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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 2:35:24 GMT
Ok if we heat with Propane it takes 600 gallons through a cold Winter. Keeping the House at 80-85 degrees.
The only place I can cut wood regularly I can only get 3 cord a Winter and it is 17 miles there one way. Plus cost extra on Home Owners Insurance, not much but still cost. If I heat with wood it is uneven heat but most time 100 degrees in front room and 80 in back part of the house. This is just putting couple sticks in at a time.
Finishing heating this Winter with wood, if we decided to heat with Propane we will Lock In this Spring.
Heating with both is not really an option.
Rockpile
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Post by bergere on Jan 11, 2016 11:17:32 GMT
I have been hoping to get a woodstove put in since I moved here. Though the woodburning boiler sounds good. Could just have it meet up with the system we have now, and when the power goes out, we won't freeze.
Propane is $$$$ here... wood, is a lot cheaper. I could go wood.
You would do what is cheaper in your area..
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Post by nyhunter on Jan 11, 2016 13:02:07 GMT
Ive only ever heated with wood. Use to own a logging business untill i had to sell my forwarder.
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Post by hermitjohn on Jan 11, 2016 14:50:52 GMT
Have you considered wood pellets? Not the greatest thing in world, but tends to be cheaper than propane, but less hassle than regular firewood if you arent able to do regular firewood anymore. Depends if you have a seller in your area and of course the price they want. But its fairly straight forward, you just go and they put the bags of pellets on your truck. Lowes and such usually sell them around here.
I am still able to do regular firewood off my own place, but I was ill for few years (had friend that helped me load/unload firewood I bought in exchange, he used my truck for his firewood, but he is now dead) and also writing on wall that I aint getting any younger. Propane delivery people simply arent going to come up my driveway. Neither is firewood delivery. I havent seen a fuel oil stove in ages and would have to burn diesel in it since fuel oil isnt sold in this part of the country. Electric can be off days or one year a whole month, so its not an option.
If I could find it, kerosene works pretty well, but last I knew no local bulk dealer and buying those prefilled cans from Lowes or TSC not very economical.
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Post by blufford on Jan 11, 2016 15:07:22 GMT
hermitjohn, I wonder if coal might be a good option for you?
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Post by hermitjohn on Jan 11, 2016 15:18:11 GMT
hermitjohn, I wonder if coal might be a good option for you? Nobody sells coal around here that I know of. I have enough health back that I can do my own wood for at least few more years. When I cant do wood, if its still economical, will try the pellets.
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Post by copperkid3 on Jan 11, 2016 15:29:59 GMT
I'm still trying to figure out that poll thing, in which there are 9 votes with ONLY 8 voters....
Have the democrats somehow commandered the voting machines again?
BTW: I heat with wood via an outdoor homemade wood boiler, which pumps hot water thru-out the house under the floor via pex tubing. Nice, even heat throughout the house. But I didn't vote and won't until that voting discrepancy is 'fixed'.
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Post by Callie on Jan 11, 2016 16:11:44 GMT
How much would the wood cost if you bought it all delivered? I KNOW there are people in MO that do that. If I had the option of wood, I think I'd at least have a wood stove and large pile of wood for just in case. Then, I'd keep my propane tank full too. With your health issues, I think I'd opt for propane (but keep the wood stove) and put on another layer of clothing. 80 degrees is really warm! We keep our house at 72 and though my feet can get cold, I don't want to pay for more. Maybe you could turn that down to 75....?
Sinced we're kind of stuck with propane, we put in a smaller propane that can heat the downstairs and keep the water lines from freezing if necessary, in case the electricity goes out and the furnace won't run. We also have a whole house generator with it's own 500 gallon tank but we wouldn't want to have to use it for very long.
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Post by copperkid3 on Jan 11, 2016 16:12:29 GMT
Okay.....misread on my part....now I understand.
Thanks for clarifying it for me.
Put fingers in motion before the brain was fully operational.
Actually, I can't truthfully answer the question in its' entirety at this point in time. Let me explain why.
