Im from Wisconsin, have been burning wood my whole life. Am 65. I have a soap stone wood stove in the great room in my home. No blowers but have 2 Sterling engine fans to move air. It does a good job till it gets around zero. 8 years ago i installed a wood boiler. It takes a lot of wood but it will burn big un split blocks. I dont split anything for the boiler unless its to heavy or to big to fit the boiler opening. Now a days i make wood a tractor bucket at a time and just dump it in a pile. This saves a lot of labor. However we still enjoy using the soap stone wood burner as it has a nice window to view the fire. Its very nice to set in front of this stove when its really nasty out. So i still make some smaller fire wood for this stove. I try to use mostly dead elm in this stove. The big diameter blocks go in the boiler pile and the small diameter wood gets stacked for the soap stone stove. Its a great feeling to have a good supply of wood cut and ready. In these times you never know what the availability of fossil fuel will be. Currently im setting on a 3 year supply of boiler wood and a years worth of small wood for the inside stove. Also if we ever loose power we can still cook our food as well as stay warm. I will keep burning wood until im no longer physically able to do so! Happy Holidays to everyone!!!
I hope you're friendly with some youngins. Back where I'm from, we didn't have many wood burners, but when the old-timers did, we'd go and stack em wood once or twice a year. Respect your elders and be kind to kids.
Neil, you nailed it! When you experience the ambience and immediate feelings that you get from a wood fire… you begin to understand why so many of us still cling to wood fire as our preferred heat source. I’ve spent almost all of my life in homes with wood heat. The coldest I’ve felt indoors, were mild winters spent with gas or electric heat sources. At one point in my teen years, we lived in an old log cabin farmhouse. The windows leaked like a door left open. They glazed over with ice. But, the pot belly stove glowing like a horseshoe on the anvil gave ample heat to the three bedroom house. Sure, we had to have a fan to move it around. We had to sleep with the doors open to circulate the air. Getting up in the middle of the night to maintain the temperature was given… as was the need to manage wood supply and ashes too. But, I don’t remember ever feeling as cold as I did just this past week… We spent Christmas in Florida. The temperature dropped to 28f outside. Their electric central heat system was set at 70f. Everyone sat around with hoodies and blankets on… having no ‘hot spot’ to migrate to was the one thing I sorely missed. I could hardly wait until we got home this morning and realigned the universe by firing up our fireplace. I’m typing this now as I sit on the hearth and absorb millions of BTU’s into my back and thaw my soul with satisfaction that I’d invested the time and effort for just this moment. I suppose that’s a way of life that one just has to experience to appreciate. Thank you sir for illuminating the value and fondness that only comes from wood sourced heat. Merry Christmas to you and the ladies.
I love this comment. You have such a wonderful way of putting emotions into words. I'm glad you got to spend Christmas in Florida with family and thankful that you enjoyed getting back to the fireplace though at the same time! Thanks for bringing so much value to the comment section for me Dave. Hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year!
My grandpa always had two wood stoves in his workshop. One was to get the shop warmed up quickly in the morning. The other was a slow burner to keep it warm all day. One was a "Warm Morning" brand. My dad told me one time they tossed some chunks of large industrial belting in the stove and the whole thing was glowing red.
I can believe that for sure! When I lived here before we were married, my buddies and I put some coal in that stove that's in our block house. The stove pipe got cherry red and it was glowing half the night! It's awesome to hear everyone's firewood stories. Thanks Wes, I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year!
My great grandparents, grandparents, and parents all burned wood in their farm houses. None of their homes ever had centralized heat. I remember the ice on the inside of the windows of our unheated upstairs bedrooms as a kid. I started heating with wood when I first bought the 20 acre property we live on today because I couldn't afford fuel oil. Years later when when we finally built a new home we added thermo-electric storage as a backup heat that we rarely use. Wood heat is in my blood and I never feel safe until my kindling box and wood box are full when a storm is on the way. Merrry Christmas to you and you whole family Neil. Looking forward to your channel in 2023.
You did a great job of capturing the wood burning mindset and at the same time giving a really cool look a some really unique wood stoves. Appreciate the work you put into your videos!
Here in northern nevada we made sure when we bought our house that we had a fireplace. We converted that fireplace into a hearth complete with pot holders because the power tends to go out as well around here and we have four kids to keep warm and feed. And over this last summer, someone posted six trailers worth of seasoned firewood for 250.00 because they were moving. We jumped on it asap and got it all. All rounds. We took it home and rented a wood splitter for a day and split it all with four people to keep it moving fast. Ended up lining the fence portion of our side yard fence end to end.
