# Re-converting back to wood heat?



## Starting out (May 29, 2011)

Hi, Iâm new here! My husband and I (and kids) are considering the purchase of a rural property. The main part of the house is heated by a formerly wood-burning stove that has been converted to propane. The reason this was done was because the owners were getting older and no longer wanted to have to cut and haul wood, etc. My family is young(er) and cost savings may be more important to us. There is plenty of wood available on the property. How hard is it to convert a stove back to wood? I am working on the assumption that they retro-fitted their existing wood stove â that is what I recall they said â but I will have to confirm that for sure. I know that stoves *designed* to be gas or propane are not convertible to wood. (Right?) 

We arenât wedded to the idea of going with wood, but are only looking at options. So if you feel compelled to try to talk us out of this idea (or into it!) feel free. :grin:

Thanks,
S. in Michigan


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## roachhill (Jul 8, 2009)

I think we'd need to see a picture or get more info on the stove in question to make any informed opinions. Is it steel or cast iron, how old, and how was it converted ? If a gas insert was added I would think it would be a simple task to remove but if there was an issue used woodstoves are generally pretty cheap as long as you already have a chimney in good working order.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

I would be uncomfortable with that. Fire is dangerous enough without going to a retro-retro-fit and unknown chimney condition. A chimney fire can ruin that last day of your life...


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

I'm gonna third those two previous answers and advise to go with a new or newer wood stove than the one that's there. 
Not to disparage the person who did the retro fit but their skill level may not be what they think it is. For all you know the owners could have been living on barrowed time using that stove.
Also if you will be using a mortgage to purchase you will want to check on the regs reguarding your heating. The bank for instance may require you to have a certified propane heating device as well as home owners insurance. 

I'm in Western New York, very urban neighborhood and we heated primarily with wood these past two years. However I still need to keep my home connected to natural gas per the rules of my mortgage. Infact even if I went whole house solar I'd still need to be connected to the electric company. 

As to heating primarily with wood I highly recommend it. Not only did we heat but cooked & dried laundry with our stove. Did I mention that it was free firewood. Can't beat free with a stick.

~~ pelenaka ~~
http://thirtyfivebyninety.blogspot.com/2010/11/multitasking-ga-way.html


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## roachhill (Jul 8, 2009)

I never said you needed new or even newer wood stove, personally I'm a much bigger fan of the old wood stoves made with serious amounts of good solid metal. I myself use an old Fisher stove and don't think there's a better one out there unless you can afford stone. What I said was someone needs to get a look at it to say if it can be done safely or just find a used replacement stove. My Fisher only cost me $110 so it doesn't have to cost a mint. The chimney condition is another matter entirely and needs to be looked at by someone qualified to save if it's safe.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

"The chimney condition is another matter entirely and needs to be looked at by someone qualified to save if it's safe."

True. I threw that in while the other subject was being discussed, and didn't add an "as well as you need to..." Bad form on my part.


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

_I never said you needed new or even newer wood stove,_

No roachhill I wrote that.

~~ pelenaka ~~


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

A clean slate is sure nice to work from. Some stuff can be reused maybe if it's up to the job. Too hard ot guess. I have seen gas log sets used in wood stoves and furnaces. Shouldn't do that really but if thats all they did and they did't make any new holes then you may be good to go. The OP needs to have it looked at for sure.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Another thought . . .keep that propane "unit" as is and add a "newer" wood 'stove'. A bit of "backup" for 'home' heating to me is a good idea.

Yes . .get the chimney cleaned/inspected.


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## Starting out (May 29, 2011)

Thanks for all the great advice! We are making an offer tomorrow, so my fingers are crossed that I'll need it! (The advice, that is.) Whatever we do, the chimney inspection will be a top priority. There are actually 2 chimneys -- there is a tiny wood stove (not converted to propane) in one of the bedrooms. I'm not sure we'll use it much though, as it will be a kids' room.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Jim-mi said:


> Another thought . . .keep that propane "unit" as is and add a "newer" wood 'stove'. A bit of "backup" for 'home' heating to me is a good idea.
> 
> Yes . .get the chimney cleaned/inspected.


Yup,get yourself a NICE woodstove,some even heat the whole houses water like the Pioneer Maid woodstove around 2,500 bucks.If there is a better home appliance I havent seen it.A utilitarian wood stove just cant be beat IMO.










