Researching wood stoves

[Dmurph2016]

So as winter is starting to approach for the first year in my first house, I’m trying to figure out the best plan to heat it. I have oil and forces hot water heat. Heating with oil is going to be very expensive from what I’ve been told. I also have mini split ac heat pumps installed. I am contemplating heading with those but feel that is going to be expensive as well. I was at first thinking a pellet stove but have gotten second thoughts.
Now I’m thinking about possibly doing a wood stove, if the requirements for mounting it will allow me to. This issue is I leave at 6 in the morning and am gone until 5:30 at night. My So is home before me so they COULD tend to the stove. But I’ve never burned wood so I’m not sure.
Could anyone give me some input on if they think wood would be too much of a hassle for me?

Thanks!

 

[Rickb]

Depending on the heating needs you could save a lot of money using wood, or not so much... Most people that use stoves/fireplaces use them for heat or ambiance. Weather it would be too much of a hassle is going to be personal opinion. I use mine almost daily for 10 - 14 hours a day and my furnace rarely runs. I have natural gas so I don't save much money but it is much more comfortable in the house.

 

[K-Mac]

i am moving into my 3rd year heating with wood stove and my wife and I always had a goal to have one one day. had no real idea about the amount of time would be spent on one but we love a good fire for its warmth and look, and i have always been willing to put in the manual labor for what i want. I have had to grow my tools as a result of providers not always splitting to desired size or being able to get wood for cheaper if i do the splitting myself.

to me if i am going to spend money heating my house id rather do it in a manner that also provides me some enjoyment as well. We can also heat the house much warmer (for the cost) than if we used gas furnace or heat pump alone. its also peace of mind for us knowing that regardless of what happens with "the grid" we are completely self sufficient should an ice storm take out the power lines or a major cold snap overtax the gas pipes. in a pinch we could even heat up food on the stove top as well as use the light of the fire to provide light if the electric goes out.

to this point i have grown my arsenal to include a chainsaw, hatchet, maul, and manual and electric log splitter, and ash vac. obviously each tool i have bought i see as an investment in my goal. burning with wood as opposed to turning a thermostat dial does take a lot more dedication and commitment to understand your wood stove. even if you dont want to or can burn anywhere near all the time....even having a fire once you get home and topping off your stove right before bed would lower your other energy cost a decent amount.

ultimately only you can decide if the extra work of locating and building up a yearly wood supply, building daily fires, cleaning out the ash from the stove etc. etc. is work it to you. i honestly doubt i save any money.......but i love the self sufficiency and much warmer house temps.

 

[brenndatomu]

even having a fire once you get home and topping off your stove right before bed would lower your other energy cost a decent amount.

This ^ ^ ^
Even one or two fires a day takes 90% or more of your heating bill away...

 

[K-Mac]

i got to thinking and maybe my reply could be a bit discouraging. hahaha. my uncle has used a wood stove in his basement for as long as i can remember. they use it only to heat the basement/family room. he puts as little effort in as he has to and demands a lot from whoever provides him with wood. only buys what he needs for that winter. he will use a axe to my knowledge but not much else. so they only heat when theyre home after work and on weekends when theyre home. he is where i got the inspiration years ago that a wood burner would be awesome to have. was always so inviting in their family room sitting around the fire watching whatever game was on. hes kind of the other side of the story to me. stove is purely supplemental but it serves a big purpose in their home too.

 

[SpaceBus]

Heating 24/7 with firewood can be daunting for a person new to a wood burning appliance. Focus on getting a stash going and just burn when you can with whatever wood you have available that has less than 20% moisture content. It sounds like you have a very comprehensive heating system already which is great. Your insurance shouldn't care about the stove as long as it is UL listed and installed according to the manual. Mini-splits are pretty cheap to run, like crazy cheap. Use those until it gets down below 15f and then let your oil heat pick up the slack. Even better if you are home and have good dry firewood to load into the stove. Wood is very rewarding, but it does take patience.