My grandfather heated his small house with wood. Remember chopping and cutting wood for him. It got so warm he would sit on the porch, but the back rooms were cold. Only issue he had was at night he would turn the stove down low and created creosote when I got older I'd go on the roof with a rope, chimney brush and chain to clean the chimney. In my last three years of school, I went to technical school for masonry. Couple years later, I worked for a mason and we rebuilt an old 1680 chimney. Pretty much had a fire place in each of four rooms. First floor had for cooking with a beehive oven, hooks for pots. Second floor heat bedrooms. Chimney was huge, took us 6 months I believe. Sun baked bricks from Maine, clay, Portland and lime mortar. Merry Christmas, God bless to you and to all. 🙏
Those are some great stories and a fascinating learning experience for you I'm sure. I appreciate you sharing. Hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year!
I will be 70 in March and growing up in the 50s and 60s wood heat was all I new. It was what my brothers and I were responsible for and it kept us out of the kitchen except to keep the big old Amish wood stove and oven supplied with wood and also to keep the attached water container full. I wish to say the stove was Amish style but we were not Amish. My Mother and my older sisters cooked up all our families meals there in the winter and my Father built a separate summer cook house that had another cooking stove because who wants to run a big stove in the house during the summer when it's 80 degrees or more. The living room had another old wood stove and like your Father said the heat upstairs came through vents in the ceiling but I treasure those years in my mind. I have a modern next generation wood stove insert today that is 87% efficient compared to the old stoves that sent a lot of heat up the chimney. I also have a pellet stove and a furnace that almost never comes on. Thanks for sharing your memories and letting me share mine.
I'm so glad you won that trip to MORR, for your sake AND for mine....I otherwise would not have discovered your channel. I really like your content on youtube! This one was especially interesting and cozy!! Merry Christmas!!
Thanks so much! I'm really glad to hear that you found us through that way. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year!
Merry Christmas Neil. I watched your last video about doing something everyday on your engine switch on the little tractor and took it to heart. I have a lot more "excuses" than you for not getting anything done. I am old, I am tired, I am busy watching Dig-Drive-DIY, it is raining, etc etc etc. But since I watched that video I have managed to do SOMETHING everyday. Thank you for doing what you do.
That's great to hear Don. Especially like the part where you watch Dig-Drive-DIY! :) I've been staying true to my commitment and working on my little tractor every day as well. Thanks for dropping a line and hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a happy new year.
I will have to agree, wood burning does build character. My children have always helped in dropping, cutting, gathering, splitting, stacking, moving then burning wood for our stove (Lopi is the brand). Our wood stove supplements our oil burner. Stove starts in Nov and usually I stop sometime in April. It also saves a lot of money especially now considering the cost of heating oil per/gal. I have always said to my kids from when they were little to now older teenager, "we may not had a wealthy upbringing, but I have given you a rich life". They are excellent with saving and being frugal in their shopping. They are super tight siblings that support each other like no other siblings I have met from other families. I now have a rich life with them around. 🙂 Happy Holidays!!
Many thanks to the Koch family for another great year of videos. In the foothills of North Carolina we had a Christmas morning of 6 F, rolling electrical blackouts, and we considered ourselves lucky to have no burst pipes. This morning was a balmy 16....Thanks again for all the thought and time behind my favorite on screen entertainment. And Happy New Year!
I have so many great memories of falling asleep on cold winter nights in front of my grandparents wood burning fireplace on their farm. Love this video.
Hell you ain’t kidding having a hard time keeping the house warm with the wood burner. Furnace kicks on right after it kicks off (if it shuts off) going to be an expensive Christmas this year
I was raised on a cattle ranch and can remember putting burlap sacks on our windows. Put up in December until March. We didn't have a furnace but used electric blankets at night. All we had for heat was a wood stove in the living room. The back bedrooms would be just above freezing most nights. We were so used to it we didn't even notice it. Later on after moving out my apartment had a furnace and I never used it. I was just so used to the cold. Now that I'm 50 years old I still love my wood stove. It's pure comfort.
I appreciate the tour and getting Pop to tell the stories. As far as cutting wood to build character, there's an old saying. Strong men make for easy times, easy times make soft men. Soft men make for hard times. Like you, I believe everyone should experience a little struggle in their lives. I feel like it teaches work ethic and makes one appreciate it when you don't have to struggle. Merry Christmas my friend.
I wish I knew these sayings when I made these videos. That's a great way of putting it and I have never heard that saying. Thanks so much for always being a faithful viewer. Hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year!
