How many wood burners use a EPA stove?

[bearcove]

I've burned wood all my life. Built muscles as a kid spliting logs for the stove.

Still get a rush of heat if I pick up an ax.

But I'm using a stove that I bought at Home Depot a few years ago and its rated as clean burn by EPA. I actually like it!

It has some tubes under the smoke shelf that pull outside air in and it causes the smoke to flare off and that heat adds the heat on the top of the stove. The coolest thing is when the stove is running at temp the flue outside runs clear, no one can even tell I'm burning.

And no smoky smell.

OH! my gas bill was $26 last month and that was mainly the water heater.

[looseprojectile]

in the shop is a boxwood stove that I bought for forty dollars from a local junk dealer. Got four sections of pipe and a cap with it. Has the round removable lids on the top.
Turns out after a search on the net that it was made during the Civil War in Alabama and is a collectors item. Worth several times what I gave for it.
A couple of twisted news papers and a little charcoal lighter fluid and instant heat.
For the next three days we are experiencing an inversion and a burn ban.


Life is good

[P.K.]

We had a few growing up. I easily made $100.00 a cord for seasoned hard wood. The two stoves I remember the best was a Fisher Baby Bear and one my uncle made for us out of a 55gal oil drum. The BB would cook us out of the house. Really good hot burner for sure. The oil drum stove was perfect for the basement and did an excellent job for short periods of time.

[Olevern]

Have three wood stoves in my place, one in main living area, one in shop and one in garage/dirtbike ATV storage and working area.

Supplimentary gas heat in both shop and house for when I am traveling or away from home, but primarily heat with wood.

Living in the great wooded North Central/North West Pa.(kinda between the two) wood is plentiful and cheap (five dollar permit at the National forest for deadwood, standing or fallen.

One area is where a tornado came through, still might be wood left there when heaven calls.

Sometimes, when too busy or too lazy, purchase from locals for $45.00 a face cord, almost not worth going out myself, paying gas costs for the truck and chain saw plus my time away from the reloading bench and the needs of the boys I mentor.

They deliver right to my door, but then, the exercise is of some value as well.

[Reload3006]

Nothing says home to me like a nice warm fire!!!

[Flatlander]

I burn about 8 cords a year, I buy green log lengths in the summer and cut,split and stack in the backyard. It cost me about 95 a cord but it beats burning oil at 3.50 a gallon. Plus the house is warm 70+ and if we have a power failure we are good to go! Its a lot of work and takes a lot of time. I figure I save about 2500 - 3000 dollars depending on what oil prices do during the winter.
I suppose if I figured the hours I spent it would work out to about ten bucks an hour.

[a.squibload]

My pellet stove uses outside air for combustion,
can't tell it's running from outside.
Exhaust can be run through wall with a dryer vent.
Fan pulls exhaust from burn chamber so
if power goes out the whole thing stops.

[Tom-ADC]

We have a Country Stove in the family room, brick lined, with tubes inside at the top, doesn't take much wood to heat the room up, course it doesn't get real cold here.

[waksupi]

I have a Lopi catalytic converter stove. Burns less than half of what my old Earth Stove did. Heats a lot better, too. I use my Riley camp stove in the shop, and it is plenty, without using a lot of wood.

[starmac]

I picked up a jotul (I think that is right) wood cook stove a couple years back.
They apparently quit making them back in the 70's, but this one had never had a fire built in it.
The company is still building wood stoves, just not cook stoves, does anybody know anything about them.

[mroliver77]

I don't know what an "EPA" stove is and prolly don't want to.

I have a "Hutch Rebel" airtight stove in the main room and a cast iron coal/wood unit with a catalytic combustor in the kitchen.

According to what i have read it takes a lot of heat to combust smoke and a catalytic unit is needed in most cases. My kitchen stove will smolder along with barely any fire in the box. The combustor unit is burning the smoke and happily glowing and putting heat in the secondary chamber.

Having a smallish house with decent windows and fair insulation and tight siding most of the time the one stove is used and it is burned very low. A lot of the winter a window and/or the door is cracked open.

I put in a furnace a few years ago but have never had it lit! Propane skyrocketed that year and the wife left etc. I am too poor to buy fuel now so wood is my only heat well plus a bit of electric once in a great while.

With the Ash Borer bug and the Dutch Elm disease again killing elms I have a surplus of dry firewood!
J

[41 mag fan]

EPA stove certified means it's like the cars are..less emissions. If I'm correct it has scrubbers in the top of stove, removing all the bad from wood smoke.
Buddy of mine has one, except his is a fireplace insert.
Burned out the first year he had it. Never replaced it.
With his he had trouble keeping the fire going.

[bearcove]

It is just three tubes in the top under the smoke shelf that have holes in them. The outside air comes in at the front on the bottom and the tubes. The smoke burns up. If you go outside it is smoke free coming out the flue.

[BD]

I'm on my second catalytic wood stove, this one is a Vermont castings. I guess it's been a little over 20 years I've been using them. On the first I replaced the catalytic combustor one time, the cast iron interior parts of the stove were shot before it needed a second combustor replacement. Tenants have been running it the last 6 years, I'll see how it's held up to that later this winter.

