Winter Heating Challenge/Log

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enigmaT120
Posts: 1240
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:14 pm
Location: Falls City, OR

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by enigmaT120 »

cmonkey wrote:

As far as installing a wood stove into an existing chimney, yes it can be done but you need a liner like this. It connects directly to the stove exhaust and goes right up to the chimney cap.

I installed a liner (looks like the same brand and model!) in my fireplace-converted-to-woodstove. It works well. Previously I was just using my existing chimney for the wood stove, but it didn't draw well because the chimney was too big for the stove.

I had to remove the fireplace damper and actually I think chip away some of the brick for the liner to fit through that section of the chimney, but other than that it wasn't difficult. It works very well and draws well. I clean it every year with a special soft brush that came with the kit, if anybody want's to know I'll detail that couple of hour process. The liner is rather fragile and a wire brush would tear it up. But I can only see creosote where the chimney exits the house, so about the top 3 feet. Other than that sometimes I'll go up and knock the cinders off that chimney cap screen.

Blackjack
Posts: 69
Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2020 12:36 am
Location: Front Range, bikescore 99

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by Blackjack »

It may somewhat be due to temperature differences, but November -> December this yeah I have used 30% or the energy I used last year. Biggest improvement is probably insulation and roof color, I guess. Last year I used 37 therms this month, this year I’ve used 11, and most of that is on cooking and the water heater. Heater kicks on maybe one or two times for a brief minute or two when it is a shady day (no passive solar).

Keeping house at > 61 degrees currently, and this is pretty comfortable with a blanket or a sweater on, and makes it feel like it is actually winter outside. I went over to a friend’s house a few days ago where the heat was on at 69 degrees, and it felt so toasty I had to take off all my layers. Enjoying this very low energy life. I really want to run an ultra low energy fridge since it’s our current largest energy hog other than my work laptop, but we don’t really have room for a chest freezer, and my partner does not seem too enthused about digging through the chest freezer for food.

theanimal
Posts: 2628
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:05 pm
Location: AK
Contact:

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by theanimal »

We are on track to burn about a cord of wood, by my current estimate. To date, we have burned roughly 1/3 of a cord so far this winter. This is great news, as so far the winter has been colder than normal. Warmer temps in the Midwest and east coast mean more frigid temperatures for us up here. November mean temperature was 0.6 F (4 F colder than normal) and December mean so far is -8 F (8 F colder than normal!).

This can also be improved as I discovered recently there is a small gap (~1/8 in) between the bottom of my door and the frame. About a week ago, the sun was low enough in the sky that it was able to shine through (door faces due south) but now it is too low. I read elsewhere that a gap of 1/8 in is equivalent to having a 5 in hole in one of the walls :shock: . It is supposed to warm up this weekend and I am going to add some weather stripping around the base.

Married2aSwabian
Posts: 265
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2021 7:45 pm

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by Married2aSwabian »

So far this winter we have burned about 1/4 - 1/3 of a cord. Hard to tell exactly, as we kind of have several different stacks in varying stages of seasoning! Temps have been warmer than avg (several 50 + deg days in past two weeks) with lows around freezing at night. We just run off hear completely at night (for 12 hours) when it’s not too cold.

Had to solve an interesting problem during recent extended (2 day +) power outage. We have a Powerstroke 6500 W portable generator for outages, especially necessary since we’re on well water! It’s plenty of power for well pump, fridge, lights and furnace. But, our furnace is newer and has an ECM blower with PCB that likes to have clean sine wave power! The kind that comes either from the utility or an inverter generator. I did a lot of research and talked with electricians, HVAC guys and power conditioner manufacturers.

I ended up rewiring our furnace, so that it has a plug and receptacle on the appliance. This is plugged in for utility power and will be disconnected and plugged into a new 1000W solar power supply (Jackery) with inverter during outages. It’s an expensive solution at $1500, but far cheaper than buying a Honda or other inverter generator and we will also use this power source when camping and traveling. It can recharge off of 110V AC, 12V car charger or 2 d 100W solar panels. Pretty cool.
I have also plugged in our Killawatt power meter to check furnace draw over past few days and it averages less than 2000Wh per day total.

