Two Tons Done

Now for more of the boring and mundane.

We burned something close to a ton of wood pellets by mid January. I think that’s on par with the past, but things were a little different this year.

This year we had someone (either Jen or her mother and definitely Abigail) here all day, so the stove was kept on during the day.

The night routine for the stove was also different this year. It shut off at 6:30pm so the forced air furnace could kick on. We decided to use the furnace between 6:30pm and 10:30pm to help get heat into Abigail’s room. Because the wood stove is a passive heat and her bedroom is the furthest from the stove, it would get pretty chilly in there.

Between 10:30pm and 4am, there was no heat in the house.

By the end of March we’d used 2 tons. Again kind of par with the past, but with a different operation routine.

It’s still going. The mornings are still kind of chilly and people are still here everyday, so we’re keeping it on. In the past when it was just Jen and me, the stove would have been off and we’d be wearing sweaters. Not anymore.

Next year could be different yet again. We’re planning to mostly use the furnace, like we did last year, but use the stove to heat only the downstairs. We’re talking to the extent of moving the stove thermostat down there. That would also mean only needing to buy one or one and a half tons of pellets this summer.

We’ll see. That’s all a long ways off.

-b