Man I am sold on wood burning fireplaces!

[MotoSook]

We've been in the house for a year and we never used the fireplace thinking we'll just use it for special occasions. The special occasion didn't happen over the last 12 months. I knew it was a nice fireplace but today I pulled out the documents the PO left and dang...the thing cost more than the house furnace...like 3-4 times. It'll put out 10,000-76,000 BTU/HR and it has forced air and a catalytic converter! I checked everything out and put in a few logs.

The logs were a little damp but I finally got the fire going and sustained. Those three logs gave out heat for nearly 3 hours and the blower heated the air amazingly well. That on top of the radiant heat. I turned on the ceiling fan and put the furnace blower on manual and the house has been cozy since dinner. I added a couple.more logs a couple hours ago and they are still going. At the current rate they may burn for a few more hours.

The manual says if loaded the fireplace will burn for 10-12 hours at the lowest burn rate.

Amazing! I could have saved a good chunk of cash last winter augmenting our propane with the wood.

[porsche4life]

They will make some heat, the problem we have here is finding good wood to burn...

[MotoSook]

The PO left a cord of wood and we have plenty of trees on the property. I've got space to store wood so I'll be hoarding firewood.

[livi]

Yes, it really is very nice.

[Dottore]

Yes, wood fires are wonderful. There is a dark art to optimizing these with the right wood and burn techniques. Very therapeutic. Look into getting a "blow-poke". Most useful fireplace accessory out there.

[dennis in se pa]

There is always something to learn. That's a good thing.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

They will make some heat, the problem we have here is finding good wood to burn...

So plentiful around here that we turn down any that isn't good hardwood...between the tornados, ice storms, etc. it's always available. I really enjoy working with my dad (although he's slowing down with age, and I do most of the "grunt work"...he operates the lever on the wood splitter . I keed...I know what hard work is (and enjoy it), but NOTHING like my dad's and prior generations.

[cgarr]

I burn as many old pallets as I want to take from work...but they go rather quickly

[billybek]

You have to be careful what you burn in a catalytic fireplace. You don't want to foul the converter with bad burning high creosote wood.
When you get the fuel air mixture properly set, you should be able to burn 2 or three decent size pieces of firewood for hours.
Go outside when you are having a fire and watch how little smoke comes out the chimney.
Great score/find!

[LakeCleElum]

Been burning firewood as my main source of heat for 45 yrs.

Wood should be stacked to dry for at least 6 months B4 use. A year is better. Start the fire with plenty of air and get it burning hot. When it's warm (stove up to 600 degrees), cut the air back for that long, slow buring effect you desire.

Once you get into it, you'll always be keeping an eye open for wood that is available.......

[MotoSook]

We had a storm last summer that knocked down a lot of trees....I should have known then. :*|


I burned 6 logs last night and had heat coming out of it from 5:30 pm until 2 am. I'm very impressed. Now I have more "character building work" for my kids to do. Splitting logs...

[fastfredracing]

On our 5th year here, and we really only turn on the furnace when it gets real cold, Like down below the 20 deg mark. I cannot even begin to think of how much coin it has saved us, our house is always warm, and I find cutting/splitting, and stacking wood to be enjoyable. Enjoy it.

[pete3799]

Wood heat is the best. Can't speak for fire places though.
We have a wood furnace in the cellar that takes 3' wood ( i cut ours 2'). three chunks will burn all
night. Haven't fired it up yet as it hasn't gotten cold enough to need it. I put 100 gals. of oil in for the fall and when that runs out i fire up the stove for the rest of the winter. Go through about 5 cords a year.

[vonsmog]

Have had one of the zero clearance fire places with the catalytic converter for 22 years now. I burn about 12 face cords a season. Heats the whole house. I have never had to clean the chimney, as it just has a light film on the inside, as the catalytic converter makes it burn so well. Just checked it this fall and still clean. I do have to pop out the catalytic converter a few times a season to unclog from ashes, but it can be done from inside of the fire box. So it only takes a few seconds to do. Just don't drop it, or you find out how much a new one is quickly! Like I did, so I picked up two, for when I drop another. Have had the extra one in a box for over 15 years now! Get good seasoned wood and you will be very happy with it.

[Taz's Master]

Less than $50 gas bills (north central PA) are common, last month's was $15. When it gets hot, open a window. Heating with wood, is either dirty, phisically demanding and a hassel, or cheap, and satisfying. I love it.

[dipso]

I pulled our floor furnace out and took it to the dump. We only use the fireplace and burn a lot of wood in the winter. It's great.

[Mark Henry]

I'm the opposite, after lugging firewood since I was a kid I'm happy to be rid of it. The work and mess, plus if you had to buy wood it's no cheaper than propane.
Used to get 10 cord of logs every few years, talk about backbreaking work.

Also my insurance company was after me to get rid of the woodstove in the shop, so it got a direct vent furnace 98% efficient and I have two gas DV fireplaces with ceramic glass in the house.
Our house is open concept and we also have a ductless-split heatpump.

[Rapewta]

We put a stove insert in our conventional brick fireplace a few years ago. It sticks out on the hearth and you can actually cook on it if need be. Out here in California you have to find an EPA approved stove. Something like only 4 grams of soot per hour as opposed to an open fireplace that puts out 38 grams of soot per hour.
Anyway, we installed a stainless flew (6" pipe) through the chiminy with the spark arrester at the top.
We use only hardwoods (oak, etc.) and boy when you get the fire going and dial
down the air, it keeps the single story 1600 sq ft house hot!
The dog comes in out from the rain and lays down in front of it with steam coming off him, panting. (not too smart)
They make a half-moon fire retardent rug that goes in front of the hearth in case
you might accidently drop a hot ember while cleaning the stove's ashes.
A good stove, installed complete will probably set you back 3 grand and seasoned
oak where I live is about $250 per cord.

[WolfeMacleod]

We've got two fireplaces in our house, but no insets for them to help with burn control. However, they're "central" and are not placed against an outside wall. I've been considering burning wood in them this year, because after we moved in, I was told by the gas co. that the previous year's gas bills ran upwards of $600/mo to heat the house.

There are two furnances here, and they kick on every five minutes. We must be getting some amazing heat loss somewhere.

I grew up on wood heat.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Have to agree with Mr. Henry here. Wood is a major PITA. Dirty, messy, hard to store and transport, etc. I just chucked an old and very unsafe looking wood burning stove that had been installed in my shop (replacing with two 50,000 BTU/h propane vent-free heaters which will be able to keep it 90 degrees in there on a 10 degree day if I ever want to). I have a lot of wood on the property that I've been clearing and several trees that make an awful mess with leaves that are going to go "bye-bye" in the next few weeks but I'll probably just put an ad on CL for the wood and have it gone. I may install a wood burning stove as an emergency backup heat source just in case but I'd never use it as a primary source - its just way too big of a pain to deal with. Pellet stoves are an option worth exploring too (cheap, but you're still ultimately dependent on a manufactured/processed product as a fuel source).