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Author Topic: Wood Usage using an ASPEN 175 OWB in Maine  (Read 2977 times)

maine owb

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Wood Usage using an ASPEN 175 OWB in Maine
« on: March 15, 2009, 05:26:07 PM »

Jan 23- Feb 21 (4 weeks) = 1.5 cords (colder than normal (-25 one night)
Feb 21 - March 15 (3 weeks) = 1 cord or 1/3 of a cord per week

Based on this wood usage i will use 7 cords of wood from November 1 - Apirl 1, that is what i will have cut and ready this summer.

My house is a 4 bedroom two story house (9 foot wall height on first floor)in a very windy field in central western Maine. I heat 3100 square feet and all my Domestic hot water. In addition to that my basement  (1100 square feet is between 70-73 degrees)

I burn dry, cut and some split/some logs wood. A mix of white ash, red maple, birch, red oak, a little cherry and apple wood. I have this wood in a wood shed beside my OWB.

I will not burn wood during the summer...

I am keeping track of this day to day as well as heating degree days and wind.
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MarkP

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Re: Wood Usage using an ASPEN 175 OWB in Maine
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2009, 07:22:49 PM »

I have a homemade OWB, and this is my first year of use.  I'm still figuring the stove out, and trying to fine tune it.  I had a problem with my aquastat, and feel that it caused me to use more wood than I normally would have.  I first fired the stove on Oct. 23, and plan on burning it until May 1st. 

I heat my home, which is 1680 sq. ft. and keep the thermostat on 72-73 degrees.  The house is a very well insulated, single story home that I built 4 years ago.  I also heat 1100 sq. ft. of my shop/garage which has 10 ft. ceilings and is also well insulated.  I keep the temp. at 45-50 at night, and crank it up when I need to work in my shop, which is at least 4-5 days a week.  I don't heat my domestic water YET, but I will be at the start of next season.

I cut, split, and stacked  in my shed, 7.5 cord of oak and hickory at the beginning of the heating season.  I dropped the trees in late spring/early summer, so I know the wood isn't completely dry.  Next year will be a different story, as I have seven or eight large oaks in a stand that died 3 years ago that I will have on the ground soon.  Hopefully, using dryer wood will reduce my usage.

As of today, I have used 6.5 cords.  I have one full cord left.  With the milder temperatures lately, I feel confident that the cord I have will easily last me the rest of the heating season. 

I'd be interested to know how much wood everyone has used.
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Homemade OWB  (Smokey)
Stihl 290, 2 Stihl 170s
Tractor supply 22 ton splitter
One good woman that can cut and split wood
Le Roy, WV