User Panel
Posted: 11/28/2015 9:24:48 PM EDT
Wood Burning Stove Insert or Natural Gas Logs Insert.
Betting this has been covered before, if so and u have a link plz share. Thanks in Advance! |
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[#1]
from a survival standpoint, wood is better. from a convenience standpoint, gas is better. If you get your wood for free or almost free and you don't mind splitting it, wood is much cheaper. I see you live in SC. if your AO doesn't have much of a cold winter, you probably wont use a cord of wood a year. that's a little more than a heaping 8 foot truck bed worth, give or take. |
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[#3]
Have an electronic heat pump/AC unit less than 8 years old. Looking to supplement and whatever in Power Down/ice storm.
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[#4]
No natural gas availability where I am, so it's wood or diesel for heat and wood is my primary heat source.
Due to a windstorm last week I had no electricity for 4 days but I had a warm house. |
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[#5]
This is Arfcom... Get both!
In all reality considering your AO, I would choose a wood stove. We have consistent below zero temps in the winter and heat with wood. Of course having a modern insulated home and modern functioning wood stove make it much more efficient. |
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[#6]
We burn a lot of wood, but I think our winters are a lot different here. We light it in November and it goes out early April.
do you already have a chimney? If not go gas. Chimneys are expensive for only occasional use. If you do have one but don't use it, I'd get an inspection before you made the final decision. It could be unsafe or need expensive repairs. |
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[#7]
Since you are SPECIFICALLY looking for a power outage/weather SHTF heat source, wood is the only logical choice.
Gas you are still 100% utility dependent. If you have to go gas, go propane. At least you store your own fuel. |
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[#8]
Do you already have a chimney? If not, it's gonna cost you some money.
Do you have a wood source? What's your time worth to you? If you have to buy wood, it's probably not going to be cheaper than gas. The nice thing about wood is as long as the chimney is in good shape and you have a source of wood, you'll have heat. Gas is a very reliable utility...but it's not 100% reliable. Years ago I had a house that was heated with natural gas. One Thanksgiving Day I woke up to a cold house. Checked the furnace and the pilot light was out. Tried to light it and it didn't light. Checked the meter and there was no gas pressure. Called the gas company and they came out. Turned out it was a defective meter. So, point is natural gas can fail too. I'm building a house and we are putting in a triple wall stainless chimney and a wood stove. The main heat source of the house will be a dual fuel propane furnace/heat pump. We do want a wood stove in the basement as a backup heat source as well as a supplemental heat source when it's cold out but I have zero intention of heating my house full time with heat unless absolutely necessary. I had wood heat as the primary heat as kid and I don't miss it at all. If you value your time, wood isn't cheaper to heat with. If your time has no value, then wood heat MIGHT be cheaper to heat with as long as you have a close, free source of wood. |
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[#10]
i have a forced air gas furnace, i added a auxiliary wood furnace and cut my gas bills by 2/3, since the chimney was already there, all i had to do is to get the wood furnace on sale in the spring, and have a furnace guy add it to the duct work, sure keeps the house toasty and good to know that i have back up heat. since i use it regularly it has paid for itself over the years.
us stove |
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[#11]
Um... FerFal i see a big minus care to repost this post is vailid to my interests and you input is appreciated :)
-sigadvantage- |
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[#12]
little moar info:
Home built in 1979, brick ranch situated North to South. Brick fireplace (HUGE) built with home. New'ish heat pump, smallish wood stove insert. Nat Gas is a new line, $300 tap fee. $300 refunded once you install a gas burning appliance. FIL is a builder and has a Nice Vented Insert (NG Logs) that I can install (free) to absorb the NG tap fee. Hot Water heater will need to be replaced in a year or so...he also has a HW Heater (NIB) that I can have (free) The Craft brand stove I have is Tiny compared to the Opening (it's installed properly and burns fine-but it's small size makes it tough to heat with) not to mention I have a very minimal amount of wood on site to burn (cut/split) our electricity is from a Co-op and seems very expensive....I'm hoping to offset that expense with an alternate heating source....a supplemental source. thanks! |
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[#13]
Quoted: little moar info: Home built in 1979, brick ranch situated North to South. Brick fireplace (HUGE) built with home. New'ish heat pump, smallish wood stove insert. Nat Gas is a new line, $300 tap fee. $300 refunded once you install a gas burning appliance. FIL is a builder and has a Nice Vented Insert (NG Logs) that I can install (free) to absorb the NG tap fee. Hot Water heater will need to be replaced in a year or so...he also has a HW Heater (NIB) that I can have (free) The Craft brand stove I have is Tiny compared to the Opening (it's installed properly and burns fine-but it's small size makes it tough to heat with) not to mention I have a very minimal amount of wood on site to burn (cut/split) our electricity is from a Co-op and seems very expensive....I'm hoping to offset that expense with an alternate heating source....a supplemental source. thanks! View Quote |
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[#14]
The happiest days in my life were the days my sons were born, and the day gas was brought into our neighborhood. I heated with wood for several years, and it was a challenge. Now, I have a clicker and when a want to build a small fire, I click twice. When I want a bigger fire, I click four times. If you get a vented fire insert, the flames look like a wood fire. Love it...
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[#16]
1) Go gas for tap fee refund.
