Print

[PhinPhan]

I shutdown my OWB for the summer Sunday morning.  We kepts ours going for a couple extra weeks for the domestic hot water.  It is hard to give up the hot water.

I started mine on 10/17/08 and shut down on 4/26/09

What about everyone else?

[603doug]

I fire up once a day for a couple of hrs for our dhw, this wkend only needed to once. I will go down "fighten" before I use my propane. Get the water up to temp then shut everything down except the circ. pump, then when we are through with hot water I shut that off for the rest of the day. Firebox of wood last 2 to 3 days(using pine, hardwood would last even longer)
 "CAP and TRADE that federal gov."

[willieG]

I shut down Saturday morning but have not cleaned her out yet...still thinking there may be a few cool nights that we need a little night and morning heat

[R W Ohio]

Last year I shut down on the third of June.We didn't use much heat the last couple of weeks of May,but didn't have to pay the gas co. for making hot water. May do the same this year. 

[willieG]

low 40's had to add wood tonight...shut down stove on saturday..stirred the ashes and threw in some junk wood and away she went, basement floor is warming up

shut down was short lived

[MarkP]

I shut mine down on Saturday.  Turned off the pumps.  We had a heatwave this week, and I had to get the HX cooled down so I could turn on the AC. 

Fired it up on Oct. 23, 2008 - -  Shutdown April 25, 2009.  Started with 7.3 cords of wood,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I now have about 4 wheelbarrow loads left.  Just enough to get me started in camping season.  There is nothing like a waterstove!!

How much wood did everyone else use???

[willieG]

istarted about the 10th of october but i have used about 12 cords of dead elm thats about 3 or 4 cords more than usual for this area of ontario..was extra long it seemed this year

[Dirtslinger]

Shut mine down last weekend cleaned and sealed for the summer

[jon d]

Well, I had shut my cb down 2 weeks ago....but.. temps here are highs in low 60's and low's @ 47-49 for the next few days.. Wife's alittle cold and propane sucks!! so i fired it up for another week or so.........

[John D]

I shutdown yesterday morning.Fired it up 12/14 when i bought it.I cant wait to pull it all apart,and insulated it properly,and Im hoping it works better with less wood next yr.Whats the dril lfor summer prep? Im draining mine because i have to move it to pour the pad i never got done last yr,I set it on a make shift pad of a pair of rows of 8" concrete blocks,and 2x8s on top of them.Once drained my skid steer will be able to lift it off the pad.Then the plan is to pour the pad,add a row of 8" decorative block,then a cap block,then set it on there,and caulk up every crack to help hold the heat in.

[Guru]

John,  Welcome to the OWB world.  I thought I would add my 2 cents on how to prep your boiler for the off season.  I am a dealer for Nature's Comfort wood boilers.  Nature's Comfort suggests to turn off the power, inspect the plumbing for leaks, cap the chimney so no moisture can enter the boiler, clean the entire inside of the fire box and ash pan area (if yours has an ash pan), lubricate the door hinges, coat the inside of the fire box with a lite motor oil or WD-40 and test the water to insure there is the correct amount of corrosion inhibitor.  Once you get that all done grab a lawn chair and sit down and relax or you can start cutting wood for next season:)

[Jason]

Hey all!  Sorry I've been so quiet-modem got knocked out in a storm a couple weeks ago and I just got a chance to swap in a new one tonight.  It actually worked right. 

Anyway, we shut down for better than a week and it got cold again, so now it's been back on for like a week.  Hopefully almost done, though.

[Scratch]

I let my fire die out about 2 weeks ago.  Gonna save my wood for next season.  Still gotta drain and move mine like John D.

[Jason]

We finally shut down for good a couple weeks ago, but there have been a few nights where I was almost tempted to go fire the thing back up.  Looks like we're finally doing good weather wise now.  Here's to a safe, productive summer of wood scrounging, cutting, splitting, and stacking to all of us.

And remember, even when it's miserable hot, wear your chaps, glasses, ear muffs/plugs, etc.