If you're careful to only burn seasoned hardwood, lit with clean paper and kindling, (no colored ink and no Christmas wrapping paper), and you don't start the combustor until it's hot enough, the combustor will last a very long time. I imagine combustor life is shorter in the western states where hardwood is not as available.
BD

[Denver]

It is just three tubes in the top under the smoke shelf that have holes in them. The outside air comes in at the front on the bottom and the tubes. The smoke burns up. If you go outside it is smoke free coming out the flue.

Bearcove;

What's the make and model of the stove you have? I looked on the Home Depot website and found three that mention EPA approval rating. They're made by US Stove Co. They list models 2000, 2500, and 3000.

I've used the same stove for the past 25 years or so, but it's not very efficient. Would like to replace it and get one with a blower and if it burns cleaner without the creosote buildup in the chimney, that would be a bonus.

[starmac]

Blaze King is pretty much the most sought after up here for heat and efficiency.

[PatMarlin]

Folks have trouble with EPA stoves here unless they are real careful to burn seasoned wood.

That won't work for me as I burn everything here on the property which is a mix of Doug Fir and various of firs, Oak- white and black, Various Pines, Manzanita, and Madrone, but I won't cut our Madrone.

So I use the old 70's stoves. A nice Fisher here in the house, and a Sweet Home in the shop. They burn anything, and will hold a burn all night long. Just open the doors in the morning, and a roaring fire starts. I also burn green wood. Setting green on the top, slows and helps control your fire. Seasoned wood on it's own is way to dry with these stoves. I like mixing various levels of seasoning and species and it works very well. I also really like log side slabs, or what the call "mill ends" off of my mill. Sap wood burns real hot, and you can stack it real tight.

Fisher's magazine ad line back in the 70's was "One Match" is all you need all year.

The shop stove keeps me in a T-shirt even dead in the winter. Been nice out there.

[Iowa Fox]

We have a Nashua that we bought in the late summer of 1981 at Great River Stove Co. in Maquoketa, Iowa for 1100 dollars. We could barely afford it but I'm glad we did looking back. It was all that four of us could do to lift it a couples inches and carry it into the house. Thank goodness we have a walk out basement.

Couple of the neighbors had the same stove and they did a good job for them so we got one. Most places were selling them for 1300 and Great River was a couple hundred cheaper. A lot of money in 81.

Just something about the warmth of wood heat, plus it gives me regular exercise cutting, hauling, spliting by hand, and stacking.

[Buckshot]

..............When we lived out in the sticks we were in a 24x60 double wide and we were all electric, which equals major bucks here in CA. In financial self defence I designed and built an airtight wood stove, using a 4x8 sheet of 1/4" steel. The base and walls were firebricked. The door had an 8"x8" glass insert and was gasketed. Inside 2" below the top I had a slidding plate with a handle extending out the front of the stove. It traveled 4" front to back. The flue was at the back, so with the plate pulled forward the exhaust traveled directly back, and up the flue. The single wall flue had two heat exchanger boxes with electric fans.

Due to the mass of the stove, after building a fire the fastest heat came from the flue. After the heat penetrated the bricks you slid the plate back which forced the heat forward toward the front, up around the plate and then back along the underside of the top of the stove and then up the flue. It was a heating monster and took a few uses to get it figured out :-) I remember one afternoon when it was pouring down rain we had to open the slidding glass doors in the livingroom to make it bearable:wink:

In the evening before bed I could toss in a log, shut the damper down and in the morning the livingroom would be nice and warm. All you had to do was toss in a few 2-3" pieces, a medium sized hunk, open the damper some and it was off to the races! Here in So. Cal buying firewood for heat will be more expensive then paying a gas bill for heat. I haven't kept up with the price of quality firewood, but back then oak was $240/cord and the 2nd best was citrus which ran an even $200/cord. Eucalyptus was the most common as tens of thousands of those trees had been planted around the countryside as windbreaks. Definately #3 in the firewood standings.

A couple things made it worthwhile for me to heat with wood. One was the high cost of electricity, but the 2nd was that I'd planted a BUNCH of Eucalyptus (which we got free) around the place originally for the shade and as a windbreak. Once established you could cut them off a foot above the ground and they's sprout several new trucks and if they got any water at all the sprouts would be 6" in diameter. Just do it over again. The other thing was my folks had 58 acres of citrus. Other then the work my firewood was pretty much free. The work wasn't really work so much as I enjoyed running the chainsaw, and splitting wood to me is a joy and a delight.

http://www.fototime.com/CB54EEFBF5200AC/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/072D0FFB0323F69/standard.jpg

The one bad thing about cirtus is that it's crotchy and I've had 3 wedges and one of those 'Bomb' wedges well and truly stuck. The above is the answer to that. It's a powder wedge. My great grandfather had it made out of a Ford TT truck axle. You can see the fuse hole in the right photo 2.5" below the top and halfway up the side. It'll blow a bad crotchy piece "Half in two" right now.:drinks: Besides, it's fun! As a youngster I watched my grandfather use it. He'd pour powder out of the can (Laflin & Rand) into the palm of his hand and then pour it into the wedge. Tamp down some newspaper and drive it a few inches into the piece. lay a piece of wood against the wedge. Stick in the fuse (which I learned later was dynamite fuse) and light it.

