Any wood burners out there?

muncybob
muncybob Posts: 3,032
edited November 2009 in The Clubhouse
The cooler weather has me firing up my wood burning boiler lately...just curious to see if any other polkies do the same for heat and hot water and if so what units do you have and how do you like 'em?

This is our first year using wood for heat but we know already we're gonna like it! I have to wire up some speakers in the basement for tunes during wood loading times!
Yep, my name really is Bob.
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  • bruss
    bruss Posts: 1,039
    edited November 2009
    grew up depending on wood in the winter. My mom and dad still use a wood burner tied into the furnace.
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  • thuffman03
    thuffman03 Posts: 1,325
    edited November 2009
    I have a fireplace that I will get going on cold nights and over the weekend. I don't go through much wood. Just under a cord.
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,806
    edited November 2009
    I just have a pit in the backyard. It's nice sitting on a cool fall evening, fire blazing, beer in hand and just relaxing.

    But cutting firewood is an incredible feeling! Using the hammer and froe or just the 8 pound maul and splitting the logs...it's brutal work for sure but once you're finished it's satisfying. Great exercise too!
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  • concealer404
    concealer404 Posts: 7,440
    edited November 2009
    I have a real wood fireplace in my apartment... which is strange to me.

    Maybe i'll use it soon.
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited November 2009
    Yeah I burn about two cords a year. Its nice but dry heat so I'll sit a pot of water on the wood stove to get some moisture in the air, I don't know if it works or not.
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  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 3,032
    edited November 2009
    We intend to totally rely on wood for heat and domestic hot water so probably go through several cords. I have use of a large hydraulic splitter for the next few months so I plan to cut a lot of wood for next year! SO much easier this way...beer in one hand and splitter control in the other
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited November 2009
    The only benefit of a log splitter is that you can drink a beer while splitting but for true efficiency you should have a helper or two. One to lay the log in place, you to operate the handle and the go-for to be sure you have a cold one at all times.
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  • Pauly
    Pauly Posts: 4,519
    edited November 2009
    I pop wood, not burn it. :D


    Pauly
    Life without music would♭
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited November 2009
    Pauly wrote: »
    I pop wood, not burn it. :D


    Pauly

    Yeah Pal you pop it and we'll cut it off :D
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  • Pauly
    Pauly Posts: 4,519
    edited November 2009
    NJPOLKER wrote: »
    Yeah Pal you pop it and we'll cut it off :D

    Ex already did that. I just carry it in my pocket and when i see a hot chick i pull it from my pocket and "pop" her in the back of the head with it :D:p;)


    Pauly
    Life without music would♭
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,536
    edited November 2009
    I built a firepit in the back yard large enough to use dutch ovens. This time of year is perfect in Az for sitting by the firepit at sundown. We typically go through about 3/4's of a cord each fall/winter season.
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  • bobman1235
    bobman1235 Posts: 10,822
    edited November 2009
    Having a wood stove as supplemental heat is fine. When I was a kid we had a wood furnace that was our only source for heat, and it SUUUCKED. It was effective, I guess, but SUCH a pain in the ****. I can't imagine why you'd want to go that route in this day and age. You're obviously not Amish as you're on the Internet, so is there any reason for this other than dementia?
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  • jimmydep
    jimmydep Posts: 1,305
    edited November 2009
    I like my Munchkin
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited November 2009
    We heat our house exclusively with wood. Screw the gas companies...lol

    It's a little easier for me than it is for some other people though. I own a tree service, so we get to be picky about the kind of wood we keep. Only oak, hickory, locust and elm for the most part.

    Last year we got a soapstone woodstove...it's really nice. They're a lot more efficient than a standard cast iron stove. The sides and top are made of soapstone, which doesn't get as hot as iron does, but it holds and radiates heat for MUCH longer. If we let the fire die out, the stove itself will keep radiating some nice heat for about 4 hours.
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited November 2009
    I wonder if I am supposed to pay a tax on the trees I cut down in my yard that I use for heat :eek: Hell, its New Jersey and I really don't know but will check.
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited November 2009
    If the answer to that is yes, I'm blowing New Jersey up...sorry guys.
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  • jimmydep
    jimmydep Posts: 1,305
    edited November 2009
    comfortablycurt wrote: »
    I'm blowing New Jersey up.

    Curt, we're perfectly capable of destroying ourselves.....thank you
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  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 3,032
    edited November 2009
    bobman1235 wrote: »
    Having a wood stove as supplemental heat is fine. When I was a kid we had a wood furnace that was our only source for heat, and it SUUUCKED. It was effective, I guess, but SUCH a pain in the ****. I can't imagine why you'd want to go that route in this day and age. You're obviously not Amish as you're on the Internet, so is there any reason for this other than dementia?

