How to convert oil/propane/nat gas burners to the savings???

[hearthnleisure]

My question to the hearth.com public is...what is wrong with your neighbor? Why is he paying 2-3 times as much as you are to heat your home? Whether it be wood or pellet, have you tried to convince a friend, family member or neighbor to check out this site and make a decision that will change their lives forever???

 

[cmonSTART]

Well, I do. But then......

Most people are interested in saving money, but some are not interested in the work and time wood heat requires. (seasoning wood, splitting, stacking, bringing it in, loading the stove, etc.) I also find that a lot of folks in the southern part of NH where I am are a bit hesitant about pellet stoves after the ice storm of '08.

 

[fossil]

I'm a woodburner, not a woodburning evangelist. Some of my neighbors are woodburners, others aren't. None of my business, nor am I invested (emotionally or otherwise) in how they choose to keep their families warm. Rick

 

[webbie]

Being as wood and pellet burners tend to be independent types....that works against the "hey, get an iphone like I have" end of things....somewhat.
I do notice that there is not a lot of evangelism around solid fuel......people just do it. I do remember certain customers, though, who ended up selling a dozen or more stoves for us by telling all their friends, family and neighbors.

Hearth sales usually enjoy a bump when they hit the national or regional news media - but the news has been busy with everything from Trump to the End of Times lately, so it is hard to get attention for a wood stove!

 

[ddddddden]

The most recent discussion like this that I've had was at Lowe's. The nice lady saw me wandering around and asked if she could help me. I told her I was looking for the plastic shelving brackets for 2x4's www.2x4basics.com that I thought I'd seen there before and that I was building firewood racks. In asking other employees, she translated my project as "shelving for his lumber." After a few times, I repeated that my project was for firewood. . .for a woodstove. "For real?! No kidding? My Grandma has one of those. I used to love standing In front of it." Yep, can't beat wood heat. "My neighbor has a pile of wood. . .I've been trying to talk him into getting rid of it, because I'm worried about snakes. If I can talk him into it, would you come and pick up the wood?" She's not the only one with whom I've had similar discussions. The closest I've come to converting anyone is that one of my friend's parentr might get a gas insert. IMO, it's a tough sell in this culture of abundance and convenience.

 

[NH_Wood]

And increase competition for scrounges?............I don't think so........ :cheese:

 

[BrotherBart]

All of the reasons people don't want to burn wood are the reasons that kero, oil and heat pump heaters were invented. Of course energy was cheap then but incomes have increased along with costs.

In 1985 when Dad and Mom were here Pappy thought I was insane heating a new house with wood. He grew up with that as the only heat source and he believed the thermostat and whatever was connected to it were the greatest inventions in history.

Kinda starting to agree with him some days.

 

[begreen]

My dad's company sold and installed hvac systems. We never had a stove in the house, but when he retired they bought a cottage and it had a fireplace. He loved to keep that going and was a firebug at heart.

 

[Dix]

*Sigh* Trying to get the SO to add wood or pellets (prefered) is like cleaning the Augean stables with no river :zip:

Had his heat (oil burner) at 62 F most of the winter, and complained about the cold. Witched about it all winter, too. Loved coming here, said it was toasty >:-(

 

[DexterDay]

I have converted 2 of my close friends to an "Alternative" Fuel Source and My Father. All 3 have Pellet stoves.One bought a CB 1200 like mine upstairs another one is a Forum Member who purchased a Magnum Baby Countryside (Forum Member Barnyard 840x) and I traded my "Timberline" Woodstove I got from my Father for a 2005 Englander 25-PDV. I was gonna put that one in my shop to replace the "Old" one. But his Propane bill has been so high, its killing them.
I just converted to Wood. Have had a Fireplace for years. But just got the Englander 30. Looking forward to this Winter. That is honestly the 1st time I have ever said that. I am years ahead on pellets. Got about 2 cord C/S/S and many more cord to go. Looking to get about 10 cord C/S/S this year. So I am always ahead. Just had my "New" Baby girl Born yesterday. So I have not had much time to work on wood. But still looking to Convert

 

[Intheswamp]

I have converted 2 of my close friends to an "Alternative" Fuel Source and My Father. All 3 have Pellet stoves.One bought a CB 1200 like mine upstairs another one is a Forum Member who purchased a Magnum Baby Countryside (Forum Member Barnyard 840x) and I traded my "Timberline" Woodstove I got from my Father for a 2005 Englander 25-PDV. I was gonna put that one in my shop to replace the "Old" one. But his Propane bill has been so high, its killing them.
I just converted to Wood. Have had a Fireplace for years. But just got the Englander 30. Looking forward to this Winter. That is honestly the 1st time I have ever said that. I am years ahead on pellets. Got about 2 cord C/S/S and many more cord to go. Looking to get about 10 cord C/S/S this year. So I am always ahead. Just had my "New" Baby girl Born yesterday. So I have not had much time to work on wood. But still looking to Convert

New baby girl? Congrats! I've got two daughters and two granddaughters...I'm way outnumbered and loving it!