I had good luck with it using 150grs of 2Fg Goex and laquered waterproof firecracker fuse:lol:

..............Buckshot

[bearcove]

Bearcove;

What's the make and model of the stove you have? I looked on the Home Depot website and found three that mention EPA approval rating. They're made by US Stove Co. They list models 2000, 2500, and 3000.

I've used the same stove for the past 25 years or so, but it's not very efficient. Would like to replace it and get one with a blower and if it burns cleaner without the creosote buildup in the chimney, that would be a bonus.

I think its the 2500. I'll check it later when it cools down a bit. Its got a full load of wood going right now. I bought it in May, waited till they put them out front on clearance. Was $1100 I think and I got them down to $700.

It does not have a catalytic type system so don't have the problems they have. I don't get build up cause it burns off the smoke.

[mroliver77]

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/mroliver77/M1ANM003.jpghttp://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/2074ddba5f5e7ba7.jpg http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/2074dde479328395.jpgHere is my woodcutting crew. Oliver does have the hood back on now! I built splitter with scrounged parts but bought new pump, cyl and hoses. $300. It will split anything I throw at it. Trailer is back half of 65 F150. Saws, fuel/oil and necessaries fit in tool box. My woods is all around me so no traveling.
Jay

[Reload3006]

http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee403/reload3006/splitter.jpg
this is the splitter I made for my uses I run it off the tractors live hydraulics. handy just drop my bucket and pick it up.
EPA i have a 2 buck stoves one is EPA and its a pain in the back side .. you have to have it almost so hot it will run you out of the house before it will open up and draw right. If I could I would tear the EPA out of it but you would ruin the stove doing it so I live with it.

[bearcove]

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100291302/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

This is the one I have.

[PatMarlin]

Love your hydraulic tank mroliver77.

Cousing Buckshot... didn't know you had a powder wedge? How cool is that! I been wanting to make one.

We've got 2 old growth doug firs that dropped the past couple of years that are 5' in diameter and I've wanted to split them to see if any of the wood is still good, and to get them moved. I sold my real big chainsaw.

I forgot I also have a small Buckstove out in the barn I used to use back in the City. Was a pretty good stove with the fan. 70's. I never sell stoves once I get one.. . :mrgreen:

[beemer]

I bought a Buck catalytic heater in 2007. There are a few things I don't like about it but I would still buy one. I burn a lot less wood and get more heat. The old masonry flu was replaced with a stainless steel insulated one. The stainless flu was expensive but worth every penny and a lot safer to boot.

Dave

[Ozarklongshot]

We have an Osburn 2700 in the shop side of the house. I built ducts into the space between the first and second floor and then encased an attic exhaust fan that sucks the hot air off the ceiling of the shop and moves it into the rest of the house. We are 100% wood heat and it works great heating over 2500 sq ft. Log splitter that mounts to the tractors hydraulics. Mostly burn red oak or hickory that is everywhere on the farm. Although I'm burning a couple ricks of black walnut right now that is from a tree that fell during a storm last year. I love my Osburn with cold air intakes, 10 years and no problems at all. Once I get the system up to temp there is no smoke or very little and the fire will stay lit from now till late february early march.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

10 years ago, I bought a Century 'Air tight' wood stove built in Canada in the late 80s.
It was used very little til I got it. The CSA tag says it's 60% efficent.
it sits in my livingroom. and heats the whole house when someone is home
to feed it. I have a Nat. Gas furnace as backup.
I burn about 3 or 4 cords of hardwood a year.
Also, I moved the cold air return to the back of the wood stove.
then also connected a second thermostat to my furnace and mounted
that in my livingroom (opposite wall as the wood stove) that only runs the furnace fan to circulate the Livingroom air throughout the whole house when the livingroom reaches 80º...it works slick.

The stove starts easily because it has a very strong draft...due to my tall old 2 story house with internal (centered) masonery chiminy with a stainless steel liner, but I am still able to damper the draft down.

It's made of 1/4" steel plate.
I like this stove mostly for the windowed door, but also has
some kind of 1" thick asbestos type blocks inbetween the steel walls and
the fire bricks.
the think really holds the heat.

