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["Robert Walton" <waltonrp AT gmail.com>]

> I don't know how everyone else does it, but I close off all doors off
> the main room(LR/Kit) and get that area warm (14x25?), then I start
> opening bedroom/bathroom doors to moderate the heat.  If temps drop off,
> I close last door opened and add more wood to the stove.

That's the way I do it. I always close off doors of rooms I don't use.
Then open or close to regulate temps. Whenever I have city family
visit, they just don't get it. They want to close the doors for
privacy so they freeze.


> On days like today, I try to use the dry, old, mostly rotten stuff to
> get the fire going, then add the oak and hickory to get the heat pumping.
> I've already got half my porch loaded, so I've got the rest to do before
> dark, and that means about 15 minutes from now...time to work..
>

I do the same. Work the wood. I have a lot of gum. Some of it I cut
the logs in 12" or so lengths and then split into chunks. Those work
good on a day that is not too cold or when I can tend the fire a lot.
The oak and maple gets saved for nights like tonight. I always keep
the junk wood to the front of the box and the good stuff to the back.

Rob - Va