If it's cold where you live, what are you heating with and what is it costing?

[deezler]

A well-sealed house needs a fresh air intake for a wood stove or fireplace or it can't make a draft up the chimney nor draw enough air for good combustion.

Not really, though. My 2015-built house is pretty dang tight and I went back and forth about whether to add a fresh air intake to my napoleon woodstove. In the end I ran out of time and figured I could add it later if needed - I found out it's really not.

When I'm lighting the stove from cold, I do leave my adjacent french door cracked a wee bit, just to make sure the initial fire blast knows to head up the flue. But after that we shut it and don't worry about it again.

An EPA rated woodstove is typically pulling less than 40 CFM - less than your clothes dryer or range hood. Whereas an open fireplace can pull up to 500 CFM! When my fire is getting low, we do need to be cognizant of turning on the dryer or range hood, because they can reverse the chimney draft if the conditions are right, and that does stink/suck/blow. 3 puns intended.

Edit to add: A major downside of adding the outdoor-air-kit to your woodstove, is that on extremely cold days, you're bringing in frigid air for combustion, which causes a substantial efficiency loss (you use combustion BTUs to heat that air up). Room temp air burns wood more efficiently. But I dont know how big an effect this really is.

note: My house does have an HRV running 24/7 exchanging fresh air, so there is that.

 

[deezler]

I'm curious who's buying the little $10 bundles of firewood. Is it campers?

I think around here in suburbia, its rich people who want to have one or two fires a week in their fireplaces. Out grocery shopping and oh look! firewood, nice.

 

[MossRoad]

That's what I thought. Don't some woodstoves come with an option to plumb make up air into them from outside the house? I'm thinking back to 20 years ago when I was considering a woodstove in a manufactured home. I believe the woodstoves I was considering had mounting kits to attach them to the floor and outside air supply options since newer manufactured homes can be pretty airtight.

Yes. Mine has a hole in the bottom that you can remove and plumb a pipe from outside to near the hole.

 

[MossRoad]

Not really, though. My 2015-built house is pretty dang tight and I went back and forth about whether to add a fresh air intake to my napoleon woodstove. In the end I ran out of time and figured I could add it later if needed - I found out it's really not.

When I'm lighting the stove from cold, I do leave my adjacent french door cracked a wee bit, just to make sure the initial fire blast knows to head up the flue. But after that we shut it and don't worry about it again.

An EPA rated woodstove is typically pulling less than 40 CFM - less than your clothes dryer or range hood. Whereas an open fireplace can pull up to 500 CFM! When my fire is getting low, we do need to be cognizant of turning on the dryer or range hood, because they can reverse the chimney draft if the conditions are right, and that does stink/suck/blow. 3 puns intended.

Edit to add: A major downside of adding the outdoor-air-kit to your woodstove, is that on extremely cold days, you're bringing in frigid air for combustion, which causes a substantial efficiency loss (you use combustion BTUs to heat that air up). Room temp air burns wood more efficiently. But I dont know how big an effect this really is.

note: My house does have an HRV running 24/7 exchanging fresh air, so there is that.

I also have a Napoleon wood stove. Since our house is drafty, I don't need external air.

My in-laws have a really tight house. They cannot light a fire in their wood burning stove unless the open the sliding door to the 3 season room, then crack a window in there. If they don't do that, they won't get a good enough draft, and smoke will come back into the house. Once the fire is good and hot, they can close the window.

Here's my wood stove lighting from cold.

26 minutes later....

2 hours later...

 

[deezler]

Yeah, I've certainly heard of folks having this issue. 2 keys I've learned for a good draft include:

1) The total length and placement of your chimney pipe as it exits your house. Prevailing winds outside can either help suck a draft, or really fight you. Too long a total length, or too many bends, can really hurt too. Mine goes 13' straight up.

2) Only using good dry firewood, and building the fire good and hot from the beginning. My wood stove is not for ambience, it is for HEAT. We tend to avoid using it when the outdoor temp is above ~45f, as it hurts the draft quality. But our house design also only really requires heat when its truly cold out or hasn't been sunny in many days.

I also replaced the gasket on my stove door after the first 3 winters, to get a nice tighter seal.

 

[jyoutz]

I'm curious who's buying the little $10 bundles of firewood. Is it campers?

Those folks are the dominant market for those small wood bundles.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm curious who's buying the little $10 bundles of firewood. Is it campers?

