That looks about like the next best design without power. Other than a down draft wood stove needs two little top frigerator size fans too maintain good down draft flame movement through the charbed,and out the back end of the bottom burn chamber, too keep the temps up for clean burn. Those up draft type wood stoves only burn clean at wide open draft, and eat wood faster. Though they will work as an extra heat exchanger.
2 Likes
That thermal mass idea will be good for a stove which is only periodically stoked. Once any thermal mass system gets up to flue temperatures it will have no effect on heat conservation. Also, to recover heat from the flue, when the fire burns down the damper will have to be closed, best done automatically, or the extra heat will tend to draft up the chimney.
Also, if too much heat is taken away from the flue gases, draft could become a problem when starting up a fire, especially if the wood is a bit damp. A diverter would be best to start.
2 Likes
I was thinking a rocket stove might work better. Less wood used over all, and more compact. I built a heavy duty rocket stove with a 30" water pipe main, and fire brick inside. It would stay hot for a long time, and use very little wood to keep it up to temperature. It was not designed to be portable. Lots of steel pounds.
Bob
3 Likes
Spent the afternoon bagging the last run of chunks and making some more. That’s Jesse in the back ground. Got some help from Erika and Naomi.
6 Likes
That is a lot of chunks, what wood type?
My neighbor had a 24” alder that was dying and so now I have 1/2 pickup load of limbs to chunk and the about 1/2 cord of wood for the stove
9 Likes
The limbs from this tree chunked up made 22 buckets.
I will have to stop cutting chunks or buy more mesh fencing as all of my baskets are full of wet chunks ( about 100 - 5 gallon buckets).
They won’t dry out till next May since our humidity stays 60 to 100% all winter.
5 Likes
Hi mike what is your heating soure for home.I think i could dry out wet green wood chunks in few days probbly 300 pounds pine. sitting inside a 250 gal fuel oil drum with 3 " water jacket open on the ends for loading, and part of the top for steam movement.swem
2 Likes
I have lots of dry chunks, probably 200+ buckets bagged or stored in a silo.
I usually burn maybe 3 to 5 per week.
Home heating is in a small (16”) wide stove and this winter mostly burning 4 year old dry cottonwood. It light up quick, burns quick and gives LOTS of ash. But most of it was delivered free in 10’ log lengths so I am not complaining.
8 Likes
I am very grateful for our weather that we don’t have to think so much about the drying process. Yesterday it was spring here. Today a bit colder. I think the light frost followed by spring weather may actually be even better for the drying of chunks. freezing seems to push the water out and then evaporate from the surface in the morning.
That was mostly southern yellow pine slab wood from the mill. We have milled about 5000 board feet of lumber lately. Wanting to build a mechanic shop this year. and my wife has the 20-year-remodel in mind for the old side of the house.
And Jakob is still needing to get a room away from the oak in the wood stove, as he is allergic to oak. …etcc…
3 Likes
Hi Billy,
I am 2-3 miles south of the Canadian border in the extreme
northeast corner of NY state about 10 or so miles west of the
The Lake Champlain bridge to Vermont. Our weather this winter
has been mild with just a spattering of snow. Only 2-3 inches on
ground as I type and 38* F. I can’t remember a start this mild for
a whole lot of years! Very welcome as the next 2 weeks are
predicted with much the same trend. A great Christmas gift and
New Year’s wish rolled into One! After a couple of weeks I might
I might be biting my tongue, but at 77 WGABRA!
Pepe
3 Likes
We did a little chunking today. loaded a trailer a put it under the shed for drying.
Have wood will travel 
11 Likes
WOW
That is a lot of chunks. That would be weeks of work for me
Especially if your chunking that gnarly wood in the foreground.
3 Likes
Hello Mr. Mike
The gnarly wood in the foreground will be used in the home heater .
2 Likes
Wonderful pics, as usual. Lots of fun.
4 Likes
Looks like the wood could almost dry where it lays. We won’t have any drying conditions here until April, except for beside the wood stove…
3 Likes
Actually you would be surprised how much freeze drying will change wood that is stove length. I have been shocked at how much lighter it is come spring.
4 Likes
Dad and Jesse mixed the wood we had chunked. We had chunked a bunch of pine slabs and they were too big so we went and got a load of board edgings. We chunked them into 1x2’s and 1x3’s and mixed them ratio 3 to 5 did some driving on that wood and it worked much better than just the pine. The board edgings are mostly maple cherry and oak.
We are hoping that this labor intensive chunking and mixing can go away. Dad went and talked to a factory vice president of a national level cabinet shop yesterday and worked out a deal for us to get there scrap wood. It is kiln dry oak, maple and cherry a lot of which is already cut to the right size so will just involve sorting. One of the best things is they seperate the sawdust so we won’t have to pick through that. The VP was happy to help, they are paying AGL (landfill company) to haul away a 30 yard dumpster every two weeks. Dad told them we would list them as a corporate sponsor on the trip and for them that is free advertising for giving someone a waste product. I don’t have any pictures but will post some as soon as we get the first load.
15 Likes
Now you’re talking chunking 
6 Likes
You will have to drive all night just to burn up the fuel as fast as they make it…
6 Likes
I see a LOT of miles in those piles 
8 Likes