Monday, February 13, 2012

Heating Our House: The Decision

Heating Our House: The Problems
Heating Our House: The Inspection & Results
Heating Our House: Wood Stove or Outdoor Furnace?

Well, folks.  Not only did we decide but once the decision was made, we couldn't wait until summer to stop paying for oil and start heating with wood.  The comments you all left regarding your experiences were so interesting and helpful.  We were already burning wood when I published that post, but we really wanted to hear your experiences and have you share them with each other.  I hope you aren't offended.  We honestly weren't trying to be misleading, we had just gotten ahead of ourselves (and my ability to post instantaneously).

When it came down to it, we realized that we are more "wood stove people" than we are "outdoor furnace people".  I really have no idea what "outdoor furnace people" are like, but we did know that we would love having the stove inside.  Friends and family (and commenters) warned us of the mess that having wood indoors can make, but after burning wood inside now for a month, I can honestly say there is very little mess and what little is there doesn't bother us at all.  Jamey is very conscientious when he hauls it in and the ash out, the wood box contains mess well and only an occasional use of the little stove brush and shovel is required every day or so to keep it looking tidy.  There is more dust in the room where the stove is and it decorates the cobwebs nicely, making them more visible.  But this is a plus!  Now I can actually see them:-).

 Jamey re-purposed an old hog shed into our wood shed.  Sam stacked much of this wood with Jamey.

We bought a new stove (for efficiency purposes).  The size was recommended based on our 1900 square foot home.  We had it professionally installed for peace of mind.  Our chimneys would have required rebuilding, so we opted to have a stove pipe go up through the house.  Above the living room, the stove pipe runs up through a closet and then up through the attic and out the roof.  The stove is positioned on the first floor, in the living room, right beside the play/school room door which is where we spend most of our time in the winter (doing school).  These two rooms stay very comfortable (between 70 and 76 on the coldest days, up to 80 if the weather is mild and we let it) while the other rooms downstairs are on the cool side (low to mid 60s in the morning, climbing to 70 on sunny days-- way better than mid 50s with oil heat).  Heat rises nicely up the stairs at the other end of the living room, keeping the kids rooms comfortable.  Our bedroom, which is back a hallway upstairs is cooler, but perfect
sleeping temperature.

The shiny, new stove pipe and two of our ancient chimneys (the openings of which are the size of a single brick).

Reversing the ceiling fan in the living room helps to spread out the heat into the kitchen and dining room on days we want to spend more time in those rooms.  In those rooms, I'm more comfortable with a sweatshirt on, but the wood heat still feels significantly warmer than the oil.  In the living room and school room, just long sleeves or even short sleeves (!) are most comfortable.

 Preparing the location (just between the play/school room and living room).

With newer stoves, more attention is required to keeping your fire in the temperature zone that will allow the smoke in the stove to be burned as well (secondary combustion) so creosote levels are kept to a minimum.  A magnetic stove thermometer that clings to the stove pipe or stove top allows us to watch this.  This takes practice and we're learning that building smaller, hot fires allows us to keep it in the zone without having to cut back on the air.  Burning a larger fire leads to a fire that's too hot.  This requires you to cut back on the air and you end up with more of a smoldering fire (which does happen overnight when you can't watch it) but which can keep your fire from being hot enough to burn off the creosote.


There's an art to it all for sure, but it's a really fun art that is rewarding both in knowing we are off oil and can keep our family warm and toasty even if the lights go out.  The smell of wood burning when the door is opened makes it seem like we're living with a camp fire (which we love).  At this point, we're choosing to buy our wood, happy to help out local farmers and construction folks who need the extra money over the winter.

I wondered about having the kids around the fire.  I knew Sam (9) and Sadie (6) would keep their distance, but even Miriam (2 and a half) has done great.  She ignores the stove, while the other two cozy up to it to read books or to get warm in the morning while the rest of the house is cool.  The screen helps them keep their distance and we have a no running/wrestling in the living room rule.  A baby gate is placed in the doorway between the play room and living room when we have company with toddlers or excitable kids that may not yet be used to us having a stove just inside the living room.


Jamey is an early riser (naturally and due to his work schedule) so he builds the first fire in the morning, making sure it's not too hot (and therefore requires watching).  By the time we come downstairs, it's warming up nicely.  I usually put more wood on around 10:30 or so and again around  1 or 2 in the afternoon.  When he gets home around 4 or 5, it's ready for another helping.  Often, in the evenings, we build it up again to keep us toasty in that room, then larger logs are placed on the fire and the air is cut back to let it burn overnight (without the risk of it getting too hot).  In the morning, there are always plenty of hot coals and new logs ignite quickly.


