New Guy; forced into burning for primary heat.

First year burning also. I bought my Hampton HI 300 in March. We paid like the 3200 bucks with the install. Like everyone else, I don't trust the seasoned wood guys, though I bought what I was told was a cord in march for 185$, and probably had another 1/2 cord or so from wood I cut stacked from Storm Sandy. Think I will rely on pressed blocks.

I tried Bio Bricks and Hot Bricks I bought at BT Enterprises in Bristol, CT and preferred the Hot Bricks. Today I bought some factory seconds/slightly damaged bricks directly from the Hot Bricks Company for 185$ a ton. A ton of the Hot Bricks at BT is 240$, which I also bought. So far I've spent 610$, on wood/bricks and we will see how far we get. My wife and I did the math on the oil last year and it was almost six grand for the year.

I invested in the stove because we were spending 575, to as much 685 every 4.5-6 weeks, in the winter. With a three and four year old and perpetually cold wife, having a cold house is just not an option.

I plan on breaking down some pallets as well. My brother in law heats exclusively with pallets which I think is a little crazy but their house is never cold.

Like the OP I am in the learning phase of burning, and I did not mean to hijack this thread. I hope people find the info on factory second bricks useful. I found their ad on craig's list, and they just ask that you call ahead.

I've been reading the forum regularly since before I bought my stove insert, and feel like this place is a great resource for a newbie. Struck up a conversation with an aquiantance who heats excusively from wood and is a scrounger. Told me he he will help me get started next spring and even offered to bring his heavy duty splitter.
We will see if that materializes.

I don't think I will be oil free ever, but If I can cut that oil bill in half, I will get a return on investment in short time.

$6000 for oil heat is nuts. Back in 2008 I think we were at around $3500 for the season heating with propane.... 3300 sf house.
I put the two wood stoves in and it dropped to almost zero cost... just labor and fuel (not counting payback). Since then though I purchased the 500 gal underground tank from Amerigas so I own it. Today I can purchase propane for $1.60 gal delivered. Prices have come down on LP and owning the tank allows you to shop. So for around $700 I can fill the tank and only need a second filling during the year if I don't burn wood. Now we don't even burn wood during the shoulder seasons much. Just for fun. That saves us the wood for the cold part of winter and we get away with less than $1000 for the whole year. The stoves and installs have already paid for themselves over the last couple of years.

I heated my house last year well under a $1000 and at 72 degrees my wife would complain it's cold. If I had more and better wood it would have been even less.

Doug MacIVER said:

pick up every pallet you see. free heat. scrounge around industrial parks, with permission to take any extra pallets. don't be afraid of pine, just doesn't last as long as harder wood. if you can afford canawick, eco bricks, ect, @ $275-300/ton do so. don't waste green wood, wait til it is dry. good luck

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I think it's a waste to burn pallets. I prefer to use them to lay on the ground before stacking the wood. Keeps the bottom layer of wood on the pile from getting soaked with moisture, rotting, etc. Usually have to replace them every 2-3 years. The best ones to use, if you can find them, are made out of some kind of plastic material and won't rot.

I burn the local version of biobricks exclusively but I'm not doing 24/7 burns... It would be hard to pull that off IMO. The small 2lb bricks make wonderful shoulder season or quick fires, but the larger 7-8lb blocks are better for "endurance" fires so long as they're close together but not packed tight. I try to have a mix of them, more of the 2lb bricks since we do shorter fires more often.

My pattern for night fires is 2lb bricks in a loose pyramid to get the stove hot, then on the reload (250-300F stovetop) load 2-4 big blocks, manage the air for 30min to turn it down, then go to bed.

Donk4kyv said:

I think it's a waste to burn pallets. I prefer to use them to lay on the ground before stacking the wood. Keeps the bottom layer of wood on the pile from getting soaked with moisture, rotting, etc. Usually have to replace them every 2-3 years. The best ones to use, if you can find them, are made out of some kind of plastic material and won't rot.

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waste? when business was business years ago, I would cut up as much as a cord a year of quality dry hardwood. store it in my garage. pellet companies pickup large volume customers excess pallets. waste.

newburner said:

If I can get by this winter on 4 cord, I'll have spent $700 on fuel as opposed to the $1,800+ I spent every year on oil.

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Welcome!

