freezing in Jersey

[nancy2u]

Hi everyone

Miss Sandy came to my neck of the woods and left a lttle havoc!

She took down my fence,(which banged into my sons car) and left us with no heat for a couple of weeks. When I got the power back on my heating system (in basement) would not go back on. Gas company says the problem was power surge to Rheem unit.

After exhausting everything, it has to be replaced. Unit was over 20 years old so I am not argueing the point. Unfortunately the house has a few issues which I knew I would have to address (main issue is there was an addition added to back of house and heating unit was moved to heat both areas.)

but of course things happen at the worse time and back in August my husband who is 64 was laid off for a younger less experienced, thus cheaper wages model. We are no way ready to replace unit and I must think of secondary sources of heat until we can do the big job.

Was wondering if anyone knows of any old wood stoves that I might look at, maybe a site that you could recommend that has resonable used units. I have been using electric heaters to kill the chill but as the days get colder. I don't know.

Any suggestions would be greatly apprciated.

 

[jwoair23]

Have you checked Craigslist? I see lots of used wood stoves listed on there, for pretty good prices. If you find one or two that you like the looks of and seem like a good price, I'm sure if you post a link to them here you would get a quick enough response to see if its a good one or not.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum Nancy.

I've never been a fan, especially of new wood burners, buying a used stove. In addition, have you considered what you will do for fuel? Are you aware that you can't buy good dry fuel (no matter what the seller says with very, very few exceptions) and that most wood needs a year to dry before being burned? Some wood, like the popular oaks need 3 years before burning. Knowing this and preparing for it makes a tremendous difference between being a satisfied wood burner and one who has big problems and some even stop which means all that money has been spent for nothing but headaches.

I don't mean to turn you off for sure but just want you to be aware. Also, putting up a chimney is not cheap either. So my recommendation if you want to burn wood is to prepare first with the fuel and also during that time do some good research to see what stoves are out there. There are many, many good ones that will give folks what they really need and that is a warm house in the winter months. It means sometimes a large outlay of cash but it also can mean a huge savings and you can make that outlay back in savings over just a few years.

Good luck.

 

[robertmcw]

I feel in your pain. In 2007, I had a stroke and I can’t practice law now and my income from my law practice went to zero. I do have some investments I had before I got sick so I can get by.



I am a kind of newbie (three years burning wood for 24/7) but to heat a whole house can expensive with the flue, the stove and the seasoned wood and the stuff to move it. I paid for over $2,000.00 for the used whole deal but that did not count the log splitter, the tractor, the truck, the saw chain or the other stuff you need to need. You are looking at a least five year break even deal using wood.


And you still need good wood.



Even then, we still use the gas from to time to time when is not too cold to burn the stove.



Can you look at a used gas heater with a warranty until you are better to afford a $5,000.00 plus wood stove?



Robert

 

[bag of hammers]

+1 for Backwoods Savage who (like many veterans here) has excellent advice. The $$ may sound scary to replace your existing Rheem unit, but I still wonder if it would be better value anyway. Just get warm now, then take your time to research the wood heat options. Wood burning and expectations of "quick and cheap" might end up biting you. I love wood heat, but 10 years burning an older smoke dragon, 3+ with an EPA stove, (and zero experience with cat stoves), and I'm still a bit of a newbie in this game.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Hi everyone

Miss Sandy came to my neck of the woods and left a lttle havoc!

She took down my fence,(which banged into my sons car) and left us with no heat for a couple of weeks. When I got the power back on my heating system (in basement) would not go back on. Gas company says the problem was power surge to Rheem unit.

After exhausting everything, it has to be replaced. Unit was over 20 years old so I am not argueing the point. Unfortunately the house has a few issues which I knew I would have to address (main issue is there was an addition added to back of house and heating unit was moved to heat both areas.)

but of course things happen at the worse time and back in August my husband who is 64 was laid off for a younger less experienced, thus cheaper wages model. We are no way ready to replace unit and I must think of secondary sources of heat until we can do the big job.

Was wondering if anyone knows of any old wood stoves that I might look at, maybe a site that you could recommend that has resonable used units. I have been using electric heaters to kill the chill but as the days get colder. I don't know.

Any suggestions would be greatly apprciated.

What is your budget for the stove?
What is your budget for the installation/liner/stove pipe?

You are looking at at least $1,500 for the install alone if the stove and chimney liner/pipe is installed for you. You can get a good, reliable used stove to meet any of your needs but you need to let us know what your house is like in terms of size, insulation, and layout and what temp you need to feel warm.

Wood at this point of the year will be wet. You will not find dry wood available unless you know of another wood burner with wood to spare.

Burning wet wood is a pain, but it can be done. If you do end up burning this year with wet wood you must check your chimney at least monthly and sweep the chimney as needed to prevent build up.

Tell us a bit about your home and budget and we can point you to some solutions.

 

[mfglickman]

No insurance/FEMA money for the new heating system? What about the gas company or state programs to finance the purchase at a discounted rate? I agree with the others you need consistent heat, in case anything happens - even if you are away for 2 days your pipes could freeze, you need a "backup" heat source.

