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  1. smokinj Minister of Fire

    joined: Aug 11, 2008
    15,548 posts
    Anderson, Indiana
    Or, electric or oil of any kind?
    #1

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  2. chazcarr Member

    joined: Jan 22, 2012
    173 posts
    Wolcott, CT
    I have not, the stove has been amazing this year with the new double insulated windows I had installed.

    Also not having any power for a week helped because I turned the furnace off and forgot to turn it back on.

    On Monday my wife was home when the oil man tried to auto deliver some oil. He fit only 5 gallons in there and I couldn't have been happier when I went in and paid that bill in person.
    smokinj likes this.
  3. firewoodjunky Member

    joined: Sep 18, 2010
    93 posts
    Central/Western MA
    Nothing for heat. My furnace probably won't run at all for heat. My hot water runs off of oil, so there is not much I can do there. The wife is not much of a fan of cold showers :)
    smokinj likes this.
  4. ironpony Minister of Fire

    joined: Jan 22, 2010
    1,405 posts
    mid-ohio
    electric for HW, pellets for heat, furnace wont run in my house this year
    smokinj likes this.
  5. Gasifier Minister of Fire

    Nothing here, at all. Wood, wood, wood. And more wood. The circulator pump above my oil furnace is not working right and I still have not got it fixed. ;lol Making dam sure the wood boiler and tank are always warm. I gotta get that dam thing fixed before it gets too cold. Wife won't be happy if the fire accidentally goes out in the middle of the night and she has no hot water for shower in the morning. Wait a minute. Neither will I! Eh, I am up at 5 am every morning anyway. Only takes a few seconds to fire up the boiler and not long after that have smokin hot water running through the pipes!
    smokinj likes this.
  6. Lumber-Jack Minister of Fire

    Once upon a time I use to heat with electricity, but now I only heat with wood. ;)
    smokinj likes this.
  7. curber Feeling the Heat

    joined: Oct 6, 2011
    259 posts
    south east idaho
    wood only for heat, electric for hot water, gas for clothes dryer!!
    smokinj likes this.
  8. CageMaster Feeling the Heat

    joined: Nov 5, 2011
    291 posts
    Central Canada
    NOTHING FOR HEAT HERE BUT WOOD, and probably won't this winter at all, except for maybe one day a little bit while we are away for Christmas day.
    smokinj likes this.
  9. basod Minister of Fire

    joined: Sep 11, 2009
    791 posts
    Mount Cheaha Alabama
    Zero propane for past 2 years.
    Electric hotwater - debating timer contactor and flow switch mod on that
    smokinj likes this.
  10. ohlongarm Minister of Fire

    joined: Mar 18, 2011
    703 posts
    Northeastern Ohio
    No gas since 2004.
  11. bluedogz Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 9, 2011
    857 posts
    NE Maryland
    I am following the strategy of turning the electronic thermo down 1 degree every day until Mrs. Blue notices.
    We don't have gas, but last electric bill was 75% lower than when we started the power-saving journey.
    smokinj likes this.
  12. smokinj Minister of Fire

    joined: Aug 11, 2008
    15,548 posts
    Anderson, Indiana
    Wow, so far no one has fired up the back-up plan. I too am still 100 percent wood. Last natural gas bill was 3.95 cents, I must have over paid the month before.
    Gasifier likes this.
  13. firefighterjake Minister of Fire

    joined: Jul 22, 2008
    13,526 posts
    Unity/Bangor, Maine
    For heat . . . 0%.

    Oil boiler was flipped on as the back-up source with the thermostats set at 60 degrees F . . . it ran a bit when I first turned it on . . . but I'm guessing less than half a gallon may have been used in the start up. Haven't heard it since then.

    Propane . . . still using propane for cooking and heating -- but only in the hot water heater. ;)

    Electricity . . . I have an electric space heater in the boiler room to keep the pipes from freezing. I think my wife said she heard it running the other day.

