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Vehicle Kit CONCEPTS vs CHECKLISTS
Jan
05
Here I sit in the mountains typing away with a fire crackling in the wood burning stove, just the sound of the keys getting pecked at and the occasional log popping inside the fire box. We’ve lived up here over 3 years now and have previously never had a home with a wood burning stove, I have to say it is one of my favorite additions. Our particular model is the Lopi Answer, I’m reasonably sure it was installed when the home was built so that makes it at least 25 years old. It’s still rocking quite nicely but I thought to share some of the things I’ve learned since owning this stove, maybe put to bed some myths that seem to be out there as well. Understand these are my thoughts about a stove from the NON-SHTF Perspective, all could change if things go sideways and it becomes our only source of heat but that has yet to happen (thankfully). So keep that in mind when you read this article, before you think “yea but if the grid is down for 39 years….”
1: A Wood Stove doesn’t necessarily save you money (you prob spend more)
Shocking? Maybe to some, not to me and I’m about to break this down for you but before I do there is one critical component that we must agree on. TIME = MONEY.
As previously stated in other articles we live at around 8500 feet in the Rocky Mountains at the end of a 5 miles of country roads, the last 2 of which are dirt. I could put a Barrett 50 cal at a 45 degree angle off of my deck and squeeze the trigger and the round would land somewhere in the National Forest. My internet is satellite because that’s all that is available, yet ironically enough we do have natural gas (others around here are on propane). All that stated to make the point of, I have a way to heat my home in the winter with the average bill (natural gas) probably like $50-$75 a month or something – bear in mind that’s with us using the wood stove. We keep the thermostat at 69 degrees and the wood stove heats the upper level of of the home, once it gets cool enough the furnace kicks on and does supplemental labor making sure we don’t wake up to a 50 degree home (I’ve forgotten to turn on the furnace and that’s what happens FYI). Once the sun rises, and we get plenty of it here with southern exposure and big windows, our main rooms get plenty of heat even on the coldest of days to the point where we leave doors and windows open.
So back to the whole money thing, let’s break this down and yes I do pay for wood. Let’s say a cord of wood is $225 (because it is) and I burn roughly 4-5 cord a winter. Realistically that’s a little over $1000 just in delivered wood but wait, you need somewhere to store this aforementioned wood unless you want it just piled up everywhere. This past summer myself and a buddy built a nice structure to hold this wood, 3 sided with a sloped roof and canvas curtain fronts which can be pulled aside (on steel cable). That in itself was probably another $1500 in materials. So if you take these costs and spread them out over the winter months it’s not like burning wood in the stove means my gas bill is cheap and I’m free and clear, quite the opposite.
TIME = MONEY. There are those of you that will be like, but you are paying for wood like an idiot…I harvest my own etc etc. To that I would say, I’ve done that as well as recently as this summer and it’s quite the experience. Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD (especially in a time where we don’t have to). Myself and some buddies spent all day felling trees, limbed and bucked them on site, dragged them to the truck and down the mountain and loaded them on our own trucks and trailers. That was day 1. Then another full day of bucking the logs even further and splitting and stacking the wood, call it 14-16 hours total for my take which was prob less than 2 cord as we all shared. OR – I give a dude $500 and he shows up with a giant trailer and dumps 2 cord at my doorstep and I stack it in a couple hours or less. I’m not sure what your time is worth but I’d rather pay a dude and spend the other 2 days doing something else. Is there merit in the sweat equity? Of course, but I also pay people to change my oil and all that stuff. That’s like telling someone not to go the grocery store because “you should go hunting and grow all your own food.” Yea, I’ll pass.
2: Fire starting material is critical
Over the years I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, I’m sure all of you out there consider yourself reasonably sound on the art of starting fires be it out back or inside a wood stove. There are a couple of tips I’ve learned that I’ll pass along:
A- Pine Cones are amazing, but I guess that depends on where you live. Today my wife and I walked around our property with the dogs and picked up so many pine cones, they make amazing fire starters, even better than traditional kindling in many instances.