While I do heat with wood exclusively for the present, in order to have the inspectors sign off on the building permit,
one cannot have a new residence in this state heated exclusively with wood; there must be a back-up to another type
of heating -- gas; either natural or propane, electric and/or variations of it which would/could be a heat pump. I had
the system set up for propane, including buying a brand new 500 gallon tank and several smaller sizes as well. I have
yet to fill the big tank, nor even complete the 'hooking up process', but did get (2) 100# tanks filled and set up outside
and the inspector (while not happy with the small amount - saying at best, it would probably only last me 3 days) agreed
and signed off on the final inspection. I'm right now figuring out how to do a conversion to utilize waste oil to use the
outside wood boiler and come on when I'm either too sick or if the weather is too bad or if I just want to take a 10 day
vacation to a warmer part of the country...then it could be turned on and the place wouldn't freeze any pipes. Athough,
it would probably be easier at this point, to just complete the underground piping system for the large propane tank and
have it filled when the prices are the lowest. Much less hassle, but then that wouldn't be near as much fun either.
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Post by paquebot on Jan 11, 2016 18:53:40 GMT
Years ago, my fuel oil delivery man heated his home with wood. Since he also lived on a farm, his logic was a good one. He could work out in 0ºF temperature until he was cold to the bone and come inside to quickly thaw out next to the stove. With modern heating, there's no hot spot to go to. Someone here has an avatar of a woman standing with her backside to a stove. That is so correct!
Martin
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 19:09:03 GMT
Keeping the House at 80-85 degrees.
Turn the thermostat down to 70~72 and save some money
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Post by bergere on Jan 11, 2016 19:25:52 GMT
Have to keep the house at 61* in winter, can't afford anything more than that. If someone gets cold, they wear wool sweaters.
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Post by countrymom22 on Jan 11, 2016 19:49:42 GMT
We have used wood exclusively in the past for a few years after our furnace died and we couldn't afford to replace it. It was a great heat, although pretty dry. We are capable of doing our own wood and did, with our young sons "helping". Our house is about 2,000 ft and with only one woodstove insert, it was cool upstairs, but we like it that way, so it wasn't too bad. It was a wee bit cold when we got out of the shower though! The only problem with wood was the mess it created.
We also have natural gas heat. Forced hot air. I hate it! In this old house, no matter what we want, the thermostat will only let it get to 65, tops in here. Which is okay for us, but sometimes guests may be a little chilly so I keep a closet full of extra sweaters and sweatshirts to hand out when needed.
With the proper set up, I would go back to wood heat in a heartbeat!
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Post by Skandi on Jan 11, 2016 20:16:16 GMT
We have only wood heat and hot water, the house does get very cold at night since the heating stops about 2 hours after you last fill the furnace and it's poorly insulated, in the morning the far end of the house and kitchen are at 44F (outside temp about 23) running the furnace for 6-7 hours brings them up to 57F IF we run it all day then it can get over 70F but both of us find that to warm, 65 is about perfect for us. after all, outside doesn't often hit 70 in the summer here! And just like countrymom22, we also keep a suply of blankets, slippers and jumpers for guests! However if there's illness issues or fitness issues then propane is probably much better than wood, If you have to buy new for either then it's a good idea to think about the future. bergere,Here no power is no heating, the furnace requires an electric pump to push the water round the radiators. I want a secondary stove for the living room (far end of the house) for that eventuality.
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Post by Maura on Jan 11, 2016 22:10:02 GMT
We have in floor heating (tube under the floors, warm water) We love it. One year we lost electricity for over three days, the three coldest days of the year, of course. Without electricity, the well pump did not work and the warm water was not pumped under the floor, and the brain of the hot water tank is electric. It took three days before the house temp dropped from 69 to 58 (rough estimate, I needed to put socks on). Radiant heat stays.
If the choice included in floor radiant heat, I would go for that whether it was wood, maize, or propane powered. If the choice is hot forced air or wood stove, I’d go with the stove. It will work with or without electricity.
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Post by richnc on Jan 11, 2016 22:23:14 GMT
Ok if we heat with Propane it takes 600 gallons through a cold Winter. Keeping the House at 80-85 degrees.
Rockpile
WHAT in the world do you need your house at 80-85 degrees for, oh my heavens, I live in the real south and winter time temps like that inside the house would kill me! I do propane now, mostly because I am older and just don't want to deal with wood anymore. Seriously, put on some more clothes, a sweater or sweatshirt and turn that danged thermostat down to 67 degrees!!
