Wood consumption

[bsruther]

In another thread, folks were discussing how much wood they've been using and many were saying they were using as much as a face cord a week.
I've been planning on getting an EPA stove this summer, for the finished basement because I can't get heat down there. I started burning 24/7 on 01/03/09 in my 30 year old insert and I kept very close track of how much wood I used. After two weeks I ended up using 42 cubic feet. I have a well insulated 1200 square foot, brick ranch and those two weeks included three sub-zero nights. If the temp is above 28° I can let my fire burn down completely at least once a day. Right now it's 29° out and the blower's been off for a couple hours. When we had our sub-zero and single digit nights I was really going through the wood.
And the thing is, I thought I was using a lot of wood in those two weeks.
Is it because of the way my house is insulated, it's size and my burning habits that I use this much wood?
Can I still expect to burn less with an EPA stove?
I don't mind the amount of wood I'm using, I'd like to tend the stove a lot less though.
I'm kinda freaked out about this.

 

[Hanko]

If thats all the wood you used in two weeks, I wouldnt change nothing. That come out to about a 1/3 of a cord. Thats what I used last week in michigan in 7 days. But Im running two stoves. So Im about right where you are. maybe a EPA stove might do better, maybe not

 

[BJ64]

I can not remember where I got this information but I was thinking that 1/3 of the heat from an EPA stove was produced by the secondary burn.

If this is true, and if we wanted to be conservative with our "guess-timations"; I wonder if seeing a 25% reduction in wood usage would be a fair prediction.

 

[Hanko]

probably would, Im guessing. there is only one way for sure to find that out

 

[Hanko]

I can say this for sure, going from a forced air wood furnace to the F-500, my wood consumption has gone down 50% maybe a little more.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I can say that our first full season with the Fireview we used less than 3 full cords. Previously we used anywhere from 4-6 cords with a few winters over 6 cords. On the 4 cord winter, it was a very mild winter and we were also gone for a while so no wood consumption then.

Comparing last year to previous years, I'd say we dropped from 5 1/2-6 cords to a little less than 3. So far this winter we have used very close to the same as last year. The real hit is that we are staying much warmer using less wood.

 

[bsruther]

Thanks for the input.
On the high end I'm looking at Quadrafire's Isle Royale or Cumberland Gap.
The Isle Royale claims a burn time of 14.5-19.4 hrs. on low. If these times are correct, I would think I'd have some reduction in wood usage, even with a 3cf fire box.
Can a person actually fit 3 cf of wood in the stove? I'd be happy with just 10 hr. burn times, even if I only had minimal reduction in wood usage.
On the low end, I'm considering Englander 30 NC. I've read nothing but good things about these stoves here on Hearth. If I can find one with a low enough sale price, I'll probably grab it. What kind of burn times have people actually achieved with the Quad or 30 NC?

Right now I'm getting overnight burn times of about 5 hrs. with my insert. With a stove in the basement, I'll probably only run the insert during cold spells.

I can say that our first full season with the Fireview we used less than 3 full cords. Previously we used anywhere from 4-6 cords with a few winters over 6 cords. On the 4 cord winter, it was a very mild winter and we were also gone for a while so no wood consumption then.

Comparing last year to previous years, I'd say we dropped from 5 1/2-6 cords to a little less than 3. So far this winter we have used very close to the same as last year. The real hit is that we are staying much warmer using less wood.

That's good to hear. What were you using before the Fireview?

 

[Hanko]

Dont believe everything you read. Burn times, amount area it will heat. Most is bull sheet

 

[Hanko]

when they say 15 hr burn time, at what out side temp? How big of house? Insulation. where is the stove located in the house? Ive found that stove mfg's are about 50% off. They wanna sell stoves

 

[bsruther]

when they say 15 hr burn time, at what out side temp? How big of house? Insulation. where is the stove located in the house? Ive found that stove mfg's are about 50% off. They wanna sell stoves

I figured that. That's why I said I'd be happy with 10 hrs.

 

[Hanko]

To be real honest with you, last week when we had the sub zero temps going on. I was having to refill the F-500 about every 4 or 5 hrs. had such a load of coals that i was running out if room for wood. I had the stove cranking to maintain 72. Well at least I didnt have to worry about pluging up the chimney. Now We are back to refills every 8 hrs and its 73 to 75 in here. Big difference with 20 degees

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Woodford, previous to the Fireview we used an Ashley C-60.

Another benefit with the Fireview is that we do not have to clean the chimney much at all. The new SS chimney went up when we installed the Fireview (previous to the 2007-2008 season) and it has not been cleaned yet.