My take on it.......
This is the 557 pound,steel welded Pioneer wood cookstove.This is a utilitarian stove,not made for beauty but for function and longevity.It has a nice stainless steel cooktop.

It will easily heat 2000 foot as claimed,it was heating 1400 sq/ft in 20 degree weather and it was loafing along to that.

This stove will also heat your hot water.With the optional 100 USD heat exchanger pipe it can be plumbed to a hot water tank and will provide plenty of hot water for 4 people.So for 100 dollars,get the exchange pipe.It also has a water tank that is opened from the top of the cooking top,but really is pretty useless,maybe adds a little humidity but doesnt do much else..........


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## sirquack (Feb 18, 2009)

BooBoo, I don't know why you said that stove is not a beauty. I really like the way that one looks. I bet it is awesome to hang out around with friends and a pot of hot tea or coffee!


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## roachhill (Jul 8, 2009)

Yep that stove is on my future purchase list. To bad the list always outpaces the money. Until that day my old Fisher will give plenty of heat and a stove top to work with. I'll just have to make do without the oven and water heater for now.


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## Starting out (May 29, 2011)

Update: Found out when we made the offer today that the wood stove was replaced by a propane stove, so I was wrong about it being a retro-fit. So it's either leave it alone or get a wood stove in addition. Personally, I love that idea, but when I floated it by hubby, he didn't seem as keen. Perhaps the propane bill will sway him... 

And I'm with sirquack -- that stove is lovely! It will surely be out of the budget for a while though.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

What are some of your thoughts on a cook stove for heating and cooking instead of a regular wood stovefor heating and cooking? Which is more useful? One thing I would miss if I got one of those large cook stoves is having a cozy wood stove in the living room to snuggle up to. It is hard to snuggle in the kitchen.

What are some of your thoughts?


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

A cool gadget for cooking on a regular stove.
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Stoves...ning___Fullsize_Perfection_Oven___622BB?Args=


This seems like a good combo of a cook stove and a wood stove. What do you think?
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Stoves..._s_Oven_Wood_Heat_Cook_Stove___17120600?Args=


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## roachhill (Jul 8, 2009)

There are only a few wood cook stoves that are effective heaters. The old style stoves have to small a fire box for heating unless you want to sit and feed the fire all day and night. The Pioneer Maid and Bakers Choice are both good examples of dual purpose designs at affordable prices.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

starting out; does your *life style* involve going places for more than a day (weekend) ???

Thats the big selling point for a 'backup' heat source.

frozen pipes not to much fun..............


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Jim, great point. I never thought of that.


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## RW kansas hogs (Nov 19, 2010)

If you convert back to a wood stove at this time of the year does your hubby have the time to go cut enough fire wood to last your family the winter? Your gonna have to find the standing or recently fallen dead trees and alot of them, To get you thru the winter. I am a true believer of wood heat and use it, But you need to think about the time frame mother nature is giving you where you live to get everything you need to use a wood stove.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

And adding to that . .persons 'new' to using wood for heat tend to under estimate the "amount" needed.
That 4' by 4' by 8' full cord might look like a lot . . . .but to heat an ole farm house NOPE.

Another reason to have a backup heat scource.....................


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

Jim-mi I don't know why I didn't write about needing a second heat source for when we're away. Usually someone was home this past Winter but there was a few times we had to be gone for 6 or more hours and your right busted pipes & all that entails are expensive to fix.
RW, also great question. 

City, I have one of those stove top ovens only it's the Coleman version which was under $40. I bake in it all Winter long bread & pies mostly. There's a pic & post on my blog. 
The Baker's stove has always caught my eye sorry no personal expirece.

~~ pelenaka ~~
http://thirtyfivebyninety.blogspot.com/


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## RW kansas hogs (Nov 19, 2010)

Good piont Jim, i've already cut 2 Dump truck loads of fire wood, Still have 3 to go for this year. I would be outside know spliting wood with our gas powered spliter but my genius 13 yr old put gas in the hydro tank, And living in small town USA nothing is open on sunday but the gas station


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

RW kansas hogs said:


> Good piont Jim, i've already cut 2 Dump truck loads of fire wood, Still have 3 to go for this year. I would be outside know spliting wood with our gas powered spliter but my genius 13 yr old put gas in the hydro tank, And living in small town USA nothing is open on sunday but the gas station


Sure sorry to hear about your splitter, as that sure is frustrating:help: Your 13yr old will likely remember the mistake...:bash: DD was my brilliant one, who "surprised" me a few times more than I expected, LOL. DS was the cautious one, go figure. Guess we sometimes have to work harder at having a sense of humor about it all...

