just curious to see who else heats with wood

i drug an old franklin stove out of one of the barns here and cleaned it up. the back room that was supposed to be a dining room has a hearth/flue in the corner, so i've got it piped up to that. i've been helping a coworker cut wood in exchange for some wood and i had a guy bring a load yesterday to get me started. i've got a gas pack (propane), but so far it looks like i'll only have to use it for backup and to keep everything from freezing up when we're not here to tend the fire.

when i build my dream home i'm gonna install one of those wood furnaces that sits away from the house and heats water that's pumped to a coil in the hvac duct. that shit is sweet and cheap if you don't mind doing some work.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 9:47 PM. Reason : posted in chit chat so y'all can make all the "hot wood" jokes you want]

11/2/2010 9:45:49 PM

I don't like wood. I prefer dead babies. They have a higher LHV.

11/2/2010 9:52:09 PM

We most definitely do. Our wood stove heats up the whole house. Before I knew how to manage it, I got it up to 90 degrees in here. I had all the windows open in January. lol

I have been splitting wood all summer and have a whole garage full for the winter. We also have gas heat, but we typically only use it in the mornings when the fire has gone out. I love this time of year because our electric bill is cheap as shit. Here is a pic of our wood stove:

11/2/2010 9:55:04 PM

Beating your Wood in 3... 2... 1... PARROTY

11/2/2010 9:55:52 PM

the furnace in my dream home doesn't require hours of manual labor, but maybe that's just me

11/2/2010 9:56:18 PM

Is the stove in the middle of the room or just off the wall? Which room is it in? Does it get heat throughout the house or do you have to fan the warm air around?

11/2/2010 9:57:13 PM

different strokes, man

even if i bought the wood and had it delivered it'd be cheaper than a heat pump and definitely cheaper than gas

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 9:59 PM. Reason : adfs]

11/2/2010 9:58:03 PM

I love the smell of wood, and wood smoke. (no homo)

11/2/2010 9:58:11 PM

Quote :

"when i build my dream home i'm gonna install one of those wood furnaces that sits away from the house and heats water that's pumped to a coil in the hvac duct. that shit is sweet and cheap if you don't mind doing some work."

My uncle has this on whats called a triple system. It goes solar (direct, not electric), wood and gas - which is then fed into the house as radiant heat under the hardwood and tile floors. He also has backup electric heat if it all goes to pot.

His power bills were down around $40 for a 2100 square foot home during the winter months

11/2/2010 9:59:51 PM

i LIKE the idea. I just don't think i'd want it for anything more than a weekend cabin.

11/2/2010 10:00:13 PM

Apparently there are many low-income households in the Triangle that heat their homes with wood. I used to do a wood chop service project with Alpha Phi Omega, and all we did was split wood for hours at a time. Then the wood was sent out to those in need.

11/2/2010 10:01:43 PM

Quote :

"I have been splitting wood all summer and have a whole garage full for the winter. We also have gas kerosene heat, but we typically only use it in the mornings when the fire has gone out. I love this time of year because our electric bill is cheap as shit."

that's how we did it when we lived in a log cabin in Boone

11/2/2010 10:01:53 PM

Hey girl. I'll heat you wif my wood.

11/2/2010 10:02:48 PM

Our stove is in the living room and does have a circulation fan. It is positioned perfectly to where it faces down the hall, so it blows all the heat back to the bedrooms. We just pile it full of wood before we go to bed and it burns all night. If it is chilly when we wake up, we fire up the propane heat while we take our showers then turn it off when we leave for work.

I was fortunate this year because I have a neighbor that had to clear some trees from his land. I told him to just drop them on my property and I would take care of them. I worked all summer with the chainsaw and log splitter on those trees, so now I have AT LEAST 1 winter's worth of wood in the garage. Going to be nice not having to split wood in the freezing cold like last year.

11/2/2010 10:03:38 PM

my stove is just off the wall. i don't do anything except run the ceiling fan in the room it's in. i do want to get a small metal-shroud fan to stick behind it. so far, it can bring the house from 60 to 70 in 1-2 hours. it's in a back room that we don't use, which actually works out well. it's uncomfortably hot in that room, comfortable in the living room (middle of the house), and just cool enough to make you wanna get under a good blanket in the bedroom (furthest away from the stove).

i'll probably leave the gas heat set on 55 for when we're not here to feed the fire. i'll get up in the middle of the night and throw some wood in there. we'll see if my plan holds up come december/january.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:07 PM. Reason : i like it pretty cold when i go to sleep]

11/2/2010 10:05:07 PM

Quote :

"Going to be nice not having to split wood in the freezing cold like last year."

