One 18" face cord would be 48 cu ft. You would need 2 2/3ds face cords to equal a full cord.
Last edited:
The Philosophy of Heating Large or Drafty Homes
- Thread starter Ashful
- Start date
-
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
brad wilton
Feeling the Heat
Thislilfishy
Member
Similar here, I have the advantage of much less floor space, new windows and doors. However the house is double course brick, about a 4" air space, a single layer of cardboard (Honest, like the stuff boxes are made of) and then plaster. Some walls have 2" strapping over the plaster and a thin layer of insulation and drywall. The worst is the kitchen with the disused cistern under it, the kitchen floor can be cold enough to make your feet hurt. One day I WILL cut open the cistern and insulate that floor, but the basement walls are 2' thick stone. Figure I will need a gas saw for that job. That said I have much less floor space (maybe 1400 sq feet including the unfinished basement). The little Napoleon has saved us a tonne of money this year. Our goal was only to save money on propane, not really using the Woodstove for sole heat. However, other then the deep freeze over the last week or so, it has been. We've set the furnace at 19C (66F) and let the Woodstove do all the heavy lifting. I think I am going to cut open that cistern this year, insulate the floor and use it as a cold cellar. These old houses leak air like a sieve, you do what you can financially to seal things up, but the key really is to keep the living areas warm and close off all the unnecessary rooms until needed.
Ian
Ian
Seasoned Oak
Minister of Fire
I think in the old days people did not even try to heat the entire huge house to 70 deg. Probably slept near the fireplace or stove on the coldest days. Think of 3/4 of your house as 3 seasons rooms.
In the old days many poor folks moved into their underground basement and lived there in of the winter because it was easier to heat with one fireplace.
ailanthus
Feeling the Heat
There's probably quite a few of us with that mentality still around. During a cold snap I'd be happy if the avg temperature throughout the house was above 60. The room with the stove, 70-75, elsewhere 60's & 50's.
Every time I hear the forecast for the night in The Valley I go and throw another split in the stove. You guys get damned cold out there.
ailanthus
Feeling the Heat
True, a little cooler out here than NoVa/DC, but then I read some of these guys' posts from the upper midwest & Canada & I think I've got it easy.
Diabel
Minister of Fire
brad wilton
Feeling the Heat
When I was a kid, I got to see how my grandparent's generation lived in some of the houses that had been in my family for hundreds of years, and some of them did in fact do all of their winter lounging and entertaining in just one room. However, they always still slept in the (much colder) bedrooms. The bedrooms always had fireplaces (open), but I think they mostly just relied on heavy pajamas and blankets, rather than hauling wood upstairs to light a fireplace for the night. They still used the whole house, but any time sitting was in the living room by the stove, you wouldn't sit and read in a cold bedroom in winter.
The house in which I live now has timbles in at least two rooms on every floor of the main house. More specifically, the 1770's portion of the house has at least one thimble in basement (was always finished), two on first floor, and two on second floor. A ca.1900 addition added at least two more thimbles, for basement furnace and kitchen cook stove. They must have gone thru astounding amounts of wood, but it does appear they had provisions for keeping the entire house heated all winter.
brad wilton
Feeling the Heat
I am quite impressed with our ancestors. I have been trying to figure out how they heated this place with such a dinkyass fireplace the only one that I can find is were my woodstoves sits
ailanthus
Feeling the Heat
My place has 6 thimbles (only 3 chimneys). I still had to put in a manufactured chimney as none of the original ones were close to suitable, even for dropping in a liner. Still, I guarantee they weren't maintaining modern comfortable temperatures throughout the house. Expectations were just different. I'm just thankful my wife (& kids, but they don't know any different) tolerates big variations throughout the house, otherwise 100% wood heat would not be happening here.
charger4406
Feeling the Heat
This stone house has a thimble in every room, including the summer kitchen.
Only room without one is the sixth bedroom over the " newer addition" circa 1880-1890.
Although I was able to heat it with one stove burning pretty hot, it is far more comfortable
running two stoves on lower stove top temps.
mostly bare stone walls with new windows and only insulation is foam under roof,
still pretty drafty.
Only room without one is the sixth bedroom over the " newer addition" circa 1880-1890.
Although I was able to heat it with one stove burning pretty hot, it is far more comfortable
running two stoves on lower stove top temps.
mostly bare stone walls with new windows and only insulation is foam under roof,
still pretty drafty.
BradleyW
Burning Hunk
Kevin Dolan
Burning Hunk
Bart you are getting old and crochety.
Cold is cold, I remeber being in Russia and told not to take my boots off coz my feet would freeze and I would not get them back on, good advice. Jumped in with the 101 man that goes back a long way, sorry for wandering.
F4jock
Minister of Fire
maple1
Minister of Fire
I might have considered leaving one in for ambiance if the ambiance is highly desired.
But I would have absolutely added either a wood or pellet boiler to the baseboard system.
Curious what the oil bill is even after the savings? Still must be sizeable.
F4jock
Minister of Fire
Living in a home of that heritage and maintaining it in that condition is more a lifestyle choice than anything. One must suffer for their art. . . .or cut down on labor and expense with a pellet boiler and a few pellet stoves for ambiance.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
The conversion on that is 1 Canada tonne equals 2.7 US face tons, right?
I've never added up total heating costs, as we have a mix of oil, propane, and electric. I can say that we still burn about $3500 in oil for an average winter, with 5.5 cords of hardwoods, and estimates put our oil usage without wood over $7k.
I had received suggestions to put a wood boiler in our basement, before installing the second stove. I rejected that, as I didn't want to do that much work processing firewood, to hide it in my basement. I wanted to sit in front of the fire.
A pellet boiler might be a good idea, tho. It could be installed next to my oil-fired boiler, with some work. Substantial install cost, and double maintenance, but that's not out of the question. The bigger issue is that I just paid to have my chimney re-worked a year ago (new liner, new lathe and stucco), and there's no room in that chimney for a second liner. I couldn' knock it down and build a larger chase for two liners, when we rebuild the part of the house to which it's connected, but I hate throwing away money already spent on that repair. I also hate the idea of storing 7 tons of pellets, which is what it would take to get us off oil.
F4jock
Minister of Fire
You can easily cross connect the pellet with the oil. You'd save about $1,500 a year in oil if your estimates are right.
Hogwildz
Minister of Fire
N
Not quite 1 full cord at 18". They would have to be 24" on avg for 2 to equal 1 cord.
Kevin Dolan
Burning Hunk
That is why you are
what is a us face tonne?The conversion on that is 1 Canada tonne equals 2.7 US face tons, right?
brad wilton
Feeling the Heat
- Status
Similar threads
