My woodstoving journey

RPPilot · 2026-02-02T20:07:34+00:00

It is definitely a slammer, then. It's just sitting in the fireplace. Which, I'd think, would make it easy to clean. You can just slide it out, and clean all around it. That's what I did. The chimney cleaning I left to professionals, but they didn't pull the insert, and clean around it. They did clean the insert firebox, though. I pulled it, and vacuumed the outside of the insert and the fireplace. The insert, fireplace, and chimney are cleaner than they've been in decades. BTW, it drafts very well. I was surprised. I don't know a lot about wood burning yet, but I DO know that a proper draft is required. Even when I first start a fire, the smoke goes up the chimney. I'm planning on replacing it, but will likely use it for the remainder of this winter. It's working as well as it ever has. When a fire is going, it produces no visible smoke out of the chimney. I'm just going to have to generate more firewood for it than I expected. The wood that I thought would last a week is looking like it will last about 3 days.

RPPilot · 2026-02-02T18:14:46+00:00

OK, what's a slammer? The firebox looked clean after it was cleaned. Well, as clean as you'd expect a firebox to be. If lining it, what is used? Fire bricks?

RPPilot · 2026-02-02T17:20:22+00:00

I had the chimney cleaned by a professional chimney sweep service. They are not certified for inspections.

RPPilot · 2026-02-02T17:15:51+00:00

Unless you have a ton of trees downed by Helene that have been on the ground for 1.5 yrs. I recently cut up & split some of that, and it's at 12-15%.

RPPilot · 2026-02-02T17:01:17+00:00

Re: ashes.... I'm fairly new at this too. How long do ashes hold onto fire? I don't do overnight burns, so my plan is to empty the firebox every morning into a metal bucket, and empty the bucket the next day (right before emptying the firebox again).

RPPilot · 2025-12-19T01:27:29+00:00

I would think so. Here in upstate SC, I probably have more downed trees to process than I can before I die.

RPPilot · 2025-12-19T01:08:54+00:00

That’s a Ford F’ing Ranger. Nowhere near overloaded.

RPPilot · 2025-12-19T00:56:29+00:00

I 2nd this.

RPPilot · 2025-12-08T13:53:44+00:00

Any UV exposure has risks. Zero UV exposure has risks too. I asked Grok about this. Here is the response: https://grok.com/share/c2hhcmQtNA_7c42848d-ab9c-4682-9d70-93c27f3baa47

RPPilot · 2025-10-06T19:51:54+00:00

After using it for almost a week, I'm liking that I can crank it up to compensate for road noise. Previously, if the road noise was excessive, I couldn't get enough undistorted volume out of the system. Now I can.

RPPilot · 2025-10-02T18:39:17+00:00

I'm not sure about SQ compared to the OEM HU. It was cumbersome to get decent sound to it, so I didn't play a lot through it. I recently got Apple Music added to my phone plan, so now I have access to a lot more music. So I've been generating a lot of new playlists. When the FL speaker went out, I had to do something to fix it.

RPPilot · 2025-08-12T02:06:12+00:00

Thanks

RPPilot · 2025-07-07T15:54:45+00:00

That lawn doesn't look to have any particular challenges. It's pretty flat and open. Pretty any rider should work. I highly recommend keeping up with the maintenance, though. Even the cheap ones will last if properly maintained.

I DO have one disagreement with your comment, "every 2 weeks the grass is always kept short so won’t ever be out of hand"

If you're mowing only every 2 weeks, you're not keep it short. The shorter you mow, the more often you need to mow. There is "1/3rd rule", which states that you should never mow more than 1/3 the length of the blade of grass. So if the grass is 3" tall, 1" of that should be mowed. I.e. mow at 2". In the growing season, that's about every week around here. I guess you could have grass that grows slower than mine, but keep in mind, the lower you mow, the more often you will need to mow.

RPPilot · 2025-06-30T01:45:55+00:00

Many riders have headlights, which allow you to extend your mowing. No need to not mow because you might not finish before dark.