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Post by bergere on Jan 12, 2016 12:46:13 GMT
We have only wood heat and hot water, the house does get very cold at night since the heating stops about 2 hours after you last fill the furnace and it's poorly insulated, in the morning the far end of the house and kitchen are at 44F (outside temp about 23) running the furnace for 6-7 hours brings them up to 57F IF we run it all day then it can get over 70F but both of us find that to warm, 65 is about perfect for us. after all, outside doesn't often hit 70 in the summer here! And just like countrymom22 , we also keep a suply of blankets, slippers and jumpers for guests! However if there's illness issues or fitness issues then propane is probably much better than wood, If you have to buy new for either then it's a good idea to think about the future. bergere ,Here no power is no heating, the furnace requires an electric pump to push the water round the radiators. I want a secondary stove for the living room (far end of the house) for that eventuality. Same problem in this house... is all Electric, power goes out and there is no way to heat the place. When you get -10* winds,,, it gets cold fast.. House is not well made, thin walls and little to no insulation. Why I keep hoping to scrape enough money for two wood stoves, one for the main part of the house and a smaller 2nd one, for the other side.
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Post by mollymckee on Jan 12, 2016 14:09:47 GMT
We heat with wood, and I prefer it. However, last fall and winter my DHwas having heart problems and couldn't do much with wood. We are very lucky, both our SIL and our GS live a mile from us and both are willing to help-without being asked- They made sure we had plenty of wood in the house but it would have been hard if we hadn't had help. ( we do have backup heat ) In your case I would put in gas if I had to pick one. You are older, in uncertain health, don't have reliable help.
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mary
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Post by mary on Jan 12, 2016 14:38:03 GMT
I love wood heat, love making the fire. To me it warms so much better than our electric.
But if I had the choice of wood or propane and only the one or the other, and had to haul in my wood from not on my own property, I'd say stick with your propane.
You are not going to be able to keep that even 80 degrees in your house with only wood, because it will not likely heat the entire house, and because you won't be able to keep it blazing all hours.
Once you have your tank filled you can rest assured that you will be warm next winter.
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Post by here to stay on Jan 12, 2016 15:51:08 GMT
Wood heat because propane is still over $2.50 a gallon here and, although I have a pellet stove, bags of pellets are $7. A cord of wood (not good quality) is about $250 and I can heat the house with less than 2 cords. So I can heat the house with wood for about 1/3 of the cost of propane, and about 1/2 the cost of pellets (without taking into account electricity) . But the savings come with a cost in effort. My stove must be fed every hour, I have to haul in the wood. And starting the fire takes more time than flicking a switch. And I have to get rid of the ashes. But I get a significantly warmer house with the wood stove than with either propane or the pellet stove. And I admit to the entertainment I get from mindlessly watch the flames dance around.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 18:53:54 GMT
Ok if we heat with Propane it takes 600 gallons through a cold Winter. Keeping the House at 80-85 degrees.
Rockpile
WHAT in the world do you need your house at 80-85 degrees for, oh my heavens, I live in the real south and winter time temps like that inside the house would kill me! I do propane now, mostly because I am older and just don't want to deal with wood anymore. Seriously, put on some more clothes, a sweater or sweatshirt and turn that danged thermostat down to 67 degrees!! If we turned it down it would be completely off.
Last night it came to me, we have been running Ceiling Fans on Low blowing up. Thought ok I'm wanting to move air. Turn our Fans on High blowing down. I think this will work much better.
Rockpile
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mary
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Post by mary on Jan 12, 2016 20:00:57 GMT
My parents always kept their thermostat at 80. You're the one living in the house, set it at what makes you comfortable.
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Post by beowoulf90 on Jan 12, 2016 21:01:40 GMT
We used to heat with wood until a drunk driver decided my motorcycle looked good buried into the side of his car.. Anyway we heated with wood only for roughly 10 years with no other options for heat due to finances. We couldn't afford to put in a specialized system because of the stone construction of this 250+ yo house. We would burn approx 7 full cords a year/winter. It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it. Now we heat with an old coal stove about the same size as our previous wood stove (which I still have). One ton of coal delivered costs us about $350 and we go through roughly 1 ton a month. So we really aren't saving any money this way, but as I said there is no cheap way to heat this old house. If we wanted oil/gas heat we would have to have multiple units in different locations because of the 20" thick stone wall (interior). There is no way to run duct through these wall without major engineering, thus costs.. Oh and we have roughly 20 acres of woods with more all around us, so wood was easy to come by..
