Carwhore Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Thinking of purchasing a wood stove insert for my fireplace to offset my propane usage. Does anyone have any personal experience with it? How many cords of wood do you typicall burn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 If you're gonna go that route I'd get a pellet insert. So much more efficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcat6183 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Used a wood burning insert at my parents old house for a few years before going to a wood stove. Insert was made by the local welding class at the high school, weighed a ton, was hard to keep clean, and harder to use than the stove, by far. But I think we paid a few hundred for it as it was a "class project". It was WAY cheaper, but that's because my dad bought like a top of the line stove from Kidron OH and paid top dollar. When we used the insert we would burn about 2 cord a year living in Mansfield with NO other heat source basically. It was electric baseboard in a 2,600 sq ft 2 story, slab house with single pane windows and the stairs being as far away from the fireplace as possible so heat transfer was tough. But it heated the whole house no problem. When we went to the wood burning stove, we burnt much less wood, and it kept the house just as warm and was WAY easier to clean etc. I do however think he had to spend some serious coin to get the fireplace sealed correctly for the wood burning stove vs. the insert as the insert had all that with it. Is there anyway you could use a pellet stove? Or do you have a good line on an insert? reason I ask if you're staying there for a while, the pellet will be way easier and I believe cheaper long term option. Also using the wood insert/stove made the house uber dry, like miserable. We ran humidifiers in every room of the house all winter, along with a Culligan water softner, and kept pots of water on the stove too. But if that doesn't matter no big deal, just a heads up. I know prices of wood burning stoves have come down and ton and think even like Menards sells those and Pellet Stoves both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c7fx Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Buy a quality insert like a LOPI with a blower. We heated a 2,200 sq ft colonial without an issue. I would not buy a pellet stove mainly for the fact you need to have pellets and electricity to run the stove. Look into a nice wood burning insert like a Lopi Freedom. We purchased one for our old house and it paid for itself in two years with the house between 72-74 degrees. Our gas bills ran 19-25 dollars a month. That was for the hot water heater and our gas stove. We would burn form October to April weather permitting and would go through 3-5 cords depending on the winter. I never bought wood but make no mistake it is some work from getting, stacking, and moving the wood. Also dealing with cleaning the ashes and maintaining the fire. If your not into getting firewood, Check into a company that sells ECO bricks. Eco bricks are compressed sawdust. They usually sell for 190 dollars a skid and a skid is equal to a cord of wood. They are easy to stack/store and don't have to worry about bugs etc. Yes the house can be dry from the wood burner but not that big of an issue we would keep water on the stove that would help humidify the room. We also have two big dogs that always seem to bring lots of snow back in after they go outside. Another thing to look at is having ceiling fans or other fans to circulate the hot air around. Finally make sure you burn seasoned wood. I cannot stress how important that is. I have learned a lot about types of wood and which burn cold and which burn hot. We now live in a new house with a high efficiency Fireplace (wood burner) which draws outside air for the fire instead of air from the house. This eliminates drafts that our old stove would create, still nothing as bad as a normal fireplace would create. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2talltim Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Here was my answer to reduce propane and not having to use my my fireplace. Yes it still uses propane but now I am zone heating at 99% efficiency. And I'm not pumping 15% of my heat out a chimney and not heating non essential parts of the house. I went from using 1000 to 1200 gallons a year to using only 600 gallon during last year's harsh winter and I've only used 100 gallons since September, and we cook with propane too. Only other heat source i use is a electric oil filled heater in one bed room on the opposite end of the house. My house is a not insulated very well and its 1700sqft. I do not use my furnace anymore. . Sorry for the crappy pic, just ones i had on my phone. Edited January 7, 2015 by 2talltim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carwhore Posted January 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 I'll look into those lopi units. My ceilings are also 25' tall I run my ceiling fans already to help that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Buy a quality insert like a LOPI with a blower. We heated a 2,200 sq ft colonial without an issue.I would not buy a pellet stove mainly for the fact you need to have pellets and electricity to run the stove.Look into a nice wood burning insert like a Lopi Freedom. We purchased one for our old house and it paid for itself in two years with the house between 72-74 degrees. Our gas bills ran 19-25 dollars a month. That was for the hot water heater and our gas stove. We would burn form October to April weather permitting and would go through 3-5 cords depending on the winter. I never bought wood but make no mistake it is some work from getting, stacking, and moving the wood. Also dealing with cleaning the ashes and maintaining the fire.If your not into getting firewood, Check into a company that sells ECO bricks. Eco bricks are compressed sawdust. They usually sell for 190 dollars a skid and a skid is equal to a cord of wood. They are easy to stack/store and don't have to worry about bugs etc.Yes the house can be dry from the wood burner but not that big of an issue we would keep water on the stove that would help humidify the room. We also have two big dogs that always seem to bring lots of snow back in after they go outside. Another thing to look at is having ceiling fans or other fans to circulate the hot air around.Finally make sure you burn seasoned wood. I cannot stress how important that is. I have learned a lot about types of wood and which burn cold and which burn hot.We now live in a new house with a high efficiency Fireplace (wood burner) which draws outside air for the fire instead of air from the house. This eliminates drafts that our old stove would create, still nothing as bad as a normal fireplace would create.5 cords of wood over 6 months is still $120/month plus your 20-ish dollar gas bill...how high was your heating bill before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carwhore Posted January 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 5 cords of wood over 6 months is still $120/month plus your 20-ish dollar gas bill...how high was your heating bill before? higher than that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carwhore Posted January 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 last winter I used 1000 gallons of propane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c7fx Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 5 cords of wood over 6 months is still $120/month plus your 20-ish dollar gas bill...how high was your heating bill before?I don't pay for the wood and my house was always very warm. I even would keep the door open to my garage and heat that when I was working in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carwhore Posted January 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 I won't have to buy wood either for a little while so that's not a concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Must be nice, I have to buy wood. Might look into Eco bricks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c7fx Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Must be nice, I have to buy wood. Might look into Eco bricks..They are nice still like seasoned wood a little bit better but they burn very clean and complete like charcoal briquettes. Owning a pickup truck and a chainsaw was all I needed for free wood. Later I found a tree cutting service that would let me know when they were in my neighborhood. It was a win win. They were happy to let me take the wood that they wouldn't need to haul or chip and I was happy for the firewood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxkat1100 Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 There you go CSC, I have a truck right down the road. All you need is a chainsaw. Just let me know when you need to pick up firewood and I will either help or let you use my truck. You couldn't mess it up any more than I did with the trailer the other day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Eh, I still have to convince the wife that it's a good idea. Her house had a chimney fire when she was little and nearly burnt the place down. She's convinced that will happen if I light a fire in our fireplace.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c7fx Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Chimney fires are the real deal and they should be inspected at least once a year. Not sure where your located but go to a place that knows what they are talking about r/t wood burners. We did our research and went to a couple places that had working units. It was nice to feel the heat and mess with it while it was fired up. I think that would help turn your wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2talltim Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Fire places dont usually get creosote build up because so much of the heat goes up the chimney. Not saying it's impossible just not as likely vs a wood stove or insert. Ive burnt prob 15 cords of wood through my fireplace in the last 12 years and I took the cap off the chimney last summer and she was as clean as a whistle. Edited January 8, 2015 by 2talltim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.