How much wood

[arrow]

I was in a very similar situation as you, my home being super efficient but using a propane boiler for a radiant heated home. I have hundreds of acres of forest, so I thought maybe wood would save me money over that of buying propane. I looked at gassifier indoor boilers, yet after the stove dealership and I crunched the numbers, even he concluded that the gassifier return on investment would not be good. In other words, I would be better off to just buy propane since by the time the gassifier was repaid in savings, it would be junk.

In my case, I found a used $700 boiler for sale and bought that instead. It is not as efficient as the gasifier, but the return on investment was a lot less too.

You seem to be in a very similar boat, except you already have wood heat so you do not need to buy anything. I would just keep what you have, and as others have said, get better windows or insulation maybe. My super-efficient home has come about because I visualize it turned upside down and filled with water. Any place water could run out, I worked at stopping up.

Good score BT. My house is so poorly insulated as a log home that when I filled the house with water and turned it upside down, not only did all the water evacuate, but the kids got flushed out as well.

 

[CobyRupert]

Some thoughts:
1. Doing cost and payback analysis is based on future fuel prices, future dollar values, and (probably) future income values. Nobody really knows what these are. The tree growing on the back forty doesn't care about global energy and delivery markets, currency inflation, or your income situation.
2. Wood is a renewable, zero carbon neutral source of energy. (Granted: Arguable, and not important to many.)
3. Most Americans (2/3) are overweight, with about 1/3 obese. Cutting and firewood is good for your health and your soul. (We'll ignore chainsaw & splitting accidents).
4. Having to load a firebox keeps you more in tune with nature (the weather, temperatures) and your energy use versus just turning a knob on the wall.

 

[90cummins]

I’ve had the same wood furnace for 30 years.
It was designed for hot water and hot air.
In our first house it was plumbed into the Oil fired boiler for baseboard heat. It struggled to keep the house at 65~70 degrees. I added the forced hot air option and we could keep the house at 75~80 degrees easily.
When we bought our 2nd current house we took the furnace with us and I connected it into the forced hot air system only and It was quite disappointing.
I ended up disconnecting the duct work and letting the hot air blow into the cellar towards the cellar stairs which solved our heat issues.
The ductwork ran through the outer cold walls where the heat was lost.
Try ducting the hot air into the cellar and/or cut registers into the floor to directly deliver the heat the the lower rooms.
My hot air system can start delivering heat from s cold start in 20 minutes versus hours for hot water.
90cummins

 

[BrokenTrack]

Good score BT. My house is so poorly insulated as a log home that when I filled the house with water and turned it upside down, not only did all the water evacuate, but the kids got flushed out as well.

That is too funny right there. I think it is a good way to look at heat loss though, or at least the start of a plan to combat it.

The boiler was in sad looking shape when I bought it, but one thing I have learned over the years is to look beyond rust and dirt. If a person cannot do that, it REALLY costs them a lot of money. With this boiler I first tested that water jacket, pumping 10 psi of air into it and leaving it bloated for over a week. I was satisfied with that, so I went and started cleaning it up, and painting it. It is in really nice shape now.

Some guys on another forum helped me to hook it up and asked if I would take a picture of it, one with my wife and the boiler together so 'they could determine which was better looking". It even surprised me that she donned her little red dress and posed before it knowing the photos would be on the internet. She surprises me sometimes...

 

[BoylermanCT]

Good score BT. My house is so poorly insulated as a log home that when I filled the house with water and turned it upside down, not only did all the water evacuate, but the kids got flushed out as well.

Arrow, I also live in a log home, so I know what you mean by air leaks. My house was built in 1985, and had the original double pane windows when I bought it. When I took the old windows out to replace them, I found tons of air gaps in the insulation stuffed in the gaps between the log ends, 2x8 window framing and the window itself. The new windows with new spray foam made a world of difference. As a side benefit, since they originally allowed a 4" gap at the top of each window for log settling, I bought new windows that were larger than the original windows. The house is much more comfortable now. I should have replaced the windows sooner.

 

[arrow]

That is too funny right there. I think it is a good way to look at heat loss though, or at least the start of a plan to combat it.

The boiler was in sad looking shape when I bought it, but one thing I have learned over the years is to look beyond rust and dirt. If a person cannot do that, it REALLY costs them a lot of money. With this boiler I first tested that water jacket, pumping 10 psi of air into it and leaving it bloated for over a week. I was satisfied with that, so I went and started cleaning it up, and painting it. It is in really nice shape now.

Some guys on another forum helped me to hook it up and asked if I would take a picture of it, one with my wife and the boiler together so 'they could determine which was better looking". It even surprised me that she donned her little red dress and posed before it knowing the photos would be on the internet. She surprises me sometimes...

Imagine if she wore a black dress with red shoes! You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two. (I gotta get out more).

 

[arrow]

Arrow, I also live in a log home, so I know what you mean by air leaks. My house was built in 1985, and had the original double pane windows when I bought it. When I took the old windows out to replace them, I found tons of air gaps in the insulation stuffed in the gaps between the log ends, 2x8 window framing and the window itself. The new windows with new spray foam made a world of difference. As a side benefit, since they originally allowed a 4" gap at the top of each window for log settling, I bought new windows that were larger than the original windows. The house is much more comfortable now. I should have replaced the windows sooner.

Good stuff to know Boyler thank you. Mine was built in 78 with double pane Andersons. I should replace them a little at a time and foam between as you did. What I also did was to buy a bunch of urethane caulking and caulked every log union in the house inside and outside after it was up for 10 years. . That also made a difference.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Good stuff to know Boyler thank you. Mine was built in 78 with double pane Andersons. I should replace them a little at a time and foam between as you did. What I also did was to buy a bunch of urethane caulking and caulked every log union in the house inside and outside after it was up for 10 years. . That also made a difference.

That would be a lot of work! I thought about doing that with my house too, but when I calculated how many feet of caulk that would be, I was too tired to begin the project! It would be more than a mile of caulk.

 

[Billrog]

I was able to go from burning 10 cords a winter down to 4 just by circulating the heat with a couple fans in 1 home I owned. I've seen where some have cut a hole here and there so the heat could circulated with the help of a fan.

 

[MossRoad]

Yep. We turn on the ceiling fan on low with updraft in the dining room in winter, and it makes the whole house feel a lot more comfy. Just that little bit of air circulation makes the air less prone to hot and cold spots