B- Grocery bags (brown paper) are critical. Tear up half a bag and get the pine cones going and you are in the money. Yes, I’ve tried to use traditional paper from the mail or whatever and it’s not good. Sure it burns but I’ve sat outside and seen flaming embers from that lightweight paper floating out of the screened chimney stack. This is…no bueno and why I like grocery bags.
3: Dual purpose options abound
We have two cast iron devices on the top of our stove that act as humidifiers up here in the dry climate. Tonight I added water to both of them and they keep things nice while the fire burns, sometimes my wife adds scents to those to spice up the main living area (I’m not a fan particularly). In any even that’s an option, cooking on the top of the stove is also an option and I’ve dried clothes out in front of it as well. Very versatile and a nice tool for sure.
4: Quality inspections (read: Safety) are necessary
I get it, self reliance aka DIY. Yet there is a part of me that doesn’t mind paying professionals a couple hundred bucks a year to come out to inspect and proof the device that could literally burn my house to the ground. They get on my roof and pull the stack off, clean the chimney and the stove itself and have made some repairs when necessary. In a scenario where these types were not available do I have to tools and wherewithal to do this myself? Yes….but I also have a couple hundred bucks in my pocket that I don’t mind parting with these days to ensure my stove and all associated components are good to go.
5: Peace of mind
Honestly it all comes down to this. I’ve lived in many places in the US and Europe / Middle East and the wood stove gives one such a peace of mind. I can keep my family warm, I can cook on it, I can keep things lit at night and much more. It all goes back to the primitive mindset: wood / fire / survival. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and please comment with your own thoughts!
Hi .newhamshire Karo 1218 here
We have had no backup heat here for over 20 years(woodstove) only…well we do have backup but his name is Dave. ..this yr I purchased hardwood for100 dollars a cord …ordered 5 got 8…
“but his name is Dave…”
Classic! I wish it were $100 a cord here, and all we can get is beetle kill pine.
Wood stoves also have a danger factor, when and if you don’t burn dry wood, otherwise you can have a creosote buildup! It is a must to keep your chimney clean by using dry wood and hot fires to burn off accumulated creosote! Or use of creosote destroyer powder! And keep a fire extinguisher at Bay ! Good Luck but I don’t want to stay home tending a fire and stocking up wood each day to feed a constant heat source! The only thing is that it is a good emergency backup in case of power outages!
Definitely agree on the fire extinguisher, I have multiple standing by and only burn dry wood.
I have read your post and disagree.
I guess I am fortunate that I have the ability to cut my own wood, heat 2 houses (one in the city and one on a farm which I work for income). I am 66 year old and work 2 farms by my self growing row crops. I cut and split well over 60 truck loads of wood and if it wasn’t for this I would be over weight or possibly dead. There isn’t a day that goes by from October to March that I don’t preform a job concerning wood cutting, splitting or stacking. I have never cleaned a chimney (3) in the years I have been burning wood. But what I have had to do is rebuild all my stoves every year do to the fact I burn the upper baffle out. Have even plated them with 1/2 steel and they still become distorted. Finally there is nothing like a 80 degree house when it’s 20 degrees outside. I do use propane and natural gas and heat a 3000 square foot and 1000 square foot and have never spent over 500 dollars for both house’s.
Barry-
Thanks for the detailed response and totally fine that you disagree, that’s the beauty of this whole thing. I have friends that say I’m stupid for buying wood and I tell them time is money. I don’t have the time but I’m fortunate to have the money, as such I have it delivered. Right now the winds outside are over 30 mph and temps are almost 0 degrees, totally spot on with you when you say there is nothing like an 80 degree house when it’s 20 outside. Thanks again and look forward to hearing more from you.
Good points about exercising. I am 67, in process of looking for decent wood burning stove (not furnace), but it appears here in Atlantic Canada it is problem to find one.
On my 2.5 acres I already started stocking 8 feet long piles ( birch and spruce). Wood experts say you need at least 6 months to store it minimize creasol build up.
If you are having problems buying a good wood stove, try a Vermont casting .
They are readily available in Ontario Canada. Parts are too.
