We might want a wood stove. Do we actually?

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williaty

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Jan 12, 2015
103
Licking County, Ohio
Last year, we bought our first house and it’s turned out to have some problems. It’s heated by a ground-referenced heat pump (aka American geothermal) which returns air just a degree warmer than the intake air. While, over time, it will raise the ambient temperature up to where you want it, it never feels warm and frankly feels downright cold while the furnace is running. Add to this the fact the first owner/builder didn’t seal any of the sheathing so we leak like a sieve, have 2 skylights, and have 300sqf of single-pane glass on the end of the house, and the result is a house that’s pretty uncomfortable in the winter. For several years prior to moving here, we’d been using kerosene heaters to heat my shop (I’m a mechanic) in the winter. Out of desperation, we brought one in last winter when the temps went to -20F plus wind and the furnace couldn’t keep up. Turns out to be one of the best things we ever tried because my wife LOVES the little radiant heater. We have both a large convection and small radiant kero heater and it’s the smaller radiant that she loves. We tend to run it any time the outdoor temps are below 50F. When it’s between 30F and 50F, she’ll usually come home from work and let the heat from cooking make the house warm for a bit. Then, I’ll light the heater after dinner and it’ll run for 2-3 hours while she showers, dries off by baking in front of it, and then she gets ready for bed (at which point I put it out). When the temps are below 30F outside, or if the wind is really blowing, I tend to light it when the sun goes down at about 4:30pm and burn it until I go to bed at 3-4am.

The problem we’ve run into is that kerosene has become extremely expensive around here and it’s getting increasingly hard to buy. The last place we could buy 55 gallon drums of 1-K from just changed their policies and we have to give them way more personal information than we’re willing to just to hand them a stack of cash and buy a drum. Tonight, we drove 2 hours to get to a place that sells 1-K at the pump and I’m a little worried about that because it was cloudy orange (not dyed, more like rust colored). Hopefully, that’s something I can filter out so we have enough kero to get us to the end of the heating season. In other words, we’re sick and tired of dealing with sourcing kerosene.

On the other hand, we have 2 wooded acres and enough logging to do to get the property back to health to provide a significant amount of fuel for a wood stove over the next few years as it dries out. There’s also a family about half a mile down the road who sells firewood professionally and their price per cord is quite good. Using the calculator provided here on hearth.com, it looks like heating with hardwood should cost about 12% of what we’re currently paying for kero and about 60% of what we’re currently paying to run the heat pump. Even spending rather a lot on a wood stove, that leads to a pretty quick payoff!

Summary of conditions: 1400sqf somewhat leaky house, stove installed in 2.5-story cathedral ceilinged great room with open floor plan to kitchen/dining (1st floor) and loft (2nd floor). Hardwood available both for free and from pros down the road. Install will be free-standing.

My concern is whether or not we’re a good fit for a wood stove, and that’s why I’m coming to you all. Here’s how my questions and priorities break down:

1) Most important: Wife must feel warm when sitting near or in the same room as the wood stove. She gets this feeling from sitting right in front of the radiant kero heater and to a lesser extent from sitting 20 feet away from it in the same room (obviously with it pointed at her) but doesn’t get this feeling even being right up close to the convection kero heater.

2) If we have a wood stove anyway just to feel comfortable in the evenings, we may as well use it to offset some of the main furnace heating cost.

3) If we have a wood stove anyway, it needs to function as emergency heating when the power is out. Note that under these conditions, I’m perfectly fine with the stove only being able to keep the house at 50F. There’s no need to get it all the way up to 70F. Basically, if we can wear warm clothes but avoid needing hats and gloves even while just sitting, it’s good enough.

1+2+3 leads me to the first main question I have: I see this forum strongly recommends convection stoves for general house heating, which is important for emergency heating and for offsetting some of our furnace load. However, my wife definitely prefers radiant heat to convection heating. Do most of the wood stoves labeled as convection throw enough radiant heat out the big pane of glass on their front to keep my wife happy?

4) While we’re totally ok doing regularly scheduled maintenance, neither of us tolerate having to fuss with things all the time. The kero heater needs a little attention for the first 10 minutes to get it set just right as it reaches thermal equilibrium, but after that, it’s perfectly happy to be left untouched until its tank runs dry. While I don’t expect a wood stove to get the 16 hours of full-output heating that the little kero heater does, I would at least like something that I can get started, adjust as necessary while it’s warming up, and then leave alone for many hours (preferably for the whole evening). Do modern wood stoves fit this use profile?



