Wood stove advice needed

[HMFIC]

Catalytic is the only way to go, man. They are so much more efficient than an old fashioned stove it's not even funny.

I heat my house with a Woodstock Soapstone Fireview. Yes, it was expensive, but considering I heat my house for the price of 2 ricks of wood ($140 a year) and it will burn 12+ hours on one load and retain heat and embers for days, it pays for itself pretty quick.

Whatever you get, get a catalytic.

WTH? Is that your house Ridge? Looks like you took decorating lessons from Dr. Seuss.

 

[ez bake]

WTH? Is that your house Ridge? Looks like you took decorating lessons from Dr. Seuss.

Hahahaha - most informative post in the thread!

Seriously, with a Cat stove, do you need specific wood? Where is more info on this? I grew up with an old non-cat wood-burning stove and I might look into getting a newer style.

 

[Paulinok]

I'm very new to this, but from everything I've read, yes you need specific wood of sorts....well seasoned wood. That is very important and I just joined a forum called hearth.com that has TONS of info and lots of people with the know how.

 

[saltydecimator]

WTH? Is that your house Ridge? Looks like you took decorating lessons from Dr. Seuss.

holy helz, how tall is that thing??? like 12 ft or something?

and what aboot cost??? of the stoves. cheap vs expensive i guess

 

[Jon3830]

We have a Lopi brand stove that we have used about 25 years and we are about to buy one of their Liberty stoves.

 

[RidgeHunter]

It's not as tall as it (kind of?) appears; that's just a close up pic. HMFIC, you should see the rest of my house if you think that's Suess-esque.

Been so hot I haven't been burning, which is gonna increase my propane use because I bump the central heat in the morning to take the chill off. My heating costs actually go down the colder it gets. I don't like to light a small fire as it's not really designed for that, and it holds heat all day...which is no good when it gets as warm as it, say today for example.

 

[CHenry]

I like my thermostatically controlled Pellet stove. I heat the entire house with it but as you do, my propane furnace is programed to come on at 5:30 in the morning to take the chill off while we get ready for work. $230 bucks for a ton of pellets (50-40 lb. bags) and a lot less mess than a log burner. I usually get by on 2 tons of pellets per year but this year will end up being less. Normally by Jan. 1 I have used a ton already, this year so far I have used 2/3 ton.

 

[badrinker]

I'm very new to this, but from everything I've read, yes you need specific wood of sorts....well seasoned wood. That is very important and I just joined a forum called hearth.com that has TONS of info and lots of people with the know how.

My father in law has been heating his house for decades with a catalytic stove (including when he lived in Michigan) and I've used mine for 6 or 7 years. Neither of us is picky about wood (don't burn pine or anything heavy sap) but I've burned wood I've cut less than a month ago with no problems. IMHO the "well seasoned" thing is bunk.

 

[cjjtulsa]

We have a ventless gas log fireplace, and are kicking around the idea of having a flue added and go back to wood (was raised around wood-burners). This has been an informative thread, since I'll need to assess whether to run cat or non-cat in whatever insert we may get.

And as for 85° in the house; I'd have to go sleep out on the driveway! My wife hates cold weather, and we keep the house 69° at night, and if we're home, around 71° during the day.

 

[Paulinok]

My father in law has been heating his house for decades with a catalytic stove (including when he lived in Michigan) and I've used mine for 6 or 7 years. Neither of us is picky about wood (don't burn pine or anything heavy sap) but I've burned wood I've cut less than a month ago with no problems. IMHO the "well seasoned" thing is bunk.

I disagree about "well seasoned" thing being bunk.... I'm sure your wood burned, but well seasoned wood burns MUCH more efficiently and not only lasts longer with more heat, but leaves almost zero creosote in your chimney. They sell moisture meters to test your wood with, and it only stands to reason, the more seasoned = less moisture = better burn = cleaner chimney.