Huh?

I'd think you prefer to split logs in the winter vs. the summer... i'd think the heat would kill you swinging an axe all day.

11/2/2010 10:07:08 PM

^ Nah, I much rather work outside in the summer than the winter. Plus, it is nice to come home from work and have all the wood you need to start a fire. On top of that, you want to cut the wood in the summer so it dries enough to burn in the winter.

Quote :

"and just cool enough to make you wanna get under a good blanket in the bedroom "

This is a perfect explanation of how our stove heats. It makes it just chilly enough in the bedroom to make you want to get under a blanket and snuggle. Which is damn perfect in my eyes.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:09 PM. Reason : a]

11/2/2010 10:08:07 PM

you want to stack your wood for a full summer if possible so the summer sun dries it out (aka seasons it)

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:09 PM. Reason : ^yep. i also don't mind wearing a sweatshirt and some good bedroom shoes when i'm sitting around]

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:12 PM. Reason : pretty easy to find a log splitter to borrow or rent anyway]

11/2/2010 10:08:15 PM

My GF just informed me yesterday that a property she manages is about to clear out a ton of trees. They are going to haul them out here and drop them in one of our pastures. That means I can work this Spring and Summer filling up one of the barns, thus providing us about a 2 year supply of firewood, as well as plenty to sell if we decide to.

^ yeah, a log splitter makes it SOOOOOO much easier. We borrowed a friend's this past summer, but I am going to buy one when I get my tax refund this year. Definitely a good investment if you heat with wood.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:16 PM. Reason : a]

11/2/2010 10:14:24 PM

It's cool that you guys do this. I'm going to have to start making arrangements to do this when I finally get a place.

11/2/2010 10:16:15 PM

wood heat isn't that popular down east where i'm from b/c it's mostly pines down there, but oak is abundant up this way so a whole lot of folks heat with wood.

^yeah, there's something about coming into a house with a fire burning. you get out of the truck and see a little smoke coming from the chimney and smell it, so you know what's waiting inside. walk in and open up the firebox doors and get warmed up real quick. it's awesome.

we have a firescreen, so i can open up the doors and put the screen in front and watch the fire. add some pinecones for a crackling effect. panties hit the floor.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:19 PM. Reason : adfs]

11/2/2010 10:16:29 PM

I'll stick with burning tires.

11/2/2010 10:18:55 PM

Yeah, pine definitely sucks for heating. We are fortunate that 4 of our 7 acres is wooded, and the majority of those trees are hardwoods. So if worse ever came to worst, I could just drop a couple trees back in the woods and cut them up. We pretty much never have to worry about running out of wood for the stove.

One of the other advantages is the fact that you can cook on it if the power goes out. Should you lose power for a couple days, not only will you stay warm, but you can eat too. lol

Quote :

"you get out of the truck and see a little smoke coming from the chimney and smell it, so you know what's waiting inside"

HELL YES! I can smell it coming down the driveway, and I see the smoke coming out of the chimney as soon as I come through the gate. It is one of my favorite things about winter.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:25 PM. Reason : a]

11/2/2010 10:21:35 PM

do you do the thing where you put a pot of water on top of the stove to keep the air in the house from getting too dry?

i haven't had that problem yet, but some old folks say that when it gets really dry outside having a fire in the house will dry it out that much more. they swear by the pot of water on the stove.

11/2/2010 10:26:57 PM

^ absolutely. We have an old cast iron pot and a stand that we put on top of the stove and keep it full of water. I am not sure how much of a difference it makes, but we have just always done it. I am pretty sure that started way back in her family.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:30 PM. Reason : a]

11/2/2010 10:29:47 PM

ok sweet. i'll start looking for a cool old cast iron pot to put up there.

11/2/2010 10:32:08 PM

just make sure you find a stand to put it on, or else it will make a nasty ring on your stove top.

11/2/2010 10:33:02 PM

This thread brings back some great memories of the good old days. My mom and realtor think I'm crazy because I want a wood burning stove/fireplace but I don't care.

11/2/2010 10:33:18 PM

In the winter, I absolutely love waking up with morning wood. After a few minutes of intense friction, I'm pretty warm and feeling toasty.

