Hi everyone,

I hope the start of burn season is going well. It's been a bit since my last update and I wanted to let everyone here know that the production version of the Oru woodstove monitors are done and they went live on Kickstarter this morning!

For anyone new: I built Oru after my first winter with a woodstove. I moved to Vermont from New York City, never used a woodstove in my life, and I'd find myself, like many of you, constantly anxious about the fire. I work from home and I'd get up every 30 minutes to check it which was getting distracting for me given the nature of my work (engineer).

So I built something to help. Oru is a sensor that sits on the stovepipe, and pairs with a small walnut lamp that goes anywhere in your home. We have one in our kitchen, one in our bedroom and one in my home office. The lamp glows based on how well the fire is burning. It glows amber if you're burning optimally, yellow if you're burning too low or it's time to reload, and red if the stove is running too hot. There's a backstory in my first post for those of you that are interested.

I built Oru with tons of input from this subreddit, I really credit the group here for giving me the conviction to actually turn this into something real.

I wanted Oru to be in people's homes for this burn season, so one thing that's different about our Kickstarter vs others is that the production of devices is already paid for. I took a loan out to cover the tooling and the first run rather than waiting on the campaign to finish. So units are being made right now, and will be shipping starting in November. The campaign is really about getting it into homes this season, not about raising money to actually start.

A lot of how Oru evolved came from feedback within this subreddit.

1. When I started I made every single one by hand. Now we're manufacturing them at a factory. The first production parts and printed boxes showed up from the factory this month.
2. There are two different types of sensors depending on your stove setup. A magnetic one that sits on the stovepipe like a Rutland or Chimgard thermometer or a catalytic sensor that slides into the catalyst port on modern cat stoves.
3. If you use the magnetic sensor, it does work on a double wall pipe. The app asks you what pipe you have and runs you through a quick calibration process so it can get the most accurate readings off of your insulated pipe.
4. There's an app for when you're not home. It sends you helpful notifications, tracks the amount of time you've been burning and gives you information on your burn temperature graph over time.
5. Home assistant support is built in and shipping with the newest version of the firmware this November.

It's a monitor, not a safety device. It tells you what your fire is doing so you don't need to keep babysitting the stove.

Thank you to this subreddit. Truly. I wouldn't have gone down the path of actually building this if it wasn't for the support and the feedback I received from the community here.

The first production units ship in November. I'll be in the comments all day. What stove are you running? Let me know and I'll tell you which sensor is best for you and where you should place it.

Some of the history and updates I've posted along the way for those of you that are interested

Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/woodstoving/comments/1qbtpml/i_was_terrified_of_my_woodstove_so_i_built_a/

First Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/woodstoving/comments/1sl8vq5/update_i_built_the_woodstove_monitors_you_all/

Second Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/woodstoving/comments/1vi2iih/update_the_little_glowing_stove_monitor_is_going/

Third Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/woodstoving/comments/1vrps8w/update_episode_2_of_my_youtube_series_is_up_how/

Fourth Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/woodstoving/comments/1weh6o9/update_3_how_the_stove_monitors_were_redesigned/

EDIT: Because a couple of people have asked, here's a link to the Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/neils/oru-the-calm-way-to-watch-your-wood-stove?ref=6eaw27

One season ago the installer told me I should sweep after burning 4-5 cord as long as I burned it hot. I got the smaller of the stoves offered and always made sure to run it nice and hot. My math equates to me burning 1.5-2 cord max. Got on the roof today and some of the steel was still showing. Do I need to keep my scheduled sweep or should I follow his instructions and continue to burn this year?

Didn’t stuff it as much as I generally do. It’s chugging along nicely.
Lopi Evergreen insert.

Hey Folks,

I had a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 installed a couple months ago. I feel like it’s going through my wood much faster than it should. I’ve attached a video to this post. In the video, you can see there’s a decent fire going, it was filled probably 40 minutes prior and has been choked off all the way since filling. Being that the air control was all the way choked off, I would have thought my fire wouldn’t be going as strong as it is. Can anyone provide some insight?

