Poll...Dependance on wood heat

How reliant are you on wood heat?

I would like to use wood as my primary, but as I have some physical limitations and I am getting older, I am not so sure how practical that would be. Still, I plan on saving money in the coming year, as this will be my second year burning, so the initial costs have been spent (stove, installation, chimney liner, wood racks, stove tools, moisture meter, thermo-gun, mats, etc.).

Wood heat is all I've used for the past 5 years and that's all I plan on using for many years to come if I am alive and willing! I have two brand new gas furnaces on seperate zones in my 2850 sq. ft. house, the only time they are turned on is to check them out in the fall.......

I had to answer < 50%. Right now Id guess we are at 30-40% wood.

I would use it as the primary if I could, however my wife is not comfortable dealing with the stove and the kids while I am at work so we are weekends and the occasional evening only. That and natgas is so cheap that its not worth the effort to burn in the shoulder season.

For the last two years I have only used oil to heat DHW. I start the oil fired boiler once a month to make sure there are no problems. As soon as the radiators heat up it is shut down again. I am considering replacing the coal/wood stove that is located downstairs with something that has a hot water coil option to eliminate my last ~200 gallons of oil a year. I will not remove the oil fired boiler due to insurance requirements and the occasional winter vacation.

KaptJaq

Hey J

I had the same problem with my wood stove. Too much hassle for wife and kids! I got tired of doing all the work myself. So I got a wood pellet stove. It runs all day and I just have to dump in a bag in the evening, then it runs all night!

Saves a fortune in OIL ! I Only use oil for DHW now, not a drop for heat, so only one tank of oil per year when the price is low. I like waving to the oil trucks and talking to the drivers when they fill up my neighbors! I ask what the price is since I do not have a clue and they wonder why.

Anyway, I got 2 wood pellet stoves for sale that I went thru with a fine tooth comb and I know they will work well for a long time!

So if your interested give me a holla.

See
http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/us-stove-5660-48-000-btu-wood-pellet-stove-1195-salem-nh.87467/

See
http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/...00-btu-wood-pellet-stove-1595-salem-nh.88006/

Never intended to burn as much as I do -- originally got into wood heat thinking it would help me cope with the $4+ per gallon heating oil a few years back if I managed to just burn on evenings and weekends . . . took me maybe two weeks before I realized that heating with wood was relatively easy and a heckuva lot cheaper than burning dinosaur bones . . . haven't looked back since then . . . although I still keep the dino heater on stand by for when I'm gone for extended periods of time or for when the temps in the house dip below 60 degrees F . . . after a while on those sub zero days you become tuned to the sound of the oil boiler kicking on and the registers heating up and it works better than an alarm clock to get you out of bed and working on getting the fire cranking in the woodstove.

I could go 100% wood heat if needed but the price of nat gas is tempting me to turn the furnace on at times and even thinking of a gas stove for the basement.

I wouldn't be so reliant if my furnace worked. We usually don't go anywhere in the winter anyway, as the kids have school, wife works at school, and I work the weekends. If I had a real job, I suppose I would get it fixed.

I too have physical limitations and they tell me I'm getting older now too. Still, I can't imagine going without wood heat. With that in mind, we have enough wood on hand that is c/s/s to run us through the 2019-2020 heating season. And that is partially because of those physical limitations that we have so much wood on hand. There are other reasons too with one being simply that I enjoy cutting wood. Great exercise in the winter months and it saves a pastel of cash too.

So to the poll, we have heated with wood well over 50 years now and expect to continue for many, many more.

I make sure the furnace still works every year so 90%

I went for primary. Started out just as supplemental in 2008 but the bug got me and the more I heated with wood the more I wanted to heat with wood. Propane furnace great for taking the chill of when the stove would be too much but that's about the only time now.

Been using just pellets (and my Pre Fab fireplace/ although it didnt do much) for several yrs. Only had the 30-NC for last season. But my pellet consumption went from almost 4.5 (225 bags) ton the yr before, to a shade over 2 ton (110 bags). But I used almost 3 cord of wood (heating 2,180 upstairs and 800 sq of a 2,180 sq ft basement / 4,360 together, w/ all doors open).

I have enough wood on hand for 3 yrs now and enough pellets for 2-3 yrs..... I will not go back the the "Pro-Pain" until I am forced to... Whether it be physical limitations, age, etc.... Going from about $3,600 a yr to the few hundred now ($400 in pellets and whatever my time, gas, oil, equipment, etc is worth/ you know.. Free Wood ).

I love Wood and Wood Pellets. The pellets are more of a Primary. As they have T-stats and actually act like a furnace (one is a furnace) lighting themselves when heat is needed and going out when heat isnt needed. But I still Burn wood all day and night to reduce the consumption. Although an uninsulated basement isnt ideal. Im saving about 50% in pellets. And the basement is 90° for Mama when she does the laundry.

The Propane man hasnt came here in 3 yrs (this Nov). We are still around 40% from that fill 3 yrs ago (still cook with Pain).... Lookin forward to keepin him at bay.

Natural gas is cheap. I burn because I like it....and I run alot warmer this way than I would with a furnace

Until I find someone to remove our huge multi-fuel boiler, it's 100% wood heat for us. We have electric heat in the basement if we need it. A guy looked at the old boiler for scrap but said that he didn't have a way to cut it up (too big to fit through the doorways) without the risk of asbestos spreading everywhere.

Oil furnace just kicks on once in a great while about 4am -6am if its like 10 degrees out. Other then that, it's all wood heat. Also have an unlimited wood supply from our farm. So I'd say 95% wood heat. I like to run the oil furnace once in a while, just to keep the pump from sitting too long.

Supplement to Nat Gas.


I can't stand hearing the boiler run.
I grew up having a wood stove in the parents house and really liked it.
We are able to keep the house warmer in the winter without spending crazy money.
I like to be outside in the winter hiking and ice fishing. Feeling that heat coming back in the house is priceless.


The downside is we sometimes can't get the neighbors out of the house when we want to.

Wow that is quite a savings in Pro-Pain ---- Way to Go!

I guess it's all relative. To me, anything other than wood is expensive. It would cost me almost 5x in Nat. gas as it does wood to heat this place. Maybe more.
I've never run the furnace full time, and turned it off a few years ago.
So, I'm one of the 100%-er folks.

For that reason alone, I TOTALLY AGREE! Nothing like coming back in the house on a cold, snowy day from riding the snowmobile or hunting to a warm cozy fire.....Oh and it's also nice to be able to have half the windows in the house opened up during a snowstorm in February because you loaded too much white oak and locust in the stove. And all the while turning your nose (and your middle finger) up at the gas company!

For about forty years now I have heated more or less with wood. The older I get the more I like it. I am like others. The gas furnace gets checked in the fall but never runs unless the bottom drops out, and even then, now, with 2 stoves, i can keep up. Last winter was a bit of a challenge, recovering from a broken back, but it made me appreciate burning wood it even more.

I'm probably adding a 2nd Heritage in a 2,000 sq foot building because I can't quite get it warm enough with one. That has nothing to do with economics. That's the obsession with wood heating and tweaking.

This winter will be my second with a stove, planning to get 60% or so wood heat. generally nights, weekends, afternoons,Can't let dog get cold on weekdays, Can't have a fire with the dog at home alone. Having trouble training her to keep fire consistent