Wood Stove Opinions Wanted

[MX5000]

I have a 1 1/2 story (I'm guessing @ 2200 sq. feet) post and beam on 4.2 acres (lots of trees) in New Hampshire. I currently have oil heat/hot water. For times when the electricity goes down due to a storm or whatever, I lose the heat/hot water. I figure it maybe a good idea to buy and install a wood stove. I have plenty of firewood and would even save on the money spent on oil deliveries. I was first thinking on getting the biggest stove available and figured I could run a smaller fire in a bigger stove most of the time instead of getting a smaller stove and running it full tilt most of the time. Now I hear that running a smaller fire with less draft causes creosote to build up faster. I want a quality stove. I'd like to be able to load it up for a long burn between fillups if possible. It would be nice to keep it running most of the winter. I'm just a little leary about having the wood stove going and leaving the house unattended. Any opinions on this?

Thanks,
Howard

 

[MX5000]

Another thought is an outdoor wood boiler. I have a brochure for the WoodMaster outdoor wood boiler and it looks interesting. I think they require electricity, so they maybe not much help it the electricity goes down. Another thing is that they are pretty expensive.

Howard

 

[Paddy]

What you are describing is two different sernarios, heat source when the power is off and wood heat. The best wood heat systems use power and are joined in with your existing heating system via your duct system. because they are using the same ducts, a baffle is used to block reverse flow. These baffels can be gravity, (closed untill air is pushing) or ele controled. Either way, they don't work with out power.

My solution fits some where inbetween. I have a heat pump with it's own trunk system. I wanted the wood stove to work with and with out power. Wood stoves can work with out power if you keep the trunk system very simple. I built a seperate duct that goes to the two main sections of the house. The return is centrally located. So I have a gravity feed wood stove when the power is out and forced air otherwise. My system is in the bacement.

For a system on the main floor, you could get a nice heavy plate steel simple wood stove. No ducts, just dumping heat in the main area.

I use wood only when it's very cold. I never load the box before bed. When I do close the door tight for the night, it's been burning for atleast an hour so it's completly dry.

Wood is not as cheep as some would tell you. You either pay $40-50 a rick or you work all day for two ricks. At the same time, risking injury.

 

[JimR]

The outdoor wood boiler would be the easy solution and most expensive. The cheaper route is a good woodstove made of boiler plate. Cast iron can crack or even blow out a stove wall when you least expect it. (ask my friend about that) I heat our old farm project house with wood. It is next to where we live. I have a Fisher Mama Bear stove in the dining room hooked up into the fireplace. I removed the damper and made a new one to accept my stove pipe. The stove has been running since December non stop. I burn it hot once a day for 20-30 minutes. I also have a coal stove at the other end of the house in the boiler room to keep the pipes from freezing (crawlspace under the house). So far since November, I have used just over 100 gallons of oil. The furnace kicks in during the night when the stove is on the downside. You need to put a temperature gauge on your stovepipe and keep it over 200 degrees when burning. Mine runs at 300+ when burning. No need to worry about the temp on the downside as there are just coals burning. Creosote forms when the temps are too cold in the flue. One hot fire a day will keep creosote from collecting in your chimney. You may also want to vent your second floor with floor vents to let the heat rise. Your stairway will let the air go up. The floor vents will be the returns.

 

[escavader]

Howard,
You dont have to fear a woodstove,as long as you are sure,you have a safe hookup.I have burned wood all my adult life,and my folks did when i was younger.You need first a safe hook up.Follow all your local codes,and im sure your state has info on suggested safe techniques.Have your local fire chief work with you on this one.A good ,lined chimmney ,independant from other furnaces etc,is a requirement,in most places.The metal bestos chimmneys are just as safe in my opinion,size it according to your stove size.Never go reduce to a smaller size.In my opinion a chimmney should be safe enough to withstand a fire,without catching the house on fire...keep that in mind. a chimmney should have a cleanout,so you can inspect them,i do mine monthly.
CLEARANCES
TWO TYPES COME TO MIND:
A double wall stove,with a seperate box around the initial stove,these are safe.Awonder wood brand is a common one.THESE ARE CIRCULATING STOVES
the second type is a RADIATING STOVE ,thus with no second box.
both still need the reccomended clearances.Even if you have the so called fire resistant drywall,the studs behind it still get hot.In MAINE you must have 36 inchs to a combustable item[wall,etc]If you reduce these clearances space the tin or what ever out from the combustable wall with ceramis fence insulaters,one inch air space behind it.I myself built a 3 sided tin box around my stove,i got it about 6 inchs away from the stove.I dont have to worry about the walls getting hot.I also have a ceiling fan near by to push it around.
now lets talk about stovepipe.it should be 24 gage or btr It
should pass through 18 inchs of non combustable material,
Where a stovepipe passes through a wall its 18 inchs. Use as little pipe as possible ,before it goes straight up,no more than 2 bends reccomended[better draft that way. Chimmneys ought to be at least 2 inchs higher[minimum] than the peak of the building for best draft.
Dry wood is important,it doesnt run creasote,MAKE sure its hardwood and dry. Soft wood will soot up your chimmney,Green wood will creasote your chimmney.If you dont have either poplar will do neither,it will not dirty your chimmney,but it dont last long,and it will not make a bed of coals.I always have a cord of it on hand to burn on the semi warm days in the fall and spring,it warms the house,and doesnt leave hot coals to drive you out .I cut my wood a year ahead and partially dry it outside,then teir it in my shed with lots of airspace.Dont split it too small,you want some all nighters,and alldayers.One of them magnetic flue temp gauges will help you learn how to run your stove safetly,and with less creasote...its a gotta have in my book.
DONT FORGET TO PROTECT THE FLOOR
DONT FORGET THE SMOKE ALARMS and mabey co2 tester,FIRE EXSTINGUISHER
A stove in the north end of the house will work the best,Its hard to push heat north,especially without power
As far as stoves i like ones with ash pans.Dont forget to empty them,a stove needs air to work.It also will warp your grates if they get too hot,keep the ashs down...dispose of properly
STOVE,Im partial to the SHENANDOAH with the auto dampers.It also comes down to HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO SPEND?Wood burning isnt cheap to get set up and you said you have a supply of wood...good,or i wouldnt do it.
WOULDNT IT BE EASIER TO BUY A HOUSEHOLD GENERATOR/ /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Some of this info came from the MAINE WOOD BURNING GUIDE..some from my head.Like i said if its safe,its not a worry,the fire chief is your best friend on this one GOOD LUCK
ALAN