 

[kennyp2339]

Using a woodstove for 24/7 is a lifestyle decision imo, I'll be going on my 8th season of 24/7 burning and couldn't be happier, the amount of money I've saved is great, but money saved just went somewhere else, I source my own wood but I have gone through two chainsaws, multiple axes, bought a wood splitter, built a woodshed, upgraded my stove, replaced a cat and door gaskets and multiple smaller tools, gloves, boots.
Splitting occupies my free time in the spring, sourcing wood in the summer, moving stacks to the shed, then burning in the winter.
So I only fill my 275 gal oil tank every other year, I'll still bump the heat up in the coldest of cold weather to help out since the stove is essentially a big space heater and also to keep the pipes from freezing, the oil also takes the job when I'm away from the house for an extended period of time.
The pricelessness of knowing though that I have options and a source for heat during a power outage or natural disaster is worth its weight in gold.

 

[Dmurph2016]

So after some research the only suitable spot I could put the stove the chimney would have to be on the front of the house, certainly wouldn’t be the prettiest looking thing, so that is something to consider. I’m on the fence about it, to keep the house warm will be a lot of work

 

[barnaclebob]

If you need very reliable 12 hour burns then your choices will be limited to the higher end stoves like Blaze Kings or the Woodstock PH. But I have to say that my PH is only averaging 9 hour burns with typical northwest wood. With oak I think I'd be getting 12 with no problems. I'm sure there are a few other brands that can get long reliable burn times but I just dont know them off the top of my head.

I only burn after work and overnight but keeping the stove going isn't that much work for me. The real work is acquiring and storing wood. And I have most of my wood delivered.

 

[xman23]

We got into wood stove burning in lieu of a fireplace. So I'll start there, as we did. A stove is no more support effort than a fireplace. But a stove is a much better fireplace. Here's a few stove pluses.

Much better controlled fireview, Rolling balls of flames
Controlled burn consumes much less wood
Clean odorless burn.
Cheaper than most fireplace installs.
And I'm sure there's lots more.

But running a stove for full time heat is a bigger commitment. The cost and work varies greatly with every one's situation. Access to your own wood, or are you buying it. You can be full time heater or occasionally. This last year we slacked off a bit. But a fire is a must every cold evening.

 

[Dmurph2016]

We got into wood stove burning in lieu of a fireplace. So I'll start there, as we did. A stove is no more support effort than a fireplace. But a stove is a much better fireplace. Here's a few stove pluses.

Much better controlled fireview, Rolling balls of flames
Controlled burn consumes much less wood
Clean odorless burn.
Cheaper than most fireplace installs.
And I'm sure there's lots more.

But running a stove for full time heat is a bigger commitment. The cost and work varies greatly with every one's situation. Access to your own wood, or are you buying it. You can be full time heater or occasionally. This last year we slacked off a bit. But a fire is a must every cold evening.

It’s between either a pellet stove or a wood stove, the pellet seems to be the way to go but it is very expensive to get into.
The thing that’s nice about the pellet stove is it’s kinda set it and forget it and it will heat as long as you keep it fed with pellets.
The wood stove would he a lot harder to keep going between work and commuting home I would need something to be capable of burning for 10-12 hours preferably.

 

[SpaceBus]

If you are looking at a pellet stove just cut to the chase and get a coal stove. Every time I consider a pellet stove they just don't make any sense when compared to other fuels you have to buy. A huge part of burning wood is that it is generally very cheap if you have acreage with trees. Even if you have to buy firewood I still think that's better than pellets.

 

[K-Mac]

i briefly considered a pellet stove in my old house to heat a large family room addition we wanted to build. to me the biggest drawback of a pellet stoves is the need to still have electric to use them. we lose power in the winter a few times a year. so that issue alone was a non-starter for me. also seemed like it would be more expensive to be buying pellets and i remember reading comments about improperly stored pellets that people were buying. as far as maintenance arent you just trading one kind for another? pellet stoves have moving parts that send the pellets down to be burned. they get jammed up. to each his own of course. and im far from an expert on the topic. i just know there was too many negatives for me anyway