Basically, does a wood stove fit the way we want to use it and will one make us happy, or are we hoping for things that are unrealistic for a wood stove?

Thanks!
 
First and foremost, wood stoves are a lifestyle. Cutting, splitting, and drying wood takes time and effort (unless you buy from down the street - then there's still the stacking/drying). If messing around with the firewood is an annoyance, or just impossible with your work constraints, you will resent it.

1). Wood heat is intoxicating. Sitting near the stove will be your new favorite pastime. I have a Jotul F55 - radiant out the glass in front, convection off the top.
2). You'll probably end up using it more than you think.
3). Buy a big enough stove. You can always load it less.
4). I think most people here fill their stove on a bed of coals, mess around with the air intake for about a half hour, and then let it go for 6-8 hours.
 
My only concern for you is the tall ceilings in the great room where the stove will be located. Your sq ft isn't very large, but the heat is going to naturally rise to the ceiling. Hopefully more chime in with similar layouts.
 
2 acres of trees won't last long but beyond that i'd think you were a perfect fit for a wood stove. Just get a good one, you'll be glad you did.
 
Wood is very adicting. Forget your 70 you will want 80. You will accustom to the heat very quickly. I would buy an oversized stove if I was you. Look for a stove with at least 3cf fire box. I assume it will be free standing stove. Also you might want to invest some money in leak proofing your house if it's really drafty.
 
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No. You want a pellet stove. You'll chew through that two acres fast and end up buying anyway. Pellets are lots less work.
 
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I had to look it up to know the difference. http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/horadiantconv.htm

Sounds like your looking for a soapstone stove with a catalytic combustor (cat) in it. The only part of that article I disagree with is where they state soapstone doesn't get much hotter than 500 degrees. I've brought my little fireview up to 650.

I consider a cat stove to be the most economical way to burn wood in a freestanding stove. I consider soapstone to be the most comfortable way of heating a home.
It gets cold in Ohio. I would be looking at the two biggest stoves (as far as I know. The Hearthstone Equinox has the larger firebox. The Woodstock Progress Hybrid has a smaller firebox but similar mass and a smaller sticker price. Both should heat your home for twelve hours. When it gets really cold those numbers will go down unless your running your furnace for backup.
 
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I had to look it up to know the difference. http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/horadiantconv.htm

Sounds like your looking for a soapstone stove with a catalytic combustor (cat) in it. The only part of that article I disagree with is where they state soapstone doesn't get much hotter than 500 degrees. I've brought my little fireview up to 650.

I consider a cat stove to be the most economical way to burn wood in a freestanding stove. I consider soapstone to be the most comfortable way of heating a home.
It gets cold in Ohio. I would be looking at the two biggest stoves (as far as I know. The Hearthstone Equinox has the larger firebox. The Woodstock Progress Hybrid has a smaller firebox but similar mass and a smaller sticker price. Both should heat your home for twelve hours. When it gets really cold those numbers will go down unless your running your furnace for backup.
But what you are not addressing is what happens when they run out of free wood.
 
A managed woodlot should generate 1-2 cords per acre per year, maybe more if managed intensely.
In your climate ~3 cord per year would be most of your heat, depending upon whether you can tighten up air infiltration on your house.
So I think your woodlot could sustainably provide much of your heat through a woodstove.
 
No. You want a pellet stove. You'll chew through that two acres fast and end up buying anyway. Pellets are lots less work.

I inquired about pellet burning at the local stove shop. Guy told me pellet users go through 1.5 to 2 bags a day. That would be quite expensive. Was he nuts?
 
You buy wood or compressed wood fuel bricks just like you would have bought pellets. One thing to consider with pellets I have seen shortage of them almost every year. Never have seen a shortage of eco bricks. At least not in my neck of woods.
 
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But what you are not addressing is what happens when they run out of free wood.

His neighbor sells wood at a reasonable price. You can buy processed sawdust or firewood. From everything I've seen firewood is cheaper but yes more work stacking. If he's willing to cut some of his own I would assume he's not permanently affixed to his couch.
 
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I inquired about pellet burning at the local stove shop. Guy told me pellet users go through 1.5 to 2 bags a day. That would be quite expensive. Was he nuts?

Depending on how well your house is insulated and how warm you want it in your house 1 - 2 bags per day average is normal.
 
Depending on how well your house is insulated and how warm you want it in your house 1 - 2 bags per day average is normal.

