Wood Burning Add On Furnance (Price of Wood)

[1962]

i agree with some of the previous posts. for some wood is not the way to go, especially if you have to buy it. if you already have a chainsaw, splitter, and dont mind some back breakin work, then money can be saved. i heat with wood with a add on wood/coal furnace. i have a log splitter and a saw or two. i dont have vast acres of hardwood trees, so i fetch it all year long.
some places i get wood: storm damage, local homeowner tree removal, construction sites, recent logging areas, and the local paper free ads. pretty much if i drive past a down tree or a pile of unsplit logs i stop and ask. 8 out of 10 times the property owner wants it gone, especially for free.
if i had to buy the wood, i wouldnt burn it, i would probably switch to coal. it's much cheaper. this work for the wood is free, but it is hard work. but there is nothing like wood heat, toasty warm through out the house. i run a large humidifier, its a real quiet one cause it runs alot. wood heat is real dry, and i heat with wood 24/7. i get about 8 hours between fuel loads, 6 hours when its in the single digits. the firebox takes a 26" log, and it takes about 8 to 10 large pieces to fill it. unsplit dry logs burn the slowest, and the best burning wood i have used so far is white oak, hickory, and locust. i have ben using this wood furnace for 7 or 8 years and have saved thousands of $$$. now fuel prices are going even higher and the savings will be greater. i bought this wood furnace used for $400.00. and it works great, though i put a larger blower and 220v motor on it..

 

[Donnyj]

I'm sorry. I did not write that correctly. I meant the wood is alot of work, but it is worth it to me. My furnace also burns coal and that is also another advantage to the Yukon furnace. I reread what I wrote earlier and I did not word it correctly. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Sorry. I seem to have an easier time burning wood though. I have no experience burning coal. Even with buying coal I can't imagine fuel oil, propane, natural gas, or electric being cheaper. I imagine 2 ton would heat my house for the whole year. I just don't know what kind of coal I should use. Another advantage of the wood for me is the exercise I get. It does keep you in shape. Burn some of those holiday cookies off /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Thanks for catching my mistake. Happy Holidays to all!!!

 

[Donnyj]

Here is a link to the furnace I bought. Hopefully it might be of some help. My father has had one now for 2 years. He loves it. He had the Hotblast before just like I did. We compared wood usage last year since his house is almost identical in size. He used less than 3 cords. I was over 5. Yukon Eagle Wood Furnace

 

[Farwell]

Donny,
Thanks for the Yukon site.
Farwell

 

[Scrounger]

Lots of killer advice and opinions have been posted. One thing that is missing is how often do you have to add wood and or coal to your add on furnance. I see the Yukon units have a gas backup to help start the fires, but nothing about how often you are adding wood. Once a day, twice, three times?

I like the idea of the coal pellet stoves since you can add enough coal to most models to take you 24 hours or more.

 

[TN75Jason]

I heat my house (2400 sq. ft. 2 story) with a Woodstock Soapstone stove with catalytic converter. We run it full time in the winter with a heat pump set for backup on about 60 degrees. The stove is very efficient, but I wish it had a larger firebox. I don't think it would be sufficient up north. I cut and split my own wood pretty much all year - just whenever a tree dies, blows over, or needs to be out of the way. I would not enjoy buying wood, but I do enjoy getting out my tractors, winches, trailers, splitters, and saws and cutting wood. Year before last, I built a 66 foot long wood shed that will store about 10 cords of wood (see attached picture). I think that I use about 4 cords per winter. To me, not much is more satisfying than heading in to winter with the woodshed full and the barns full of round bales.

Jason - Senoia, GA

 

[beenthere]

"How often to add wood ?" is tough to answer, as there are so many variables:
stove:
* airtight
* catalytic
* water jacket
* size
wood:
* species
* density
* moisture content
temp outside
temp inside
wind
and many, many more.

 

[Highbeam]

And the best news is... you're a civil engineer. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Donnyj]

During the day we just put one piece of wood in at a time. Maybe every 2 hours. Very little fire going then. Of course that is bad for creosote buildup. You can't run those furnaces like a wood stove. The trade off is the wood furnace, in my opinion, has more maintenance to it. I bet burning coal mostly would be better during the day with such a low fire going. Again, I'm no expert with coal or wood for that matter. At night I put around 4 to 5 pieces of wood in. Around 11:00 pm for me is bed time. That will go all night. I get up for work around 5:30 there are coals left. Add one or two pieces and she fires back up and that is it. With the Hotblast furnace I would burn 2 wheelbarrow loads of wood in a 24 hr. period. I would say now maybe 1 or just a little over 1 wheelbarrow. Of course it all depends on the wood. Anybody have any recommendations for burning coal, I'm all ears.

 

[Roger2561]

So, what's a guy to do who has back and neck problems making cutting, splitting and stacking wood nearly impossible. I heat our story and half farm house with oil. Last spring when I purchased my supply of heating oil for this winter, it cost me $2300.00 and I got it cheap because the people for whom I work were able to work out a deal for the employee's and we got it at a reduced price. All of these alternative heating systems are great if one is able to lift, but out of the question for those of us who can not.