Most of my wood is storm downed trees that the City of Glencoe drags "whole"
to the city compost site. I just have to cut and haul away, they clean up the mess.
Jon

[Freischütz]

I use a Jøtul f400. To get the most out of a EPA stove you must have dry wood. In other words the wood must be stacked and split for at least a year. Some woods take longer (oak). Go to Hearth.com if you want lots of information.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

we have a Quadrafire 3100 step top epa rates at 83% efficient

you fellas that think 30-40 is cold i see why an air tight cooks you out of the house i can on a day in the mid 30s get this old house up to the 80 in one good fire , but at 15-20 degreees it's just right to feed it on an off all day, and at 30 below you better keep it full all day

it is a drafty old house we make it a little better every year , the new back do last year made a big difference

we burn about 4 cord a year the temp goes to 65 over night with the oil furnace to keep it from going any lower. waking up to a house at 50 or lower is just no fun.

every morning i get up clean out the previews days ash then start my fire and get in the shower , it is warm to stand in font of the fire and dry off when out of the shower.

by the time the kids wake up the house is usually warmed up to about 70

[P.K.]

we have a Quadrafire 3100 step top epa rates at 83% efficient

you fellas that think 30-40 is cold i see why an air tight cooks you out of the house i can on a day in the mid 30s get this old house up to the 80 in one good fire , but at 15-20 degreees it's just right to feed it on an off all day, and at 30 below you better keep it full all day

it is a drafty old house we make it a little better every year , the new back do last year made a big difference

we burn about 4 cord a year the temp goes to 65 over night with the oil furnace to keep it from going any lower. waking up to a house at 50 or lower is just no fun.

every morning i get up clean out the previews days ash then start my fire and get in the shower , it is warm to stand in font of the fire and dry off when out of the shower.

by the time the kids wake up the house is usually warmed up to about 70

LOL!

I've woken up to 50 below or lower. So cold that BFV's and M-1's FROZEN to the ground. At 20 above we were stripped to the waist and washing out of ammo cans. BTDT, not fun but what are you gonna do?

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

LOL!

I've woken up to 50 below or lower. So cold that BFV's and M-1's FROZEN to the ground. At 20 above we were stripped to the waist and washing out of ammo cans. BTDT, not fun but what are you gonna do?

never been to 50 below
the hardest part of winter camping is the courage to get out of your sleeping bag

20 above is the perfect wood cutting temp for me i can wear a quilted flannel gloves , saw chaps , and my hard hat with face shield and hearing protection , and cut for hours , i will be ringing wet and plenty warm , but i do need to get out of the woods fairly quickly when done

best is when you can drop a tree into 16 inches of snow , you can saw clear thru as the tree is sitting on enough snow that your bar never contacts the ground

chain stays sharp longer that way

i also sharpen the chains myself at ever or every other gas up with a file , i get a chuckle when i see folks bring their chains in for the professional sharpening . good way to grind up a chain in hurry , i have that machine , never use it , i realized how much chain i was loosing , and how much time i was wasting.

[P.K.]

never been to 50 below
the hardest part of winter camping is the courage to get out of your sleeping bag

20 above is the perfect wood cutting temp for me i can wear a quilted flannel gloves , saw chaps , and my hard hat with face shield and hearing protection , and cut for hours , i will be ringing wet and plenty warm , but i do need to get out of the woods fairly quickly when done

best is when you can drop a tree into 16 inches of snow , you can saw clear thru as the tree is sitting on enough snow that your bar never contacts the ground

chain stays sharp longer that way

i also sharpen the chains myself at ever or every other gas up with a file , i get a chuckle when i see folks bring their chains in for the professional sharpening . good way to grind up a chain in hurry , i have that machine , never use it , i realized how much chain i was loosing , and how much time i was wasting.

I hear ya GCP. A lost art or quickly disapearing one. Same with honeing a blade or an ax. Another that get's me is folks buying "bar oil"? 10W40 from the recent oil change worked just fine. Bucking up wood in deep snow is a time saver, just know the ground. Wouldn't be the first time I dinged the bar off a hunk of granite. ;-)

[Reload3006]

I hear ya GCP. A lost art or quickly disapearing one. Same with honeing a blade or an ax. Another that get's me is folks buying "bar oil"? 10W40 from the recent oil change worked just fine. Bucking up wood in deep snow is a time saver, just know the ground. Wouldn't be the first time I dinged the bar off a hunk of granite. ;-)

I sharpen my chains with a file too. only time i ever put them on that grinding sharpener is after I have rocked the heck out of one and cant get it cutting straight. other than that its a file.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I hear ya GCP. A lost art or quickly disapearing one. Same with honeing a blade or an ax. Another that get's me is folks buying "bar oil"? 10W40 from the recent oil change worked just fine. Bucking up wood in deep snow is a time saver, just know the ground. Wouldn't be the first time I dinged the bar off a hunk of granite. ;-)

that is where i have to respectfully disagree, about bar and chain oil

After Grandpa burnt up Dads Johnsered using waste oil , i pay my 4.50 dollars a year for a gallon of bar and chain , a small price to pay when a new bar is 50 and a chain 25 , i save my money on sharpening , i will spend a bit on oil

although i think he was using it as the 2 stroke oil also

every time chain saws are discussed that johnsered comes up even 30 years later , but things must have mended with time they went partners on a log splitter a few years ago.

also grandpa started using bar and chain and real 2 stroke oil when he bought the saw that replaced dads johnsered

also , i don't change my own oil much any more, between time seems like i work most daylight hours and committees and meetings and running the kids to guitar lessons and such and casting and reloading i let the boys down at the garage do it , the chevy garage in town has a 19.99 oil change deal with the 5th one free , it cost me 15 dollars at napa to buy the oil and filter , and the county dump is open such crummy hours it's a pain to get out there to dump the oil. also my van takes 5w20 and if it didn't give them my business where would i get wheel weights from.