@@digdrivediy Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” The quote is from a postapocalyptic novel by the author G. Michael Hopf I have a heat pump that kept my house 65 when it was 6 outside last Friday. Would love to have a wood burner but I don’t. Propane gas backup for now. Maybe one day. Used wood heat when I was younger though. Happy new year
We had two Coles in our farm house until 1961. My dad removed them after a close call that nearly started the living room on fire. -14 F here in central Wisconsin the other day. Great video. Merry Christmas.
Excellent Video especially for another wood burning guy! Grew up with wood and coal heat. Dads house has a central wood boiler in the basement with radiators in each room. Talk about good heat now that is! Merry Christmas!
Neil, I agree with you on character building and hauling firewood. I did as a youngster and it has good memories of my Dad, myself, and our neighbors out helping each other cut wood for the winter. I don't have a place to cut wood but I get haul some a 91 year old man in our church. It's work but also still enjoy it. Thanks, Eric
This is an awesome video! Your story telling skills are wonderful and the biggest takeaway I got for reasons to burn wood is feeling of accomplishment for producing your own heat. I grew up cutting and processing our own wood to primarily heat our home. This video really got me thinking and put it in perspective for me. Thank you!
Merry Christmas to all. My dad is gone. I can remember him saying he had carried enough firewood, ashes and clinkers that he was not doing it anymore. We had friends that used coal to heat. They gave me a few bucks to ride my bicycle across town to keep their coal furnace fired when they were out of town.
Merry Christmas! My dad gave up on the firewood about 30 years ago. I guess. He still helps me though obviously. I love hearing about the different firewood stories. Thanks as always.
I grew up in a house that was built in 1847. We had a wood-coal burner in the living room and one in the kitchen. The only heat to the upstairs bedroom, was the chimney pipe that came up threw the floor and elbowed into the chimney. On cold nights, Mom would put a couple big chunks of coal in the living room stove, to make sure there were coals left in the morning, but coal cost money, and wood was readily available. Dad told me about an early wood cutting experience that he had. It would have been 1930, when he was 12 years old. He and Grandpa got up one morning, went out to do chores, came in for breakfast, then went back out and hitched the team to the bobsled. They headed for Beaver Island on the Mississippi with the wagon box on the sled and a 2 man crosscut saw. He said they spent most of the day cutting wood and loading the wagon, then stopped in town after crossing back over the main channel on the ice. He said he knew it was COLD, because they had to walk along side the wagon to keep warm(too cold to ride). A short visit at the blacksmith shop and the thermometer said 12 below zero. They got home in time to do evening chores and eat supper, before a good nights rest. I heated with wood for 30 years and now use a corn burning pellet stove. It's just not the same, but great heat.
Merry Christmas from Iowa, I'm doing the same thing with this weather my wood stove and furnace going all the time. Can't wait for the next video, really like the ones with your boiler very interested.
Thanks for the good video. Reminds me of the old hose I grew up in. That small stove is a cylinder stove not a pot belly. We went through on old cylinder stove and then replaced it with an all cast iron cylinder stove. The kitchen end of the house was an addition to the original late 1800s construction. It was always the cold end of the house so a wood stove made it much more comfortable.
Thank you for a great video Neil. Even that wee have district heating her in Denmark, I love to make my Owen firewood every year, and feel the heat from our 2 woodburners. Marry Chrismas
That fireplace is a von Rumford design. The angled sides help reflect more heat out as opposed to just a square box. I had a metal cone type in an apartment in San Diego, and I'd use it on cold and wet days there. My cat loved laying in front of it. Happy New Year! 😊
Thanks for Sharing. Like you We also grew up with Wood Heat. We installed a Wood Stove last Winter. We Love the Heat it puts off. My Boss said to me, How many times do you handle the Wood? 6-7 times. But the Heat is worth it. When it's-20 c the Wind Blowing outside and you come sit by the Fire, it's the Best.
Northern Europe was the place where the masonry stove came into being. They did it right. And today's masonry stove design is fairly good without the need for constant stoking and it's safe.
That corn cob insulation is so innovative from a long time ago. This is s great video about basic principles built on hard work and grit while using "inconvenient" past practices... this is Americana.
I have a heat pump here in upper South Carolina but I primarily heat with wood stov. I grew up heating with wood and coal and went back to the tradition in 1977 when my house was built.
When I was a young kid the first source of heat I remember was a big oil heater that sat in the living room where an old fireplace was. We had 3 55 gallon barrels in the back yard on a rack where they were on their side. With a spout welded in the end. We had to carry the oil by hand. When we moved to the farm, we had one fireplace that burned coal. Many nights we would sit in rocking chairs and just watch the fire. No TV or radio just the fire. I remember when gas pockets would soften and blow out a jet of flame along with the sound. It was smelly but I enjoyed it the most. Then we moved back to town in an old house with high ceilings. Each room had a natural gas heater. Our last move as a family was to a house that had a large metal box in the hallway floor with 8 electric stacks. From that time until today we’ve had electric heat pumps. Efficient and quiet but it takes some of the fun out of sitting around the fire.