11/2/2010 10:35:53 PM

We used to heat with wood when I lived in northwest WA. Plenty of free firewood to go around if you have a truck to haul it away with. Plus, with 2 roommates, we split up the wood chopping duties, and it wasn't too bad.

It can be a little bit of a mess, though.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:36 PM. Reason : ^^ Someday when I build a house to my specs, I want a wood-burning fireplace, too]

11/2/2010 10:36:09 PM

the bad thing is most new houses with fireplaces don't have thick enough fireplace walls to actually burn wood. they're only good for gas logs.

gas logs suck

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:40 PM. Reason : the wood stove insert things are pretty nice]

11/2/2010 10:39:21 PM

yeah, they're kinda lame. i just turn on the heat.

i don't like stuff that's fake.

11/2/2010 10:41:12 PM

Here is the pot/stand combo that we put water in on top of the stove if you need an idea

11/2/2010 10:42:59 PM

does the stand have little feet or is it flat on both sides?

a piece of perforated boiler plate would work nicely there, even if i had to weld on a few small feet

11/2/2010 10:44:37 PM

If you've got time in the summer when you aren't chopping wood, you should clean that thing or something.

11/2/2010 10:44:55 PM

yeah, get some black stove polish and give that pot a rub down

11/2/2010 10:45:47 PM

^^^ it has 3 little feet on it, just enough to raise it off the stove. It also works as a great "burner" for cooking on top of the stove with household frying pans

^^ and ^ why? all we use it for is heating water for humidity. no need for it to be clean. that being said, I just got it out of the cabinet from last year so it probably could use a good rub down.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 10:47 PM. Reason : a]

11/2/2010 10:46:59 PM

Man, I do miss heating with wood. Being in a condo in town sucks compared to living in a house with a fireplace or wood burning stove.

We heated with nothing but wood for the majority of my childhood. My dad had me running a chainsaw when I was 10 years old.

11/2/2010 11:00:34 PM

Quote :

"wood heat isn't that popular down east where i'm from b/c it's mostly pines down there, but oak is abundant up this way so a whole lot of folks heat with wood."

My grandparents in Edgecombe County had a wood stove as their only heat source in the house. It was an old school farm house on cinder blocks with no air/heat plumbing. The bedrooms would get freezing cold during the night.

They always grew corn and I remember my grandpa always having a big peach can full of kerosene and corn cobs. The kerosene soaked corn cobs made a great fire starter.

11/2/2010 11:03:59 PM

Quote :

"The kerosene soaked corn cobs made a great fire starter"

I guess you need that if you are burning pine. All I use is newspaper and a match.

11/2/2010 11:07:49 PM

We always just used an ax. Every once in a while, we'd have to break out the maul for a really big, tough stump or something. For tinder, newspaper or little pieces splintered off while chopping wood (and sometimes we'd purposefully chop up wood into tinder).

11/2/2010 11:27:57 PM

^

yeah, same here. plus using the axe is a hell of a work out. but now I am spoiled by the log splitter, so I must have one. I will blame my weight gain over the next few years on that

11/2/2010 11:29:46 PM

11/2/2010 11:31:35 PM

yeah, me and both of my roommates were all big into working out (and 2 of us were really big into Crossfit, so a half-hour of chopping wood once or twice per week was right up our alley)

11/2/2010 11:31:45 PM

The log splitter is definitely a must have when doing huge amounts of wood though. I filled up half the garage in one Saturday. Chopping that much wood by hand would have taken much longer, unless I was training to fight a Russian.

11/2/2010 11:33:34 PM

oh yeah. I mean, we had gas heat, too...plus, there were 3 of us to share chopping duties.

11/2/2010 11:35:24 PM

My goal moving forward is to stay a season ahead. In other words, I will cut and have a Winter's worth drying in one barn each summer, with a full Winter's worth already dry in another barn.

11/2/2010 11:38:58 PM

yeah, we started pretty early up there.

being ahead is nice, but the biggest deal is that it's nice and dry by the time you need it.

[Edited on November 2, 2010 at 11:43 PM. Reason : ]

11/2/2010 11:40:56 PM

We cut down whole trees about 2 years in advance. Just let the whole thing dry out. Easier to chop into pieces, and it's usually about 15% humidity when it comes in the house.

11/3/2010 12:48:12 AM

That's awesome!

11/3/2010 12:49:46 AM