Ed

 

[Backwoods Savage]

*Sigh* Trying to get the SO to add wood or pellets (prefered) is like cleaning the Augean stables with no river :zip:

Had his heat (oil burner) at 62 F most of the winter, and complained about the cold. Witched about it all winter, too. Loved coming here, said it was toasty >:-(

So Eileen, does this mean you found another way to get him..... Naw....

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It is mostly a waste of time talking to someone about wood heat. I have tried to educate a few on the proper way to put up wood and heat with it but it usually falls on deaf ears. Why? Because that is how dad or grandpa said it should be done! Even folks who burn wood or have burned some in the past are simply amazed at all the wood we have stacked around the place. Wow! pretty much explains the reaction. Just a couple weeks ago we had a visit from and old neighbor. He and I grew up about 1/4 mile apart and both our families heated with wood. Yet, he was amazed at how much wood I have on hand. He could hardly believe it.

And that is also the reason some get into burning wood and then stop. They think you can just go cut some wood and throw it in the stove and you get heat. Sorry; it doesn't work that way.

 

['bert]

I think wood heating is a tough sell here. Much of the economy of our province is driven on the sale of natural gas, so some see it as their duty to burn it. Most people are simply too lazy. There is no shortage of wood here, we are at the doorstep of the boreal forest and there are trees everywhere around us. Sure , its not oak or any of the other premium brands but there is so much it does not matter. Is it the upfront cost of a wood stove? Alternative fuels to wood are just too cheap and people are too lazy. Change one of the those and interest will pick up

 

[begreen]

Wood heating is not for everyone. Rather than try to force the issue, I focus on system efficiency and reduction of heat loss. Just sealing and insulating ductwork can make a nice improvement for some homes. If the person is interested in wood, we discuss options. You have to take it on a case by case basis and overlay that with the desired lifestyle. Wood is good for folks that want to reduce fuel bills and have a warm house. In some cases like ours, it's essential if you want heat during week long power outages. But for a city dweller, with piped in natural gas, it could be a real hassle vs convenient, clean heat.

 

[snowleopard]

Oh, yeah, sure. Every Saturday morning I put on my Carhartts and boots and sweatshirt and hat and bug dope and sun screen and work gloves, and go from house to house knocking on doors and handing out stove manuals. Sometimes people see me coming and pull the curtains (maybe it's the chainsaw?), but I know that someday when the price of fuel oil hits $10 a gallon, they will wish they had listened. If they aren't home, or won't open the door, I leave a bag on their doorknob full of wood shavings.

Seriously, though, it's not so much a question of converting as conversing. I'm more surprised by how many people have woodstoves, so instead of preaching, I'm preaching to the choir. I think it has something to do with where I live--long winters here, long stretches where it can be -30, -40F for extended periods, and the big price run-up of 2008 hit us hard. Now the price that had us gasping then is the norm today, and I think that was just the oil companies running up a test balloon.

You know the old saw about the difference between the pig and the chicken when it comes to breakfast? The chicken's involved, the pig's committed? Up here, we don't have the luxury of not taking this subject seriously. When the gasket failed on my stove door last winter, it was -40 outside and I had no alternative heat (thanks again, gyrfalcon, for staying up and walking me through that repair job that night), and I was facing fixing the stove or draining the pipes and getting us out of there that night. At those temps, we're committed.

An interesting article with an interesting spin:
http://newsminer.com/bookmark/8754507 Check out aurorawatcher's comment near the bottom.

Here's a site that was getting a lot of traffic back in the oil run-up as well. Again, check out the comments at the bottom.
http://www.fairbanksgas.com/

Saturday morning, so it's time to get out there and start converting--or maybe I better just go chop some wood now . . .

