Heating with Biomass....Finally!

We have finally got our wood stove installed. As it turned out the installation was the easiest bit, largely because I agonized over the details before ordering the parts, consequently they all fit perfectly and are operating as designed. Even breaking through the chimney was no big deal, turns out this side is only 1 brick thick so it only took about an hour to open up a hole big enough for the stove pipe. We used a liner all the way to the top of the chimney so we decided we didn't need to totally block off the fireplace on the other side. We just closed the flue and will probably stack a bunch of stone or urbancrete in there to add thermal mass and insure it never gets used again. The real work has been tearing out the wall and building a post and beam structure to support the upstairs floor. That part is still not finished, nor is the floor in the parlour tiled yet (we can't agree on the tiles). We put down some concrete board and laid a few remnant tiles on top to form the pad and protect the subfloor from cinders. You also see in the picture the silver outside air pipe leading around the corner to a hole in the floor. It is currently drawing air from the crawlspace/basement but will eventually be routed to the outside. This prevents the stove from cooling down the house by pulling indoor warm air thus requiring outdoor cold air to replace it. The same effect is why fireplaces are so bad at heating houses.

The other real time consumer has been dealing with the firewood. Since I forage the neighborhood for it on trash day, it has been coming in for many months and initially I cut it too large. This required cutting it all down to fit our smaller than expected stove. Also, I had collected so much that it was stacked in such a way that the driest wood was inaccessible behind the wettest. So I clearly had to rearrange the several tons of wood I already had and prepare the way for that which is still coming in. We have been heating with wood for several weeks now and it is amazing how quickly we are going through it. It won't be long before one whole stack, about 10' long and 6' high, one log deep, is almost gone. I've been moving much of it up to the porch and inside to free up the rack for wood yet to cut.

We paid about $1000 dollars for the stove and all the parts. The fuel is free and since we are doing almost 100% of our heating and about 70% of our cooking on it we should save over $100/month on our gas bill. At 4 to 5 months of heating season per year we should pay it off in 3 years or less.
Here is the sequence of construction and installation shots.

The wall and closet that had to come out.

Princess Ann doing a structural inspection.

busting through the chimney

assembling liner and cap before going up on the roof

screwing and sealing stove pipes

the royal seal of approval

the first break in fire

Foraging in Bermuda - Surinam Cherry

thanks to scentofgreenbananas for the image.

About the size of a bing cherry but not as sweet, these cherries don't really taste like a bing cherry. They are slightly astringent. More of a shrub or bush than a tree, they are found quite often growing as hedge along the road or railway trail. As usual I never pick fruit growing along roads, I don't really want to consume any more hydrocarbons than I already do.

When we were putting in a raised bed garden out at the east end of the island my friend Emily presented us with some surinam cherry juice mixed with a bit of lemon. I suggested that it would be really good with some Black Seal, the local dark rum. With a little sweetener, stevia or agave syrup, this concoction makes a delicious and refreshing drink.

Emily harvests the cherries and squeezes out the ample juice by hand, simultaneously removing the bitter skins and seeds.

This plant is considered invasive by some in south Florida.

You can read more about this delicious fruit at Dave's Garden. Here is an excerpt from a comment by foodiesleuth;

"We have two large shrubs in our yard - they are about 10' tall and about the same size in span. They are covered in fruit at this time and usually fruit twice a year.
I do not notice too many volunteer plants underneath. The birds don't seem to bother them and we have no squirrels.

The taste is sweet with a slightly tart undertone. I like making flavored vinegars with it. Wonderful in mixed fresh green salads, with some crumbled feta and chopped toasted macadamia nuts.

3 cups cherries
3/4 cup distilled vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water

Cook until cherries are soft and mushy. Pass through a fine sieve, pushing as much of the pulp as you can through it. Beautiful ruby red color. Makes great gifts.

UPDATE RE: LARVAE:
I have never noticed any larvae on the fruit. We have had a huge crop of them this year and I have been making many different preserves and vinegars.....Made a wonderful trifle with the jam, vanilla pudding and angel food cake."