Woodstoves

j.r. · 11-26-2005, 06:03 PM

Can someone give me the advantages/disadvantages of wood stoves?

pleibel · 12-07-2005, 07:37 PM

I'm a lazy old hippee with money now. We have wood heat. we love it. I'm 52.
Sure, it's work. If you don't put a log in at 2 am when you go pee in the middle of the night the house is 10 degrees colder when you wake up in the morning

When you DO put the log in it takes 25 minutes before you're warm again. and it better be a dry log, or you're gonna be miserable. We live in a double wide..we use maybe 3 cords a year. It's free fuel if you got gump. If you don't, buy a natural gas fireplace. I've had one and they're great.

Watch a natural gas fire for awhile and you'll get really, really bored..even with good weed..but a real fire, shit man..you don't need to be high to know what a great thing you've got in your life. cuddle up to that baby and you're tuned in to reality. It takes time to get to know your fireplace. It takes effort. It's worth it.. (but hey, if you wear a suit for a living? Forget it!!!)

TnAndy · 12-08-2005, 04:46 PM

Advantages:

Good heat....cheap fuel if you have a wood lot.....( one you can control and not be subject to the whims of big companies that most folks depend on )......if the power goes and natural gas shuts down, you have heat.

Disavantages: Can be messy.....not as convienient as flipping up a thermostat....more work on your part.

Gary · 12-08-2005, 06:53 PM

It's great heat, if you have a fireplace that's efficient. We're glad we put hardwood floors in the living room/dining room. Makes cleanup very easy.

rrg21 · 12-09-2005, 03:54 PM

Agree with all that's been said.
We have a Woodstock Soapstone Fireview in our cabin.
We don't live there full time but are there every weekend.
It is radiant heat only, no blower, but if the power goes out we are still warm.
It takes a while to warm up as a log home is a lot of mass to heat up, but once it's cranking along it stays a comfortable 70-74.
It can get messy, but doesn't take too much work to clean up.

Great to sit around and look at the fire. It's our TV.

The Gingerbread Man · 12-12-2005, 07:54 AM

Our woodstove is the only heat we have in our house. I tell friends in the HVAC trade that we have a 3 stage heating system. You cut it, you spit it and stack it, then you burn it.
The biggest disadvantage is the effort it takes to cut your own.

TnAndy · 12-12-2005, 05:40 PM

Yeah.....here's my winter supply....about 8 cords