Thanks Tim. I've never researched much about pellet stoves. Of all the stove shops in my area this owner seemed to be more intelligent and honest that the others. Appreciate the confirmation.
So 5-6 bucks a bag sound about right? Just looked it up at Tractor Supply. I think the stove shop was charging more which is when I asked my question.

Do most / all pellet stoves operate without electricity? I'm here to learn.
 
How much per cord is your neighbor's wood? Do you have space to store 8-12 full cords of wood to make sure your wood is seasoned properly. (4 cords
per year).

I think your wife is going to love wood heat. I know mine does. My stove gets loaded three times per day during cold days. A few seconds of monitoring every five or ten minutes for the first half hour. Quick check at an hour, and then it's good for the next 7 hours without touching.
 
Sounds like you need a Blaze King. A King if you have the floor space. The tall ceiling and open floor plan will accommodate it, and the output can be cut back enough that it won't heat you out of the house.

That's if you want a stove you can load up and not mess with for 12-40+ hours. On the downside, they're kinda pricey, and so is the 8" pipe. And not a lot of radiant heat, unless burning pretty hard. That said, my wife has scorched her pajama pants standing in front of it while I had it cranked one morning :eek:

And some say they're ugly.
 
Check out PE , SBI and BK all make good stoves .if money is an issue englander nc30 or drolet myriad or austral
 
I disagree with the pellet stove recommendation. you still have to pay for pellets at market price... your also not going to get the backup heat source when power goes out as well as the amount of radiant heat you get from a stove, oh and a lot more maintenance as well.

From the sounds of it, you will be harvesting some wood off your land, so that means your willing and capable of doing the work, felling trees, splitting wood, stacking wood, moving wood. if you have a truck or trailer you can also scrounge some when time allows or see if you can find tree service to drop off wood for free or cheap money. Wood gives you options that pellets do not. Its all about how much effort and work you want to put in. If you want to pay to have seasoned wood delivered your not going to save as much but I would still recommend that to you over a pellet stove.
 
Thanks Tim. I've never researched much about pellet stoves. Of all the stove shops in my area this owner seemed to be more intelligent and honest that the others. Appreciate the confirmation.
So 5-6 bucks a bag sound about right? Just looked it up at Tractor Supply. I think the stove shop was charging more which is when I asked my question.

Do most / all pellet stoves operate without electricity? I'm here to learn.

Pellet stove require electricity. That's one of the few disadvantages they have. Think of a pellet stove as a fancy space heater that burns pellets to generate the heat. They have blower fans, auger, igniter, control electronics etc. Pellets typically range in price from $3 -$7 per 40lb bag depending on pellet quality. Some of us, myself included minimize the effect of power outages by using a battery backup system.
 
Thanks Tim. I've never researched much about pellet stoves. Of all the stove shops in my area this owner seemed to be more intelligent and honest that the others. Appreciate the confirmation.
So 5-6 bucks a bag sound about right? Just looked it up at Tractor Supply. I think the stove shop was charging more which is when I asked my question.

Do most / all pellet stoves operate without electricity? I'm here to learn.
I get mine in the summer for between $200 and $235 a 50 bag ton. I burn approximately three tons a season to heat the bulk of a 2500 sq foot eight foot ceiling ranch built in the 80's. The only work I do is clean the stove about once a month and more thoroughly at the end of the season. No worries about moisture content etc. As well, from what I've read you won't get the BTU from firewood that you will from pellets. I've heated with both and much prefer pellets even though I have ten acres of woods to draw from but ultimately the choice is yours.

One of the things I like most about my pellet stove is that I can treat it as an appliance. In other words I don't have to center my life around its needs. That alone is worth the price of the pellets to me.
 
Pellet stoves need electricity.

I think you're on the right track - but you should factor in the expectation of buying wood every year to your decision making process.
 
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I dont want to turn this into a pellet vs wood p****ng match. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Your personal situation will dictate which way you want to go.
 
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I dont want to turn this into a pellet vs wood p****ng match. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Your personal situation will dictate which way you want to go.
Why do you have to put it in those terms? We are providing facts about the lifestyle of both types of heat. Of course the choice us his but not one thing said herein isn't factual.
 
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There is just something special about that radiant heat & the alluring fire from a wood stove . For a lot of folks it's worth the effort , for some it isn't ..............
 
There is just something special about that radiant heat & the alluring fire from a wood stove . For a lot of folks it's worth the effort , for some it isn't ..............

Pellets give you that too. I've spent many nights with only light was the glow of the stove.
 
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