[bearcove]

Bar oil is better.

And we get our chains sharpened every year. Keeps then cutting straight.

[Denver]

From the information I found in researching various stove manufacturers, an EPA rated stove doesn't necessarily mean they all use catalytic combusters. Am I correct?

[PatMarlin]

I use full skip chisel chain and a chisel file. If I'm not shaving nice chips when cutting I stop and tune it right up in about 5 minutes and back to cutting,. Never made much sense guys filing a chisel chain to round like a lot of folks do up here. I never had as good of performance with round files, but probably cause I'm used to a chisel.

My closest buddy up here is a professional logger. Been for 35 years, and he is known as the best around. Does only private home tree work now. He and I discuss these kinds of things. He used round files his whole career, but start but lately started with chisel after I was doing it. Now he's hooked on it.

There's a blind guy up here who cuts his own firewood and uses a chisel file because he can feel the correct angle. Pretty cool.

On oils, after using both motor oil and sticky bar and chain, I think the bar and chain holds up an edge better, and seems to perform better. Motor oil runs a chain a lot cleaner that's for sure.

[bearcove]

From the information I found in researching various stove manufacturers, an EPA rated stove doesn't necessarily mean they all use catalytic combusters. Am I correct?

Yes! I don't have a catalytic. They are much pickier about what you burn. I burn anything in mine, nontoxic stuff that is. I make firestarters out of bacon grease and sawdust, burn tree trimmings green and dry and other stuff that would give a catalytic stove fits.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

From the information I found in researching various stove manufacturers, an EPA rated stove doesn't necessarily mean they all use catalytic combusters. Am I correct?

they can also use a reburn system as my quadrafire does

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I use full skip chisel chain and a chisel file. If I'm not shaving nice chips when cutting I stop and tune it right up in about 5 minutes and back to cutting,. Never made much sense guys filing a chisel chain to round like a lot of folks do up here. I never had as good of performance with round files, but probably cause I'm used to a chisel.

.

i have a great uncle who swears by a Stihl MS260 with an 18 inch bar 3/8 and a full skip chisel chain , but i already had the .357 with the stihl saftey chain and a spare bar and chain i just can't justify a 200 dollar switch over at this point

as it is my saw cuts better than most any other i see, remember to lower the gauge part of the chain when you know it's sharp but the chip is to small really makes the chips fly again

[excess650]

they can also use a reburn system as my quadrafire does

Yeah, I have a Quadrafire with the secondary burn. It uses some air tubes above the firebox, but below a baffle so that the volatiles in the smoke are burned off.

I also have a Kodiak stove which is very similar to the Fisher Grandpa Bear. The Kodiak has a larger fire box than the Quadrafire, so holds more wood and doesn't need cleaned out as often. The Kodiak or similar stoves are EPA exempt IF you have a screen for the front so as to use it as a freestanding fireplace.

The Kodiak is in the basement (half exposed) and will keep the entire house toasty warm after its been run for a few days. The house is 32x40 with full basement, full 1st floor, and cathedral ceiling with loft in the 3/4 2nd floor. The key is getting the concrete floor and walls somewhat warm first.

My preference is for a radiant type stove. They don't need electricity, so you have heat if the power is out. You CAN position a fan near the stove to move heat if necessary, if you want. I don't have a pellet stove because they need electricity. Too, I don't like the noise generated by the blowers.

The stove that I WISH that I had is the largest Fisher....name escapes me right now, but is half again as large as a Grandpa Bear. They were only made for a short period of time.

[excess650]

i have a great uncle who swears by a Stihl MS260 with an 18 inch bar 3/8 and a full skip chisel chain , but i already had the .357 with the stihl saftey chain and a spare bar and chain i just can't justify a 200 dollar switch over at this point

as it is my saw cuts better than most any other i see, remember to lower the gauge part of the chain when you know it's sharp but the chip is to small really makes the chips fly again

IMO, 3/8" chain is too much for a Stihl MS260 or 026 unless they've been ported and retuned. Skip chain is for long bars and softwood. .325" is the better pitch for these 50cc saws, and NOT the green tagged safety chain.

You mention a 357, I'm assuming a Husqvarna 357, and they're a pretty stout saw for under 60cc. They'll easily pull the 3/8" chain on a 20" bar.

I prefer full comp, semi-chisel for most firewood duties. Truthfully, Stihl semi-chisel works great as a milling chain on my Alaskan Mill. It cuts as quickly and smoothly as ripping chain. Stihl makes the best chain, IMO, but its harder to sharpen and more $$. I usually sharpen with a file , but occasionally will straighten my chains on the grinder. Yeah, too, the raker depth should be about 10% of the gullet width.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

my mistake i have stihl .325 chain yes the low kick back stuff for my MS260, like i said it is cutting well enough when kept sharp and the gauges lowered that i can't justify the switch over as i have 2 bars and 2 chains for the saw already. i had 3 chains till i hit a nail about 10 inches into a big old oak ripped half the cutters from the chain.

and this is what my dealer outfitted the saw with when i purchased it

i run a 20 inch bar , some times i have to back off as it can be just a bit much for the saw but most of the time i enjoy having the longer bar.

