Warmed by Sun and Wood

First the solar array, now the outdoor wood furnace

❄️ Winter: Bring it on!

Yesterday was the winter prep drill at our house. Not the real event. Just the field testing for December through February. We fired up the Heat Master as if we knew what we were doing.

And it was so apparent in our awkwardness that we'd just had our first baby and brought it home, with no idea what to do with it. Why was it crying? Why was it not crying? How long until it needed to eat again? Would it be able to tell us if it was in distress? We were new parents.

I'd read all the baby books and consulted the new wood-furnace parent forums, and heard all the tales of victory and failure. And now it was my turn to be in charge of this massive, needy device that has been in our yard since early September, waiting to get our full attention.

To begin: The woodbox still contained charred wood from the test fire on the day of installation (August 30). Yesterday, after 1:00p in the drizzling rain, I added some dry kindling and a few larger pieces on top of some crumpled newspaper. And I torched it good with the flame thrower. This was a "cold start" and produced a good bit of smoke; since then, nothing but heat waves.

I dialed in the monitor app on my phone (see image), hardwired from heater to modem, and watched the water temperature climb from 52 at startup to 180 degrees some two hours later. We were hoping for the proof I'd promised, to make this real (and to confirm that our investment would bring about the desired results: a warm wife in a bleak mid-winter.) I was almost but not quite certain; but there were niggling doubts.

🔥 TEST:

1. From a cold stove, allow HeatMaster to reach target heat range (180-190 degrees). At this temp it leaves COLD START and enters HEATING CYCLE.

2. turn heat pump wall thermostat way way down so it won't trigger the blowers. (I did this mid-morning so the house temp would drop a few degrees, and hoping the HM would bring it back up to 70 degrees.)

3. When temp reaches 180, turn wood furnace wall thermostat ON, crank it up from 68 to 70. Set timer to see how long it takes to make a difference.

4. Meanwhile, go to nearest floor vent and (oh please let it be warm!) check to see if it feels like cool air (like the heat pump in winter) or is actually warm. It was warm, indeed!

5. Ten minutes from the time I turned up the thermostat, the blower cut off with the temp at 70. The heat pump would have taken an hour to do this.

---

We'd said we were going to let this initial fire go out, and rekindle it in 10 days after the milder weather ahead has passed. But we weakened and tossed in an armload of gnarly wood we brought from Goose Creek, for one more night of wood-warmth. And so begins our warmer winter of 2022.

Our e-bill per month is the baseline of $8.93. And Big Coal and UnNatural Gas are out of the loop!