We use Len's custom designed wood stove to heat our home and also heat our water (it is 3 years old, now). Very few small issues at first, no problems with it all. It heats all our hot water in the Winter, can cook on it, and its built in heatilator dries our clothing (handy steel rack suspended from the ceiling, looks like a long pot rack- Len built, that too). Now, we are using our passive system, Propane assist, and hanging our clothing out on the line.

For backups, we have a propane furnace, which we'd only use if we left in the Winter. We have a Heat Pump, but don't use the AC, as we have ceiling fans, usually have a slight breeze here, and seldom have real hot weather. I just open the windows and doors to keep our home cool. Also, for cooking, we have a propane cook top and electric ovens. Over the Winter, I used our wood stove, mostly. Since the power goes out regularly, we have a generator with auto-switch relay. We usually go camping regularly, leaving for up to a week at a time in the Winter (less do here, then). Not this last Winter, however.

We did go through more firewood than we had anticipated, due to colder weather, and longer Winter. Our Spring was stuck in "early phase" and appears to being going straight into Summer. DH just split (4) cords of firewood, has (2) more to split, then will be getting much more from taking down some large 2nd growth trees for his DF's neighbor. We will be given the trees, which also include some nice saw logs, which should make our log pile big enough for a full truckload to send to the Mill. DH cuts the logs, then hires a Driver, and we get more that way. He has delivered some himself, too, using his larger equipment trailer.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

It is always good to have a plan B, and a plan C. 

If you wanted to use the wood stove this winter and had no wood, you would have to buy some wood for this winter and cut some for next winter.

How many chords of wood do you all use in a winter, and how much does it cost?

Do any of you cut and split fire wood in the winter like it was traditionally done?


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

City Bound said:


> It is always good to have a plan B, and a plan C.
> 
> *A, B, and C, got them all, and necessary.*
> 
> ...


*Anytime of year.*


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Four chords of wood is about $800 if you buy them I think.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

City Bound said:


> Four chords of wood is about $800 if you buy them I think.


We bought three cords worth of rounds for $200 last year (not dry at the time), but that is all the wood we bought, since we get offered FREE wood all the time. It helps to have a truck, great chainsaw (DH has a commercial logging saw he inherited which is a real great one), and also have your own log splitter. We also have hardly put a dent in our own trees here, mostly all 2nd growth (Maple, Alder, & Cedar). Locally, county crews regularly clear the sides of the roads and also the power lines. When they do that, they do a lot of logging, limb them, and leave the logs for the locals to pick up FREE. 

Heating with firewood, if you do most if not all the work yourselves? Keeps you in great shape!


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## Starting out (May 29, 2011)

Thanks for all the great advice! I'm filing it away! We would not convert this year -- too much other stuff to do and get used to. I'm just feeling out possibilities for the future, especially if the heating bill turns out to be higher than we are expecting (which I fear might be the case, since we are a family of 5, taking over from a family of 2.) The house isn't very big, so that's in our favor at least. In addition to the propane stove in the main living area, there is also electric heat, with each room on it's own thermostat. I know from the experience of family members that electric heat is very $$$, so we will do our best not to use much of that. If we could eventually heat the main part of the house with (free) wood, I believe that would help. But the work involved is something to consider for sure. 

As for the amount, we have good friends who heat exclusively with wood, so we would definitely be consulting them about the time and effort it takes. I'd even have them come out and take a look at the property to make sure that we could sustainably use wood with what's on our land. (They are very knowledgeable about that kind of thing.)

My friend with the wood heat pointed out another benefit: everyone tends to gather around the stove where it is warmest, even drawing in the teen-agers to the family circle. )

Here's another question in regards to the work of splitting wood -- at what age can teens safely help with this work? I have an 11 y.o. girl, a 9 y.o. boy, and a 3 y.o. boy. So we have "help" coming up, but they are too young right now. When do folks feel comfortable involving teenagers? I realize it partly depends on the strength and maturity of the kid, but in general? I'm just curious; I'm hardly a slave driver with my kids. On the contrary, I probably let them off too easy when it comes to chores!