[largom]

Heat my home [4000 sq. ft.] with a wood furnace made by U.S. Stove and purchased at Tractor Supply. Also have the same furnace in my shop. Burn about 10 cords of wood a year which I cut from my own woods.

Larry

[P.K.]

that is where i have to respectfully disagree, about bar and chain oil

After Grandpa burnt up Dads Johnsered using waste oil , i pay my 4.50 dollars a year for a gallon of bar and chain , a small price to pay when a new bar is 50 and a chain 25 , i save my money on sharpening , i will spend a bit on oil

although i think he was using it as the 2 stroke oil also

every time chain saws are discussed that johnsered comes up even 30 years later , but things must have mended with time they went partners on a log splitter a few years ago.

also grandpa started using bar and chain and real 2 stroke oil when he bought the saw that replaced dads johnsered

.I'm callin' BS on the Bar/Motor oil argument. Bottom line .02 stroke oil is inferior because of it's combustability. It was made to mix and fire with gas. 10W40 or any motor oil for that reason was made to lube parts at speed or reduce friction. Something 2 stroke stuff was never meant to do, unless it was in the combustion process, for 2 stroke it's to lube in the firing process. For others, lube all else. Bar included. Idunno about the professional circut. I cut wood to heat a home. ;-)

[PatMarlin]

The only other oil I used on a bar is motor oil. Not 2 cycle. That would be pricey.

[waksupi]

You guys with the short bars make my back hurt! I run a 30".

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

2 stroke oil in the gas bar and chain in the oiler

it may work to do other ways , but it is what the manufacture calls for , it's what i use as i want to keep my saw a long time and the oil both bar and chain and 2 stroke is costing me less than 10 dollars a year, the wood i cut and burn saves me about 1200 dollars or more a year in #2 heating oil , that seems like a good trade off on fossil fuel use a few gallons of gas in to the saw , splitter and hauling it the 12 miles from where i cut it to my house for a winters heat that saves 4-500 gallons of #2

farm and fleet puts the store brand bar and chain on sale every year for 4.59 so i buy a gallon thats about what i use in a year

I also run premium in my saw the extra 50 cents for 1 gallon isn't going to break me and it was recommended in the owners manual , and is also the only thing around here that isn't 10% ethinal.

[Bret4207]

I'm callin' BS on the Bar/Motor oil argument. Bottom line .02 stroke oil is inferior because of it's combustability. It was made to mix and fire with gas. 10W40 or any motor oil for that reason was made to lube parts at speed or reduce friction. Something 2 stroke stuff was never meant to do, unless it was in the combustion process, for 2 stroke it's to lube in the firing process. For others, lube all else. Bar included. Idunno about the professional circut. I cut wood to heat a home. ;-)

I'm not sure I understand what you are tryig to say, but in a 2 stroke engine the lubing is done by the oil in the mix as the piston draws the mix into the crankcase. Once the mixture is fired the oil in the mix is part of the fuel.

It's perfectly logical that the use of used motor oil caused the old Jonsered to die. I've seen it my self, guys used to be too stubborn to buy mix oik and they'd just add drain oil for the mix. They wouldn't screen it or measure either, just dump that crappy old oil in a jug and pour a "glop" in the gas and call it good. Or better yet, pour some in the tank and top it off with gas! I've fixed more than few saws that the bar oil pick up tube was clogged solid with dirt from the old oil cuz the guy wouldn't strain it. You can use drain oil for bar oil, but for gosh sakes, strain it and add some STP or mix it with real bar oil 50/50.

We have a lot of places up here that don't get winter grade bar oil. So at -20 or even at zero the oil is too thick to work. I've cut it with gas a lot of times to get it to flow.

[Bret4207]

2 stroke oil in the gas bar and chain in the oiler

it may work to do other ways , but it is what the manufacture calls for , it's what i use as i want to keep my saw a long time and the oil both bar and chain and 2 stroke is costing me less than 10 dollars a year, the wood i cut and burn saves me about 1200 dollars or more a year in #2 heating oil , that seems like a good trade off on fossil fuel use a few gallons of gas in to the saw , splitter and hauling it the 12 miles from where i cut it to my house for a winters heat that saves 4-500 gallons of #2

farm and fleet puts the store brand bar and chain on sale every year for 4.59 so i buy a gallon thats about what i use in a year

I also run premium in my saw the extra 50 cents for 1 gallon isn't going to break me and it was recommended in the owners manual , and is also the only thing around here that isn't 10% ethinal.

Consider yourself lucky that you use so little 2 stroke and B+C oil! I buy 2 stroke by the gallon and B+C by the case! Of course we burn wood from September to mid May, so I guess I would use a lot more!:holysheep

[PatMarlin]

You guys with the short bars make my back hurt! I run a 30".
What size saw do you run with the 30" Ric?

