Who REALLY heats with wood... as in NO other heat source?

100% wood. Took out the oil tanks two years ago. No backup.

Pete

well it seems there are quite a few of us! I've been thinking about tearing out the old furnace too. its shot and doesn't work right and I could use the closet space! I'll add it to the list of ever growing projects to be done after the addition.........one which includes tearing out the fireplace and just putting a nice woodstove in there. Right now we have a box stove in the fireplace. It will give us more space and look better I think. Not to mention heat better.

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Ginnie..
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You can say what you want about the South,
But you never hear of anyone retiring and moving North.

We have a brand new oil tand attatched to out oil furnace. Never had oil in it though. Just need it for insurance purposes.
Thats the problem here. The insurance companies charge a hefty premium if you even suppliment with wood. If you used only wood here you would have a hard time getting insurance.
Our heritage wood stove in the kitchen does all our heating. Very cheaply I must add. I spend about $700 a year including chainsaw/splitter gas. I was spending $250 a month when we used Natural gas in town.

We have a three-tiered approach that really works well for us:

(1) Stove
(2) Propane
(3) Heated matress pad

Not solely with wood -- ours is a wood/coal combo and we run about 50/50. Half the time wood, half the time coal. I use wood when I can get it for free, and when that runs out we pay for coal (cheaper than wood in my area).

Like some other folks, we have another heat source. We have propane, and have the thermostat set on 48 degrees. We're not at home a lot, and when we're gone for several days at a time, there's no one to stoke the fire. The propane kicks on and keeps the pipes from freezing. Also, we'll crank up the propane for an hour or two after coming home from being gone for several days -- instant heat while we wait for the stove to kick in and fire up.

We have problems with getting enough heat upstairs on the second floor. We bought a really nice, top of the line ('bout 100 bucks) heated matress pad. No need to stoke up the fire so it runs all night -- the bed's toasty warm, and no need to heat the whole house all night (with either the wood/coal stove or the propane) while we're up in bed.

Works well for us ... except it's cooooooolllllld getting up in the morning. Leaving the heated bed and starting a new fire tends to leave it cold for an hour or two. Extra long-johns help with that one.

We have always heated entirely with wood. We now have 3 wood or wood/coal stoves in our old farmhouse. We don't use all..all the time..of course but..We do have a barrel stove in the cellar that heats the floor of the house and most of it for that fact very, very well. We have replaced this barrel twice over our 26 years here in the mountains of PA. Line it with sand and works wonderfully. If I had only one stove that is the stove I would have making it ourself. We also have a coal master stove that work great and an old Kalamazoo stove in the palor that also uses coal. Of course. the kitchen cook stove too !! We are not able to get natural gas to the house and use propane for the hot water and summer time cooking on the stove in the kitchen. Have thought about installing some sort "central" heat for our "old age" which is coming sooner than I would like...but the cost is just getting higher and higher. So...needless to say, I guess I will be chopping wood for a while longer. I also figure, if we have central heat being just human..I would tend to get a bit lazy on the cold mornings and heaven forbid before I knew it ..a heating bill !!! My budget most certainly would not be able to pay for that. Also, the next big thing is..it makes me feel just a little independent. I know that I can always wander off into the back woods and find a few sticks of wood to keep me and my animal friends warm. Where if you don't pay..you don't get. It is a lot of work for sure. But it seems as though we are forced enough these days to do things that we aren't in agreement on just to make it in this day and age that even the not too small advantage of being self sufficent in heat and cooking makes you think that you just..might make it OK somehow. Child of the 60's..independent thinking or just plain rebellious at heart..who knows. but it sures feels good when everyone else in the area is without electric or snowed in for days to sit back with my feet up warming them near my wood stove..sipping on a cup of hot cider (or whatever?! )..thinking that Life is Sure Good ..in these mountains !!

100% wood, for about 12 years now.

If you live in a rural area, it is worth your while to look into local farm mutual insurance companies. Basically this amount to a bunch of farmers getting together and insuring each others properties.

If you are the type of person that wants insurance for catastrophic loss or to satisfy some paper pusher, this is the way to go, in Ontario at least.

Pete

100 percent wood and just getting the last of it split up. 5 years now.

we have farm bureau insurance, they charge a 60.00 dollar surcharge for
solid fuel so far no other hassels

other companys flip out because you are not normal[their standards]

they saved us 1/3 of the cost others charge

Hey i'm finally in Maine, had to buy a house fear now never being able to sell it. we heat with wood in the cook stove that came with the house and it is working okay so far

Hey TLF... give us a complete update would you? You still looking at an intentional community because there is a fellow on here by the name of Dennis that has been asking about one.

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Is there any better way to heat than with wood? Last year we got our stove installed and after a year we just don't want to go back. We get our wood for free so why pay the electric or gas. In all our years of marriage we have never had such a warm house because we could never afford it!

One of the best investments we ever made!

kids

All wood- Snowing outside right now, sitting by the fire watching the grouse eat my cover crop seed in the garden, but sooooo cozy! We have an electric furnace in a box in the garage waiting to be installed- our insurance says it is a must. Thanks folks with the lead other companies.

100% wood heat from our Lopi woodstove. It heats the house, I cook all our meals on it, and we also have no dryer. On the really cold days we have to step over the mastiff and the six cats to get a prime spot.

Paula

We've used wood here as our primary source of heat for eight years with Farm Bureau insurance. They made us line a perfectly good chimney with steel before they would insure it but that was their only hesitation. We cook on the wood heat stove a lot in the winter as well...its sitting there burning so why not?

We do. Although we do have central air and on really cold nights or when we don't want to crank up the stove because the temperatures are not going to stay cold, we have been known to use the heater.

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We've heated only with wood for 16 years (18?). We have a Sam Daniels wood furnance in the basement with a grate over it in the central room. It is a great place to read a book in the winter, dry wet cloths and hang out.

I like wood because I can produce it myself, I can maintain my own furnace and chimney and wood does not explode. Frankly, if you know how to properly handle it, wood is a lot safer than propane, LPG, heating oil, etc.

What ever you do, insulate and cut drafts. The first year in this house was 7 cords. I now have it down to two or three cords a year for the last decade or more.

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Exclusively with wood here! Cook on a wood cookstove, which during the winter I keep going all the time. And have a big wood heating stove in the living room. I love wood heat! It is constant. I always dress warm to go to anyone else's house, because they keep their heat turned down. I freeze!

katlupe

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Only wood here--------Outside wood boiler --- heats water for our radiant floor heating.

Unfortunately we still need a pump (electric) to ciculate the hot water.

I love our warm floors!

Only with wood. We have a large Kitchen Queen cookstove. Heat, cook, oven and hot water on the back. It really puts out the warmth. Before we got the cookstove, we had a wood furnace in an outdoor building with forced hot air, used electricity for the fan, but this cookstove is totally so much better and so much warmer.