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

I would say it is good to get them involved as soon as they understand the safety and the dangers that go into it. Even a five year old can chop kindling with a hatchet if he or she knows how to be safe and can be tought to do it. At the very least the little kids can be tought to gather and stock kindling as early as two or three.

When I was a boyscout we were allowed to use the saws and the hatchets as soon as we could pass the safety course and demonstrate that we had the skills to do it. If we failed the test we were not even allowed to touch or carry a saw or hatchet. If we were ever cought breaking one of the rules that went along with using and handling the saw and hatchet we lost our privlage to use them until we could redue the course and show a proper respect for the dangers.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

> Here's another question in regards to the work of splitting wood -- at what age can teens safely help with this work? I have an *11 y.o. girl, a 9 y.o. boy, and a 3 y.o. boy.* So we have "help" coming up, but they are too young right now. *When do folks feel comfortable involving teenagers? *I realize it partly depends on the strength and maturity of the kid, but in general? I'm just curious; I'm hardly a slave driver with my kids. On the contrary, I probably let them off too easy when it comes to chores!


At those ages, yes, carrying in kindling, learning to safely put in wood, and help carrying in wood, also helping with the stacking "process." I don't know if you plan on using a log splitter or splitting with an ax. In either case, the wood that is split can be usually picked up by an 11yr old girl or 9 yr old boy. They can also assembly line firewood to the adult stacking it. The way we do it here, we use a truck if we aren't splitting near our wood shed. If we drive a truck load of wood to the wood shed. An adult could hand down one piece of wood at a time, to a child, and as many as an adult could carry each trip. We have a short walk across a deck to where we stack our firewood. If splitting by our wood shed, DH splits, and I load a cart full, pull that over, stack the firewood, and come back for another cart. 

Last year, it cost us that $200 for the wood we bought to heat our home (including drying our clothing, heating most of our water, and a lot of the cooking most of the Winter). I don't know how much we spent to operate the hydraulic log splitter, how much to operate the saw, or how much fuel to pick up FREE wood. I still consider it free, even if we have to drive 10 minutes to get it, although most would consider the fuel used as part of the expense. If we were to buy and pick up wood rounds, we would still use fuel. 

Time? In two days, DH split (4) cords of wood from rounds he had cut earlier, after taking down 12 trees off our property, using his log splitter. Most were nice 2nd growth, so the good saw logs weren't cut into firewood. DH loaded the truck (split on the other side of our property where he logged the trees), and I helped him unload the firewood. We both cut kindling, light the fires, and bring in firewood. He is 54 and I am 47, so I'd imagine most younger folks could at least do the amount of work we can. Also, DH is great at hand-splitting firewood, but uses the log splitter most of the time due to the size of the rounds he splits (mostly 2nd growth).


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## RW kansas hogs (Nov 19, 2010)

We go thru about 5 cords of wood, We live in a 100yr old house and it is insulated but i wonder sometimes. I have a 13 yr old & 7 yr old and they both help, The DF-inlaw and the wife sometimes. So between the 4 of us we get it done


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Lori, sounds like a good system. if the distance to get the free wood is not that large, it would be petty for someone to insist that the fuel costs be added. 

yeah, kids can do a lot, people, and the governemnt just baby them. I made a play house for my nieces a while back. One niece was four and the other two. The two year old could not help in any way, she barely understood people and was too small, but I insisted that the four year old had to help in some way, even if it was a small way. Well, she came up with some of the design for the house and she even helped paint the house (even if she insisted on painting in her underware).

Kids need to help. I dont understand this generation that just lets their kids do nothing.
As for the log splitter or splitting with an ax, that is a little too dangerous for kids. maybe the 11 year old could learn to use the splitter and then help use the splitter with supervision, but splitting logs with an ax is dangerous even for adults.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Rw, what does five chords cost you?

heating with wood seems to be the least expensive way to heat.


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## RW kansas hogs (Nov 19, 2010)

The wood i use is free, I work for a Dirt Contractor and we do all kinds of work which usually involves tree's. My father in law operates the dozer so when he pushes some nice ones over he seperates them form the rest and tells the land owner that i will come get them. I have to admitt that i fell behind in my tree retrieval, There is about 3 more dump truck loads to get thats scattered around the county.


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## RW kansas hogs (Nov 19, 2010)

I forgot to mention that i get a variety of wood, From Ash, Cotton Wood, Chinese Elm, Hack Berry, Hedge.


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