 

[richg]

It is mostly a waste of time talking to someone about wood heat. I have tried to educate a few on the proper way to put up wood and heat with it but it usually falls on deaf ears. Why? Because that is how dad or grandpa said it should be done! Even folks who burn wood or have burned some in the past are simply amazed at all the wood we have stacked around the place. Wow! pretty much explains the reaction. Just a couple weeks ago we had a visit from and old neighbor. He and I grew up about 1/4 mile apart and both our families heated with wood. Yet, he was amazed at how much wood I have on hand. He could hardly believe it.

And that is also the reason some get into burning wood and then stop. They think you can just go cut some wood and throw it in the stove and you get heat. Sorry; it doesn't work that way.

Yup. Heating with wood is a journey, not a destination. It's an immense feeling of security to me to see huge stacks of seasoned wood just ready to be burned. With vile dictators and wall street speculators getting rich from petroleum, heating my house with wood is my way of fighting back. That's my story, I'm sticking to it, and cracking another beer.

 

[Dix]

*Sigh* Trying to get the SO to add wood or pellets (prefered) is like cleaning the Augean stables with no river :zip:

Had his heat (oil burner) at 62 F most of the winter, and complained about the cold. Witched about it all winter, too. Loved coming here, said it was toasty >:-(

So Eileen, does this mean you found another way to get him..... Naw....

Ha !! Did I mention the part where he said that I could process his firewood, too, if he got one? That got him more than one raised eye brow, lemme tell ya >:-( (Great, now I sound like those guys who gripe about their unhelpful spouses, SO's, etc.)

I did tell him he wants to convenience of a button or a switch (ala George Jetson) then to not britch about the cost of oil, as his doors are left half open, some windows leak, you get the drift (or is it draft? ;-P ) Also told him if he wants to heat with wood he'd better grab a chainsaw or man the splitter. Hence the pellets. Honestly, I think coal would be a good choice for him, but I doubt he'd go for that.

I wouldn't be suprised if his AC is on today :-S

 

[Dix]

Oh, yeah, sure. Every Saturday morning I put on my Carhartts and boots and sweatshirt and hat and bug dope and sun screen and work gloves, and go from house to house knocking on doors and handing out stove manuals. Sometimes people see me coming and pull the curtains (maybe it's the chainsaw?), but I know that someday when the price of fuel oil hits $10 a gallon, they will wish they had listened. If they aren't home, or won't open the door, I leave a bag on their doorknob full of wood shavings.

Seriously, though, it's not so much a question of converting as conversing. I'm more surprised by how many people have woodstoves, so instead of preaching, I'm preaching to the choir. I think it has something to do with where I live--long winters here, long stretches where it can be -30, -40F for extended periods, and the big price run-up of 2008 hit us hard. Now the price that had us gasping then is the norm today, and I think that was just the oil companies running up a test balloon.

You know the old saw about the difference between the pig and the chicken when it comes to breakfast? The chicken's involved, the pig's committed? Up here, we don't have the luxury of not taking this subject seriously. When the gasket failed on my stove door last winter, it was -40 outside and I had no alternative heat (thanks again, gyrfalcon, for staying up and walking me through that repair job that night), and I was facing fixing the stove or draining the pipes and getting us out of there that night. At those temps, we're committed.

An interesting article with an interesting spin:
http://newsminer.com/bookmark/8754507 Check out aurorawatcher's comment near the bottom.

Here's a site that was getting a lot of traffic back in the oil run-up as well. Again, check out the comments at the bottom.
http://www.fairbanksgas.com/

Saturday morning, so it's time to get out there and start converting--or maybe I better just go chop some wood now . . .

Snow, you, me, K, Perp, Gyr, Shari, Gamma, etc, we're a different breed, me thinx ;-) I attribute it to the DNA

 

[madrone]

Even my friends and relatives who LOVE standing around my stove give me crap about how much wood I have in my yard. And I only have about 2 cords so far this year...

 

[madrone]

And increase competition for scrounges?............I don't think so........ :cheese:

+1

 

[snowleopard]

Snow, you, me, K, Perp, Gyr, Shari, Gamma, etc, we're a different breed, me thinx ;-) I attribute it to the DNA

. . . Nancy, Kathleen, HollowHill (newbie, but earning her stripes quickly), and a few stealth posters who skulk incognito like lady pirates . . .

Irreverent, but your post made me think of an old ditty that folks around here would raise a glass many moons ago and recite: "Here's to Alaska, land of the push, where a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And here's to the ladies, ain't they grand? . . . " and there's more, but we shall let the curtain of discretion drop at this point.

