Wood Heat vs. single-digit temps, are you winning?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Understood Dennis,on both accounts. Just don't go chasing her around anymore than ya have to,we're not gettin any youger. ;-P
 
Maybe that is why I've been having such a difficult time catching her lately....
 
Buy her a new pair of wool socks and you wear your slippers,it will be like a coyote after a deer on ice. :cheese:
 
:lol: Might work. Will have to give it a try.
 
raybonz said:
Have single digits here and it's been windy and keeping up so far.. The Alaskans on the forum in particular North of 60 must have some serious insulation to stay warm at -50 is all I can say! Seems that blown in foam is the best way to go to eliminate drafts and get high R-values in less space.. There is no way I could keep this house warm at -50 no matter what stove I had in this house!

Ray

Ray: I have been thinking the same thing! Seems the colder it gets, the better their stoves heat those super insulated Alaskan houses. Even the Progress has been wimpering some. I think it's time to get ahead on some 22" logs, no more of these wimpy 16" splits!
 
fire_man said:
raybonz said:
Have single digits here and it's been windy and keeping up so far.. The Alaskans on the forum in particular North of 60 must have some serious insulation to stay warm at -50 is all I can say! Seems that blown in foam is the best way to go to eliminate drafts and get high R-values in less space.. There is no way I could keep this house warm at -50 no matter what stove I had in this house!

Ray

Ray: I have been thinking the same thing! Seems the colder it gets, the better their stoves heat those super insulated Alaskan houses. Even the Progress has been wimpering some. I think it's time to get ahead on some 22" logs, no more of these wimpy 16" splits!

Hi Tony!
How is the PH working out for you? Can you get a low long burn too?

Ray
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Maybe that is why I've been having such a difficult time catching her lately....

Time for the Progress!
 
Nothing fancy here, R60 attic and R21 walls. I'd imagine anything built in the last 10-15 years has similar.

raybonz said:
Have single digits here and it's been windy and keeping up so far.. The Alaskans on the forum in particular North of 60 must have some serious insulation to stay warm at -50 is all I can say! Seems that blown in foam is the best way to go to eliminate drafts and get high R-values in less space.. There is no way I could keep this house warm at -50 no matter what stove I had in this house!

Ray

It got down to -25* last night, -12* right now. Was 66* in the house when I got out of bed, but that was a solid 12hrs since I had put wood in the stove.
 
lopi said:
Last cold snap we had a low of 9 degrees and my lopi liberty kept the living room in the low 80's and upstairs right at 80 degrees.

Update: Last night we had a low of 10 put three locust splits in at 11:30 last night and woke up at 8:00 this morning with a stovetop temp of 260, lots of coals, living room temp of 81 and upstairs temp of 79
 
NATE379 said:
Nothing fancy here, R60 attic and R21 walls.

My brother lives in a ~100 yr old farm house in Maine. It's not a whole lot bigger than my place, but it's almost as bad as heating the outdoors. The old oil fired boiler that was in there was big enough to heat a large warehouse.

raybonz said:
Have single digits here and it's been windy and keeping up so far.. The Alaskans on the forum in particular North of 60 must have some serious insulation to stay warm at -50 is all I can say! Seems that blown in foam is the best way to go to eliminate drafts and get high R-values in less space.. There is no way I could keep this house warm at -50 no matter what stove I had in this house!

Ray

You have much more insulation than me and you need all of it ..

Ray
 
OhioBurner© said:
Well sat-sun was bad since it was cold and I was working nights and the family is out of town. I load the stoves shortly after 4pm, leave the house by 4:45pm and get home at 6:45am. Crammed full with pretty much just black locust, and I still have to start both stoves from scratch in morning. Propane set to minimum 55º but its off a little, comes on ~58 if its not windy, and the last couple monrings when I walked into the house the propane was running and the temp was 58.

If I ever build a new house I'm going to consider one of those masonary heaters or something like that. Having to relite every morning after work and come home to porpane burning and still only 58º really sucks.
I came late to this one but yes last Friday through Sunday morning was just plain brutal in Ohio. I was off work (good thing) and kept the stove fired hot but there was no winning over the elements. We too woke to 58 degrees on the first floor. Basement where the stove it was pretty warm but the rest of the house suffered bad. Went and got the 100lb propane tank refilled but even the furnace struggled to get it to 65. Just too many BTU losses.
 
It was cold out last night -4f. I didn't think about it but loaded the stove up, let it get going good then shut the air down. I work 3rd shift so I left and got home 11 hrs later to find the house at 58 degrees and colder yet in the back bedrooms. Very few coals in the 5700. I have never run into this issue before so I was confused but later realized I had loaded the stove up with very seasoned silver maple. Guess the stove chewed right through it in no time. Tonight's temps are better supposed to be a low of 29f. I will still use some silver maple but mix in some other hardwood to get a longer, warmer burn time.

