Wood Heating?

[Culvercreek hunt club]

was looking at pellet stoves for my camp but unless you invest in the battery back up I don't think you can burn them without power. I opted for a wood stove.

Growing up we had an air tight furnace that had a metal shroud around it.....that was ducted into our oil furnace....while burning wood the fan between the two would kick on an blow it into the oil furnace. once the plenum got hot the oil furnace fan kicked on and blew it throughout the house.....if the fire went out the oil fired and burned as normal.....(that 3 am cold morning....brrrr)

We use to go through about 15 face cord a winter and that was run most of the time, but the house wasn't insulated that well.

[hrymanback]

I have a wood burner in the shop and I try to cut and split my own wood. Sometimes its worth buying a couple of cords and splitting a couple. A lot of time ill mix non hard wood with hard wood and on top of that I usually start the year before. Cut them and season for the year but didn't get a chance this year to hot and busy schedule. So it looks like ill try to find a good price on wood this year. I know if you buy in the spring prices are low cuz they want to get the old wood out and make money of course. I wish i could drop one in the house but it wouldn't work the house is not cut out for a burner unless i sink money in it. LOL   

[wztirem]

Lat year I bought and  installed a wood stove in my home, a River Catskill Model, free standing 35K BTU. I live on Long Island and the stove has been a tremendous savings. I am lucky enough to get my firewood for free. On the other hand, the price of firewood down here has gone through the roof.

My stove burns well seasoned firewood very cleanly. The problem in my area is that many local (close) residents who have stoves and fireplaces burn unseasoned wood and who knows what else (sign of the times) and thats a problem. Its just a matter of time before the authorities will begin enforcing clean air requirements for on cold nights the surrouding air smells terribly.

[gundeck]

We use a Breckwell pellet stove to heat our whole house (small 2-BR).  We go through about 3 ton per year and that is our only heat.

[Landowner]

I have a Yukon Eagle Multi Fuel hot air furnace. This will burn Oil, coal and wood. I bought this 3 years ago. Should pay for itself this winter. The cost was $5,000. I use 5 cords and one ton of coal about 1/3 tank of fuel oil.

[Windsorhunter]

I burned wood for 15 years.  Our house is roughly 1600 Sq feet and had it in the basement with an oil furnace for heat upstairs.  I remember cutting, splitting and stacking wood for the better part of every Summer.  Not to mention bugs and critters in the house when you bring wood in.  I went thru about 5 full cords per year.  Two years ago I purchased a Stoker coal stove.  Burn 2 tons of rice coal per year (about $215 per ton), takes me a half day to buy it, pick it up and stack it at the house.  Fill the 100 pound hopper once every 3-4 days and empty the ash bin 3 times/week.  Runs on a thermostat and provides consistant clean heat.  Fire it up in late October and shut it down in Late May.  Good bye to wood.  Only draw back is the system is fairly expensive.  About $3500 fully installed. 

[ELMER J. FUDD]

I'll be splitting 36'' rounds all day today for next year. I cut them spring 2011, split some last sept., and burned some last march. They were all good. (oak) Now I'm way ahead of the game. The rounds are still pretty wet inside, but the ones I split last weekend are already looking better. I guess it doesn't matter because i have plenty seasoned already.

[5.9cummins]

I grew up in a house that only used wood for heat. My dad use to heat with chord wood when i was young. We had two stoves, the one in the basement was a piece of 36" diameter,1" wall pipe which was welded into a stove in shop class by one of my uncles students. The other stove was a manufactured stove but not high end and was on the first floor. Basement, first and second floor were all heated through convection. We generally kept the house pretty toasty 73+ degrees.

Then he got a job at a furniture manufacturer and brought home the cutoffs from the rough mill which was all kiln dried. We built a wood crib in the basement that would hold approximately 32 face chord. I cant recall ever going through all of it, maybe upwards of 25 chord. As i got older he started only bringing home oak, which is denser, burns hotter and cleaner so we would end up with more left in the crib at the end of the year. He just got a furnace installed so he can come visit the grand-kids during the winter.

[GreeneHunter]

My house is oil how water baseboard but we installed a woodstove in the basement . I would have gone with a pellet stove but we lose power now and again and so I didnt want to relie(sp) on electric for heat-auger- ! When I do burn the HW boiler never comes on and the house - 1400 sg ft.- stays at roughly 72 degrees . We burn somewhere between 4-5 cords per year , last year we paid $200.00 per cord . I found a small fan that is made to sit on the top of the woodstove and when it gets hot it starts to blow the air around the basement using no electricity !

[tughillhunter]

i burn wood in the garage, about 10 cord per season..... wish i had wood heat for the house. i have so much wood, ill be good for quite sometime. the better half dont like it tho, shes a scaredy cat.

[growalot]

Our first wood stove was a Vermont casting with a catalytic converter...I loved it...When we moved it was donated to camp and that is our heat down there....I cut a lot of wood on our place and have a lot of standing dead ash....This and last year I cut around 8 cords in preparation for the new Soap stone we bought a couple of years ago when they were giving all those tax breaks....Due to time and still looking for a contractor to trust...That's some times hard when you've been in big construction all your life....The new room is on hold for another season....I can't wait I love wood heat and when I think of taxes and all this wood and cost of fuel...even pre buy propane ...to me it would be free...and yep as sit says...free exercise I enjoy...and no nasty germs...lol

[bubba]

I went to a pellet stove last year. I burned about 3 tons total last year. I bought a generator for the stove in case of loss of power. Unless you have a wood stove, you lose heat when the power goes out. I have 5 tons in the garage for this winter. Got them for 20o a ton from my local agway hardwood from michigan. I like the idea I can leave for work come home it is still warm in here. My back up heat is a blanket.

[5.9cummins]

My back up heat is a blanket.

[wdswtr]

About 18 full cords in the house, not that face cord gimmick but full cords. Then another 10 to 14 full cords for the sugarhouse making syrup in the spring. Cut all the wood myself right from my land. Hard work is good for the soul. Atleast I keep telling myself that. I have fuel oil backup but havent had to use it in about 4 years.

[Gthphtm]

My biggest mistake when I built my house was not putting a wood stove in the basesment.For the simple reason of when the power goes out.I had pex tubing put in my hole cement slab,2/3 garage and 1/3 cellar,with 2 seprate thermostats.The hole floor of the house has it also with a thermostat in each room all connected to an outside wood boiler,also my hot water heater is connected to it.I go threw anywhere from 6 full cords to the worst which was 2 years ago I used 10 full cords.I works out very well Except If The Power Goes Out.It would just be too expensive to put a wood stove in the cellar now the way the house is set up.I just finished splitting and stacking about a half of a cord of oak this morning.