Thomas James Haller  Wrote:

barbsat  Wrote:

Heating with wood for most of 32 years now with an old Rite Way stove that has seen 32 winters and is still going strong. I had two cords of seasoned oak delivered today for $310. That is equal in heat output to about 500 gallons of heating oil. Or at today's prices about $2,000 in oil.

http://www.offroaders.com/tech/firewood-BTU.htm

I've been dealing with wood heating since about 1983.

When I started I could split all the wood by myself, now I have a 27 ton log splitter.

In my mid 20's I could cut all my own with just an ax and a hand saw. I loved felling a big, dead oak tress and feeling the ground shake when it fell.

At 52 I buy cord wood from local families who depend on selling wood to make ends meet.

barbsat  Wrote:

Thomas James Haller  Wrote:

I've been dealing with wood heating since about 1983.

When I started I could split all the wood by myself, now I have a 27 ton log splitter.

In my mid 20's I could cut all my own with just an ax and a hand saw. I loved felling a big, dead oak tress and feeling the ground shake when it fell.

At 52 I buy cord wood from local families who depend on selling wood to make ends meet.

I broke my knee at the beginning of September, and I was lucky I got all my wood in, and the stove cleaned.

At 53 I buy a few cords, and supplement it with what I have to cut down around the property. I try and get all my wood done in the spring, so it has all summer to cure.

flintstone  Wrote:

well if i may throw in a few bits of advise on wood and pellet stoves on this thread i would be glad to offer it. i spent 15 years as a fireplace contractor/distributor/installer. granted there are new things out that i probably do not know about since i don't keep as up to date on alternative heating as i used to.

wood.
if you would like to heat with wood it can be easily done. while older wood stoves are available and some of them are very ornate, i would buy a newer second burn technology stove to heat with. the epa phase 2 stoves will be heat shielded on the sides and back keeping clearances to combustibles minimal and be way more efficient. the difference in heating with a 1970 fireking and a new quadrafire/century etc would be about 1-1/2 cords of wood. the newer stoves do not really even put out smoke and in many areas can be used on no burn days (of course they are gonna smoke when starting a fire). there are catalytic stoves on the market and my personal advice is stay away from them. a new caltalytic filter is gonna cost a couple hundred dollars at the least and they are finicky. finally don't fall for that blower that every dealer wants to sell you. it's gonna set you back a couple hundred bucks or more and a good cieling fan will do a lot more good. you can also put a return air grill in the cieling above your wood stove and use the fan on a central air setup to circulate the heat throughout the house. as far as fireplaces go....there are only a few models out there that are worth buying and they will cost you at least 3500 dollars. the ones that come to mind are made by regency and quadrafire but i am sure there are more. they are zero clearance units made to be framed in a wall and are just as efficent as a wood stove 60-80%. most of them have duct take offs on the top to go directly to your central air return. the class a chimney for these will cost you more as well since you will be running it from fireplace to 2' above ridgeline of roof instead of from cieling to 2' above ridgeline with stove. anyways, that is a brief rundown on wood

pellet

I must wholeheartedly disagree.
The point of wood heat is the simplicity.
I know many people who have 55 gallon barrels, pressure tanks, hot water heaters, ect... converted into wood burners that work just fine. Are they as "efficient" as some factory built, college degree designed, $3500 model? Likely no, but they work. For the sums you mention a person could buy a welder, the raw steel and some fire brick, build themselves a sweet custom stove and still have money left over for a vacation.

2 cents, IMO and that jazz.

bonsaiguy  Wrote:

Hi ya Barbsat. We heat with wood. I've used a woodstove for my primary heat source for the last 30 years or so. I love it! Out side of a bit of work in the summer months, it's a pretty good way to go. I have a bit of a physical issue, cant carry too much weight, so I use smaller pieces, but other than that, wood is the way to go. Mostly oak, hickory, mulberry etc... Burn some pallaat wood too. I love the aroma! We put a kettle on top with a little scented oil. Slice up some potatoes, mushrooms, onion, a hamburger patty wrapped in foil, toss it on the coals, mmmmmm good!

The wood stove makes a wonderful slow cooker, and I always have a couple of tea pots on the stove.

I have a folding grate with a handle that I cook london Broil right in the stove on hot coals .

LoP Guest  Wrote:

I have a folding grate with a handle that I cook london Broil right in the stove on hot coals .

Cook mine medium.

I am so sorry about your knee. That must be awful. I thought my torn up cartilage was bad.

I don't have all that much wood on my property anymore. I am down to 11 acres and had to sell off the big timber to pay for the estate taxes. I hated doing it but it was better than losing it to the state.

barbsat  Wrote:

I am so sorry about your knee. That must be awful. I thought my torn up cartilage was bad.

I don't have all that much wood on my property anymore. I am down to 11 acres and had to sell off the big timber to pay for the estate taxes. I hated doing it but it was better than losing it to the state.

Thanks.

When I broke my knee there was also a lot of other damage, especially above the knee. I think this is why I'm having a slower time getting the motion back in my knee, I'm around 59 degrees knee bend now.

I did drive today for the first time.

That's a shame you had to sell off your trees. Some of my neighbors have had to do the same.