How to use wood stove to supplement oil most efficiently?

[MainePatsFan]

I am not a 24/7 burner. Someday I might consider one of the indoor wood-fired boilers if heating oil continues to cost what it does now, but I am trying to use my little wood stove in the most efficient manner to minimize the amount of oil that I burn this winter. I have set-back thermostats in our house, a 1,750 sq ft Cape. The Century will heat the entire bottom floor and the upstairs zone gets setback in the day time. So if I have a fire going during the day, I don't think the oil boiler will come on at all except for the hot water. But I have not been getting a fire going until the house has been heated back up by the oil boiler starting at 6:00 AM. I'm guessing that I would need to get up early enough to let the wood stove heat the downstairs back up in the morning to reduce my oil consumption the most. It seems like that is when the boiler runs the most so it would make sense that this would be the time to supplement right? Originally I was only going to burn on particularly cold days, but when I see how quiet this stove makes my boiler, I'm starting to think I want to burn more.

Anyone thought all these issues out before?

Thanks.

 

[jkupcha]

I burn very similar to you. Not 24/7 but just enough to reduce my gas consumption. In the Morning the wife wants the house warm for the kids so she throws the furnice on at about 65 degrees. Then once I'm up I clean out the insert and get the fire going so by around 7am it is able to heat the house. I usually burn wood till about bedtime which is 9pm and let the coals go out by themselves. Then the whole process starts again.

 

[JimWalshin845]

I didn't see that you are loading the stove up before you go to bed?

Keeping the home warm over nite with the stove will mean less time your oil furnace has to play catch-up in the AM

 

[RedRanger]

PatsFan: Your situation is very similiar to ours. Very difficult to get that heat upstairs without a boost. We also use programmable thermostat. Only spent $550 on oil last year for our old boiler. We use the boiler to keep us at about 58 degrees overnight, and in the morning before I light the fireplace again it kicks the temp up to 65 degrees. We have found that we cant get the temp up only by the wood insert itself. We also have a propane insert on the 3rd floor (spent $300 last year on propane). I get that going in the morning till the temperature is 70 degrees. Now for most days, once we have the comfort temp established the wood fireplace will mostly maintain the temperature for us with the employment of blower fan, doorway fan, and 2 ceiling fans. Most years our total heating costs are approx $1500, that includes $660 for 4 cords of firewood. Might be a little less this year, with the new baffle in our insert and this is the first year employing the doorway fan. For your info, last year when the temp outside was 24 degrees and the power was out for 36 hours we could only get 64 degrees with the 2 fireplaces"no power means no fans". I think you will find that using your fireplace 16 hours a day will still result in significant savings. Happy burning!!

 

[JimWalshin845]

PatsFan: Your situation is very similiar to ours. Very difficult to get that heat upstairs without a boost. We also use programmable thermostat. Only spent $550 on oil last year for our old boiler. We use the boiler to keep us at about 58 degrees overnight, and in the morning before I light the fireplace again it kicks the temp up to 65 degrees. We have found that we cant get the temp up only by the wood insert itself. We also have a propane insert on the 3rd floor (spent $300 last year on propane). I get that going in the morning till the temperature is 70 degrees. Now for most days, once we have the comfort temp established the wood fireplace will mostly maintain the temperature for us with the employment of blower fan, doorway fan, and 2 ceiling fans. Most years our total heating costs are approx $1500, that includes $660 for 4 cords of firewood. Might be a little less this year, with the new baffle in our insert and this is the first year employing the doorway fan. For your info, last year when the temp outside was 24 degrees and the power was out for 36 hours we could only get 64 degrees with the 2 fireplaces"no power means no fans". I think you will find that using your fireplace 16 hours a day will still result in significant savings. Happy burning!!

Hey Sonny... watch those words "Fireplace"... that's a dirty word around here!... just kiddin. And when you said $660 for 4 cords I forgot that was Can/Dollars... wheewwww!

Banger.... where are you in S. Jersey?.... we are in the Wharton Forest. Welcome aboard!

Jim & Kathy

 

[RedRanger]

Alright Jim: INSERT,INSERT INSERT And hey, the diff is only a cent or two now.