Steve
 
vixster said:
This house has NO insulation between the stucco and plaster walls. The plaster has a nice warm heating effect so I don't want to rip the walls open and replace with sheetrock. Plaster just gives off a lovely warmth it retains.

Have you considered spray foam from the outside to fill the walls? I don't think the holes are too intrusive and it seems like they would be able to patch them back up easily with stucco. I can't imagine no insulation in the exterior walls, I'm surprised your response wasn't "OMG WE'RE BEING PUMMELED!" lol


Flatbedford said:
I think that my stove not being able to keep up with single digit temps is about the same as my central A/C not being able to keep up with triple digit temps. These are rare conditions for where I live. My setup is pretty good with the usual temps and needs some help with the extremes. A stove that could keep my house comfy in single digits would roast us out most of the heating season. I have a furnace and I am not afraid to use it from time to time if need be. I do like to not use it, but I will if I have to.

Great point! One of my old issues of This Old House explained how HVAC folks often get it wrong by sizing the furnace for the worst-case conditions. All you end up with is adequate comfort during the 10 days that it actually gets that cold, and the rest of the time it cycles on and off so quickly that it never gets up to a more efficient operating temp. I think we have the same situation with our stove - mine does fine most of the time, and would be eating a ton of wood if I had gotten the one that does fine all the time. Plus, I'm still optimistic I can close the gap to make mine sufficient all the time by continually tweaking.
 
Made it through. Tonight will be a breeze!

Learned a few things about the better seasoned wood & both the PE & the 13, all positive :)The Dixette is really learning her stove this year, better burns :) Established a "working order" for getting wood into the house (both sides !!) in a cold snap. Figured out the best "fan system" when the blower on the insert is working, or needs a break because the noise is driving me crazy ( to be fixed, I've written about the warbling).

We'll get a 2 day or so break, then back into it again. We're good
devil-smiley-024.gif
 
No problems . . . but I prefer the temps to be in the double digits . . . things are easier when temps are in the teens or twenties.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
FGZ said:
Tonight is our second night of ~9deg F here in NE MA. We've only had one other night of single digit temps and I had a similar experience: I can't keep the house up to temp like I can above 20. So I'm at about "single digit temps - 3, Jotul C450 - 0"

This year is much better than last, with several insulation improvements including rim joists in the basement and insulating the attic fold-down stairs. My energy audit told me about those. I have some further refinements in the insulation dept but these were the biggest. Also I have a lot better store of wood, dryer and more of it. These have all added up to very little oil used since our tank was filled in Oct, and the mild winter has helped a lot too. Single digits have me beat though.

Today I have burned hot and heavy trying to catch back up, and finally got the bedroom temps to go from 62 to 64. Reloading quicker than usual and keeping the fan on high have helped. Here are some future updates that are sure to help: need a block of plate, OAK might keep the outside air out better, and plug more small insulation holes.

I've been wrestling with whether or not I have a big enough insert (Jotul C450), and am fairly convinced I'm big enough once I incorporate the rest of my projects. My house is only about 1200 sq ft and not the greatest layout for wood heat. But I can hit 80* if it's over 20* out, and not drop below 65 during the overnight burn, so a bigger stove would just be too hot and eat more wood. The longer overnight burn would be nice, but I'm steadily getting the trick of extending my overnights.

How well are you fairing? What tricks have helped you overcome those handful of REALLY cold nights, when otherwise your stove keeps up just fine?

That is strange that you can't heat a 1200 sq ft house better than you are even if you get below zero.

Not that great of a layout for heating, but mainly we need more insulation improvements!
 
I'm going to call it a "win", but not by a landslide. I purposefully loaded hot and full late last night with a 11 bio-bricks which is about as much as I can safely load my Kent with. Went to bed with stovetop temps hitting the high side of 650. I don't normally stretch the legs of this stove that far but I've had this stove tap the 700+ with no ill effect. In the morning, I was able to reload from the coalbed, that's not a normal occurrence especially with the bio-bricks - more often than not the morning load needs some help from a quarter cedar or sheet of newsprint. I was able to keep the propane on the quiet side, but not completely off. On the upside, we didn't require any supplemental heat in the bedroom - the heated mattress pad was more than enough - and this is more than I can say for years past - but I attribute that to the additional insulation that I laid down in the attic this year and the good double-pane windows that went in last winter. The biggest thing - no frozen pipes. That's always a good thing.
 
Chinook has been rollin' on 1 for the past few days of single digits. Keeps the house 72, 792sq/ft. It appears no matter what the outside temp is, Chinook on 1 holds the house at ~72 whatever the temp outside is... Right now it's 40s, and it's been on 1 all day and it's... 72. (maybe closer to 73)
 
Winning!
What a great weekend of burning the Rangeley. Dry White Ash, Locust, and Oak kept the house idling at 70 avg day and night. Cranked it up to 78 during the evening for toasty bourbon football...
 
jrcurto,i may have misposted the house size previously but it's 1386 sq ft and at around 0 degrees we can run this stove at 400 to 450 and keep it in the 70's here and in the 80's in the 10x13 stove room. Half of the downstairs has a 2nd story in which we keep the upstairs doors closed to the bedrooms and actually run fans at night up there to stay cool.We like to sleep in the 60 degree range.We have run 275 to 300 till this last weekend.How have you been running?
 
