wood stove ? for a beginner

[mamaof3peas]

we are considering putting in a woodstove and using it to heat the house with our propane furnace as back up. last year we spent $1800 in propane. This year we would have to buy the wood, but we could start cutting up wood as we found it starting this spring. So i have a few ?s. Is $400 too much for an older ben franklin wood stove, bigger, with a little fancier look, also has the piping, blower and the steel thing to place the stove on the floor. What should i look for when i go check this out tomorrow? Could i put the pipe out the side of the house with an elbow, and the go up after it is piped outside. What is the most you would pay if you paid for all your wood per winter? How much does insurance go up if you are adding a wood stove, i know they allow, just havent heard how much it will jump. any advice?

[WolfWalksSoftly]

I think that's a fair price if everything is in good shape.
Look for a seal in the door, make sure it shuts and opens easily ,check for warpage or any holes, rust thru.

You can run an elbow, but you need to make sure your pipe goes fairly high above the house in order to get a good draw. There is a formnula to determine the distance, but can't remember now.

Straight up without the elbow is best.

As far as wood price goes, A while back I bought Cord wood for 120.00 Price will vary everywhere you go. Mostly I just cut and split it myself.

[ChristyACB]

Why not try and run it through the second floor and then out of the house so you can take advantage of the free heat through the pipe on the way up?

Wood here is about 130 a cord. Quality really varies though.

Also, be sure and check very carefully on the exceptions in your home owners policy. Mine won't insure at all at the current rate, but if I changed in order to install one here there would be a large number of exceptions that wouldn't cover many accidents with stoves and with a very high premium and deductible. You really should check first.

[edcopp]

Welcome to the forum.

The ben franklin style stove is horribly inefficient. That is to say that it draws a lot of air for the amount of heat produced. That said I think that I would look around some and get more information before deciding.

As firewood goes there are all different kinds of wood available. If wood is $XXX per cord, one needs to know what kind of wood it is, how dry is it? That is to ask how long it has been since it was cut. If it was cut recently and was a live tree the wood will be what is called green. If it has been cut for several months (6 or more) it may be well seasoned. Longer is better. If the tree was dead when cut then it would be considered dry. If the tree was dead for a long time there may be some rotten wood on the inside, this does not burn well.

We do not know what part of the country or for that matter what country that you live in. This will also make a difference in your heating needs.

Ask lots of questions. You will get lots of information to help you make a good decision.

[Jennifer L.]

If you are using it for emergency heating only, then it's probably ok. But if you expect to burn it a lot, you would be happier with a newer stove that burns more efficiently. You can save quite a bit of wood (and work cutting and hauling wood and keeping the stove stoked) with the newer stoves. But if it's pretty and you won't be using it much, then go with it.

As to insurance, my company wanted assurance it was installed correctly and then it was about $50 extra a year. Probably you know this, but make sure they know you have the stove or if your place burns for any other reason they'll point to the wood stove and refuse to pay.

Good luck! Wood burning is great.

Jennifer

[Cabin Fever]

I wouldn't pay 2¢ for a Franklin stove. They are not airtight and burn wood like there was no tomorrow. They are essentially a cast iron "fireplace," not a "woodstove."

Most insurance companies require that a woodstove be UL Listed. I doubt if Franklin fireplaces have a UL Listing.

[Beeman]

Originally Posted by mamaof3peas

we are considering putting in a woodstove and using it to heat the house with our propane furnace as back up. last year we spent $1800 in propane. This year we would have to buy the wood, but we could start cutting up wood as we found it starting this spring. So i have a few ?s. Is $400 too much for an older ben franklin wood stove, bigger, with a little fancier look, also has the piping, blower and the steel thing to place the stove on the floor. What should i look for when i go check this out tomorrow? Could i put the pipe out the side of the house with an elbow, and the go up after it is piped outside. What is the most you would pay if you paid for all your wood per winter? How much does insurance go up if you are adding a wood stove, i know they allow, just havent heard how much it will jump. any advice?

None of this sounds good. I would install a good quality air tight stove and a good insulated metal chimney system. Of course that's going to cost you more then $1800 plus a good safe hearth and wall protection.
Buying wood now is a gamble on getting good dried wood. They'll all tell you it's dry but if it is that's another story. I would start cutting wood now and all winter for next year.

[labrat]

Originally Posted by Jennifer L.

if you expect to burn it a lot, you would be happier with a newer stove that burns more efficiently. Jennifer

I know nothing about wood stoves but what Jennifer says makes sense. Also, I was reading the new issue of Countryside this evening and I noticed an advertisment for a parlor stove. The sale price is $695. The website is http://www.transoceanltd.com/

I know nothing about the products but I checked out the homepage which states Free shipping on Heartland line of products to the nearest terminal. There is a toll free number as well. They have a full line of products.

I hope this helps.

[Sara K]

Clean your chimney. If you don't have 100% seasoned wood clean you chimney more.

Chimney brushes are cheap and if you add an elbow the creosote builds up more so clean it again. Creosote burns hot and it takes much less to turn into a disaster than you think.

Prevention is key for chimney fires trust me. You can replace a stove you don't like but you can't replace what you lose in a house fire. Learn to do it your self so you can do it as often as needed and then you'll know if that seasoned wood was really seasoned or not.