I think some of us are driven--by necessity, by instinct, by the sense of carrying the world on our shoulders, by that force that has been behind much of the rise of civilization--the desire on the part of the female of the species to have a warm backside--. by a willingness to take our licks and learn from our mistakes, and keep on going, by a hunch that oil prices are going to remain at the mercy of speculators and suppliers, and the conviction that blood in the sand is not a price worth paying for oil, or just by a hunch, period--"this is something I am supposed to do . . . "

I consider myself to be in fine company, and I have gotten so much from the association . . . so here's to the ladies of hearth.com, and here's to the gentlemen who make us welcome. To us--good people are scarce.

 

[CTYank]

Neighbors mainly ignore what I do to avoid using any nat.gas. for heat. Friends think I'm crazy, delusional, whatever, just pay their insane bills for oil, gas, whatever, and indirectly encourage environmental damage of "fracking" and oil spills.

OTOH, one Navy buddy who lived nearby some years back caught wind of my "hobby" and asked me some questions. As a Mobil employee, he got $.005 off per gallon of fuel oil, and joked about it. (Yes, 1/2 cent/gal.) Shortly after, he had a Jotul knock-off in the basement, and invited himself into my local scrounging operations, with his almost useless Remington "Mighty Mite Bantam." (Would have been enormously better served with a Wild Thing, but that's another story.)

It's hard to "sell" anyone on the basis of truth or logic. You've to create a demand. See "Mad. Ave." Then again, who wants more competition, 'cept they're friends?

And, yes, conservation works best. Cut avoidable losses.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Snow, you, me, K, Perp, Gyr, Shari, Gamma, etc, we're a different breed, me thinx ;-) I attribute it to the DNA

. . . Nancy, Kathleen, HollowHill (newbie, but earning her stripes quickly), and a few stealth posters who skulk incognito like lady pirates . . .

Irreverent, but your post made me think of an old ditty that folks around here would raise a glass many moons ago and recite: "Here's to Alaska, land of the push, where a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And here's to the ladies, ain't they grand? . . . " and there's more, but we shall let the curtain of discretion drop at this point.

I think some of us are driven--by necessity, by instinct, by the sense of carrying the world on our shoulders, by that force that has been behind much of the rise of civilization--the desire on the part of the female of the species to have a warm backside--. by a willingness to take our licks and learn from our mistakes, and keep on going, by a hunch that oil prices are going to remain at the mercy of speculators and suppliers, and the conviction that blood in the sand is not a price worth paying for oil, or just by a hunch, period--"this is something I am supposed to do . . . "

I consider myself to be in fine company, and I have gotten so much from the association . . . so here's to the ladies of hearth.com, and here's to the gentlemen who make us welcome. To us--good people are scarce.

Well, snowleopard, Eileen, and others, I'm not into this thing about men or women being superior. It seems to me what you are describing could be related to either sex. Actually there is not too much difference between male and female except for the plumbing and a few other obvious differences (thank God). Perhaps it is because of the difference in strength that people try to show superior differences but that not important. Man has more muscles (most of us) than women. Women have more dexterity. Does this make either superior? Not in my book it doesn't. It is no different than the differences between two men; one strong and the other weak or between women; one intelligent and the other not quite so. I am very happy there are differences in people; men and women but I really thank God for the females!

 

[snowleopard]

Dennis, sounds like I have once again failed to make myself clear. This isn't about any arm-wrestling competition between men and women.

I took Dixie's comment as contrasting the women who post here with those who walk over and turn up the thermostat when they get cold--not women contrasted with men. I thought she was saying that we are doing something that a lot of women wouldn't attempt--just as the men here are, which is the point (in a way) of the original thread, and I acknowledged the compliment of being part of a kind of exclusive group. There have been times when heating with wood is challenging and difficult, and without hearth.com, it would have been a lonely road to walk.

And the comment in my last paragraph was also sincere-I started reading hearth.com cautiously, aware that females made up a minority, and wondering if there was a place for a newbie such as myself. But here, I have never felt unwelcome based on my gender.

That "Here's to us" comment was inclusive of all of us--male and female, newbie and oldtimer, hydraulic and hand-splitter, and yes, even the pellet burners. Heating with wood, and doing it right is a commitment. I spent yesterday getting out there and chopping wood off and on until 11 pm in the heat and the skeets, and I plan on going out there again in a few minutes. Coming on here is how I work myself up to going out there when I'm tired to the bone and still have work to do. And of all the folks here, you're probably the one that most motivates me--I think, "C'mon, get off the computer and get out there--gotta make Dennis proud."

Just thought you should know that.