its a great time of year to burn that junk wood we collected this year. if this is your first year just remember dont overfill your stove. it will do much better with smaller loads. fired mine up today an yes, it does bring a smile to your face. wife and i just love it, just wished i had put one in years ago.
hmm..... as far as not overfilling your stove. i personallly even in these milder 25-35 degree nights put wood in twice a day, i never fill it compeletely, just 3-4 pieces at night and sometimes none through the day, if the pieces are big, sometimes 12" diameter, one or two may burn 24 hours.
on the other hand, my neighbor has the same ncb175 that i do, and he fills it once every 48-60 hours, he crams it completely full of white oak and just lets it smolder. I am sure that will be much different once single digit weather arrives, but so far its working well operating totally diffferent ways