    I'm fairly certain the wood boiler I am using is nothing like what you had as a kid....even if you were a kid only 10 years ago. Load it up twice a day and let her rip. Clean it out every 10 days or so(15 min. ritual). I'm told we should only use 4 cords of wood for the entire year.

    It's a bit of work but I can use the exercise. We live somewhat remotely and last year the oil guy would not come up our lane(1/4 mi.) due to ice/snow pack and neglected to call us to say so...almost went without heat and I vowed to never have to rely on "the man" again for heat. I have access to a fair amount of trees so it's just time/labor along with some maintenance for me. We have oil still just in case. Just trying to be independent as possible and save a few $$ at the same time.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
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  • domflane
    domflane Posts: 653
    edited November 2009
    I live in Florida and look forward to the cold weather so much that the heat never goes on no matter how cold it gets. Its nice to go outside and build a fire though . . .
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  • Pauly
    Pauly Posts: 4,519
    edited November 2009
    domflane wrote: »
    I live in Florida and look forward to the cold weather so much that the heat never goes on no matter how cold it gets. Its nice to go outside and build a fire though . . .

    Cold is when it gets 55. :)

    Pauly
    Life without music would♭
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  • bigaudiofanatic
    bigaudiofanatic Posts: 4,415
    edited November 2009
    A tad off subject but we have a propane wood fireplace. But honestly nothing beats a real fire with the lights dimmed listening to music.
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  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited November 2009
    I love my CharMaster outdoor wood furnace. Holds a 1/4 chord of wood, computer controlled burn rate, I can call from my cell phone when I'm about 2 hrs away and start it up and have heat when I get to the cabin.
    DKG999
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited November 2009
    bigaudiofanatic wrote: »
    A tad off subject but we have a propane wood fireplace. But honestly nothing beats a real fire with the lights dimmed listening to music.

    Thats when you "pop" wood :D
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited November 2009
    Pauly wrote: »
    Cold is when it gets -55.

    Fixed.

    My project for this winter is an outdoor sauna with a wood furnace.
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  • Pauly
    Pauly Posts: 4,519
    edited November 2009
    ^^^^ LOL. No for us Floridians, cold really is when it gets 55F


    Pauly
    Life without music would♭
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited November 2009
    For us Finns when the pee freezes into an arch, then it is cold. No wonder I live in Texas now and plan to move to Mexico or some other warm place where there is no winter. ;)
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  • CLPolk
    CLPolk Posts: 133
    edited November 2009
    Coal baby That's the only way to GO!! Burn't Wood for years and was turned on to a Coal Stoker<> Love it<> I have a 4 ton dump truck and make the run 50 miles south to the breaker for my coal $140 @ ton. Burn about 4 a year.
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  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 3,032
    edited November 2009
    Pauly wrote: »
    ^^^^ LOL. No for us Floridians, cold really is when it gets 55F


    Pauly

    What I wouldn't give to feel outdoor temps of 55 in late Jan.-early February!
    Let me know if you want to swap homes for a week...snow is actually fun for a day or two!:)
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
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  • inspiredsports
    inspiredsports Posts: 5,501
    edited November 2009
    During the 2006/2007 heating season, I helped my now 81 year old Dad who lives a quarter mile away heat his 3,000 square foot ranch style home with a wood burning furnace hooked right into the plenum/limit switch/automatic blower of his natural gas furnace system.

    Between the two of us, we own 29 wooded acres, good tractors, trailers and chain saws, a large hydraulic splitter and covered storage so collecting, preparing and storing wood is about as convenient as it could get.

    The quality of wood heat is about as warming and steady and as good as it can get with the cast iron guts of a wood burner glowing away.

    But . . . . If we were not feeding the furnace, we were transporting and acquiring wood. I never said a word to Dad, but IT WAS CATEGORICALLY THE BIGGEST PAIN IN THE A$$ I've experienced.

    He is pretty well-off, but will do anything to save a buck having been born in 1928. While he is still energetic an loves to work outdoors. He shared that he felt heating with wood was just too too nerve-wracking and a pain in the a$$.

    Last year he went back to heating with natural gas, but can go back to wood if need be.

    Speaking of "need be", natural gas will rise dramatically and heating oil will probably be triple what it was last year due to what is happening to our good old dollar right now.
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  • Pauly
    Pauly Posts: 4,519
    edited November 2009
    muncybob wrote: »
    What I wouldn't give to feel outdoor temps of 55 in late Jan.-early February!
    Let me know if you want to swap homes for a week...snow is actually fun for a day or two!:)

    Lived in it when i was kid. Was fun in all but now that im 32. No thanks. I'll stick with Bikinis and the Beach :)

    Pauly
    Life without music would♭
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