I want a wood stove...what kind????

I will second the advice to go to hearth.com for woodstove advice for wood heat advice. Maybe not for cooking but for wood heat those guys rock. Good luck.

The only advice I wish to add ... dry wood is indispensable for a quality wood heat. Period.

Get an airtight stove, it is much more efficient.

And yes, dry wood makes a huge difference.

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We will meet in the golden city, called the New Jerusalem,
All our pain and all our tears will be no more.....

Anyone who says they've winterized as much as possible, but the fuel bills are sky high, hasn't winterized as much as possible.

Get a professional energy auditor in. Avoid ones who want to sell you something else, like carpentry or windows, and offer the audit cheap because they don't value their own work. Get a blower door test and find out where and how much the house leaks.

The average audit/weatherization job in Maine costs $8800, but saves 40% on the heating bill. Show me another investment that pays that well.

There are low interest loans available so that your monthly outlay (loan payment plus heat bill) goes down as soon as you get the work done, and can be done so you never have a giant up-front cost. Look into the PACE program. Many states have it, but it's a town by town thing. Some have it and some don't.

Beyond that, I like the Vermont Castings Montpelier insert I got last year. I got a flue liner kit to go with it. I got the insert on sale so I got the whole thing done for less than $2k.

Dan

Sorry. I just have to pick at this some more.

Is your basement insulated? After controlling for moisture sources and ensuring adequate air to the furnace, you should have spray foam installed from the top of the rim joist to two feet below exterior grade.

Are there air leaks in your attic? Is the area around the chimney sealed with caulked sheet metal? Are there plumbing chases open to the attic? Are there balloon framed walls open at the top into the attic? Is there a hatch or doorway to the attic that isn't airsealed, allowing your heat to escape? Is your attic insulated with fiberglass, which is good only as air filter and rodent housing? Insulate to R-60 with blown cellulose. And don't store junk up there instead of insulating.

Dan

Boy isn't that the well hidden truth. It just proves the power of advertizing over science. I read somewhere on some Arizona based web site for pros all about that. How the pink crap is fine until the wind blows a bit and then at 10 MPH or thereabouts it loses almost HALF OF ITS INSULATION VALUE. I bet the mime Barney the dinosaur colored panther never pointed that little issue out did he???? Somebody ought to pop that kitty and mount his head on a mantle.