Converting to wood heat....getting cold feet..

[ejb]

OK guys...a nervous nellie here. I am about to pull the trigger on a wood boiler to add-on to my existing oil fired boiler...

The setup is such that as long as I fire the wood the oil burner "sleeps" and kicks on as soon as the wood boiler temp drops..pretty typical setup I would say.

I have never heated with wood before, and all of a sudden I am getting nervous about it...mess, safety issues (i.e. fire) and becoming a slave to the thing...

Last year I used almost 2000 gallons of oil. This year oil is about $1.50/gallon so that is $3000. My guess is that I can save maybe 1000 gallons of oil this year, and essentially pay for the stove the wood boiler the first year(maybe I'll save even more, but like I said I haven't done it before).

Anyone ever put in a wood boiler and the regret it? The boiler will be in the cellar(both of them), but will the dust/smoke make its way upstairs anyway?

Is it realistic to load it up and not go near it for 8 hours or so?

Did any of you bother contacting your insurance company about the change? is that necessary?

Any final thoughts on best way to hook it all up and get the most out of it?

Thanks in advance!

PS: My wood is free, except for my labor.

 

[MaineGuy]

Welcome to the World of Wood Burning. Installation is the key. If you have a good installer, and the proper chimney you shouldn't have any problems. Just keep the flue clean and in good repair. Burn seasoned hard wood for hot fires don't use soft wood or green wood. There is always a bit of a mess around the house both inside and out. But it's worth the effort for the money you will save and for the pleasure of cutting and burning the wood. I have a wood furnace (forced air) and a wood stove and use one or the other quite a bit all winter here in Maine. My wife is usually on the overly cautious side of things but does not think twice about having a good warm fire going. We have the stoves and chimneys cleaned professionally every year. You can certainly do that yourself if you want. Many of the newer wood fired models are "All Nighters." They don't need much attention. Mine is an older one and gives me about 6 hours of heat before the oil burner kicks in.
Stay warm good luck.
David

 

[_RaT_]

"Last year I used almost 2000 gallons of oil. This year oil is about $1.50/gallon so that is $3000. My guess is that I can save maybe 1000 gallons of oil this year, and essentially pay for the stove the wood boiler the first year(maybe I'll save even more, but like I said I haven't done it before)."


Wow, incredible how much energy it takes to heat homes back there, unbelieveable. I would be looking for alternatives as well.

 

[Junkman]

I have a wood hot air furnace that is Siamesed with my oil burner. When I changed homeowner insurance companies, the new one had the same demand as the old one that I dropped for the very same reason. They wanted the wood stove disconnected or the surcharge would have been out of sight. I had to remove the chimney pipe and the feed and ash doors to eliminate the surcharge. I now have a wood pellet stove and there is no surcharge with that. Many insurance companies don't want wood stoves because of the potential fire hazard. A properly maintained wood stove is safe, but not everyone properly services them. Insurance companies don't know who will or won't maintain them, so they just penalize everyone with one.
Burning wood will save you on oil, but proper insulation will also help. I would first make energy conservation corrections to the home and then do the wood stove. It will help you to save no matter what the fuel is. Wood warms you a few times... when you cut it.. split it... stack it... burn it.. and finally when you carry out the ashes. Final thought.... don't waste the ashes.... spread them over the lawn for fertilizer. I have done this for a couple of years and it definitely has helped the lawn...

 

[slowzuki]

Softwood can be burned under the right circumstances, dry softwood is better than wet hardwood.

Wood can be messy, I've grown up in a house heated by two woodstoves. My parents are getting older and don't want to fool with carrying wood upstairs much anymore. I'm looking at a heat pump or pellet stove for them. (Or I could palletize the wood and set the pallets on the deck just outside the door!)

We will be heating with wood in our new place but we are insulating it very well and installing a small stove. The slab is also designed to act as thermal mass so if we miss stoking the fire it won't be freezing!

Ken

 

[Hakim]

Junkman et al,

ashes ... "spread them over the lawn for fertilizer"

I kept one galvanized garbage can to hold all our wood stove ashes. I used them for "traction" in our Upstate New York 90+ inches of snow winters.

There is NOTHING better to get you going out of a driveway, or off a patch of ice, than woodstove ashes. Remember that folks! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[MaineGuy]

The lilac bushes love the ashes. It's great stuff for the garden.

 

[Junkman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I kept one galvanized garbage can to hold all our wood stove ashes. I used them for "traction" in our Upstate New York 90+ inches of snow winters.

There is NOTHING better to get you going out of a driveway, or off a patch of ice, than woodstove ashes. Remember that folks! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )</font>

Now, I bet that you use sand..... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

We have always heated with wood and I wouldn't go any other way. The phyiscal activity is great on you. I can keep the house 75 or higher and go around in shorts and a t-shirt in the house. Most people I know keep the heat down low and wear sweatshirts. I clean our chimney every year by myself. If I was building a new house or putting in a boiler I would definitely get the stand alone systems for outside. It's a little more to get it going but you can load those things up for a couple days. You don't have to worry about the chance of fire and you can burn any type of wood you want wet or dry.

 

[Egon]

I'm finally getting around to getting a wood burning fireplace installed. It will be the small Regency with fan. Perhaps next week if I can get the propane insert out.

We have to contact the insurance company for policy adjustments.

Up here there are many wood oil combinations for the main furnace. I'd go that way but do not have enough chimney room for three vents.

Any dry wood burns well. All wood has esentially the same BTU per pound of wood.

Egon