That’s mostly who buys it here. The Forest Service tries to discourage people from bringing in firewood from other states, trying to keep the ash borer and Asian Longhorn beetle at bay. Statutes say no further than 50 miles. But I can’t blame people for ignoring that; you can’t even build a decent fire with those tiny bundles, let alone have fires for a week.

 

[ovrszd]

Firewood. Have only used a half face-cord so far this winter - it was a warm fall!

I would say it is basically completely free (tractor I would own anyway, inherited a Stihl saw and log splitter from my pops, just cutting deadfall or nuisance trees from my own land in my spare time) but then some of you would get all angry for no good reason.

So fine, I bought an extra used chainsaw last winter as backup for $300. Chainsaw and log splitter needed around 7 gallons of gasoline this season. And my wife took the chill out of the living room by running our mini-split on heat mode for a handful of mornings this fall, so that was probably an extra 4 dollars or so also.

Firewood is never free. Even if someone gives it to you.

 

[ovrszd]

Not really, though. My 2015-built house is pretty dang tight and I went back and forth about whether to add a fresh air intake to my napoleon woodstove. In the end I ran out of time and figured I could add it later if needed - I found out it's really not.

When I'm lighting the stove from cold, I do leave my adjacent french door cracked a wee bit, just to make sure the initial fire blast knows to head up the flue. But after that we shut it and don't worry about it again.

An EPA rated woodstove is typically pulling less than 40 CFM - less than your clothes dryer or range hood. Whereas an open fireplace can pull up to 500 CFM! When my fire is getting low, we do need to be cognizant of turning on the dryer or range hood, because they can reverse the chimney draft if the conditions are right, and that does stink/suck/blow. 3 puns intended.

Edit to add: A major downside of adding the outdoor-air-kit to your woodstove, is that on extremely cold days, you're bringing in frigid air for combustion, which causes a substantial efficiency loss (you use combustion BTUs to heat that air up). Room temp air burns wood more efficiently. But I dont know how big an effect this really is.

note: My house does have an HRV running 24/7 exchanging fresh air, so there is that.

If air is going out your chimney, air is coming in your house from outside. No magic.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

My parents got a wood stove for one fireplace in late 1960s and I was always helping Dad felling trees, hauling/splitting wood. It was great exercise. Then I put in a vent through block wall, running ductwork through a utility room we insulated then facing upstairs. I put a quiet boxer fan in it that ran 24/7. Amazing how much heat it sent to upstairs bedrooms.
There's nothing like wood stove heat and Mom always had a copper kettle on it...hot water for humidity, tea, etc.
The downside is breathing wood smoke is not good and they had emphysema.

 

[jjeff]

Anybody prime your flue with a little heat from a lit rolled up newspaper, when you initially light your fire in a cold stove? It's worked for me.

 

[CalG]

I've not heard of the "thrown cord".

My favorite is the "face cord", sounds good and probably is good if you don't have much room to store wood.

One of the first years in to this home, (30+ years ago) I bought some firewood from an older couple that were quitting wood burning. I showed up in my 1941 dodge stakebody and got a couple chords in the "throwed in" measure. The old guy put a tape to the box and declared the measure. It looked fine to me for bone dry cut and split hardwood. It stacked our more than fair.

Erstwhile, A few years back, I cut a log truck load into 4 foot "cordwood" and stacked it all to get a true measure.

Came in around 7+ cords in the strict 4X4X8 sense.

Boy! That was a lot of work! never gonna do that again! ;-)

 

[CalG]

Sure. But your date looks good by firelight eating s'mores.

Heck, our wood burning stove sucks cold air in through every crevice in our 100+ year old house. If I light it up, get it going good, I can sit in front of it and feel a cold breeze on my back.

A well-sealed house needs a fresh air intake for a wood stove or fireplace or it can't make a draft up the chimney nor draw enough air for good combustion.

Popular MISCONCEPTION that it is the stove pulling in the air.

IF you run the numbers relative the amount of AIR needed to burn a wood fire over some time period, you will discover that the number (Cubic feet) is but a small FRACTION of what a healthy home needs to turn over just to prevent staleness, odors and excess humidity.

If you feel a draft, it is because the warmed air in the room is ascending to the upper levels and exiting from any and all points of leakage.

Single point fresh air inlets to the combustion chamber of your stove will NOT change that turnover.

