reduce heating bill with Wood Stove

   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #31  
Ken45101;2193945 The outside wood boilers generally create a lot of pollution and use a tremendous amount of wood. In general said:
Sorry Ken, but general statements like that that are incorrect and are what lead to all out bans. There is a full spectrum of outside wood boilers - from some very bad ones all the way to very good ones that literally do not generate any smoke. The true gasification ones burn at over 2000 degrees, burning extremely clean. Unfortunately, the bad boilers give all boilers a bad rep. You only notice the bad ones because they smoke like crazy. The good ones have no smoke to see. The operator of the boiler also makes a difference.

Ken
 
   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #32  
We have a Drolet Adirondack woodstove in our house that is mobile home approved, can be as close as 5 inches from the wall. We heat a 800 square foot house with no problem. We run the furnace fan on constant to circulate the heat and keep the basement warm. Yes it is a bit of work but everyone that comes down heads straight for the stove. Nothing like radiant from a woodstove.
Our electric will kick in sometimes early in the morning but never during in the day, house is around 75-80 degrees and we love it! No need to go somewhere for the winter and it is so wonderful to come in after blowing snow with the Kubota.:thumbsup:
 
   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #33  
I've haven't read all the posts, but I thought I'd add my 2 cents. I don't hate wood stoves, but they are a dirty pain in the butt and everything can smell like ashes. There's a lot of stuff to consider as to regulations and safety. These two quotes sum it up well enough. It's nice at first, but grows old real fast, and it only gets worse with age.

You are right, it varies tremendously from one individual to another.

I don't know about "a dirty pain in the butt", a lot of that depends on your house and how you install it. There is the option for many people of a basement wood furnace. That keeps the "dirt" out of the house if you have a basement entry.

Gee, I don't know about "everything smells like ashes", I don't know what ashes smell like, I've never noticed an ash smell.

I wouldn't say it grows old "real fast", we have only heated with wood at this house (9 years now) and it hasn't grown old. BTW, I'm 63. I'm sure it will get worse if I make it to 73 or 83.

A good quality, efficient wood stove cuts down on the effort a lot. An efficient stove uses perhaps half the wood of an inefficient one. But to each his own, if you don't mind paying the utility bills and maybe being cold all the time.

Ken
 
   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #34  
For a lot of good tips check out:
Welcome to The Wood Heat Organization Inc.
When you decide on a stove, consider purchacing one size smaller.
When we built our house 20 years ago, the woodstove sales guy just about twisted our arms off to get us to buy the one rated for 2000 sq feet.
We bought the one for 1400 sq feet. Our house is 1960 sq feet.
The chiminey stays cleaner and you get more heat out of your wood by burning hotter. Yes, we have to stoke it more often, however with a very small amout of wood.
Here in Oregon with our mild weather it is false economy to burn wood when the outside temp is much above 40 F. That is heat pump weather.
We burn about one cord annually, sometimes 1 1/2 in cold years.
And for those that like to brag about all of the many, many cords of wood bured each year:
INSULATE YOUR FLIPPIN HOUSE!! STOP KILLLING YOURSELF!!! :confused2:

HAVE AN ENERGY AUDIT DONE!!!

If you like cutting all of that wood every year; insulate your house and then share some of that wood with your eldery neighbors. :thumbsup:
 
   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #35  
this might be some interesting reading

http://[URL="http://http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/187541-what-does-firewood-really-cost-new-post.html"]www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/187541-what-does-firewood-really-cost-new-post.html[/URL]
 
   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #36  
Forget the blower, it's noisy and you'll wind up never using it, just like me.

Heat from wood is totally unlike heat from a heat pump. The heat pump turns on, you get a little warmer, then it shuts off and you get a little cooler. You're always heating up and cooling down. The heat from the wood stove is constant. The minute you light it, you can feel heat coming from it and psychologically you begin to feel warm enough even though the house may still be ice cold. Later, when the house warms up, it stays warm because there's no cycling -heating back up, cooling down...

You can stand by the stove and warm your butt. That is my favorite thing to do (almost).

As for the work, you need to get your exercise one way or another and I can't think of a better way than to build up firewood supplies. Saves you money and keeps you healthy. Would you rather run on a treadmill and get nothing done in the meantime? Not me.

Living in the country, our power goes out a few times a year. We're always low on the list to getting it turned back on. Those city folk get priority. Can't say how many times I've not been able to watch TV but I've been warm enough.

Oh, running a log splitter is just plain fun. Almost as much fun as driving a tractor.
 
   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #37  
We had a chimney go bad 4 years ago and put in a regency fireplace insert. the fireplace is in our 1200 square foot walkout, and the thermostat is set at 55 degrees. The boiler never kicks on for the walkout.

After 3 years of cutting, splitting, hauling and burning, I can say the only part about it I do not like is the carrying in of the wood from the outside, and the mess it makes inside. It gets old quick.

For this reason we are likely to get a central boiler e-classic this summer. The $9000 investment is steep, but a new high efficiency boiler (our current one is over 20 years old) will cost the same amount. I cut and split all of our own wood, and have had little problem getting the wood.

I crunched the numbers, and even if I am paying $50 per face cord and burning a face cord a week, it would still be less than the $300/month natural gas would cost for the house. The endless supply of hot water will also be nice.

For those of you that mentioned the epa, there is no doubt that it is coming. The last thing the utilities want is for us to get off the grid, and they are lobbying to make them illegal. The epa issue is just a front.

All of the cutting, splitting, and hauling aside, two things have become evident to me: One, the wood heat is a good, strong, even heat. And two, the feeling one gets from providing one's own heat is a good one. At least it is for me.

The e-classic is expensive, but burns about half the wood of other outdoor boilers, and qualifies for the energy tax credit that will likely be extended next year.
 
   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #38  
Michelle,, Hows it going seems to be getting a bit off topic huh,, Well lets see if we can get it back on,,, Do you have a basement that your warm air furnace lives in ??? If so you might take a look at this,, I've had this one for about 8 years and love it,, It heats our 4000 sf ranch with no problem on about 3 cord a year..

Shop Summers Heat 3000 Sq. Ft. Wood Burning Add-On Furnace at Lowes.com
 
   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #39  
We started with a Vermont Castings wood stove and used it for almost a decade. It really threw heat to the point we had winter nights with a blizzard outside and the doors open because it would be very warm inside. It was also nice because you could cook on the top if needed during an outage and keep a water pot on top to control house humidity.

Finally just got sick of the variable heat and the mess .... dirty wood..insects ... and associated extra work. Pulled it all out about five years ago and really don't miss it at all.

If I was looking for that kind of heat again I would focus on the new coal burners. For the money and the labor content they seem to be the best.
Ditto SARG,
My exact story to a tee, with the same wood stove. Now I have two zones in house with base board oil heat--- easy care yes, $$$$ yes, but i did my 25 years of cutting draging, splitting and stacking. As Sarg said the new pea coal boilers and stoves my be the way to go!
DevilDog
 
   / reduce heating bill with Wood Stove #40  
So Michelle have we thoroughly muddied up the waters on your decision yet?:D
Me I plan on keeping the woodstove around because I get the wood cheap. It is good exercise and cheap heat especially when the power goes out.
 
 
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