Confessions of a Wood Burner

[oldspark]

Been heating this house for 30 years with a wood burner in any kind of weather you can think of even with some major air leaks at times and old windows, now I have new windows and sealed up the house better and have a new EPA stove...................................

 

[Badfish740]

The way I see it when I do end up turning the oil furnace on to take the edge off of a cool morning after an all night burn, etc...I'm using literally cups of oil whereas if I had no wood furnace I'd be using gallons.

 

[shawneyboy]

The way I see it when I do end up turning the oil furnace on to take the edge off of a cool morning after an all night burn, etc...I'm using literally cups of oil whereas if I had no wood furnace I'd be using gallons.

+1 ....Couldn't agree with you more there

 

[bogydave]

Before investing in a larger stove, do a serious evaluation of your home's insulation. Regardless of the heat source you choose, better insulation = better heat retention.

+1
Federal Tax incentives/credits (some states also have incentives) are available for home improvements also.
Alaska paid for 100% of the energy audit (rebate after I had the audit)
Then tax credits for any of the suggestions I followed up with.
One of the recommendations was a new efficient wood stove, (I got 30% of cost of the new stove, from federal tax side)

I have forced air & turn the blower to "ON" to help even out the heat inside the house.
Prior to getting forced air, I used fans in certain locations to move air around the house on real
cold days, which was most of Jan & Feb here.

Any heat put out by the wood stove is a help in reducing heating bills.
(If it is efficient, some like can be like fireplaces, the only warm spot is near it, cold air pulled in is more than the heat output)

A new, modern, efficient wood stove is a good investment also (tax credits for some models apply).
Burn less wood & get more heat into the space that's heated. (save $$ for many years)

 

[CTYank]

Before investing in a larger stove, do a serious evaluation of your home's insulation. Regardless of the heat source you choose, better insulation = better heat retention.

And ... various gummint-sponsored research indicates that sealing is possibly more important than insulation. Especially at your min and max elevations, for chimney effect.

For OP, for extreme situations, I've found that the few ounces of kerosene burnt in a 3500 BTU/hr Aladdin lamp make such a lamp a very efficient spot-heater. I can even ease off on the stove, with the intent of letting it burn out. No need yet for this, this year.

 

[soupy1957]

................................................I have forced air & turn the blower to "ON" to help even out the heat inside the house................

We use (as I may have indicated either in my OP or in another thread for sure) a forced-hot-air system. I find that it DOES help, but only marginally.

-Soupy1957

 

[precaud]

Precaud: Absolutely a great point. We had just undergone a reconstruction last winter and I'm certain that our Insulation is up to snuff.

Just curious Soupy, what is "snuff"? How much, what type, where? Have you done a massive leak-sealing crusade?

I think you mentioned you have a basement. I do too. Since I work down there, I have a stove down there and burn on weekdays. I can definitely feel the difference upstairs on the weekends when the basement settles back down to 59-60F. The floor is colder. Not as bad as an uninsulated slab, but colder than when it is 70+ down there. Is there any insulation in your basement?

 

[firefighterjake]

Precaud: Absolutely a great point. We had just undergone a reconstruction last winter and I'm certain that our Insulation is up to snuff.

Just curious Soupy, what is "snuff"? How much, what type, where? Have you done a massive leak-sealing crusade?

I think you mentioned you have a basement. I do too. Since I work down there, I have a stove down there and burn on weekdays. I can definitely feel the difference upstairs on the weekends when the basement settles back down to 59-60F. The floor is colder. Not as bad as an uninsulated slab, but colder than when it is 70+ down there. Is there any insulation in your basement?

Hehheh . . . you are a Maine boy aren't you Soupy since I knew right away what you were saying -- kind of like camp = cabin, dite = a bit, door yard = side of the house facing the driveway, sideboard = kitchen counter next to the sink, etc. Sometimes we forget Mainiacs use a bunch of strange words sometimes . . . and in Pook's case a whole other language.

Precaud --- snuff = to a certain standard or quality.

i.e. I heard Soupy had a fire inspector check his stove installation. Soupy said the inspector said it was up to snuff.

 

[precaud]

jake, I know what 'up to snuff' means... I was asking for details on his insulation.

 

[firefighterjake]

jake, I know what 'up to snuff' means... I was asking for details on his insulation.

Hehheh . . . just a dumb firefighter here . . . sorry about that.