inch wood which is rare, and I have the right species, I can get it so hot it's dangerous for even me to be around.  I can get burned easily and I always seem to have spots healing on my hands in the winter from not wearing gloves and just keeping the stove burning every waking hour.  I can't go away more than 4 hours or so like yesterday or the fire goes out and you have to start all over again.  Once a day is enough for me.  But look at what I am saving burning Ohio's abundant resource!

It is good to have my elf shopping done though.  The jeweler was happy to see me yesterday.  He was very busy but he remembered my last purchase and quickly took care of me.  There are going to be some happy gals around southern Ohio from what I saw yesterday!

Ed