Install wood stove?? Yay or Nay?

[xpc]

Besides a couple of electric space heaters I have no heat except for an old inefficient wood burner in the living room. I bought one cord of wood for $150 when I first moved in 12/07 and made it last for two years, only made a fire once a week or when it dropped to 20F outside so as not to freeze my water lines which broke twice last year.

I don't like wood stoves because they are dirty and time consuming. A cheap source of wood and a good stove that can hold a fire throughout the night so it can be stoked the next morning would change my mind but don't have that kinda of cash.

Here are some links on chimney liners you can do yourself for about $600.

This one has a nice video on how to install it yourself.
http://www.chimneylinerdepot.com/

The price list for 6" x 30' kit is about $600
http://www.chimneylinerdepot.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=250

more info
http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/foreverflex.htm

 

[big brown horse]

Funny you should mention how dirty wood stoves can be...

Last night I forgot to shut the doors on mine and I came home this afternoon (after a good wind storm) to find the floor full of soot.

 

[1stepcloser]

I just wish there was a cheap way to make the switch. We had new windows installed (thank you Obama and your tax credit) and our electric bill dropped from $300 to $170. That was helpful but it is going to take 6 years of that before we break even. ((((sigh))) I am born to homestead. I hate, hate, hate debt and just want to build what I want from scratch as I raise the money.

 

[xpc]

I just wish there was a cheap way to make the switch. We had new windows installed (thank you Obama and your tax credit) and our electric bill dropped from $300 to $170. That was helpful but it is going to take 6 years of that before we break even. ((((sigh))) I am born to homestead. I hate, hate, hate debt and just want to build what I want from scratch as I raise the money.

Yeah they do save money if you are remodeling, I replaced all my old windows with energy star dual panes too but did not get the tax credit (no income) but just to set the record straight for other readers here - it is not the windows themselves that make the biggest difference in your utility costs but rather the act of redoing all the window trim and sealing the sash when installing the new windows that saves you the money, otherwise it is not worth changing out perfectly good sealed single pane windows that have storms attached.

 

[xpc]

Funny you should mention how dirty wood stoves can be...

Last night I forgot to shut the doors on mine and I came home this afternoon (after a good wind storm) to find the floor full of soot.

I try never to do that except in the summer after it has been cleaned out then I open the door to create a thermal updraft pulling all the hot air out of the room, but don't leave it open all day because it will ultimately pull in hot air from outside.

 

[FarmerChick]

In PA where it was freezing in winters---we used coal.
That coal stove was fab and overly hot! whew...walking around in shorts in minus degree weather all the time in the house..HA HA

coal is a great long burner. fill for the night and not think about it for a long time and cleaner (I thought) then our wood fireplaces.

anyone doing coal?

 

[Wildsky]

In PA where it was freezing in winters---we used coal.
That coal stove was fab and overly hot! whew...walking around in shorts in minus degree weather all the time in the house..HA HA

coal is a great long burner. fill for the night and not think about it for a long time and cleaner (I thought) then our wood fireplaces.

anyone doing coal?

I've heard that coal isn't such a great idea, burning fossil fuel and all.. wood is more of a renewable source.

 

[FarmerChick]

true never thought of that...but Dad would not chop and cord wood and all, he would buy it....and Mom hated wood piles that "drew insects"---LOL---coal was the solution both parents agreed on, only way Dad could get his stove he wanted in the house.

I don't even know the price of coal any more since moving down South.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I just wish there was a cheap way to make the switch. We had new windows installed (thank you Obama and your tax credit) and our electric bill dropped from $300 to $170. That was helpful but it is going to take 6 years of that before we break even. ((((sigh))) I am born to homestead. I hate, hate, hate debt and just want to build what I want from scratch as I raise the money.

One way would be to pospone getting a really good wood stove now- just to the prep work on the chimney and look for an older wood stove on Craigs List or, if you know a contractor, with them- they sometimes do work to install a new one and can get an older one being replaced in good shape for nothing.

Or you can look at a pellet stove- it does use electricity but can be vented with much less cost- I've seen ones that vent through a wall with about a foot or two of pipe.

 

[xpc]

I've heard that coal isn't such a great idea, burning fossil fuel and all.. wood is more of a renewable source.

This is not true, coal may not be renewable in our limited lifetime but it is made on a daily basis by mother earth same as oil.

In PA where it was freezing in winters---we used coal.
That coal stove was fab and overly hot! whew...walking around in shorts in minus degree weather all the time in the house..HA HA

coal is a great long burner. fill for the night and not think about it for a long time and cleaner (I thought) then our wood fireplaces.

anyone doing coal?

Coal is great for that, just remember that it takes a special stove to burn coal and not just any wood burner. I use to take a few pounds of coal along on winter camping trips just for the reason you listed.