Got an old V.C. Defiant III that heats 2000 sq. feet of drafty old house in N.H. Nothing could be finer. It runs hot and burns alot cleaner than you might think! They just don't make 'em like that any more. We only run the gas heat spring and fall when we just don't need much.
Poll...Dependance on wood heat
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90% + in this 1900 sqf drafty old farm house. The propane furnace is horribly inefficient, installed in the 50's. We have a small space heater in the bathroom and run an edenpure to take the small chill off. But when it's cold outside I like my livingroom at 80°.
When we bought the house, it was set up for oil heat/DHW but had a connection to a gas well for a vented stove. well, there was a clause in the lease that said that the gas rights only were retained by the original owner or their family. Additionally the well was beginning to fail and the two other houses on the well were set up exclusively for gas. Well with a little bit of negotiating, I ended up with a house heated with oil only (for a good price, I'd like to add). I heated with wood growing up and have access to an unlimited supply of wood (I work for a maple producer in the winters). Other than the work of obtaining 30+ cords of wood this year (some ready to go, the rest to have a 3 year supply), It's not too bad. My logic is that I would rather be moving firewood than working 200 extra hours a year to afford all the oil I would need.
We still use the oil for HW (switching to electric soon) and it is nice to have the oil when we go away for a weekend to see family.
We still use the oil for HW (switching to electric soon) and it is nice to have the oil when we go away for a weekend to see family.
I suppose it depends a lot on how old the tank is, and where it's located. Being outside with big temp swings invites moisture and rust if they are left low.
In general, if that oil is getting much more than 3 or 4 years old, I'd want to get it burned up.
The Jotul 500 is the primary heat source, the gas fired forced hot air heat is the secondary. I voted 90% + which encompasses many things. Cost of primary fuel, wood splits, approx. $250 +/- per heating season. The cost of secondary fuel, natural gas, approx. $150 per heating season. If these were reversed I'd have to work 3 jobs to keep up. Another factor is the ease to collect the fuel and the willingness to work with it. I'm not sure what my body will be capable of in say 20 years but for now I enjoy it.
I think there's nothing more hospitable than a warm home for any guest that drops by. A chance to come in and stand by the searing heat to take off the chill and then have a seat in a warm living room is priceless. I knock down trees for a living, and it seems like such a waste of resources to just haul them to a dump of any sort when there is a wealth of heat just waiting to be released... *sigh* yes, even the cottonwoods. I enjoy spending time with my boys cutting, splitting and stacking the wood, bonding time with a future purpose. Valuable lessons for their years ahead in life.
It does save me considerable money in propane.
BUT... I get to engineering woodsplitters, storage facilities, I replaced my old stove. I get caught up in the passions of burning wood and all that goes with it. It's kind of like comparing a hobby to a home business. They're both things you enjoy doing. But are you really making money or spending it? I gotta be honest. I'm not sure in my case.
Whatever the case. It's more than just ambiance for me. I'm on a mission to heat my home. And if any of you have ideas about generating electricity with wood... my wife would not appreciate your influence upon me.
I've been racking my brain to construct a processor for the monster diameter trees. My tangents drive her nuts.
It does save me considerable money in propane.
BUT... I get to engineering woodsplitters, storage facilities, I replaced my old stove. I get caught up in the passions of burning wood and all that goes with it. It's kind of like comparing a hobby to a home business. They're both things you enjoy doing. But are you really making money or spending it? I gotta be honest. I'm not sure in my case.Whatever the case. It's more than just ambiance for me. I'm on a mission to heat my home. And if any of you have ideas about generating electricity with wood... my wife would not appreciate your influence upon me.
I've been racking my brain to construct a processor for the monster diameter trees. My tangents drive her nuts.
It's inside, and I bought Kero thinking that it would last longer..... Don't know. 4 years is what I was thinking as well. Moisture and heat are the killer. I've heard of diesel growing algie (SP?) so my thinking was K-1 would be longer lived.
TS
We need our gas furnace for winter weekends or vacations away from home. That happens often enough to know that the furnace is
still working. Otherwise, the thermostat stays turned off.
still working. Otherwise, the thermostat stays turned off.
The data collected from this poll would likely be more meaningful if broken into 10% or 25% increments, and if it we repeated it during the peak of the heating season, when there is a more diverse mix of posters in the forum. It's no surprise the majority of folks hanging here mid-summer are in the 90% range.
We do about 60% + heating with wood. We will continue to do this until I get old and unable to cut firewood (hopefully I have about 20-30 years before this happens)
I envy you 100%'rs, even you 50%'rs. My wood heating is restricted to the burn heating up the sun room as my wife get headaches around wood smoke.
Draft is great; 23' nearly vertical from a top vent stove. Just opening the door a few times to re-load affects her.
Thinking the same thing, all the smoke goes up the chimney. Unless i start a fire without warming a cold chimney or open the door without opening the bypass is the only time smoke is even smelled in the house. And i only reload about every 12 hours when i want to reduce load times at most. When shoulder season its 20+ hours between openings.
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