    So maybe I'm wrong . . . not 0% . . . but darn close.
  14. basod Minister of Fire

    joined: Sep 11, 2009
    791 posts
    Mount Cheaha Alabama
    Still sucks they keep charging the monthly minimum connection fee for those on nat gas.
  15. Bacffin Feeling the Heat

    Bummer, can't join this list yet:(. But I do have an 87% efficient oil boiler with superstore for HW. Only went through 150 gallons since last December. I'll get there.
  16. TimJ Minister of Fire

    joined: Apr 10, 2012
    1,074 posts
    Southeast Indiana
    if your're going to go you got to go all the way
    Gasifier likes this.
  17. adams614 Member

    joined: Nov 26, 2011
    39 posts
    VT
    Just use Gas for HW. Going to switch to Electric in a few years. Looking forward to using my propane solely to cook food on the range.
  18. PapaDave Minister of Fire

    Me.
    ETA: Oops, natty gas for HW.
    Plan to go downstate over the turkey day weekend (sort of), and SIL and my nephew will be the keepers of the flame. The flame will probably be the one in the direct vent heater in the utility room though.
    Not sure I trust them to not overheat the stove, even though they burn wood too.
    They're kinda like "ooh look, a shiny penny".
    Distraction is their midddle name.>>
    Gasifier likes this.
  19. Jack Straw Minister of Fire

    joined: Dec 22, 2008
    2,040 posts
    Schoharie County, N Y
    I will not burn oil, it makes my blood boil
    I leave the t-stat down low, I don't want my money to flow
    The fires they do burn, on hearth.com I did learn
    Dry your wood 2 years, burning will bring no tears
  20. onetracker Minister of Fire

    joined: Aug 11, 2011
    593 posts
    rondout valley ny
    we have electric heat. i haven't flipped on the breakers but once to ensure the heat actually works. electric range, dryer, and HW so we're not going off the grid anytime soon.

    ain't woodburning awesome ?
  21. zap Minister of Fire

    joined: Aug 25, 2009
    10,529 posts
    Early on we used the propane fireplace a few times, the furnace (oil) will only run if we leave during the winter, I think 2009 we received a letter from the oil company that they wOOd stop delivery because we never used it, the tank is just below 3/4.

    The White Pine with Hemlock is doing the job at the moment. After burning this mixture this shoulder season I'm convinced we can heat our house with Hemlock in to the middle of December.


    zap
  22. JustWood Minister of Fire

    joined: Aug 14, 2007
    3,190 posts
    Arrow Bridge,NY
    Turned the propain tank valve on about 3 weeks ago and cycled the furnace a couple times for a run check.
    Took the skylight covers off at the same time.
    Furnace has run briefly a few nights but only because I fell asleep on the couch early. Propain man ain't gettin' didley from me !!!
    Gasifier likes this.
  23. lowroadacres Feeling the Heat

    joined: Aug 18, 2009
    472 posts
    MB
    We have used a small electric space heater in our NE bedroom a little bit and I finally turned on the elements in the electric furnace but set the thermostat at 14 degrees Celsius so I don't even know if the furnace has actually had to heat. We have put everyone in the house on notice that if they want to sit around in shorts and a T-shirt they need to stay in the rooms where the wood stove or the fireplace are in operation.
    We have a 60 gallon hat running on electricity and we have a dryer doing laundry for 6 people. We also have electronics that we need to manage better (meaning we need to shut some of them down when not in use or even to unplug those that have a standby feature.)

    We are working to upgrade our stove to the larger EPA unit and we are still on the hunt for an insert for the fireplace.... We missed a free regency R14 due to schedule but the right one will come along.
  24. Blue2ndaries Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 17, 2011
    620 posts
    Oregon
    For heat? Zippo, nada, zilch. Electricity only for lights, appliances, and electronics. Gas only for stove and BBQ.
  25. Gasifier Minister of Fire

    Okay ZAP. What is that in your avatar? Looks like a big hunk of meat that you just finished cooking on a rotisserie. And it looks good.

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