First real cold with wood heat

[bmill]

  Getting the first real cold spell (-2F with 42mph gusts = -29F wind chill). I installed a relatively inexpensive forced air wood furnace this summer and I'm loving it!! My so so  built 70's style ranch house is a toasty 76F right now.  8) 8)

  It's nice to buy something, install it, and it actually works as advertised.  I split burr oak, red elm and some mulberry last spring. So far I think the red elm wins. 

  Toasty and happy in the Loess Hills.

  After reading this, I have no idea what my point is :

[woodmills1]

But, thanks for sharing, and glad you are toasty. :D

[LeeB]

Sometimes you just gotta share your joy. Don't have to be a point to it.

[Radar67]

BMill, is that the Lil House Outside wood furnace out of Missouri?

[bmill]

  It is a norseman 2500 which I was somewhat skeptical of. A friend at work has had one for a couple of years and loves his so I gave it a try. Mine is inside my attached garage which is nice since I cut downed timber on my ground and it's pretty messy. I ran ducting directly into my kitchen and living room and draw cold air out of ducting from the basement. I get pretty consistent temperature in the house, but obviously not perfect.

I just went around and checked temps in the house:

Kitchen/Living room 77
Back bedrooms 71
Basement  70

I'll see if I can get a photo uploaded later of my (handy?) work.

[beenthere]

Can't beat that wood heat.

Is this the one you have?
http://www.vogelzang.com/Norseman2500.htm

[bmill]

 That's the one.  Nothing fancy, but it sure has been working well so far.

[rebocardo]

I feel your joy 

I have been loving my stove install and was very thankful for the leads on this board that helped me install it without burning the house down.   :D

gas bill = $0 since I ditched the gas

electric bill = $60-$80 a month during winter, a large part because of 5 kids and the electric clothes dryer and water heater.

[ohsoloco]

Yeah, on those real cold days when I hear people heating with oil talk about how cold their house is, I like to tell them that my kitchen is 75 or 80 degrees when I get up in the morning  ;)

I'll be curious to see how much my electric bill drops now.  The rate caps will soon be coming off of our electricity, so I'm getting ready.  I strung up some clothes line down in the basement by the woodstove, and I dry all of my clothes in the house now.  It puts some much needed moisture in the house, and the clean clothes smell great    My bride-to-be was just complaining about how hard her clothes are now...I just told her they soften up once you wear them for a little while  :D

[rbhunter]

How long will the wood furnace go between refills on cold winter nights so far?

[bmill]

 I'm getting about 7 hours out of a full load. This is using smaller split wood. I have some big pieces that I'm going to try that I think will give me more time. I would guess that you'd be hard pressed to get anymore than about 9hrs under ideal conditions. Just a guess though.

[DanG]

  My bride-to-be was just complaining about how hard her clothes are now...I just told her they soften up once you wear them for a little while  :D

Yeah, but they start to stiffen up again after about a week. : :D :D

[Norm]

Bride to be huhhh, well you sly old dog thought you could slip that in there an we wouldn't notice.  ;D

We have been so much more comfortable the last couple of winters using the wood burning fireplace in addition to the furnace. Once the temp is up we shut off the furnace and the wood heat keeps it there unless it's really cold out.

[woodmills1]

try adding some green red oak to the top of your fillup and you might get much more time.  Some 15 years ago I had taken the old broken oil burner out of the hose and was relying on the hot air wood add on to heat the house.  Then my uncle in NJ died and I needed to drive to the funeral.  I filled the stove half full of dry wood and stuffed it with green red oak.  Drove 4.5 hours, went to funeral, wake and after party.  Left after 4 hours in jersey in a snowstorm driving a BMW 320i (oooooooooooooo) got home 13.5 hours after leaving to a 75 degree house with 2 more hours of wood. :D :D

[OneWithWood]

I'll raise your beemer and go two jags :D

[woodmills1]

Had 3 320i's in a row then a 91 318is loved them all, but alas traded the 318 on the 2005 one ton and now have tacoma sport and scion XB

[Roxie]

There's not much that beats the feeling ya get when ya walk in the house and it's toasty warm from the woodstove.  Gives me a feeling of independence and comfort. 

Although I'd probably get a great feeling from them too, don't let these varmits distract ya with thier beemer's and jags.   :D

[JV]

Nothing like wood heat.  I just installed an outside wood boiler at our youngest son's
house.  They had a corn burner and it got to the point it wouldn't heat one room.  I
had to install a new fan-limit switch yesterday and checked the thermostat afterwards.
The stat was set for 70 degrees, at 69 the circulator pump came on, and at 68 the fan
was blowing hot air.  My daughter-in-law said that was the warmest they had been in a
long time.  Grandma informed me recently that the two little ones weren't going to be
cold this winter, fix the problem now.  I did.   :D  My son now gets to enjoy the warmth
of wood heat twice, cutting and burning.  I think we will get one next year.  Plenty of slab
wood off the mill and all the wood from cleaning fence rows and open ditches.  We have
probably two or three semi-loads of whole trees stacked right now that were going to be a
big bonfire.  With the price of oil and gas, it's a lot more enticing to put one in now.
Like they say "Burn a tree, plant a tree, it's a renewable resource."  Hmm, now where did
I put those sketches for that firewood processor?

[ohsoloco]

Bride to be huhhh, well you sly old dog thought you could slip that in there an we wouldn't notice.  ;D

Norm, there is nothing sly about the situation.  I purchased a ring for around the same price I paid for my new tractor, and now I must agree with most everything she says  :D  :  :-\

Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned this place to her either....

[Norm]

Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned this place to her either....

That's a given. :D

Congratulations to you and your fiance.