This summer I'm splitting all the firewood outside....

[Mskanga]

and next year I'm using my fireplaces for heat!!! That's it, I'm tired of paying an arm and a leg for heat!!!

 

[Buckalew]

We have a heat pump (sorry excuse for heat) and a wood burning stove downstairs. In the winter we heat our house mainly with the wood burning stove. DH loves chopping wood and also has a wood splitter.

 

[Mskanga]

Buck, my dh refused to do that before we got the propane heating system put in, he said too much work, ( then again anything that involves more than pushing a pen is work for him ), we have tons of wood outside but we are paying an arm and a leg for propane. I think I would rather do some work!

 

[glo]

we have natural gas, and paid over $350 last month, and I have one of those thermostats that turns the heat down when we are not home...I have it set at 69, but the burner is always running it has been so cold We have 2 fireplaces, but they are more for looks than keeping us warm

 

[Goofyposter]

Mskanga wrote;

I'm using my fireplaces for heat

Just a bit of friend advice from a wood burning guy....if what you have is the 'typical' fireplace...did you know that 70% of the heat generated by a fire in a fireplace goes right up the chimney?

we use something called a fireplace insert...in our fireplaces....the one's I have experience with are made by a company called Avalon here's a link if your interested....with a fireplace insert...approximately 30% of the heat goes up the flue...it helps ... Alot!

Also...make sure to get the chimneys cleaned and inspected before you start regular use!...we use oil and coal as well...but wood heat really is toasty!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I have three zones in my house..and spend most of the time in the family room.. so I keep the heat down.... as low as I can stand it....my husband freezes and wears many layers.. I am fine.. and for the past two months have paid around $560 for oil..

 

[Towncrier]

We have a family friend who is a plumber by trade and who heats his house almost exclusively with firewood. He just keeps his eye out for free firewood and collects it during the summer months. His house has a HUGE fireplace that is surrounded by a double wall metal jacket. He circulates water through the fireplace jacket and then runs the heated water through his baseboard heating system. His furnace has a backup oil burner that comes on whenever the fire runs down. In an average winter, he burns 6 cords of firewood. It's a lot of work, but I'll bet his heating bill is a whole lot less than mine.

 

[Mskanga]

We have tons of wood outside that only if dh would take the time to split woudl save us a ton in heating bills. I will be looking into renting a splitter sometime in the summer and have it all split so we can burn it , otherwise he can keep paying $400 a month for heat alone!!