Top loading with a bottom covered ash pan. Both features are really useful.
We have used this type of woodstove (replaced it once) for over 35 years with no problems.
other than they are not self filling.(joke)
We have the larger encore defiant, and we can fill it damp it down and still have a good bed of coals in the morning.
Love our Vermont Cast ings. It has pull up rods so gloves and such can be tried. Great for putting a pot of soup or chili on. The house had no wood stove when we bought it. Husband went to surgery. Came out. While he was groggy, I had to ask about wood stove. He said yes. When he rested…..I was home. I cut carpet so here it would be safely placed. I even cut and laid Durarock. Then ceramic tiled it. Been here 30 years. ALL IS STILL GOOD. Fire up that baby! Its such a cool thing.
Great stoves at obadias 1800-968-8604
Canadian company. Qe are looking at
J A Roby epa certified chief/ cuistot/elda
If i may suggest a company, in Kitchener, ontario. It is called the “Elmira Stove Works”. They can put one together, to your specifications, or you can buy one from their catalogue.
We have a Woodstock soapstone stove with catalytic combustor, and we love it. We replaced a gas fireplace with this stove a few years ago when we bought our home in mid-Michigan. We can get a fire going quickly with brown kraft paper and pine kindling, then add hardwood. A full firebox of hardwood can last 12 hours with the top of the stove still being 250 degrees F, thanks to the soapstone and the combustor. We can cook on it too but so far have only heated water for tea. The only reason we still use our propane furnace is that there was no good central location in the house to put the woodstove, so it is at one end. With electric ventilation fans and ductwork the stove does a pretty good job, but my elderly mom needs a bit more steady heat in her rooms at the opposite end of the house, so we still use the furnace. This is my second Woodstock stove, and I have loved both of them and would buy another one (although for my next wood heating needs I want to try building a rocket mass heater!)
If you use a sheet of Vermiculite board, (looks like chipboard, and be cut with a woodsaw) it will solve you burnt out and twisted baffle problem.
Vermiculite is fireproof to 1,100 degrees Centigrade, 2012deg Fahrenheit, very stable and safe. Most high quality European multi-fuel stoves have a Vermiculite baffle above the firebox. See Nestor Martin stove specs and Dinboard Vermiculite Board for specs.
Been heating with wood stove solely for 10 years. I’m in Michigan. Put a fan on it…keep it checked clean etc..i cook on it and I too dry clothes in front of it . I get wood from all kinds of people who’s trees fell or got struck by lightning etc they just want it out. My winter wood is stacked and prepared by the end of June each year. Never ran out yet. It’s a great thing to have if the power goes out I can cook on it or heat water.
Beth-
Great stuff! I too dry some things like boots or gloves out in front of mine, being up there in Michigan I bet it gets crazy cold. Thanks for the comment and stay safe up there.
I too live on the Northern Rockies. We have a modern catalytic woodstove. We burn just a smidge under three cords a winter (Oct.- April) and it is our only heat source (that we use). Our single story house is usually about 75 degrees. We also buy our wood. Used to collect it when I was younger, but those days are over. It is usually not very dry, but around here really dry wood is hard to come by, so I run a brush through the chimney a couple times a winter and in the off season, but rarely get more than a cup or two of creosote. The fire pretty much burns full time (without going out) from about Thanksgiving until April 1, except if I need to brush it. Then it’s out just long enough. We start our fires with little white cubes designed to start BBQs. One or two cubes is all it takes.
Very nice! We are getting slammed with wind tonight, I’m sure it has swung through your area as well. Thanks for the comment and knowing that i’m not the only one who chooses to buy wood, I’m assuming you burn pine as well as that is typically all that is available for folks in our area.
Your converter will be ruined after only a couple of seasons burning bad or moist wood. It’s not just your piping that needs concern. 🕊
Duke: As I said, well seasoned wood just isn’t available around here. Our wood guy cuts in the Spring and sells out in the Fall. Everyone around here heats with wood so it is hard to get ahead. Back in the day I cut and burned same year as well. That being said, I know the importance of seasoned wood, just hard to do around here. I have had my current stove, a Blaze King Princess, for sixteen years. Burn full time from Thanksgiving to about April 1, and have only had to replace the catalyst once, at ten years. Have six years on this catalyst and it still looks like new. The wood air dries for about four months before burning, but that’s about it. We get around twelve hours average per load burn time, more or less.
