Wood Heat Thread ~ post pics

Heat the cottage with wood. Probably wont be up much this year so didnt split any. However, in preperation for next year I bought a new chainsaw to cut wood. Will have to take pics of the stoves and splitter next time I go. We also have a wood burning sauna there as well.

 

I have a Napoleon wood stove (made in Canada) that I use to heat my house. It's the model 1100C. It's only a medium sized stove but it throws out the heat. I burn about 3.5 cords a year.

 

I certainly enjoy the heat from my wood burners but not sure I enjoy everything that goes along with it... cutting wood is fun (Stihl w/bow bar) but using a splitting maul & stacking a couple cords each year isn't high on my fun list. It's all worth it when comparing the heat a Heat Pump puts out vs. the wood heat. Here are my wood burners:
Living Room


Basement


I seldom use the Living Room stove anymore as it heats the living/dining room fine but the bedrooms are at the far end of my house and they won't hardly warm up. So what I started doing several years ago is use the Basement stove to heat the basement and the heat radiates throughout the house and it stays evenly heated. To enhance heat circulation I'll turn the Heat Pump on and since I have an air return in the basement it sucks the heat from the basement and cirulates it then shuts off after a few minutes. My electric bill is a little higher than using wood heat solely but the bedrooms above the main floor stay more comfortable.

 

Awesome...those are the same. Very interested in trying them in the woodstove since they are competitive in price and have no mess.

 

my brother in law has used the biobricks for a few years. They are clean and provide good heat. He was running them in an insert in their old house and now have a cast iron stove that he will also burn a few in through out the day. they seem to last a bit longer than wood so he doesn't have to tend the stove as often.
And yes, he IS in New England.

 

very nice Oz! You live in paradise... I burn wood at my off-grid cabin. I do my wood cutting in the winter and trailer haul it by snowmobile. There is no buying or delivering happening out there, it is inaccessable by road. I have been considering installing a stove for my house for years, but haven't yet. Wood indeed provides a nice quality of heat.

 

STIHL . I love mine

 

I use a wood stove alot up at my cabin in the winter, we have electric heat also, but we keep it set low just to keep pipes from freezing while not there, and then fire up the stove when we get there. It does run you out of there after a while, Have to open some windows.




Question for you guys who use it all winter, do you have the chimney cleaned every year? Before or after the season?

 

I clean mine once a year at the beginning of the season - I did it 2x last year because some of the wood I bought was really bad.

Note: I also clean it myself...

 

Oh, nice, How do you go about that? I don't know what is needed to do it .

 

Ditched our wood stove for a pellet stove about 10 years ago. the pellet stove has a glass front so we get the flames.

Pellets are cleaner than wood to store and use. We burn about 1 1/2 tons per winter. Pellets come in 40 lb bags, 1 ton to the pallet. Costs about $225 a ton at COSTCO. Load one bag in the hopper and adjust the heat. Will burn for about 2 full days.

I can get it warm enough that my wife has to open the front door to cool off

 

I don't like the rods too much. I use rope on both ends and use the access hatch at the bottom to pull it down and then from the roof pull it back up.

Be careful with a stainless liner as you want to use a plastic style brush (not the steel ones) as it can tear up the coating and rust. Or so I was told.

 

Thanks Ben. Ya we have triple walled flue in ours too.

Anyone ever tried those "chimney sweeping logs" they advertise? I'm guessing it's bullshit. They sure make it seem legit though.

 

Thanks Rob. I like the rope idea too.