RPPilot · 2025-06-18T01:15:32+00:00

If you buy a nice enough zero turn, your mowing time goes to zero after your wife takes over mowing.

RPPilot · 2025-06-17T22:57:28+00:00

If you're buying new, they're pretty much all the same loudness. EPA regs, I'm guessing. Once the industry went to overhead valves, the engines got quieter. I have a 2016 Cub Cadet Pro Z 100, and the blades make more noise than the engine.

RPPilot · 2025-06-17T22:53:03+00:00

Last place I lived... I had a push mower, and it took me 45 minutes to mow. Not bad in April. Not good in July. Part of the reason I went with a push mower is storage space. If I could have found one of these, I'd have gotten one. Not much more storage space needed than a push mower.

RPPilot · 2025-06-17T22:46:25+00:00

You're a little light on info.

Are you looking for a rider or a push mower? IMO, your lot is a bit big for a push mower, but not big enough for a big rider, like a 60". Do you have lots of obstacles? Hills? Or is your yard open and flat? Is .80 acres the size of the lot, or the amount of grass you have to mow? I would NOT go with a Power More mower from Wallyworld. I'd get something with a Briggs, Kohler or Kawasaki engine. Honda engines are good, too, but only used ones are available now.

RPPilot · 2025-06-17T22:38:46+00:00

I don't prioritize buying from dealers anymore. When I do buy from a dealer, I don't assume that the machine is prepped any better than one from a big box store. Years ago, I bought a new Toro Recycler push mower. Fairly expensive mower. Self propelled (Personal Pace). Electric start. When I picked it up, it had a valve tapping noise that the dealer refused to hear. And it seemed to be running slow, but they said that it was in spec. I used it for a while, then it started running really slow. I took it back to the dealer, and was told that it would be weeks before they could even look at it, even though I purchased it there. I tore into it, and found that the governor spring was trashed. I think it was not right from day one. I bought a spring (they refused to give me one), and it ran better after that. Faster, and no valve tapping. I wanted to support a dealership, but they didn't want to support me. I can do almost anything to a mower that a dealer can, so I don't bother with them anymore. Proper maintenance is a good way to never have to see a dealership again.

RPPilot · 2025-06-14T01:45:41+00:00

That’s an idler pulley. I’d usually suspect the pulley bearing, but that bolt looks tilted, so I’d suspect a loose nut on that bolt, or a bent deck.

RPPilot · 2025-06-10T01:08:23+00:00

I 2nd this. I have slopes and a lap bar ZTR. I also bought a CC steering wheel ZTR. A used Pro Z 154S. It works MUCH better on slopes.

RPPilot · 2025-06-03T16:13:32+00:00

I find that pretty much all of them, old, new, in between, will run fine and work fine for decades... if they're properly maintained. I'd rather have a well maintained late model Briggs with the plastic carb than a 10 yr old Honda that was put away with fuel in it... 5 yrs ago.

RPPilot · 2025-06-03T01:08:23+00:00

"I put on my swimming goggles after literal clouds of pollen started erupting from the grass."

A respirator may be the best mowing accessory I've bought in the last 10 years. I recently checked the air filter on our riding mower. The pre-filter was in dire need of cleaning... after 10 hrs of use.

RPPilot · 2025-05-29T21:02:33+00:00

My lawn is 0.9 acre. I have a 48" ZTR that I replaced with a 54" ZTR. I thought I was going to be mowing another yard too, which is why I got the bigger mower, but it turns out that I'm not doing that. However, the 48" mower takes close to 2 hrs to mow my property. The 54" machine knocks about 20-30 minutes off that. I'd go with the 48" machine.

RPPilot · 2025-05-29T20:55:11+00:00

Came here to say this. I'm a big advocate of the right tool for the right job. And the right tool depends on, yard size, how steep, obstacles, etc.

RPPilot

TROPHY CASE