Hey Duane,
Your burn temps sound around the same as me. I have 1000 sq ft downstairs and 800 up top. The 1st floor den where the stove sits is adjacent to the kitchen and they are fully open to each other. The living/dining rooms are open only through archways. The den/stoveroom is above the garage and below the first story attic so it was notoriously cold, Even running the oil furnace hard would not keep it comfortable. First year with the Rangeley I did ok but this summer I reinsulated the 1st story attic and air sealed. That alone made a huge difference in heat transfer across the floor space this year. I also tried to keep the stove no lower than 350 deg as the heat from thaty baby just flows across the ceilings and gets to all the rooms on the bottom floor. The living room on the far side does stays cooler but it has a fireplace if needed and I hope an F 600 is going there next year! My plan is to compress enough heat downstairs to push it upstairs at will. As is now, a bubble of warm air settles right at the base of the stairs to the second floor and helps keep the oil burner thermostat up there under control. Once I insulate/ air seal the second story attic, I will only need oil for hot water. Maybe I should put an F 602 upstairs :)Some day I will open the den to a cathedral and have a spiral staircase to our bedroom and ohh...some day. Anyway, you are right on, 450 deg is the magic number for combustion and heat output when its cold. Short bursts in the 550 area are good too. My 10 yr old son is a tremendous help keeping the stove going hot on weekends, mornings and evenings, he knows enough keep himself and the girls happy and toasty. My draft is great and I have a key damper that I close all the way and cut the air down to half, wow she burns nice. I do have the blower installed but do not use it much. With dry ash and oak from last year and building a hickoy stash with oak for three years out. I have an endless supply of White Ash in the neighborhood, I even strip the standing dead Ash of its bark and split it to 4" and it is burnable in 30 days, incredible. Take care, be safe, stay warm.

Jim
 
FGZ said:
vixster said:
This house has NO insulation between the stucco and plaster walls. The plaster has a nice warm heating effect so I don't want to rip the walls open and replace with sheetrock. Plaster just gives off a lovely warmth it retains.

Have you considered spray foam from the outside to fill the walls? I don't think the holes are too intrusive and it seems like they would be able to patch them back up easily with stucco. I can't imagine no insulation in the exterior walls, I'm surprised your response wasn't "OMG WE'RE BEING PUMMELED!" lol

@FGZ
FGZ, yes, I have looked into this. Because of the structure, the holes would be every 12 inch top and bottom, because of the horizontal posts. I also have been told that the holes look obvious. Do you know anyone who has done so with plaster / stucco walls? Home was built 1917.. I would be interested in do it if it looks good.
 
vixster said:
FGZ said:
vixster said:
This house has NO insulation between the stucco and plaster walls. The plaster has a nice warm heating effect so I don't want to rip the walls open and replace with sheetrock. Plaster just gives off a lovely warmth it retains.

Have you considered spray foam from the outside to fill the walls? I don't think the holes are too intrusive and it seems like they would be able to patch them back up easily with stucco. I can't imagine no insulation in the exterior walls, I'm surprised your response wasn't "OMG WE'RE BEING PUMMELED!" lol

@FGZ
FGZ, yes, I have looked into this. Because of the structure, the holes would be every 12 inch top and bottom, because of the horizontal posts. I also have been told that the holes look obvious. Do you know anyone who has done so with plaster / stucco walls? Home was built 1917.. I would be interested in do it if it looks good.

I had this done in 2007. If done by a reputable company, the patches are invisible. They have kits where they can match up any concrete. I am sure you do not have plaster on your exterior, but if your stucco was painted, I am sure they might be able to match that, too. Best thing is to talk to the company who will be doing the job. This is not a do it yourself project.
 
Finally seeing some winter here : -9F last night (Dangerously cold according to the TV Forecaster ;P) Looks like the cold and the 30 are at a draw. After I woke up it was mid 60's upstairs, and 70 in the basement. Feeding this thing thing every 4-8 hours has keep things plenty toasty, but I have been getting a quick buildup of coals. As long as the house stays above 55 (what I would probably keep it if I had to heat solely with electric), I'm not going to admit defeat.
 
As posted previously winning by a landslide,despite only heating 1600 sq. feet.Lots of windows and house sits on a little knoll overlooking a river catches alot of wind.My motto better to have and not need ,rather than need and not have,I think alot of folks find themselves in this dilemma when purchasing a stove.That's the beauty of a cat stove, can be run cooler in shoulder ,warmer in winter.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.