Need Advice on heating my home

[Mothra]

Purchased a home that was built in 1895. I believe that it is fairly well insulated, after talking with the previous owner, however, that remains to be seen. The home currently has hydronic baseboard heat produced from a propane fueled boiler. I want to cut the cord from propane. I am now the owner of a 1000 gallon propane tank, but the previous owner said that he had to fill at least twice per year. Yikes. The home is essentially three stories, 2 stories finished, but with 6-800 sq ft of unfinished attic. The first and second floors equal roughly 2800-3000 sq ft. I live in Northwest Ohio, the winters get cold, but it's not like I'm in Wisconsin or Maine. Right now, I'm thinking about an OWB to plug into the current setup. Is this a good idea? Better than an indoor wood burner? Does anyone have any idea how much wood I would need to cut to heat the home? I do have a supply of wood available for me to cut, but just curious. Does anyone have any suggestions on brands, sizes, etc? I've been reading the forums here, very informative, just want to try to tailor an answer to my situation. Sorry about the novel.

 

[Mothra]

To be honest, I don't care what the 'correct' answer is, I just want to figure out the best way to heat my home.

 

[stee6043]

If you're burning 2,000 gallons of propane per year your house is far, far from well sealed. My suggestion is to first invest heavily in sealing your house. Your return on investment from proper insulation will be much faster than on the heating side. If you jump straight to heating you're treating the symptom and not the problem (too much heat loss).

Once you're all sealed up you can learn a lot about wood heating here on this site.

 

[maple1]

The way fuel prices are right now, and with the time of the year it is right now, spend the winter educating yourself & doing some planning, and maybe cutting wood too. Agree with stee - does the state have any energy assessment type programs? Some jurisdictions offer them, that start with a heat loss assessment & blower door test - then you can tackle issues. Fix any insulation & air sealing problems first. As far as your OWB questions - that will come down to what you can handle. If you decide you need to have the wood unit outside - I would consider an indoor boiler in an outbuilding before a typical OWB. But for me, inside in the basement is the hands down way to go. In my case. With the propane use you mention, you could be looking at up to in the area of 20 cords (that's full, real cords) of wood a year to keep a OWB running. That is a full time job, almost. Spend this winter & spring cutting & putting up wood, see how much you end up with come spring or summer, then assess if you can keep yourself in 20 cords a year (for however many years you plan to be there) based on that. That will be the primary factor in deciding whether a OWB is right for you. If it turns out no, at least you will have found out before making a huge purchase & committment. Some buy the boiler first, then don't realize until it's too late what they've really signed themselves up for.

 

[GENECOP]

Spend a few months here searching and reading....most of your questions will be answered...

 

[Minnesota Marty]

My 2 cents:
I agree the weatherization of the building is forefront. Check with your electrical utility to see if they offer low cost or no cost home weatherization surveys. In our area those surveys are about $150 with a credit on the utility bill if you incorporate some to the suggestions. If they don't offer it you might check to see if you could get a private weatherization surveyor. That cost might be $300 to $400 but still worth the money.
I agree with the others, spend this year until the next heating season cutting wood so it has a chance to be ready to burn next year and research the weatherization aspects. Remember, you can eat the elephant in one bite. Do what you can as you can afford it. Also, check with your local governing body to see if there are low cost loans for weatherization, that might help the wallet.
The "cream" of which boiler to choose will rise to the top while doing your research. It has done that for most of us here.