If you've been spending $1,800 a year on oil in Mass, you either have a pretty tight house and/or you're pretty frugal with the thermometer. 4 cords seems reasonable, particularly if you spend some time studying optimal burning habits. You don't need to keep the stove loaded and burning hot all the time...build it, let it burn down, rebuild it, let it burn down... (not out). When I was first burning, I went through a lot more wood!

lml999 said:

Welcome!

If you've been spending $1,800 a year on oil in Mass, you either have a pretty tight house and/or you're pretty frugal with the thermometer. 4 cords seems reasonable, particularly if you spend some time studying optimal burning habits. You don't need to keep the stove loaded and burning hot all the time...build it, let it burn down, rebuild it, let it burn down... (not out). When I was first burning, I went through a lot more wood!

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Yeah, $1800 Isnt bad, I was spending about $4,000 til I got my stove, now I spend about $1,500. This year I got a bigger stove and hope to cut that $1,500 down even more.

I haven't used any propane for heating so far. A stove and an insert going opposite ends of each other. Outside 34 degrees downstairs 78, upstairs 69.

To have enough hot coals for a restart after 7 hours should not be that surprising but more the norm.

Split those pine pieces in half and check their moisture content. They probably dried some through the ends but may not be ready for this winter.

My bad. I thought it had a 2 cu ft firebox but it looks to be more like 1.4. Yep, 7 hours is pretty good then. Are you trying to get through the winter just with the insert? That will be a real challenge. Good luck.

newburner said:

Yes. As the topic states, I've been forced into burning wood for primary heat. I know it'll be a huge challenge but I'm growing more confident as we move through the season.

Just to re-hash, our oil furnace crapped the bed this summer. It literally disintegrated due to rust. We have very little money to spend and replacing it was not an option. We opted to take advantage of our existing fireplace by installing an insert. I got pretty much the only one we could afford, the Century cw2500. It took maxing out our credit cards to buy and install.

When I started this thread, I had huge reservations. I thought we'd freeze to death this winter but as I gain more experience with the insert and learn what it can do and what it can't, I've become more and more confident.

My wife and I both like our home on the cooler side. Usually around 62°. So far, this little insert has kept the house way hotter than we are comfortable with. Hopefully, that will continue once the real cold weather arrives.

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Something else to keep you warm could be electric radiators. We have a "propain" boiler and in order to keep from blowing through it we use a stove, insert, and 3 electric plug in radiators in the bed rooms. My electric has only gone up 20 over the summer per month and I burn all free wood from Craigslist and Facebook. Good luck!

Take a look at electric blankets. They use an almost negligible amount of electricity per night and will keep you warm and toasty. My wife loves hers.

Grisu said:

Take a look at electric blankets. They use an almost negligible amount of electricity per night and will keep you warm and toasty. My wife loves hers.

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I'll second that, but we like the heated mattress pads better. Same thing but goes under your sheets. Of course the room air is still cold, but you'll be toasty.

newburner said:

I split about a dozen of them today. They ranged in the 15-19%. Should pine be drier or is that good?

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No, that's good. Should actually be easier to control than pine that is more dry. Be careful when loading the insert full with that stuff. It burns quite differently than hardwood. You may need to turn down the air much sooner than usual.

Sounds like you're doing great newburner! I can't remember, do you have a liner? Can you keep an eye on the chimney easily? It sounds like you have some decent wood, but it's always good to keep an eye on the chimney just in case...

newburner said:

Yes. As the topic states, I've been forced into burning wood for primary heat. I know it'll be a huge challenge but I'm growing more confident as we move through the season.

Just to re-hash, our oil furnace crapped the bed this summer. It literally disintegrated due to rust. We have very little money to spend and replacing it was not an option. We opted to take advantage of our existing fireplace by installing an insert. I got pretty much the only one we could afford, the Century cw2500. It took maxing out our credit cards to buy and install.

When I started this thread, I had huge reservations. I thought we'd freeze to death this winter but as I gain more experience with the insert and learn what it can do and what it can't, I've become more and more confident.

My wife and I both like our home on the cooler side. Usually around 62°. So far, this little insert has kept the house way hotter than we are comfortable with. Hopefully, that will continue once the real cold weather arrives.

Click to expand...

I just got a cw2500 also and I have to say I am rather pleased. It certainly heats my first floor.