2) Set up logs with some fittings that would be easy to remove/install when you want. 3) Update water heater when you are ready. 4) Axe FIL to hook you up with a high efficiency gas furnace. 5) Get wood ()when you get time over the next year. Axe the ( or forget to tell them you have gas () Lekturk Company if you can keep your all electric rate to save money,. 6) Use heat pump until the outside temp reaches the strip heater set point. 7) Then use gas. SHTF - We have lost electricity 4 times in two years. Have not lost gas yet. TEOTWAWKI - SOB (save one bullet) |
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[#17]
Quoted: $250/mo last winter (eta: 1690 sq. ft.) View Quote for an all electric house, that's not bad. I have 1000 sq ft house, insulated. elec hot water, gas range and furnace. I burn wood at least 3 nights a week. gas bills in winter are $110 electric bills in winter are $100 total of $210 and its a 2/3 the size of yours. |
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[#18]
Wood. Besides wood, you can burn most trash (no metals or plastic).
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[#19]
What would be the approximate cost of having a chimney put in for a wood stove?
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[#20]
wood will heat your home more efficiently.
gas will heat your home more conveniently. poll fail! |
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[#21]
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[#22]
Quoted: for an all electric house, that's not bad. I have 1000 sq ft house, insulated. elec hot water, gas range and furnace. I burn wood at least 3 nights a week. gas bills in winter are $110 electric bills in winter are $100 total of $210 and its a 2/3 the size of yours. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: $250/mo last winter (eta: 1690 sq. ft.) I have 1000 sq ft house, insulated. elec hot water, gas range and furnace. I burn wood at least 3 nights a week. gas bills in winter are $110 electric bills in winter are $100 total of $210 and its a 2/3 the size of yours. |
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[#23]
Any gas fireplace needs to have a fan/blower for any kind of efficiency. Lots of really nice ventless types now but most don't include the fan assembly. Universal fans are 1/10th the cost over the factory units.
Wood is just a giant pain in the ass to deal with. On top of that, they are starting to link all kinds of health problems (cancer) from fireplace wood smoke. And the last reason is FIRE outside the fireplace. Very common for all kinds of reasons. |
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[#24]
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[#25]
We have a wood stove in the house, and we used it until I was able to install an outdoor wood stove. The outdoor wood stove uses a small amount of electric, as do the circulator pumps, but it is convenient and keeps the house much cleaner. It heats both our hot water and our house, and I would buy it again. We do have free wood available on our property, and I have boys to carry it. This helps a lot.
We do not have natural gas available, nor do I see it becoming available in the future. We could use propane, and it is inexpensive right now, but as taxes will increase on gas production, I would expect it to increase. |
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[#26]
I'd say natural gas with somehow having wood as an option in an extreme case of natural disaster or any other reason your NG supply is compromised.
I want wood heat so bad for the sheer purpose of saying I don't rely on some gas company for the ability to heat my house. However, my sinus issues will never let me have an inside wood burning stove and the outside units are too darned expensive to justify. Plus, you still need some form of electricity to circulate the water defeating my desire for a way to heat the house if nothing else. |
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[#27]
I buy wood now that I'm old and can't cut the 6 cords needed to heat this old farmhouse anymore. Over the last 4 years that I've been buying wood I've paid anywhere from $40 per rick to $50 per rick delivered to my barn. I bought 20 ricks this summer for $900 and that will get me through almost two years of winters.
No way could I heat this house with gas or electricity for even twice that much money. I'll burn wood until I can't lift it anymore. eta, I've heated with wood exclusively for over 30 years now. |
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[#28]
I'd do both... it'll make the wood/gas last longer and you'll have heat without power
Wood... lots of work, doesn't need electricity to heat your house Gas ... easy, doesn't work with out power (may need generator as back up) |
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[#29]
I think I read this all wrong. This:
Quoted: Have an electronic heat pump/AC unit less than 8 years old. Looking to supplement and whatever in Power Down/ice storm. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Have an electronic heat pump/AC unit less than 8 years old. Looking to supplement and whatever in Power Down/ice storm. and this: Quoted: ....I'm hoping to offset that expense with an alternate heating source....a supplemental source. At the time seemed different to me. Occasional emergency heat vs a supplemental source to reduce monthly costs. Wood will absolutely be cheaper if you already have a chimney and wood stove. It'll heat the house much more evenly if it's in the basement and the heat can rise through the rest of the house. Slower to warm, but much more even (and cleaner for your primary living space). I've never had gas logs. The idea of a clean-burning fire at the push of a button is appealing, but I don't think it'd save you any money in the long run if used regularly. |
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[#30]
Quoted:
I'd do both... it'll make the wood/gas last longer and you'll have heat without power Wood... lots of work, doesn't need electricity to heat your house Gas ... easy, doesn't work with out power (may need generator as back up) View Quote I'd like to add that a nat gas fireplace does not need electricity. We have a vent-less type that has been used during several outages over the years, that worked very well. 2800 sq ft house. Plenty of heat, had to duty cycle the fireplace to prevent us from getting too hot. Yes, heat wasn't as nicely distributed throughout the house, like the gaspack would do, but it wasn't too bad. The house has a very open floor plan. We had a myriad of CO detectors running, and not a peep. Turned it off while we slept. |
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[#31]
Pretty bad ice storm came through here in '08. Our power was out for a week, others were out for 2-3. My parents had a ventless NG fireplace and the thing was wonderful.
I do worry if we'll have the same results if the New Madrid decides to let go! |
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