Fresh air is good for you! Enjoy it!

 

[Alan W.]

Boy, that's a nice resource to have nearby.

Yes it is.
The wood is clean and with no bark it cures out faster.
I stack it on skids allowing gaps for air flow and a tarp on top. By winter its dry.
I haul my parents two loads a year also.

 

[LD1]

Geothermal.

Electric bill in spring and fall with little to no HVAC is ~$200, Summer with AC is ~$240 Winter is ~$280 average.

So about $80/mo for a ~6 month heating season of Mid october to mid april or so here in cental OH. ~$500 for the heating season is usually what I round it to.

Back when I heated with wood, I'd burn about 4-5 cord. By todays prices thats about $1000 of firewood. Just couldn't justify it and dont like the mess, added work, and uneven heating associated with wood.

 

[CalG]

Firewood is never free. Even if someone gives it to you.

So true!

Just this weekend the neighbor called to say he was clearing out some paths and trails in his woods, and if I wanted any of the wood he had blocked up. (He is using my utility trailer for end of season tasks, so I think it was a gesture of repayment)
Of course I said sure, we burn wood so why not.

Well, he brought over 4 loads (3X3X5 feet "throwed in")
Most of it was punky beech with the water frozen in, and hemlock.

Out of acknowledgement, I got out the splitting maul and split up most of the stuff less than 8" diameter, and then brought up the gas powered splitter to take care of the bigger rounds.

All told, likely 3 weeks of wood for one stove After it dries out.

It all took a couple hours, starting and running two tractors plus the splitter , stacking etc.

But I shouldn't have grabbed that splitting maul. I'm PAYING A BIG PRICE for that now. Shoulder and back ache! ;-)

 

[CalG]

I LOVE

Geothermal.

Electric bill in spring and fall with little to no HVAC is ~$200, Summer with AC is ~$240 Winter is ~$280 average.

So about $80/mo for a ~6 month heating season of Mid october to mid april or so here in cental OH. ~$500 for the heating season is usually what I round it to.

Back when I heated with wood, I'd burn about 4-5 cord. By todays prices thats about $1000 of firewood. Just couldn't justify it and dont like the mess, added work, and uneven heating associated with wood.

the uneven heating associated with wood.

A warm place when I'm cold from coming in from outdoors. And easy to get away from when I;m running a bit hot.

Plus, a great place to stand with my honey, backsides up to the stove, arms around waists....;-)

 

[ovrszd]

Popular MISCONCEPTION that it is the stove pulling in the air.

IF you run the numbers relative the amount of AIR needed to burn a wood fire over some time period, you will discover that the number (Cubic feet) is but a small FRACTION of what a healthy home needs to turn over just to prevent staleness, odors and excess humidity.

If you feel a draft, it is because the warmed air in the room is ascending to the upper levels and exiting from any and all points of leakage.

Single point fresh air inlets to the combustion chamber of your stove will NOT change that turnover.

Fresh air is good for you! Enjoy it!

Absolutely correct. I'm too lazy to find the data, but experts say a house needs to breathe.

I just wanted to make the point that if hot air is rising out of the chimney it is being replaced in the house from outside. If the house can't "breathe" fast enough to take care of this vacuum then the stove will not draft.

 

[ovrszd]

Geothermal.

Electric bill in spring and fall with little to no HVAC is ~$200, Summer with AC is ~$240 Winter is ~$280 average.

So about $80/mo for a ~6 month heating season of Mid october to mid april or so here in cental OH. ~$500 for the heating season is usually what I round it to.

Back when I heated with wood, I'd burn about 4-5 cord. By todays prices thats about $1000 of firewood. Just couldn't justify it and dont like the mess, added work, and uneven heating associated with wood.

Good stuff.

Only thing your data lacks is the initial cost of your Geothermal system. Then we have to figure a lifespan, cost per year of use, etc. Gets complicated.

 

[ovrszd]

I LOVE

the uneven heating associated with wood.

A warm place when I'm cold from coming in from outdoors. And easy to get away from when I;m running a bit hot.

Plus, a great place to stand with my honey, backsides up to the stove, arms around waists....;-)

I'll give you that one. In my house and shop I have nowhere to get extra heat when coming in cold. I have just learned to calm down and wait a couple minutes. Then everything is good. Course then the "moment of arms around waists" is gone.....