I bought 2- 5 gallon buckets of Husky 2cyc oil about 12 years ago. Still on the first bucket. I bet I saved a few bucks, since now you got to be a rich man to buy anything.

I thought about filtering used motor oil through a toilet paper filter a few times for bar and chain oil, but I don't use that much. Prices keep going up and I will at some point.

[starmac]

Most pro's will not even use mix that is over a week old with the gas we get now, in fact they like to burn it and start fresh every day.
I think if used oil would be cheaper than bar oil, the guys that use their saws everyday would use it. I would think any cost saving would be more than offset by the cost of chains and bars.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

my saw runs for 40 minutes of cutting on 1 pint of gas approximately , 8 fills to the gallon 8 gallons of gas to the quart of 2 stroke , that is 43 hours of cutting

i would be surprised if i did 20 hours of cutting a year it takes me about 3-4 hours to cut enough to fill my 14x6 foot trailer to about 24 inches high , by then the trailer is at or just over max weight and i go home 3-4 trailer fulls does us for the winter typicaly i burn a wheel barrow a day from dec1 till mid march with fires only in the morning or evening in October November , march and into april

[Bret4207]

Pete, I'll betcha that "40 minutes" of cutting is more like 10-15 at best. Time it sometime and see. Your saw might idle for most of that 40 minutes, but cutting a tank of fuel won't last long. My 028 will last about 10 minutes of actual cutting time, my 365 even less. The longest running saw I have is a Mac 300 and that thing just holds at LOT of fuel. Even it is hard pressed to last 20 minutes of actual cutting time.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Bret,
I was about to disagree with you til I started thinking...
I use a Stihl 360 Pro with a 20" bar
once I get all the little stuff cut off a log, then start to just CUT the log.
lets say a 20" to 25" Dia. Oak log, I can usually get 7 or 8 cuts per tank of gas mix.
those cuts take about 2 minutes each. I usually rest the saw at idle after each cut, mostly to get some Oil on the bar.

I would have though I get 30 or 40 minutes of cutting from a tank...til
you made me think about it.[smilie=b:
Jon

PS this old white oak one took more than 2 minutes per cut :)
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/bigstumpwithStihlcloseupreduced400x300.jpg

[waksupi]

What size saw do you run with the 30" Ric?

I

Stihl MS 460

[starmac]

Pretty long bar for a 460, do you run a full or semi skip chain.

[excess650]

my mistake i have stihl .325 chain yes the low kick back stuff for my MS260, like i said it is cutting well enough when kept sharp and the gauges lowered that i can't justify the switch over as i have 2 bars and 2 chains for the saw already. i had 3 chains till i hit a nail about 10 inches into a big old oak ripped half the cutters from the chain.

and this is what my dealer outfitted the saw with when i purchased it

i run a 20 inch bar , some times i have to back off as it can be just a bit much for the saw but most of the time i enjoy having the longer bar.

The .325" pitch is good for the MS260/026 and is what is commonly supplied on the MS290. Do yourself a favor and buy a semi-chisel or round chisel chain of the non-safety variety and watch it cut. My 026 will easily out cut a stock MS290 since I modded the muffler and retuned it despite the displacement disadvantage.

[excess650]

[QUOTE=JonB_in_Glencoe;1497327]Bret,
I was about to disagree with you til I started thinking...
I use a Stihl 360 Pro with a 20" bar
once I get all the little stuff cut off a log, then start to just CUT the log.
lets say a 20" to 25" Dia. Oak log, I can usually get 7 or 8 cuts per tank of gas mix.
those cuts take about 2 minutes each. I usually rest the saw at idle after each cut, mostly to get some Oil on the bar.

I would have though I get 30 or 40 minutes of cutting from a tank...til
you made me think about it.[smilie=b:
Jon

Jon,
Is your chain on backwards? Seriously, the 360 shouldn't take anywhere near that amount of time to cut through 20-25" oak. Too, the Stihl pro series saws don't run the oiler at idle, but rather, only when the clutch is engaged.

[bearcove]

We have a 056 and run a 24 in bar on it. Oak and hickory were no problem. No bogging down. Green oak 20in log is more like 30 seconds a cut. But anything bigger than 15-16in goes on the sawmill. Smaller stuff too if we need posts or beams. The slab wood and small rounds go in the stove.

[smoked turkey]

Over the past 30+ years here at this place I have had quite a few different wood stoves, inserts, etc. These have all been installed in my basement and vented into my fireplace opening. Our home is two levels above the basement (bedrooms on top). Some were pretty expensive with catalytic converters, automatic variable speed blowers and the like. What I have found here is the basement is a good place for the stove because heat rises. We like sleeping in a cooler bedroom as compared to our first floor where the kitchen and living room are located. So the way the system works for us is just right. We have come full circle to a smaller Ashley wood stove that take 20"-22" wood. It is constructed with quarter inch steel plate, is lined with firebrick and has an 8" flu out the top of the stove. I sold a very nice Buck at the beginning of season for $650. I purchased the Ashley for $35 from a neighbor and couldn't be happier. As I write this the outside temperature is 26 deg. The basement is 81 deg, the first floor is 69 deg, and the upstairs is also 69 deg. We use dry split wood when I can keep ahead of it and it always works the best.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Jon,
Is your chain on backwards? Seriously, the 360 shouldn't take anywhere near that amount of time to cut through 20-25" oak.
mostly what I cut is white oak that has been standing dead for many years, no bark, no twigs. it's very dry and cuts slower than trees that were alive yesterday or a few months ago.


