Best wood stove for my dollar?

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jpm995

Member
Nov 1, 2020
35
Lindenhurst, New York
It absolutely is not illegal to burn wood in NY that simply is not true. Now it is illegal to use a solid fuel stoves in a garage anywhere in the US. And has been for years now.
I have to think your right. His garage is actually bigger than some houses with a full upstairs with a pool table. Do you think my 12x18 shed/man cave is legal for a stove? It had a permit for a bathroom and a sauna [which was wood fired]. The village sucks there always giving tickets for bs stuff.
 
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bholler

Chimney sweep
Staff member
Jan 14, 2014
32,291
central pa
I have to think your right. His garage is actually bigger than some houses with a full upstairs with a pool table. Do you think my 12x18 shed/man cave is legal for a stove? It had a permit for a bathroom and a sauna [which was wood fired]. The village sucks there always giving tickets for bs stuff.
If the stove is in a separate room yes.
 

jpm995

Member
Nov 1, 2020
35
Lindenhurst, New York
If the stove is in a separate room yes.
The shed is one big room.
1672505847198.jpeg 20210320_110908.jpg
 
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EbS-P

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2019
4,836
SE North Carolina
Do you park or work on vehicles in it? Do you store gasoline in there?
Time to get back on topic or start a new thread? this one drifted
 
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begreen

Mooderator
Staff member
Nov 18, 2005
100,837
South Puget Sound, WA
Wood burning is like gardening, hunting, fishing, woodworking, etc. In the modern world, it's more of a hobby than a means to and end. Lots of people on here will try to claim otherwise but most are actually just rationalizing/romanticizing. Most of the folks who "have" to heat with wood have created the conditions to force that requirement through choice. Wood burning is largely a "luxury" in the modern home, not usually a necessity. Having a wood burner in a home as an alternate heat source is good preparation for power outages, but burning every day in those homes? Most of us don't need to do this, we choose to do this because fire is nice.

I bring this up, because, some people go down the rabbit hole of wood burning as a means to "save money." Ultimately, it's unlikely that you will actually save much money through wood burning compared to "normal/modern" heating methods, and more than likely the effort put into it, if put into a career, would generate far more money than the wood burning would save.

The point I'm getting at.. is that, yes, you won't find many "poor" people in civilized parts of the western world burning wood as a serious endeavor unless that is their hobby that they are willing to funnel the majority of their disposable income into it. Similarly, look at hunters, fishers, woodworkers, gardeners.... With some exceptions, this usually takes the form of thousands of dollars thrown at a process that generates hundreds of dollars worth of produce/meat/widgets.
I agree that many of us have alternatives for heating. With 11¢/kW (heading to 13¢) electricity and a mild climate, the heat pump is definitely a viable alternative. Moreso as we age. Conversely, with 33¢/kW electricity and $5.50/gallon oil, wood heating can still be a very viable heating alternative. There are an estimated 12 million woodstoves in the country. Sadly about 65% are still pre-EPA stoves. Even in affluent communities, there is poverty. Over 25% of Americans make less than $35k. Wood heating for them is often a choice between heat and being cold. With most of the country's wealth having migrated to the top 1%, this has only gotten worse. Most if not all these people are not living in modern homes. Scrounged and donated wood heats many homes in the country.
 

jpm995

Member
Nov 1, 2020
35
Lindenhurst, New York
Do you park or work on vehicles in it? Do you store gasoline in there?
No, the original owner built a sauna but i took that down and built a home gym during the pandemic. Then a neighbor's tree fell on it and i converted it to a pitched roof. Am planning to add a mini split heat pump and use it year around with the wood stove for cold weather. Also adding a small greenhouse to give me a little more space.
 

bholler

Chimney sweep
Staff member
Jan 14, 2014
32,291
central pa
No, the original owner built a sauna but i took that down and built a home gym during the pandemic. Then a neighbor's tree fell on it and i converted it to a pitched roof. Am planning to add a mini split heat pump and use it year around with the wood stove for cold weather. Also adding a small greenhouse to give me a little more space.
Then it's not a garage at all so no reason it wouldn't be allowed
 
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mdocod

Burning Hunk
Nov 11, 2011
191
Black Forest, CO
I am sorry but I really can't agree with much of anything you said there. And honestly find it a somewhat offensive viewpoint.

That's perfectly fair.

If you give it an honest read, are you sure you're not mistaking "offensive viewpoint" with "painful truth?"

I could be wrong, but my experience tells me otherwise. I know people who live in squaller, who surround themselves with anchors that they use as excuses... Some of them have real disabilities that make a full time intense career impossible, so there are certainly exceptions.
 

bholler

Chimney sweep
Staff member
Jan 14, 2014
32,291
central pa
That's perfectly fair.

If you give it an honest read, are you sure you're not mistaking "offensive viewpoint" with "painful truth?"

I could be wrong, but my experience tells me otherwise. I know people who live in squaller, who surround themselves with anchors that they use as excuses... Some of them have real disabilities that make a full time intense career impossible, so there are certainly exceptions.
I carefully read it and it is utter nonsense. Burning wood doesn't hold people in poverty and neither does owning pets. There simply isn't any truth to that.
 
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mdocod

Burning Hunk
Nov 11, 2011
191
Black Forest, CO
I carefully read it and it is utter nonsense. Burning wood doesn't hold people in poverty and neither does owning pets. There simply isn't any truth to that.
I've literally had people tell me that they can't work a 9-5 job away from home because they have to take care of their pets. MULTIPLE people.

I've literally gone down that rabbit hole myself with a wood stove in the past when I should have been putting that effort into education and career. There are literally people on this forum right now, obsessing over trying to make the wood stove a solution to a financial problem, rather than putting that effort into making more money.

It can't be true if there are multiple examples of it being true and I have experienced it in my own life.
 

bholler

Chimney sweep
Staff member
Jan 14, 2014
32,291
central pa
I've literally had people tell me that they can't work a 9-5 job away from home because they have to take care of their pets. MULTIPLE people.

I've literally gone down that rabbit hole myself with a wood stove in the past when I should have been putting that effort into education and career. There are literally people on this forum right now, obsessing over trying to make the wood stove a solution to a financial problem, rather than putting that effort into making more money.

It can't be true if there are multiple examples of it being true and I have experienced it in my own life.
So you think that dumping $10k or so on a central heating system then paying out tons of money a month is a good financial decision? You think going into debt that far is magically going to pull them out of poverty?

Nonsense

And anyone who says they can't work 9-5 with pets is just making excuses. And they aren't based in reality at all.
 

begreen

Mooderator
Staff member
Nov 18, 2005
100,837
South Puget Sound, WA
It sounds like the OP has left the room and jpm995's question. Time to close this down. The philosophy discussions belong in the Inglenook or have a personal chat via PM.
 
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