We live in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. The first thing we did when we bought our home was put a catalytic wood stove with the automatic damper. It’s the princess model which burns about 10 hours when using dry fit and longer with apple wood. We start it with a propane torch. Nothing like the radiant heat. Our electricity bill used to be $1,200 a month in the winter for 2700 square feet. Only way we could afford to buy this house. Just cost the time to prepare fire wood.
Would like to know if there’s a brand of wood stove that burns longer than 4 hrs???
There are a number of modern stoves that can burn up to 40 hours depending on a number of conditions. I burn dug fir pine in a Blaze King Siricco and routinely get 12+ hour burn times. See Hearth.com. A great resource for all things woodstoves and more.
Many brands, but some can burn WELL over 10 hours.
Blaze King stoves get especially long burn times. I don’t even usually say what I record is, because most people don’t believe it.
Blazeking wood stoves
Vermont Castings Merrimack fireplace woodburning stove insert for me 20 years. Holds up to 22 inch logs. A full stack of oak will keep you warm for 10-12 hrs at least. Warms a 2300 sq. 2 story 4 bedroom house.
Need to install a staircase 16 inch cloth barrier to keep the heat more downstairs .
Install a 6 inch stainless liner inside the chimney for safety and better draft.
Get your fresh split wood before spring, no tree sap then. Expose stacked cords to weather until early fall than cover with tarp, plywood or store indoors. If you have a central air system, install a cooling stat close to the ceiling that will operate fan only to circulate air through the house once cooling setpoint is exceeded.
We are in northern az, yup Az, we heat our home with wood the neighbors want cut down, we have a 3600 ft home and cutting wood is togetherness job and glad we do it together. We have natural gas but wood heat is warmer, remember if your furniture is warm ,it costs less to keep your home warm.learn to clean your own chimney put a dnow bresk ladder on your roof and a rope hanging from the chimney to hang on to. This will keep you safe when snow is on the roof. Do not get a stsck robber or you’ll have to clean it more often and this can be a pain
Time doesn’t always equal money. How much do you get paid to watch TV. Get some exercise and chop wood instead
I agree
Hi from IDAHO where logging is a way of life for many native people. Burning wood is common. There is a local company called kuma wood stoves not really bragging but I wouldn’t trade my puma for 2 Vermont castings. Burns all night , I’ve had coals 10 hrs. later. Instead of reburn tubes it has square heavy steel on back and sides. I’ve been cutting my own for 30 yrs. Husquvarna 51 never had any problems.
I’d like to say that you should be careful about adding humidity. In most parts of the country the outside humidity is very dry in the winter. You can add all the humidity that you want, in whatever way that you want but if you aren’t measuring your inputs and the results you’re risking damaging your home.
As a former Hearth dealer customers would tell me all the time that they have two kettles on their stove, 2 quarts or more each. They often would brag that they would refill them twice per day. Then the ultimate tell me that their house was still dry.
If you’re adding moisture and your house is still dry, that moisture is going somewhere. In most structures it is going to the north-west side of the house, usually condensing in the walls or under the roof decking, etc.
Keep track of what you’re adding. Measure your humidity and note changes. If you’re adding lots of moisture and it’s not doing anything for you it’s almost definitely doing something for your house, and that something is usually damaging it.
Bruce
Adding humidity via the woodstove is hardly ever a good idea unless u have a very very very tight home with mechanical ventilation. . . The gradient between outdoors and indoors is forcing it into your walls. . . Better to deal with low humidity than eventual find a huge problem.
Try Blaze King. They are in Canada. Depending on the model you get, burn times are 20-40 hours
I grew up with a wood stove and I fully agree that time = money on this. Being the oldest, guess who got to cut wood?
If you have access to wood, they are hard to beat. Also, something about a flame, provided you have the glass face on the door, really makes my inner caveman feel better.