 

[MX5000]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the information. I have also been looking into a generator too. The PTO generators are relatively inexpensive, but I don't really want to get up at 2am if the power goes out and have to set up the tractor, generator, and the hookups to go with it. I've also been checking into permanent mount and the smaller residential generators too. I have a lot of thinking to do. I just figured with 4 acres of trees, a wood stove would be a good way to go. This whole thing was spawned by the wind storm we had 2 Fridays ago. I lost power as I pulled in my driveway after work. I know exactly when it went out because as I pulled in my driveway, I looked a couple driveways down and saw a big tree arcing and sparking against the power lines. The tree then burst into flames for a couple minutes then with a big flash, the fire went out and so did all the electricity. I got it back at 1:30 am the next morning. Here comes the funny part. Just As the house was warming up, my oil tank ran dry Saturday afternoon. I noticed it getting a little chilly that evening, but blew it off. About midnight I woke up and boy was it cold in the house. I ran down stairs and saw the oil tank guage on empty. I ran to a gas station I knew sold diesel and filled up 3 5gal. containers and went home. Unfortunately, the lines to the boiler and water heater were plugged with gunk and tried until about 3:30am to get it running and gave up. I went back to bed and got up 6:30am Sunday morning and went to 3 Home Depots to find some oil filters. I kept at it until 2pm Sunday replacing the oil filter again and cleaning out the lines and bleeding the air out. It's situations like that, that remind you how unprepared you can be if the stuff hits the fan.

Howard

 

[Highbeam]

The woodstove won't get you hot water so if that is important, acquire a generator and have an electrician wire in a transfer switch so that you can run both the furnace and the water from the generator. Since you have oil heat/water, not much generator power is needed. Extra benefit is the rest of your home is powered.

I can't imagine living in your climate without a wood stove, especially in a timber frame home. It's just not right.

There are only a handful of very good and well known brands out there such as Lopi and Country. Go to their websites and look at their models. Each model will tell you the range of square footage it is made to heat and how efficiently. It will also tell you fully loaded burn time to be sure it will make it overnight for you. There are features such as windows and metallic plated parts for prettiness. I am partial to the country stove line.

You will install the stove for self sufficiency, but you will enjoy the stove for it's pleasant radiant heat. There are lots of recreational burners out there that use the furnace during the workweek but enjoy the smells and feeling of the woodstove when they are at home.

 

[beenthere]

I've a wood burning stove heating water that feeds into the house hot water heat system. When the power goes out, I operate the damper manually, and unscrew the back-flow valves so gravity can move the hot water through the system. Takes some 'hands on' but the place stays warm without electricity.

Attached is my indoor boiler. Not sure where these type and size can be purchased, as I was told that nowadays they need to be steam certified if put in the house. So, the move to put them outside. This pic shows the wood 'boiler', with a pre-heat tank for pre-warming 30 gal. of water before going to the domestic hot water heater, and shows the plumbing in the background with the gas back-up boiler. These can be operated separately or in series (not very efficient).

I am a firm believer that undersize is better than oversize, for several reasons. Efficiency is one, burning hot is another, and heating a large mass of steel and/or water takes longer than you want to wait for heat (and keeps giving off heat long after you have had enough /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif ).

 

[Highbeam]

That picture makes a point and begs the question of- do you want a frankenstein in your basement or the fine piece of furniture that a woodstove can make?

I think many on this site will appreciate the frankenstein approach for its utility. Maybe there's room for both.

 

[MX5000]

Great reading guys, keep them coming...
Thanks for taking the time to share.

Thanks,
Howard