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Post by bill9068 on Feb 19, 2022 12:25:43 GMT -5
Curious, who heats with wood? I have for about 40 years now. Almost a must with the high price of natural gas and electric.
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Post by deadeer on Feb 19, 2022 12:38:39 GMT -5
20 years in my house.
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Post by whitetaildave24 on Feb 19, 2022 12:40:33 GMT -5
Have a fire going nearly everyday. With me working from home we’ve used a lot of wood the past two winters. Helps save the propane as well.
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Post by BOBinIN on Feb 19, 2022 12:56:07 GMT -5
Been doing wood for the past 38 years. I designed the house around a wood burning, thermostat operated, wood or coal furnace tied into our central air ducts throughout the house. The house is 6" studs with super insulation and has a wood drop chute in the garage floor to drop wood straight from the truck directly into the furnace room. As an engineer by trade, it was one of my best ideas in my working career.
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Post by Woody Williams on Feb 19, 2022 13:11:48 GMT -5
I usually just use my fireplace insert when the temps drop into the teens or single digits overnight. I think it was just 8 or 9 days this last billing cycle from CenterPoint. 30 day usage was still $193.
I probably should burn more?
My neighbor who lives in a big log cabin behind me burns almost continuously. Yesterday evening a bunch of fire trucks came down my dead end street. He had a chimney fire going. Flames was shooting out of his chimney about two feet high.
The volunteer firemen were on the ball and got there 5 minutes after the 911 call. They snuffed it out in short order.
He has two wood burning stoves and he self cleans his chimneys every year. I think it might be time for a professional cleaning?
Back when we had a tornado come through my area it dropped a couple big trees on my house. One tree hit my chimney hard. During the house repairs I had a company come out to inspect the chimney. They did the running a camera down it looking for any cracks. They found none. The guy asked me what wood I burned and I told him “anything I can get my hands on as long as it’s hardwood.” He said the chimney was the cleanest he had seen in years. I guess the slow burning insert makes a difference?
After the neighbors chimney fire I checked my Chimfex and discovered it had a shelf life of only 36 months. Mine is an antique! I need to get a new one just in case..
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Post by bill9068 on Feb 19, 2022 13:54:52 GMT -5
Have a fire going nearly everyday. With me working from home we’ve used a lot of wood the past two winters. Helps save the propane as well. I burn every day from about October till spring. Have to clean out about every 3-4 days. Clean my chimney every end of burning season. Don’t mind cutting and splitting wood, keeps me active.
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Post by welder on Feb 19, 2022 14:08:46 GMT -5
This is my 18th year running an outside boiler. Lots of work because I burn a ridiculous amount of wood. My house was built in 1847 and we have nearly constant wind. I gave up on L.P. because it was $1.30 at the time. I would be broker than I already am without it.
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Post by gumbootbill on Feb 19, 2022 14:12:27 GMT -5
I start in October and burn till first of May. I buy my wood now cost me 700 dollars to heat this winter.
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Post by treetop on Feb 19, 2022 14:51:42 GMT -5
I was going to put in a wood fireplace in when I built my home but my insurance said it would be about 35 bucks more per month. My bills really are fairly reasonable it least I think so on average I’ll burn between $450 to $ 700 in Lp depending on price that’s heat stove dryer and a unit heater in both garages the detached shop/ garage runs a lot it stays on when we have snow to melt the plow truck or when I’m out working on something or cleaning the trucks usually at least one or two days a week the attached garage is set for 45 I have all my pond yard chemicals and other stuff in it so they don’t freeze I’m here to tell you if you build or remodel a home buy a better furnace better windows build 6 inch walls spray foam them batt and blow your walls to the max your picking your heating cooling cost for as long as you live at that home.
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Post by steiny on Feb 19, 2022 14:58:25 GMT -5
Have burned wood for most of my adult life. In the past I have fully relied on wood heat and that is a pain in the rear. I've got a woodstove on the back porch we use as supplemental heat when it gets really cold and we love it, however it gets too hot in the house burning that thing if it's 30 degrees or more outdoors.
Also have a wood stove in my shop that is supplemental as well. Nothing beats wood heat on a really cold day / night.
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Post by genesis273 on Feb 19, 2022 15:18:22 GMT -5
We have for 19 years now. Still use LP some but, we are on the budget plan and get locked in at a certain price all year. We are currently locked in at $1.79. We pay x-amount per month and they keep us full.
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Post by esshup on Feb 19, 2022 15:29:20 GMT -5
12+ years? Saving natural gas and electric when I can.
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Post by budd on Feb 19, 2022 15:46:53 GMT -5
I burn 12-16 cord a year depending on temps. Outside boiler also heats my shop, garage, and house water. I like cutting wood.
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Post by esshup on Feb 19, 2022 16:36:02 GMT -5
I burn 12-16 cord a year depending on temps. Outside boiler also heats my shop, garage, and house water. I like cutting wood. I like cutting wood too. It's the splitting, moving and stacking that I don't like. LOL
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Post by beermaker on Feb 19, 2022 17:04:42 GMT -5
Been doing wood for the past 38 years. I designed the house around a wood burning, thermostat operated, wood or coal furnace tied into our central air ducts throughout the house. The house is 6" studs with super insulation and has a wood drop chute in the garage floor to drop wood straight from the truck directly into the furnace room. As an engineer by trade, it was one of my best ideas in my working career. My parents had a similar system. In fact, they still do. But since the two firewood laborers (me and my brother) left, I don't think a fire has been lit in a good 25-30 years. Dad could clear the house if he wanted to. Stoke the fire, kick on the fan, and open the registers. He designed it to be the main heat source with a gas furnace back up. One thermostat controlled the fan on the wood burner. If the fire went out and the temperature dropped below the set point on the second thermostat, a mechanical damper would close the duct from the wood burner and the furnace would ignite. Never failed.