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Post by jd4020 on Jan 13, 2016 0:36:14 GMT
My fil put in a furnace over 30 years ago that can switch from LP gas to wood burning. The only time it has been used for LP was when Dhs' Grama lived with them for a time and kept turning the thermostat up to 90--in the summer. They put a lock on the dial. We have always burned mostly hedge, it grows on our property, along with other trees. We are very, very careful with hedge as it burns hot and pops a lot. We lost a huge oak tree this past summer, so we'll be cutting it up this year. We keep the thermostat set at 67-68 and don't build a very big fire, don't want it burning too hot. It works just fine. I would love to have a wood cook stove, but I doubt it will ever happen. I have small wood stoves in other places on the farm. If we get cold, we have sweatshirts and sweaters as well. Hot dogs & brats cooked in the furnace taste great in the middle of winter too. It's all in the basement so the chip mess stays there. We use the ash for de-icing the walkways, in the garden and on the yard. The water heater & stove use LP.
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Post by jangirl on Jan 13, 2016 1:23:57 GMT
We heated primarily with wood until Mom came to live with us, and it wasn't a good idea to have a 94 year old lady with bad sight and little mobility trying to stoke the fire! We use wood about 50% of the time now, always when we're home, and propane the rest of the time. The wood heat is so much nicer, more warming. We put a powerful fan to the side and behind the wood stove to push that hot air into the other end of the house, as well as a little fan up by the ceiling in a doorway, and one of those Canadian fans ON the stove, the type that require no electricity. We get free lumber, any trees people want to give away, pallets are always free and available, so we cut those up, too.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 2:53:43 GMT
Like my wife said it only takes at the most a week to get enough wood to do a Winter.
She put wood in the Fireplace at 6AM, I put more in 4PM and will again before I go to Bed.
Rockpile
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Post by Awnry Abe on Jan 13, 2016 4:11:21 GMT
Man, I clicked 'propane' and it went from 3 to 8 votes. I hope that happens this November. I voted as I would if I were in your shoes, not in mine. I heat with 4 sources.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 5:46:33 GMT
Would I heat with wood? It's getting to the point that I've burned wood for primary or exclusive heat (and a good portion of the cooking) for roughly 70% of my life. So far. I'm not done yet. Just as long as I can still feed a stove, I'll be burning wood. When I no longer can, it won't be long until my remains are in an oven becoming ash.
Why? There is NOTHING that warms a body better. It doesn't matter if the distant parts of the house sometimes just barely clear the freezing point, or even if they don't, or how cold and wet I may get working outside, there is one place I can get WARM and make something hot to eat or drink, even if the power is off for most of a day (as it is often enough), or most of a week (as it has been a few times), or even months (or years). It doesn't hurt that we have enough woodlot to keep us stocked without resorting to cutting more than one or two live (cull) trees a year, just by taking standing dead or down. We do use propane for hot water, for the kitchen oven, and for the stove top in summer; as a convenience. If needed, we could do without it, though there would be complaints from SWMBO.
Propane here is still about 2.50 a gallon, delivered; just filled a 100# tank for an astonishing $73.50. Last year it was $51, and supposedly with the price of oil declining and a 'soft' winter so far, you'd think it would follow. Apparently not. No telling what it will be in the future: if it will be affordable long term, or even available. I know what wood will "cost" me, even if I have to chop it with an ax and bring it from the woods with a wheelbarrow or sled. Wood heat in even one room as the snow flies speaks of a deep warm. Wood heat and a hot meal smells of deep satisfaction. Wood heat from land that can provide your food and fuel is about as close to deep self reliance as one can still get. Why would I not heat with wood? Only because there was no possible way I could.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2016 0:33:03 GMT
We cut on Government Land but could cut few years around the house.
Rockpile
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2016 1:11:17 GMT
I heated with wood for 19 years. Cut and split it myself. Household of one so lots of work on top of a full time job and caring for livestock. Got to the point I had enough. Propane is cheap here. Bought it this year for under $1 a gallon. I can hear the house, cook, and have hot water for less than $300 a year. My back and hips (fake) say thank you!!
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