Wood heating pros/cons

I have never lived where it gets truely cold so this may not be of any help. But, my best friend just put in a "free standing fireplace" (?) up in Idaho where it does get really cold. I am wondering if this would help and be cheaper in the long run? Don't know, just an idea, I detest wood heat of any kind.

Never been in a wood heated house that wasn't stiffling hot and miserable one hour and too cold the next. Then there's the crap associated with dealing with wood..also in many places it's not cheap unless you have a good source as stated by some already. Then there are creatures that are brought indoors with the wood...yuk! LOL

I can see though where in an area that is really cold and in an older house where wood would be an advantage for costs.Many of my neighbors get permits during the summer to go out into the forest and bring home wood.

Good luck and hope you find a good solution.

LQ

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I forgot; you asked for pros and cons. These are specific to my stove and my experiences, naturally.

Pros: I live in a forest, so fuel is free with a little work. You can stand next to a stove and get warm right away even when the house is cold. Works when the power is out. You can cook on it. Lends a warm, cozy feel to the living area. It feels pleansantly "primal" to heat with fire. Mine is very easy to work; draws well, fires start easily. Starting with a cold stove, it raises the air temperature of the room 5-8 degrees in the first hour (thermometer is across the 13'x22' room from the stove). No complicated mechanical parts to break.

Cons: Won't keep a fire overnight without stoking. Requires cutting, splitting, stacking firewood. Uneven heat throughout the house--some rooms warmer than others (although this can be nice if you like variety). In cold weather, I always have to come home early enough to start a fire and get the house warm before dark.

I haven't found it to be very messy. It's pretty simple to sweep up the handful of wood-crumbs that come in with the wood. As far as bugs and stuff, I haven't had any so far. (and this is AL where it doesn't get really cold. If you're up north, I'd expect there would be even fewer.) To prevent bugs inside, just knock each stick of wood before you load it into arms to carry it inside. You don't *have* to dump ash all over the place if you're careful. My stove doesn't smoke.

"The double wall air insulated steel flue is below the ceiling flue support thimble at the top. Our wood stove is a catalytic Blaze King, 82.5% efficient (you will burn 17.9% less wood, and longer than with a standared air tight)"


Even though Blaze Kings are shielded units, your unit is far too close to the wall and it also does not appear to have 18 inches clearance from the loading door to the edge of your non-combustible hearth pad, nor is there 48" space to your wood supply. These are safety issues.

I also note that many municipalities and installation instructions require more than 2 feet above the roof top within 10 feet, for the chimney top (i.e. 3 feet in many jurisdictions and many manufacturer's instructions). So wherever you live, you need to check out both local bylaws regarding installation of chimneys, and the manufacturer's instructions.

On a further note, many insurance company's are now insisting on double-walled flue pipe for connecting your stove to your breach pipe/chimney. The "weakest link" in a wood burning unit is that flue pipe.

Some of the pros of a wood burning unit - you are never cold even if the power goes out for days or weeks on end, you always hot meals and hot water available (I cook and bake on top of my air tight), and weight loss/control dragging in all that fire wood, cutting splitting, piling, etc.

Cons - labour intensive, and you will learn what good old fashioned "spring cleaning" is all about!!!!

Safety? Depends on your installation. Certain types of installations are less prone to problems than others. The rules, regulations and manufacturer's instructions are the first key to safety in wood burning.

Plus:

* Cheap if you have woodlot. 80% of what we burn is deadfall which would be a fire hazard if not cleared. The rest is seasoned wood from trees we have to cull anyway. If we did not burn this inside, we would have to burn it outside.

* Nice to look at (if you have a window) and radiant heat feels better.

* Can cook on the stove top. We cook on our woodstove whenever it is lit. Reuses heat and saves propane.

* Can reuse ash (potash for soap making or compost treatment or biodiesel)

* Reliable

Minus:

* Mess (from carrying/handling wood); build a wood door to an outside stack near your stove if you can.

* Work of cutting/stacking (price vs. labor)

* Your inside temp can vary considerably; can mitigate by building in thermal mass near the stove (brick, tile, etc.) also by using a water pot or reservoir.

Interesting:

* Can always back with a thermostat controled furnace; if wood is not keeping up (like the middle of the night), furnace kicks in.

* Is CO2 neutral; Deadfall burned is replace yearly by new growth (~1 cord per acre per year)

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neolady,

With the Blaze side shields and dual-fan-clearance-reduction-shield on the back all clearances are met (6" to corner at back).

btw Our connector pipe, between our Blaze King and support thimble is double wall, and noted in previous post, . . . with 1" air space between the metal walls, this is important.

Thanks for listing all of these important regulations, and letting others understand the relaxations of those regulations based on alternatives like the side panels and back fan panels.

Alex

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A tip for cleaning your Selkirk type chimney pipe from inside the house and reducing the amount of mess.

Slip your chimney brush and first section the "wand" into the chimney.

Take a heavy-duty garbage bag, make a very small hole in the bottom of it, slip the section of wand into the hole, tape the bag around the breach pipe/connector (duct tape is a good bet).

Then add your other sections of wand and go to cleaning the chimney. The garbage bag will collect the bulk of the debris and you can dispose of it OUTDOORS pronto.

Remember to make sure that the chimney is cooled down first!!!

Narrow Way Farm -- I don't know where you live, but check out craigslist.org and look in the "free" section -- I have seen people giving away woodstoves and fireplace inserts.

Firewood heats you twice: First when you're chopping it and then when you're burning it. And looking into the embers of the fire is good for the soul, I think.

A good wood stove and the proper hearth, chimney/flue is expensive but a long term investment. A cheap woodstove and the improper hearth, chimney flue is even more expensive.

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Ah, soot! My favorite!