Well Neil...It's 'next year' and my how it's such a contrast, weather wise! On Christmas Day here in Northeast Iowa (in 2 days) it's supposed to be 54 degrees and RAIN! My wife and I were actually thinking about going Trout fishing! lol. But it's all about to change just after Christmas. Old Man Winter won't be denied his 'prize' for long! Thankfully, we also have a wood stove, along with a fresh 1000 gallon fill of LP! We're ready...so.... #BRINGIT! Merry Christmas to you and yours 2023!
Merry Christmas Koch family. Another great video as I watch it sitting beside my wood stove on this -16 degree real feel Christmas morning waiting for my daughters n wife to wake up lol god bless
I saw -9 on the thermostat but the winds were killer. They were saying -30 wind chill and I believe it. It was about the worst I had ever experienced outside.
Yeah I liked it, so I'll see you next year😉. This video brought back so many memories from my childhood and later when I moved to Sweden. I have been thinking about you and your family the last couple of days because the weather situation in the USA is all over the news here too. God Jul och Gott Nytt År/Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
I think we made it through the worst of it. Just didn't spend very much time outside! Thanks for thinking of us and I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a happy new year!
The girls hanging out in front of the old wood stove reminds me of myself and my sisters growing up doing exactly the same thing in front of our large brick and stone fireplace 40 odd years ago. It wasn't our primary heat source, but during cold winters or power outages it was all but literally a life saver.
What a Great Video Neil... I have in-floor Heat from the OWB, and man is it nice to walk around Bear foot on a nice warm floor. I have some slippers to sell if any one wants some size 13's LOL... Mike M.
Merry Christmas from Darke County,Ohio. Growing up we had an old earth stove as a main source of heat. Supplemented thankfully by a few small electric baseboard heaters upstairs where the bedrooms were. But there is nothing like wood heat. I heat my house with a wood burning insert and it has been awesome. Especially though this cold snap we’ve had. Living simple is the best kind of living. Even if it takes a little more work, it gives you a sense of satisfaction and we’ll being. Really enjoy your videos as I can relate to all of them. Again, Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I would have watched this yesterday but 1. I was cooking all day and 2. we only just got our internet back. Merry Christmas to all of you and your extended family! The 1909 farm house I grew up in had three huge chimneys, one at each end of the house. They went from the basement all the way up. The Kitchen had two stoves in it. One was a wood and coal burning cast iron monstrosity that three places to burn wood or coal (one on each end and one in the middle between two ovens) and the other was a propane stove/oven/range in what was the summer kitchen that was enclosed as an addition to the kitchen. The dining room and living room were opposite of each other with a stairwell in between going up to the second floor and the bedrooms. The dining room fireplace was a majestic combination of glazed tile, white marble and curly maple surround featuring a huge beveled edge mirror with shelves for candles or oil lamps. The living room fireplace had this amazing green and black marble with a matching curly maple surround identical to the one in the dining room. The bedrooms didn't have fireplaces, but they each had a 20" cast iron wood burning stove and each stove pipe connected to the same chimneys from the room below, except the bathroom. Those were neat in my opinion since you didn't add the wood to the end of the stoves but the middle. The long side dropped down (like when you open an oven) to place the wood in and the ash box dropped from the underside of the stove My bedroom which was above the dining room, also had an extra door which led to the stairwell that led to the attic. My brother's room was above the kitchen but the bathroom was carved out of his room, so it was a bit smaller. My parent's room was above the living room. The basement was the entire footprint of the house, except the kitchen and summer kitchen which was a four foot tall crawlspace. The space under the dining room had a massive fireplace built into the foundation that had four ovens built into the fireplace. I can imagine all of the baked goods that had been baked there. Unfortunately, whomever owned the house before us "upgraded" to a huge coal and wood burning furnace and boiler system placed right in front of the existing fireplace. Talk about an eyesore. Then that boiler was upgraded with an oil burning blower and my dad in turn upgraded that to natural gas. Before the upgrade to natural gas, we would still burn wood and coal in it when money was too tight for the fuel oil. I told you about when my brother and I would walk the train tracks to find coal that fell off of the train cars, right? I don't think that the house I grew up in is there anymore. I've gone to Google Maps out of curiosity and the entire area is unrecognizable now. Thank you for the video, Neil 🥰🥰🤗🤗😘😘 I loved seeing all of the different wood burners you have encountered in your life. The neatest was the stove in the block house. My father's friend, Mr. Bob, had one exactly like it in his living room. Happy New Year 🎉🎉🎊🎊 and see you next year in your next video 🥰🥰🤗🤗😘😘
I love the stories Susie. Sounds like you had the same type of character building upbringing that many of the folks around here had. It makes for quite fine people indeed. Hope you had a great holiday and happy New Year to you and yours!
