Small things matter

[Joeboy]

Our used slate placemats from the charity shop arrived late today. Hoping to cut and fit tomorrow and keep the remainder for Xmas central strip on table.

[Joeboy]

In the meantime we are using the Woodstove & Turkish clamshell pan to cook spiced chicken and mushrooms on a bed of noodles.

[Joeboy]

Slate cooking surface extensions fitted today. Diamond tipped cutting disc went through well. Happy days! Left hand plate hits 120 deg with the RH hitting 150 degs. A huge difference in the house as fire not on until 13.00hrs as we were out doing work at MIL house this morning and I wanted to do the work today on a cold stove. Looking forward to cooking 4 pots on the stove from now on. This has been an enormously satisfying wee project. Simple materials and no moving parts. I consider it to be a strong upgrade and would advise anyone with a freestanding woodstove to try it. Although maybe not the cladding..... Cheers!

[Joeboy]

Hail stotting off the velux(i) upstairs this morn so up and about at 3 am. Thermal mass putting out in the high 50's and the 3 linked rooms downstairs are at 17.5 deg. Moments really to get the fire going again and set for the day. Not sure if this is true or my imagination, the fire has six air in settings (notches). We used to run the fire when a good bed of coals had developed at just above setting 2 to 2.5, we are now at 1.5. This might not sound significant but at bang on 2 prior to this work we would be choking the fire and having to run it at setting 3 for a bit. The increments really are that fine on this. The fire will now run happily all night at 1.5 air in, softwoods and about 290 degs on the outside flanks on firebox than are non mass covered. I will have a hardwood burn soon and should easily push that up to 350 degs but in all honesty we don't need it. Low, slow with lazy flames and belting out the heat is the way to go! What a learning curve the past year has been!

As far as I can ascertain the flue temp is within 1 deg of its preworks(56 degs). That temp is taken at the point where the twinwall flue exits the room thru the plasterboard.

I had written previously at my surprise at the capability of the modified WS to null the requirement for GCH so far into November. This could partly be that we have continued to adjust our use of the WS compared to last Winter. By this i mean drier logs, improved fuel/air mix, setting fire for a late burn as well. Alongside these changes are of course the addition of the thermal mass. As we are now in the minus days (mostly) I kick the GCH on in the rest of the house (10 rooms) for around an hour. I am still amazed at the 1.2MWh of gas saved in November compared to previous year.

For comparison these are our November gas use records that we have on file (16)-3,476kWh (17)-3,422kWh (18)-2,596kWh (19)-3,157kWh (20)-2,299kWh (21)-1,089kWh. That's a 69% reduction in gas use from 2016 to last month.

Even got Classic FM on nice and quiet, sadly not powered off of WS! SWMBO who's turn for 3am was the previous day is sleeping soundly. I am aware that I keep posting simple thoughts on this wee project. Its in the hope that there's another fella or lassie out there who reads it and has a crack at it. Its a very effective way of closing the cold gap thru the night. Especially if you are running a no slumber woodstove of smaller size. Today I will be trying out my extended cooking space for mac cheese and crisy bacon. Oh yes, bacon....

Onto the mental side of things. Being able to provide for the family in heat and food cooking is such a satisfying visceral feeling. If you read this, have a WS and don't cook on it you are missing a massive benefit. Get intae it! There's a whole self sufficient, old skool satisfaction in it. As BugtownBoy said 'There's an Umami Infusion in WS cooked food' (serious paraphrasing going on there). He's right though, something is added.

The UK wide grid failures since Storm Arwen have brought into reality something that SWMBO & I had until then only discussed as a 'what if'?

Its now 5am and SWMBO has just shouted down for a cuppa, away back to bed now. Air temp up there on Hive? 12.1 degs!

[Fintray]

The UK wide grid failures since Storm Arwen have brought into reality something that SWMBO & I had until then only discussed as a 'what if'?

Thank god for woodstoves, there would be a lot of very cold people up here in the NE of Scotland if it wasn't for them!

[Joeboy]

The UK wide grid failures since Storm Arwen have brought into reality something that SWMBO & I had until then only discussed as a 'what if'?

Thank god for woodstoves, there would be a lot of very cold people up here in the NE of Scotland if it wasn't for them!

How ye doing Iain, taken down any sabretooths? Are you back up and running?

[Fintray]

Hi Joe

Mains power was restored on Tuesday about 13:30hrs a day after I hired a genny as getting fed up of looking at the woodstove for entertainment by then!
First priority job on my list is to get my own genny (which I've had for about 25 years) that is sitting in the garage on a concrete plinth wired into the auto-start and auto-changeover control panel finally wired to the mains and fit the exhaust and fuel supply so I'm not in the position of no power for such a prolonged period again...

[Joeboy]

Hi Joe

Mains power was restored on Tuesday about 13:30hrs a day after I hired a genny as getting fed up of looking at the woodstove for entertainment by then!
First priority job on my list is to get my own genny (which I've had for about 25 years) that is sitting in the garage on a concrete plinth wired into the auto-start and auto-changeover control panel finally wired to the mains and fit the exhaust and fuel supply so I'm not in the position of no power for such a prolonged period again...

An.interesting project, glad to hear you are up and running. Drove up from Glasgow night after the storm. Never seen so many trees down in one go. Kingsway in Dundee in particular. Straloch & Haddo estate's will be OK for logs for a decade!

[Andy]

Mains power was restored on Tuesday about 13:30hrs a day after I hired a genny as getting fed up of looking at the woodstove for entertainment by then!

You must have got the last one! I phoned every where with no luck

[Fintray]

Mains power was restored on Tuesday about 13:30hrs a day after I hired a genny as getting fed up of looking at the woodstove for entertainment by then!

You must have got the last one! I phoned every where with no luck

I've returned it so one is now available..