Too, the Stihl pro series saws don't run the oiler at idle, but rather, only when the clutch is engaged.
I know, I goose the throttle during this rest til I see oil fly off the bar

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
We have a Fisher fireplace insert in the living room,& a Timberline fireplace insert in the basement. A 300% efficiency boost to the fireplace in heat. Burn about 6 cords a yr. Last yr. when our old furnace died, they keap us going for 2 weeks. they have paid for themselves many times over . :Fire::Fire:

[waksupi]

Pretty long bar for a 460, do you run a full or semi skip chain.

I'm running a skip, but keep in mind in this area, we are cutting pine, fir and larch. Not near as tough cutting as oak or other hard woods.

[PatMarlin]

I'm running a skip, but keep in mind in this area, we are cutting pine, fir and larch. Not near as tough cutting as oak or other hard woods.

Ditto- I don't cut much Oak, but I get a long, long time on a tank of fuel with my 026 Pro, and it don't set idle.

I have downed trees from earlier in the year, and I limb and cut firewood non-stop. I can easily get 2 face cord on a tank of fuel. This is all small diameter- 3-5".

I also have the newer "MS" Sthil, I think it's a MS290 Farm Boss, or something like that. Heavier saw, but runs smooth and starts easy. Both with full skip chisel, and 16" bars.

Never ran a mid sized saw and a longer bar.

Now I did own the monster of them all- the Husky 3120 for my first mill. Thing was like starting a and running a 2cyc Bultaco 250. Sold that puppy.

[Reload3006]

here in Missouri my fire wood is of the Oak and hickory variety. Hard. makes great fire wood though. I have over the years ran lots of chain saws. from McCullough to Homelite I now have a Huskavarna and a Stihl 036 and Stihl 044 I am running 3/8 chain standard chisel tooth. The little saws will get the job done but they dont last too long. Key to cutting hard wood is a good sharp chain and you have to have a pretty hefty power head to pull it. My 036 only has a 16" bar and my 044 only has a 20. They will pull longer bars but its hard on them. I do like using the 044 as i dont have to bend over so much when limbing. and I can tell you I have split all the wood with a mall and wedge I intend to. LOL I am old tired and sore so the Hydraulic splitter is the only way to go. Besides when you get into the saddle of an old post oak you wouldnt be able to split it anyway a hydraulic splitter if it can t split it will tear it off LOL. I had thought a couple times about that new style of chain but I am not so sure how it would hold up trying to saw hickory.

[MOshooter]

Not sure if it's EPA???
I heat our whole house(4000 sq.ft.) with a Woodchuck wood furnace and our shop with a Linn Jay wood furnace

http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG7hO4ROVO01sAZTFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1bXY2dHE 0BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA1NNRTA2NF8yM zM-/SIG=11g668uhd/EXP=1323676984/**http%3a//woodchuckfurnace.com/

[Ozarklongshot]

All stihls here. One 310 with 20" bar, one 390 with a 20" bar and two 170s with 14" bars. I got the first 170 so I could teach my boys with something small they could handle safely and do the limbing for me. After wrestling that 390 around plus the constantly filling with gas and oil. I used the 170 one day and thought "this is nice" as long as it's just small limbs and keep the chain sharp. Everything here is oak and hickory. Those old shagbark hickorys will eat a chain up. You know your in for a chain sharpening when you see sparks coming off the hickory bark! I love a cold day out cutting firewood. I don't get in a big hurry and just enjoy the time out in the woods.
It is getting harder to find Non-ethanol gas but I use it exclusively in all saws, weed eaters and generators. I use bar oil or I have a friend who lets me have his empty rottella barrels which are good for nearly a gallon of new oil. I never use old used motor oil anymore after the crude in it plugged up an old Mac. I do miss the manual oilers that could be found on older saws.

[Bret4207]

Long SHot, funny how times change. Used to be we all lugged Mac 300's and 7-10's, Pioneer P50 and 60's or Homey 925's around in the woods. All 4 ci or better saws, some even up into the 6 cube or larger! And they all weighed 15-20 lbs or more. Now we have 2-3 in saws that do the same job, maybe not better, but waaaay better than yesteryears 2-3 inch saws. My back and shoulder sure appreciate that, but my heart still likes the sound of those old beasts!

[bearcove]

Ain't that the truth! Our old stihl 056 makes me wish it had handlebars

[starmac]

Bret it takes two people to use one of those saws nowadays. lol
I have several antique saws, I really don't know why I have kept them, I wouldn't use one over a few minutes, and I doubt if you could hire someone to use one at all.

[Bret4207]

I use mine to teach the boys that they really don't have so much to complain about. A couple tanks with the 300 and that 028 looks absolutely flyweight!