I bucked the trend and bought a used stove, it's old but I pretty much rebuilt it, it came from a man who is a volunteer firefighter in town, lives up the road and sells me my eggs, so it felt like a safe bet. Had I gone with a new Woodstock stove I'd have taken advantage of their financing so that I could pay in installments. The installation and flue lining etc. though really does cost, and should be done by a pro unless you and/or your husband are really, really handy.

When I first started last year someone posted "When you are heating with fire, you have to be right every time, but the fire only has to be right once."

Best of luck and welcome

Mary

 

[BrowningBAR]

No insurance/FEMA money for the new heating system? What about the gas company or state programs to finance the purchase at a discounted rate? I agree with the others you need consistent heat, in case anything happens - even if you are away for 2 days your pipes could freeze, you need a "backup" heat source.

I bucked the trend and bought a used stove, it's old but I pretty much rebuilt it, it came from a man who is a volunteer firefighter in town, lives up the road and sells me my eggs, so it felt like a safe bet. Had I gone with a new Woodstock stove I'd have taken advantage of their financing so that I could pay in installments. The installation and flue lining etc. though really does cost, and should be done by a pro unless you and/or your husband are really, really handy.

When I first started last year someone posted "When you are heating with fire, you have to be right every time, but the fire only has to be right once."

Best of luck and welcome

Mary

Agreed. If I had to buy knew for every stove I would have never been able to afford the setup I currently have.

 

[corey21]

Welcome

The wood will more then likely be wet wood dry seasoned wood will be hard to find.

 

[bag of hammers]

No insurance/FEMA money for the new heating system? What about the gas company or state programs to finance the purchase at a discounted rate? I agree with the others you need consistent heat, in case anything happens - even if you are away for 2 days your pipes could freeze, you need a "backup" heat source.

I bucked the trend and bought a used stove, it's old but I pretty much rebuilt it, it came from a man who is a volunteer firefighter in town, lives up the road and sells me my eggs, so it felt like a safe bet. Had I gone with a new Woodstock stove I'd have taken advantage of their financing so that I could pay in installments. The installation and flue lining etc. though really does cost, and should be done by a pro unless you and/or your husband are really, really handy.

When I first started last year someone posted "When you are heating with fire, you have to be right every time, but the fire only has to be right once."

Best of luck and welcome

Mary

exactly - this is a great spot to get wood heat advice but IMHO you're freezing right now, so this isn't the time to scramble on throwing together a solution. It is the time to start asking questions as you are doing, and putting together your plan, but still I'd say get the furnace fixed - you can figure this out and do it (with the help of those experience folks above) either way, but it's harder to jump start your wood burning experience in quasi-panic mode. I feel like the wet blanket here, but please understand -- being cold and inexperienced and 'anxious' recently ended up in tragedy for at least one father and his family.

Sorry if I'm just making noise - just worried about you. Good luck....

 

[Light in the Dark]

Why not a gas stove?? They look the part of wood stoves, and if you are already plumbed for gas...

You would still incur the costs of the chimney and such, but I don't think you have to worry too much about buying seasoned gas

 

[Light in the Dark]

Or better, since you can direct vent it... is a pellet stove!

Yes, the drawback is that if you lose power, the stove goes out... but its a great temporary solution, and you can resell it later on when you figure out what you really want to do long term.

 

[Jack768]

Fix the furnace, then get a properly-installed wood option installed so you never are without a backup again, is my thought.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Why not a gas stove??


" seasoned gas"

Thanks for the laugh!

 

[Light in the Dark]

There may be some low rate emergency loans available to you.

http://www.njcleanenergy.com/reside...ce-energy-star/home-performance-energy-star-r
(broken link removed to http://www.njcleanenergy.com/residential/programs/home-performance-energy-star/benefits-and-incentives)

My 35+ year old oil furnace crapped out during last years Oct. ice storm... and I was able to secure a 0%, 7 year note through a similar MA agency. Talk about a lifesaver!

 

[adrpga498]

Hi everyone

Miss Sandy came to my neck of the woods and left a lttle havoc!

She took down my fence,(which banged into my sons car) and left us with no heat for a couple of weeks. When I got the power back on my heating system (in basement) would not go back on. Gas company says the problem was power surge to Rheem unit.

After exhausting everything, it has to be replaced. Unit was over 20 years old so I am not argueing the point. Unfortunately the house has a few issues which I knew I would have to address (main issue is there was an addition added to back of house and heating unit was moved to heat both areas.)

but of course things happen at the worse time and back in August my husband who is 64 was laid off for a younger less experienced, thus cheaper wages model. We are no way ready to replace unit and I must think of secondary sources of heat until we can do the big job.

Was wondering if anyone knows of any old wood stoves that I might look at, maybe a site that you could recommend that has resonable used units. I have been using electric heaters to kill the chill but as the days get colder. I don't know.

Any suggestions would be greatly apprciated.

I saw an ad on Craglist a fellow from Howell has about a dozen rebuilt used stoves. Maybe worth a look.

 

[argus66]

ya ive seen that guy. looks legit. call him.