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Post by welder on Feb 19, 2022 21:25:47 GMT -5
People often ask me; "how much wood do you burn with your outside boiler"? My answer is anywhere between 8-15 gallons of chainsaw gas. In case you aren't aware, that's a lot of gas, LOL.
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Post by deadeer on Feb 19, 2022 22:08:09 GMT -5
People often ask me; "how much wood do you burn with your outside boiler"? My answer is anywhere between 8-15 gallons of chainsaw gas. In case you aren't aware, that's a lot of gas, LOL. That's a lot! I built my own wood boiler in 06. I ran it 8 yrs but had to finally sell it because it was too tough feeding it. I dont have a tractor or dump trailer and relying on others for that much help was not fair to them. I burned about 20 cords of logs, unspilt per year. I heated my water heater all year, and then house, basement, and garage in the winter. It was great, but just too much work for my back. Now only burn about 4-5 cords of split wood all season in our wood stove.
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Post by tenring on Feb 19, 2022 23:17:09 GMT -5
Once upon a time, was having a new house built. Planed on installing an HVAC system [all electric house] myself as I was at that time an installer for a living. When I had a chance during construction to do some things ahead of time, I measured out a spot to install a combustion air 4# pipe for a wood stove in the future in the basement. Another was a hole was for exhaust smoke,chimney later on and an electrical outlet on its own breaker.
Later on a couple of cold winters and ski high REMC bills, I found a small wood burner that meat my plans and I went to work. As the basement was finished out by then, the "in and out" was already there. Chimney came a few weeks later. Combustion air had a "dryer vent on the side of the house with the "flap" removed and screen wire put into place to keep mice and fly's out. Ready to test fire. Worked like a charm burning no air from inside the house
Furnace had a pipe that went to the return air system with a 4# pipe sucking hot air from the top of the fire chamber, was picked up and distributed to every floor register.
As a safety measure, I installed an asbestos false ceiling above wood stove about 4# down. Electric bills fell drastically down during bad winter and I got a letter in the mail the REMC wanting to know if there was a problem out here. Never replied, and started getting letters every week knowing why we weren't using a lot of electricity. Never replied, and finally got a letter with a note that they sent a man out to check on us "while the wife and I was at work" and they think I had an unsafe system.
One phone call and I told send the SOB out, I'll show him the system is and how safe it was.
He came out and couldn't believe how safe it was, but you will have to quit using it and committed it was a well thought out system. But you are still violating some rules of some kind [forget what they were, and if you don't quit using it, we will have to shut off your electric power. I got so damned mad I went and shut the system down, went back real quick to heating with nothing but electricity and told him to get the hell out of my house, and I don't ever want to hear another word, nor get a letting in the mail.
Should have got a lawyer and sued them.
Years later still on all electric and high monthly bill in really cold weather. Don't have much respect for them any more and their high bills during the winter.
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Post by deadeer on Feb 19, 2022 23:22:08 GMT -5
Once upon a time, was having a new house built. Planed on installing an HVAC system [all electric house] myself as I was at that time an installer for a living. When I had a chance during construction to do some things ahead of time, I measured out a spot to install a combustion air 4# pipe for a wood stove in the future in the basement. Another was a hole was for exhaust smoke,chimney later on and an electrical outlet on its own breaker. Later on a couple of cold winters and ski high REMC bills, I found a small wood burner that meat my plans and I went to work. As the basement was finished out by then, the "in and out" was already there. Chimney came a few weeks later. Combustion air had a "dryer vent on the side of the house with the "flap" removed and screen wire put into place to keep mice and fly's out. Ready to test fire. Worked like a charm burning no air from inside the house Furnace had a pipe that went to the return air system with a 4# pipe sucking hot air from the top of the fire chamber, was picked up and distributed to every floor register. As a safety measure, I installed an asbestos false ceiling above wood stove about 4# down. Electric bills fell drastically down during bad winter and I got a letter in the mail the REMC wanting to know if there was a problem out here. Never replied, and started getting letters every week knowing why we weren't using a lot of electricity. Never replied, and finally got a letter with a note that they sent a man out to check on us "while the wife and I was at work" and they think I had an unsafe system. One phone call and I told send the SOB out, I'll show him the system is and how safe it was. He came out and couldn't believe how safe it was, but you will have to quit using it and committed it was a well thought out system. But you are still violating some rules of some kind [forget what they were, and if you don't quit using it, we will have to shut off your electric power. I got so damned mad I went and shut the system down, went back real quick to heating with nothing but electricity and told him to get the hell out of my house, and I don't ever want to hear another word, nor get a letting in the mail. Should have got a lawyer and sued them. Years later still on all electric and high monthly bill in really cold weather. Don't have much respect for them any more and their high bills during the winter. Should be none of their business. That's between you, the fire inspector, and insurance company.
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Post by tenring on Feb 19, 2022 23:37:45 GMT -5
Got so mad thinking about that time, I posted some wrong info. I not only included REMC but also our insurance company had so many homes burned to the ground they apparently have no idea how how to do something out of the ordinary and do it right.
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