[Missy M]

We just put in our first wood stove. This is my experience. First the stove was going in the living room so we chose a soapstone stove from Woodstock. We were going for high efficience, cleaness and appeal. We purchased in the off season so we got 600 off the stove and 50 off shipping. Plus the goverment was giving an energy rebate of over 1000 on the stove for energy efficiency. The stove was expensive but our wood will be free. They recomend running the pipe inside the house for as long as possible. The warmer the pipe the better the draw. Our insurance for the house did not go up because we paid a contractor the install the pipe and the stove and pipe are UL listed. Be sure your insurance needs are met otherwise they will not cover you in case of a fire. We love our stove, the only problem is DH makes the house to darn hot with it!

[ronbre]

franklin fireplaces are some of the worst heaters you can put in your house..unfortunately..there are much better stoves ..franklins suck all your propane heated air out of the house through the flue to the fireplace.

i have heated with wood for 38 years and wouldn't own a franklin..get an airtight wood stove with proper chimney, spend the money on double or triple wall stainless if you can afford it (with children you don't want a chimney fire)

[Hooligan]

I've got two Franklin stoves sitting out behind the barn. You can have them both for free.

You can go straight out and up the outside of the house. That's how I did mine because it just didn't work to go up through the interior. One BIG advantage of running your pipe this way is you can put a cleanout in the elbow making the sweeping chores much easier.

Around here wood is being advertised from 180 to 250 a cord dry. Green is a little less.

We just shopped our homeowners insurance around and only 1 of the 5 companies we looked at wanted to see the installation. I did the install myself and was happy to hear that I "overbuilt it, even by insurance company standards". The inspector did look specifically for the UL label on the stove.

[Beeman]

Hooligan,
What type of pipe did you run up the side of your house? You most likely used an outdoor chimney and not just single wall pipe. Just for clarification as there are many first time woodstove users/installers that could take things the wrong way and burn their house down.

[mamaof3peas]

thank you soo much, God must not have wanted me to look at the stove, bc my baby was very sick today, so didnt get to go look. we saw a small woodstove in our farm and home ad this week for $250. it said for $900 sf, which is about the size we would want to heat. We are def going to take our time and really shop around and chekc out the insurance issues. since this is a rental house, i think they would not like us to go up, bc of all the ceilings and floors, so that is why i asked about going out and up. so is there a brand that makes new stoves for under $1000 for about 1000 sq ft, that is dependable and solid? we may wait out this year and put one in next spring when stuff might be cheaper. Thanks for all the helpful advice, keep it coming if you think of anything else!

[Beeman]

Going out and up with a chimney is going to be an expense. I don't think I'd want to invest in a chimney for a rental house and if I owned it I sure wouldn't want anyone putting a wood stove in it. Insulated chimney to run up the die of a multi floor house is going to be pretty pricey. You also will have to support it to the house and all the way up. You will also have to get it tall enough to avoid back drafts from the peaks.

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Chimne...Kit-6-Diameter
Here's an example

[angelsprite]

Mama,
I don't know what kind of house you're living in, but if you're considering a wood-burning stove, I expect it is on a slab or on blocks.
Have you considered an adobe fireplace instead? An adobe fireplace can be made of mud-bricks that you can make yourself with materials gathered on your own land. Adobe does not burn and it's very attactive. The whole fireplace could be built without spending a penny if you have a strong, willing man around.
Check out our outdoor kitchen on my website. My husband is also currently working on a fireplace in the shop, but it isn't nearly finished yet. We bought stove pipe for the chimney before we realized we could build with adobe and I'm regretting that, but we will brick it in, leaving little shelves and nooks for spices, and it will look great when we're done. There are pics of our mud-brick efforts on the Farm Projects page on our website. It's at www.arbordelfarm.webatu.com
Good luck and I hope you can find a way to get your fires going.

[haypoint]

In the mid-1970s there were many cast iron reproduction stoves imported from Tiwan. Poor casting quality, poor seals and thin castings. They were made to look old. I'll bet there are many still around because the "woodstove craze" only lasted a few years.

If you run the pipe through the wall, it has to be the insulated pipe and the proper collars on both sides.

What we pay for woods varies depending on many things. Location makes a difference. You did not say what area you will be buying wood from.

[mamaof3peas]

i have found a guy who sells it for $150/3 chords. he said a truck bed piled is actually half a chord. he said alot of people sell a truckload as a chord, but really its only half. he is from MO, and he said down there they are sold by the ricket? $150/3chords is chopped to my size specification and delivered. He owns his own sawmill and does cabinetry and such, but he uses the little pieces and all extras for his fire wood business. His would is always cut from the year before, so it is very well seasoned. he has given me alot of advice, mostly like your advice. he seems very honest and says it doesnt matter if i buy from him (which i will bc he has the best price), but he wants to make sure we get a good stove and dont have any issues with carbon monoxide. Im from IL. thanks for the advice, any more?

[tamsam]

I have an outside chimney that is 6 inch heavy wall pipe. If I had to replace it it would be with the insulated stainless pipe. It may be more expensive but you could take it with you if you move. You could even use the square stepping blocks to make a slab to set it on. Good luck with it. Sam

[DixyDoodle]

I want a woodstove! I did some quick estimates here and found that for a decent woodstove, counting the pipes (which are ghastly expensive!), and the hearth and all the other safeproofing required, would cost around $3,000!