P.S. I’m burning spruce and from the top of my stove to the cap on top of the house is probably 20 feet.

I snapped a before and after cleaning photo and noticed the chimney has a slight bend in it. It helps to zoom in but about a quarter of the opening is obscured. The bend seems to be about halfway up (2-story house). Nothing about the chimney has changed in the 7 years lived here that I know of, but I didn't notice this before.

Another interesting thing hopefully someone can educate me on: after about halfway up, the brush became loose in the chimney, as though the inside diameter of the pipe widened a smidge. Why would that be? I also don't remember this. Then again, I siffer from CRS and I only do this yearly.

A flute from a wood stove

So I just bought this and for people that don't know, you take the top off and has two little prongs. How accurate are these moisture content readers? I'm getting mixed signals with the wood I test.

Im renovating my inlaws 900 sqft ranch home in upstate NY. We're in the process of getting a cold climate air source heat pump and want to supplement with a stove for the coldest nights. We're also getting new windows and insulation.

We need a small stove and I came across this as an option. Im looking for 8+ hour burn time and something easier to maintain. Do any others come to mind?

Thanks!

We're also going to need a smaller flue size. Currently at 8".

Edit: some additional context is that the stove needs to be small to be code compliant as the hearth is 46" by 38".

best wishes from the land of wet firewood and olive oil

Yes I would love a Drolet or Engalander, but those are much more expensive. How much will I regret buying this stove from Menards? It seems like a really good price for an American made stove. I was going to get the Voglezang but after reading about that brand on this subreddit and seeing it’s made in China, I decided I better not. I have a 1600 sq ft double wide manufactured home with vaulted ceilings in southwest Michigan.

Hello all! I've been wondering (and everyone i know where i live) why do americans and canadians use small and light cast iron stoves to heat their houses when in much of the world outside the US people use masonry stoves that retain heat and are far more efficient. Here in Finland we have been heating our living spaces with wood from the dawn of time and we have always had these massive masonry stoves, kinda like the ones you call russian ovens to heat and cook. We also have what we call "pönttöuuni" and "takka" that are made of stone and we usually burn wood once a day or sometimes once in a few days because the fireplaces retain the heat so well and radiate a comfortable soft heat for a long time. I have for some reson been getting posts from this sub on my feed and it always boggles my mind why would people put up with all the extra problems that come with the small iron stoves? I mean i have read conversations here about how high of a co² ppm do you get before opening the windows and pictures and questions about creosote buildup and choking the flue and how to get the fire going through the nights and 24/7 etcetera. I know i have commented on some of your posts in a kind of a assholish way because i sometimes like to argue on the interwebs about stuff. But the amount of people defending the small iron stoves has been baffeling to me when there are so much better ways to heat with wood. Why do you not build a more efficient stone fireplace in your house and live without the problems and hazards of the cast iron stoves?

How do you get rid of creosote that has leaked from the stove pipe (had the fire on too low) and on to the concrete floor underneath?

Any advice is welcome! The stench is awful.

Noticed some scuffs around the screws on the pipe with some small holes appearing. Is it a problem or is it still safe to use?

I'm a fellow firewood guy and cut, split, and dry my own wood here in Wisconsin to heat the house with our wood stove. I created an app to help me track all my various stacks/piles/totes of wood so I would know when they should be seasoned enough to burn. I also wanted to track my total supply, usage, etc.

Anyway, I'm hoping for some feedback from this group on it, as it's kinda a niche thing and I hope it resonates with the people here. It's free to use, but some advanced features require a subscription. I really am just looking for feedback and not sales, so just use the code WOODPILETESTER and you'll get the full version, all I ask is some feedback.

Thank you in advance!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/woodpile-firewood-tracker/id6777570965

Greg