I live in VT and have two stoves, one in the basement and one in the living room. The one in the living room is used most of the cold winter. We have our own wood lot and can relate to your speech on earning your comfort. It make you appreciate the easy things in life more. Besides, fooling with wood keep you young at heart.
Love my 2 wood stoves ones a fisher momma bear the other is an Appalachian buck, both are great, but my favorite is the fisher. Been exposed to wood heat my whole life, my mom and dad burned wood in a fireplace until the oil shortage in the 70s then installed a buck stove insert in 1978. I was 11 and some of my fondest memories are cutting and skidding logs on the mountain with my dad, it was hard work but hard work builds character. Unfortunately my dad passed away 11 years ago I still can’t cut or split wood without thinking about him. I still have and run his old blue homelite xl12 chainsaw a couple times a year with my adult son and telling him stories about the adventures of cutting firewood with my dad. Firewood is more than just heat it’s about building memories and building character for future generations to come. Thank you for your video.
Here in Alabama it got down to 5 during that cold snap. I grew up with only the wood heat. First a heater, then an insert with fan. As a kid, I hated cutting, hauling, splitting, loading, stacking and over and over the firewood. However, in hindsight, it did build character. If I ever build another house, I want a wood burner in a basement with blower and plumbed to run radiant floor heating....in addition to a duel fuel furnace, of course.
Wierd weather this year. 45* and not a drop of snow around here in far northern Maine on Christmas Day. I did the wood for years untill I bought a pellet furnace. Set it and forget it till ya fill the box once a day. Same nice wood heat kinda but only handling it twice and easy clean up. My body can’t do wood anymore anyway. Chainsaw is only used for fallen trees in the yard and campfires now…. Merry Christmas from mine to yours Neil!
Good Morning and Merry Christmas! Fun little video, thanks for sharing your life, your family and your ethics with us all. I've really enjoyed finding and watching your channel. Blessings for Christmas and the New Year, stay well, stay safe!
My family use wood for heating and i can tell you that it's better not only for heating but also for cooking depending on the wood you burn you get different fermeture also the whole relaxing sound of wood cracking in the stove makes you feel at home
Thanks for sharing, I know with the wind and Temps I keep thinking I will see chunks of wood coming out of the chimney. It does burn up quick. I don't have a gas bill or electric bill affected by it like some do. I still enjoy the whole process after 25 plus years of burning wood. My boiler outside did get me away from chimney watch on really cold nights. I lost sleep to that more than once.
Best part of a wood stove in my opinion is warming up my work boots by the fire before work makes a cold day on the job site just a little easier Merry Christmas and a happy New Year
Great video, always enjoy what you have to say. Burning wood is great but I moved to town and now nowhere to store the wood so that's that. Hope you had a great Christmas and am looking forward to a great New Year for everyone. Peace
Great video! Just something about a fireplace that brings the family together! By the way, the burn the finger clip was a great way to close it out! 😂 Merry Christmas to you and your family! 🎄🔥 🪵
I grew up with baseboard heat as the back up to our wood stove. Every summer my Dad got a few cords of wood which was basically a large pile of tree trunks. He cut them into the right size pieces over the summer and he and I split and stacked them over the fall. We used the year prior wood as it was nice and dry. I was the only 10 year old girl in school who knew how to swing a sledge hammer, use a splitting wedge, ax to make kindling, and use an upright gas powered pneumatic log splitter. Heck I don’t even think the boys in my class would have even know what that was! Every morning was freezing but once I got the fire started It would warm up quickly. I used to lay my clothes on top of the stove vent to warm them for a few moments before getting dressed. I would love to have that again. It is a lot of work but there is NO warmth like the warmth from a fire or wood burning stove. Maybe when I retire I can have that again. Ooh I am pretty sure it was a “Hearth Deluxe” it may have been a “HeartWood” as they look very similar, but the Hearth Deluxe just hits my memory more precisely. I would get one of those again for my basement, but I would like to get one with a window for my main floor. ☺️
Nicely done. Those girls are the cutest things I have ever seen : ) And those perfectly-toasted marshmallows look so great. I can never get them just right like that.