There must be a million people out there with this issue, so here is a great entrepreneurial opportunity for someone! I was really surprised how difficult it was to find a solution.

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by cmonkey »

We have been burning consistently for 6 weeks at the end of this week and I'd guess we've gone through about 1/4 of a cord. It's looking like we will come through the winter with wood to spare, which is great. I think I have about 2 cords left. I have 4 cords split for next year which will likely last 2+ years.

Basement temp is consistently about 57F in the morning rising to 68-70F by lunch and closer to 80F by the stove. It's still about 63F in the evenings. Burning about 10-15 splits per day depending on how we feel.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Every time I go outside at night in winter I smell a strong wood burning smoke odor. It smells great. Unfortunately I just ran across this article that indicates that it isn't very healthy for me: https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... risk-study. Sorry to rain on the parade but it is something to think about.
Research published in the last year has shown wood burning in homes is the single biggest source of small particle air pollution in the UK, producing three times more than road traffic, despite just 8% of the population using wood burners.

Even new wood burning stoves meeting the “ecodesign” standard still emit 750 times more tiny particle pollution than a modern HGV truck. Wood burners also triple the level of harmful pollution inside homes and should be sold with a health warning, according to scientists.

zbigi
Posts: 978
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 2:04 pm

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by zbigi »

Gilberto de Piento wrote:
Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:52 am
What's more, majority of deaths in the world from air pollution in the world are caused by pollution coming from _inside_ the house (stoves, chimneys etc.). The estimate is that IIRC 3-4 million people per year die because of this.

theanimal
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Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:05 pm
Location: AK
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Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by theanimal »

I wouldn't really consider it a secret. My town has some of the worst air quality in the nation due to inversions that trap particulates like that of woodsmoke, car exhausts, from the coal plants etc. The people being killed by indoor pollution are in places where they still have open fires. If you use a woodstove properly there is no smoke or CO that enters the home.

There are costs to everything. Natural gas is proclaimed to be "clean", but depends on an enormous petro infrastructure that adds plenty of its own emissions and particulates to the atmosphere. And the people who live e where natural gas is extracted who have their water contaminated from fracking may say otherwise as well.

In cities and dense populations it serves as a nuisance. But in rural areas like where I live and others have posted, I can get my more or less carbon neutral resource to provide heat for my home without doing much damage.

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by cmonkey »

There are solutions to the indoor problem. We have a HEPA air filter running at all times in our basement and it makes a huge difference. Also make sure you get your draft going before you start the fire. We have almost no pollution in our home, just an occasional puff when I put wood in.

Of course the enviro-police would rather I freeze to death despite that.

sky
Posts: 1726
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:20 am

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by sky »

I am unwillingly taking part in the challenge. My furnace broke down, and we ordered a new one, but it will take about a week to get it installed. Fortunately, I bought a face cord of firewood this fall, so our woodstove is doing a good job heating the house. Who needs a cabin in the forest when you can live the adventure life in the city? Temps are forecasted to drop to 10F later this week. Fun times.

sky
Posts: 1726
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:20 am

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by sky »

We now have a working furnace. Lessons learned:

You may not get any warning of a failing furnace, it may just quit on you.
Always have an alternative source of heat and enough fuel for a few weeks.
When it is cold in your house, wear more layers of insulation.
Find the warmest room in your house and spend your time there, instead of trying to heat the room you usually spend time in.
When you choose a house, a smaller house is easier to heat and keep warm. My house is about 2000 square feet which is not a McMansion, but it would have been much more comfortable to heat about half that area with a woodstove.
Save enough money so you have a reserve fund to pay for major appliance replacement.
Make sure you can drain your water pipes if indoor temps fall extremely low. I did not have to do this but thought about it and was ready if necessary.

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mountainFrugal
Posts: 1125
Joined: Fri May 07, 2021 2:26 pm

Re: Winter Heating Challenge/Log

Post by mountainFrugal »

2.3 cord this year for us. Significant difference between sunny days (even at lower temps) and continuous cloudy days. The cloudy and rainy/snowy day streaks had us using 3-4 more thigh sized logs/day to stay around ~55F.

We also used our 3 baseboard electric heaters (living room and 2 bedrooms) set on low when we were out of town for 2 weeks in January to prevent the pipes from freezing.

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