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By Dave, January 8, 2006 10:06 am

Been trying to stay warm is about all here. Course been having to put up blueboard and finish some things to do that.

Got the duct installed into the trailer and up to within a foot of the ceiling in the aerie, with a fan sitting on top blowing down. Helps cool this area and warms the trailer nicely. Once the thermal mass wall is done and separates the greenhouse from the common room and aerie, I think the temperature will be easier to maintain too.

Had a brain spasm just now concerning the thermal mass wall. Wondering about putting a couple of water heater tanks in the wall and using them in a separate solar/geothermal heating/cooling system. Separate from the woodburning heater that is. And I can always install a set of coils in one of the bells of the stove when additional btu’s are needed too. With a line to the creek (which I keep thinking about) and a small pump I can cool the wall in the summer also. Gonna have to rethink a lot of this. Knew there was some reason I quit working on it when I did…

About figured out the new heaters operational habits. No real creosote stink in several days and have achieved top temps of 375 f as of this am so am going to call it workable. Still need to move it. But to do that I need to reconfigure the inside of the greenhouse and put in shelves and do a lot of things that I have been putting off. Guess its time to do them though cause I can’t start on the newer, bigger, better, faster, stronger heater till I get this one moved…

Update and clarification of the top temp of 375. This is the temperature as measured with an oven thermometer sitting on top of the stove 4 inches in front of the flue. I’ve found that if I can get it to 300 at this point that the smoke clears up and mostly heatwaves are emitting from the chimney.

Will try to get to other things like backed up email sometime today…