We are so happy about our decision.  In the past, we've, in many ways, dreaded winter.  It meant being cold and still having to pay large oil bills (last winter we spent $1900 on oil).  Now, winter is pretty fun.  We enjoy building fires, being warm and stacking wood.  And we don't miss the oil truck one bit.

Sometimes we just look at each other and grin (all goofy-like) because the house is warm, because we are warm, because we're heating with wood, and because it just feels like us.


Speaking of houses and heating them, remember my friend who was building a green (not the color, sillies) house in New Hampshire?  Well, she wrote an excellent post about life two years in.  (Don't forget to check out the back posts about the building process). Pin It

17 comments:

  1. Do you ever cook on it? My mom didn't do a great deal of cooking on our fireplace insert, but she always made chili on it!

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    1. We haven't yet. We need to purchase a trivet first:-).

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  2. We heated with wood exclusively for several years when our first baby was born. I loved the kind of heat it produced. You learn to bank the fire at night and can pretty much start it up in the morning without much problem. The one thing I do remember that was awful was I had failed to properly rap (hard) each piece of wood before bringing it into the house. About an hour after it sat by the fireplace I noticed a WHOLE BUNCH of little black things. A spider's "nest" had given "birth" and I had a zillion baby spiders all over the place. Aye yie yie...It cleaned up pretty quickly with a vacuum but I was much more careful after that.

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  3. Oh I love it. You'll have to make pancakes in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove soon.

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  4. A Jotul... excellent choice. We have a Jotul and have been very pleased with it. Here's a little tip... each morning I take a wet paper towel and wipe the inside glass then toss it in the wood stove. Keeps it looking nice and clean each day so I can see the fire, like a fireplace. I'd love to hear about any cooking you do on it. I've been hesitant, but not sure why.
    Enjoy!

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  5. I know just enough to be dangerous...having said...there are little fans that can be installed in the corners of each doorway. Those fans will either pull or push the hot air (it rises as you've said) where ever it's needed.
    We have a soapstone stove but it's not in use right now. I expect I'll get the chimney cleaned this year and use the soapstone stove to supplement the oil heat. I've got enough wood in one of the barns to last me a winter; even heating this 5K square foot house. We didn't build it, we found it, claimed it and, mostly, restored it.

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  6. Great choice! It looks so cozy and warm...I think when the time comes we are going to be "wood burning stove" people, too.

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  7. Great choice... Would love to heat exclusively by stove. The heat seems so much more comforting than forced air! I need to digress though... your menu for Wednesday includes a "Wild Tree Tasting"?? Did you mean tea... Or what in the world is a Tree Tasting? Thanks for your blog. I love it!

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    1. Maestro, Wild Tree is a company that sells all (I think) natural food mixes, grapeseed oil, etc. Think convenient foods that are actually good for you (low in sodium, no preservatives, etc.). Reps do home parties (like Tupperware, etc.) and I'm hosting one on Wednesday for a young woman as an excuse to get together with some friends of mine (and I do like some of their products that I've tried). We're not licking trees. I promise:-). Here's a link to their site...http://www.wildtree.com/Home/default.aspx

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  8. I just found your blog today and I love it. I grew up burning wood in our chimney fire place in the living room. I sure did love it but not the work it entailed. But I would do it again when our kids are grown up. Love your new fireplace/stove. beautiful!

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  9. Yay! I love your wood stove! We just tried to roast chestnuts on ours last night. While that didn't go as planned, we've had success cooking popcorn and heating up leftover soups and chili! I love your screen protector. Would you care to share where you found it? We need to purchase one to keep our little visitors safe!

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    1. We purchased it at our local stove store. It's called a "fireplace screen" and is made by American Hearth. It was one of the cheapest options they had and we've been pleased with it. Hope this helps!

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  11. We just installed our wood burning stove in the living room and have used it for a week. I am holed up in my bedroom avoiding the smell and my stuffy nose. (I have allergic rhinitis). I am extremely concerned about the health factors. My dad passed away of COPD. I must admit I was 100 % against the stove from the beginning. I vacuumed and mopped today and the soot on the mop was coal black. I am so miserable and just don't see the value in breathing wood smoke. I am just hoping the husband will decide not to use it, anymore.

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    1. Oh, Sue. If you are experiencing that much soot and smoke in the house, I think something might not be quite right with your stove. New stoves do put off an odor the first couple times they are fired but then they shouldn't smell. Occasionally, it smells like wood smoke in our house if a little smoke escapes when it's being loaded but nothing like you're describing. Check online wood forums for some troubleshooting tips and helpful articles. (like www.hearth.com) I'm sorry it's been miserable for you!

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