We do a little of both, we take down dead trees around the farm and use them for firewood, but also get a truckload of logs every other spring that we cut to length and split. Our Jotul stove takes longer than average pieces (22inch) so buying 12-16 inch lengths doesn’t work for us. The biggest pain in the rear of cutting wood IMO is limbing and dealing with all the mess.
We supplement with electric heat in the bedrooms but there is no substitute for a fire in the stove, particularly when the power goes out!
Just out of curiosity…. has anyone compared this info or wood to pellets for long lasting and or heat production ? Thanks !
What should I do in the event of a wood stove flue pipe fire?
I really enjoyed reading this post, and all the comments too! I also burn wood and absolutely love it! And my ultimate joy in life is doing what I am doing right now: sitting down in front of my woodstove, watching a lovely fire lazily burning through the glass, and reading other people’s comments, stories and adventures about heating with wood! And I practically lfeed off of Hearth.com, visiting all the different forums… Ain’t life grand? 🙂
Just became a Lumberjackie in the last year and a half. Had a flood in my home. It would have cost me 10 grand to repair the furnace. A Wood burningstove was suggested, I thought it would be installed outside, no not at all. I have a Hugsvarna and I don’t mind cutting down or hunting for wood.
Hi there,
I been burning wood as our sole source of heat for 47 years now, and in the context of “time is money” it doesn’t pay. It’s a life style. And in that context I’ve found it to be very rewarding. I’m 70 yrs. old, and I cut, split, clean, and stack all my own wood. It keeps me strong, satisfied, and healthy. Not to mention toasty warm. We’re in a remote, rural, and wooded part of Sonoma county in California, and our only alternative is high cost electric heat (no natural gas, or propane delivery due to the steep, narrow access).
You’re right to look at the whole picture when considering wood, like a couple of wood sheds, a full size 4×4 pickup, a few good chainsaws, and a host of other hand tools. But when you’ve got it all together it can be a smooth operation. I’m always at least 2 yrs ahead on my wood, and when you burn only well seasoned wood, a proper installation of a quality stove holds up really well. I built my current home in 1985 with wood heat in mind for the layout, married with a ceiling fan for even distribution) Im still using the original stove, stove pipe, and chimney.
I love it. I’m on a life long camping trip, and that suits me fine. Not everything in life is a financial decision.
I consider wood burning a hobby and gas burning a convenience!
Wood burning is the best, have a Lopi and wouldnt want anything else. As for the work, that’s ok as well, we all could use some exercise. The rewards are so good, there is nothing warmer (pellet stoves dont compare) sitting and watching the fire burn and read to my Grandkids while it’s cold outside, what more could I want
What a great read. I strongly need to tell evewryone to make sure that you have your Attic checked. Every year. We lost our home because the insulation had been simmering over the years and all it took was a windy day and the door left cracked open while I was getting more wood from my porch. It was a 100 percent loss.
most all I read was from folks out west or Candian. I am WV and back in the late 30′ and early 40′ we burnt coal since we
true to the coal fields, however we had those Pot Belly stoves
with the coal bucket sitting beside and me calling Mom when
Sis would start eating coal from the bucket. I remember those
days like they were yesterday My Grandfather was the coal
loading champ in WV in the late 40′ and won a trip to AZ for
and Grand Ma ,so got a grand new Packard car wood on the sides and drove out west. He had a lot of stories when he got
back to WV,
Listening to all of you is just wonderful. Appreciating the simple things is still alive and well. Thank you!
I live in New England and use a QUADRA-FIRE stove.
It can take large size logs, has baffles, fire brick fire box and converter. I have had it for over ten years and it works fine,
I have the chimney and stove cleaned every year for safety and keeping equipment working optimally.
I use propane for back up, since using it as primary heat source is expensive.
Stacking the delivered wood in barn keeps me in shape and at $190 a cord for all hard wood, it is worth it.
[…] Take a look at one mans review of what he’s learned from using a wood burning stove. He touches on materials he uses for burning, safety measures, it’s dual purpose and more. Read more here. […]
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