Buying house with wood stove

[faultymechanics]

For folks outside the area, Bethlehem NH (yes they postmark Christmas Cards every year ) They claim to be the "highest elevation town in NH" and is just off the interstate that runs direct from Southern Mass. NH is basically cut in two by the White Mountain National Forest and the quick only way through is via two major mountain passes that the locals call Notches. The choice is Pinkham Notch and Franconia Notch. Both used to really slow down travel north but about 30 years ago Interstate 93 was extended through Franconia Notch as a parkway, I think its still the only two way two lane Interstate high way in the US. But it made weekend commuting to southern NH and even the Boston area possible. Bethlehem is just north of the notches and just south of Littleton NH that got a lot of press 30 years ago as the number one small town in the US. Bethlehem was a run down resort town but in the last 20 years its getting a lot more popular with a lot of seasonal home development.

As for the Energy Audit check with Eversource, assuming its your provider. NH Coop also has a program. I think you pay for the Energy Audit and then if you decide to proceed they rebate half the cost of the audit and for all identified upgrades.

Go here to start https://nhsaves.com/programs/energy-audits-weatherization/

I have a few coworkers who live south of the notch in Lincoln and North Conway and it is BAD during the winter and peak hiking and leafpeeping season. That one lane setup really slows down to a crawl...but you can appreciate the environment; Franconia Notch is absolutely stunning at the right times of the year.

I'll take a look and see if we can get an audit scheduled shortly after the closing onthe house.

Additionally I just noticed you have a Unimog... super jealous, wouldl ove to see one of those in person one day. I myself have an Old CJ-7 but it pales in comparison to the mighty unimog. Additionally I'd be interested to hear about your solar setup but maybe that should remain outside of this thread.

Thanks for all the info you've provided. I know there's a $300 federal tax credit for buying a more efficient stove so if we replace the VC Winter Warm then I think we can at least get some rebate there.

 

[gthomas785]

I suppose that introduces the battle between wood or pellets but since we can't harvest wood on our own property (not nearly enough land) it's probably best to just go pellets.....ugh

Hold yer horses, you haven't even tried lighting that stove yet. Get it and the chimney inspected, and assuming it's safe to burn I would see how you make out with what you've got. For sure you may want to upgrade it or change your setup in the future and that's fine. I personally don't like pellet stoves because of.. the noise, the fact that you have to plug it in, and there's something really satisfying about building a fire out of real wood that you don't get from a pellet stove. But it depends on your goal, if you're just trying to save money on heat then a pellet stove might be right for you.

I treat wood burning like a hobby, because I get satisfaction from all the process that goes into it. I buy wood too, cause I don't have much wooded land, and have natural gas available so I doubt I am actually saving much money compared to just turning up the thermostat.

By the way, I have two VC stoves and they are not junk, but they do require a bit more upkeep than some people want to put into them.

If your existing insert turns out to be unusable, then you can either get a new insert or see if you can fit a new freestanding stove on the hearth in front of the fireplace. I have a setup like that and it works really well, and made us suddenly start using a room that we never spent any time in before.

Congrats on the new house, and happy burning (even if you're burning pellets)

 

[MainePatsFan]

Heh, I know Bethlehem well as I grew up "up there". One thing newcomers might not know is the movie theater in town became an X-rated movie theater for a brief time in the 70's. If you have been to Bethlehem you would understand how that would seem unbelievable.

The new house looks great and really I am glad that young educators "from away" are attracted to this area. I went to college in Boston for computer engineering and could not return to the White Mountains because there really were no jobs for me up there. Otherwise I would probably be your neighbor. I don't know that stove, but I agree with the other poster get some dry wood and try it out. It may surprise you.

 

[BKVP]

EPA designed a wood storage shed based upon the fact that most folks do not want to invest tons of money into the effort:

Burn Wise: How to Build a Wood Shed | US EPA

video and .pdf describing how to build a wood shed

www.epa.gov

I am fortunate to get large steel shipments on skids with 4 x 4 supports at 8' in length. I also got a bunch of pallets here at work. Then I repurposed lots of 2 x 4's. The only thing I paid was $250 for the metal tin roofing and then I had space for 12 cords. This allows me to rotate stock and keep 2-3 years of wood stored. Check with local fabrication shops to see if they can spare the pallets their steel comes in on. There is at least one stove manufacturer up there in NH that may have such materials.

Also, you should not store wood next to a structure for insect control, rodent control and heaven forbid and ember from the stack ignites the wood pile.