# Looking For Woodstove Advice



## caroline (Sep 29, 2009)

I am tired of being held hostage to propane! I am going to break free, fire a few rounds towards them and get a woodstove! I called around today and got some price, brands and ideas...

Waht i would like to know from you guys are the good and bad points of heating with one. It will be my primary source of heat. I want it to be 70 degrees in my house in the cold weather. I have around 1450 sq feet, split bedroom plan with 2 full baths. I want to heat the entire house as I use it all.

Are Lopi's good? What other brands should I look at. What about installation costs? How much wood shoule I get this summer to last me from 1 October to April of the following year---apprx. 7 months?

Thanks for all the help in advance. Really appreciate it.


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## kirkmcquest (Oct 21, 2010)

What kind of heat do you currently have? If its baseboard or radiant, you might consider an outdoor wood furnace. that way you'd be using your existing system. The only down side with the wood stove is that it isn't going to heat your house evenly at 70 degrees. the further you get from the stove, the cooler it will be.

I heat with a wood stove primarily. This year I went through about 3 or four cords of wood. I close my bedroom doors when I'm in the kitchen and living room. Before bed I put a small electric heater on low in the bedroom to warm it up. I then load up the stove and turn down the air intake before turning in. I am looking into a soapstone model as an upgrade because they are supposed to hold heat longer and distribute it more evenly.


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

We have an old box stove in our living room and heat about the same size of house. The bathrooms are cool but we use small electric radiators to warm them up for bath and shower times.

Its toasty here in the living room and kitchen in winter, sometime to much and we open a window. LOL

The bedrooms are the only prob because we keep the doors closed so we use electric oil filled radiators in them all winter.
In the basement we have the same heaters, 2 of them but they are set on anti freeze to keep pipes from freezing.

We dont burn when we go to bed, we fear a house fire so its cold in the morning for a few hours. We are used to it. Get up, toss on robes and sweaters and go make a fire while everyone gets up and comes over to huddle around the wood burner. 
Coldest its even been after a night with no fire, 42F in this drafty uninsulated place. Thats was in our dead of winter with lows in the minus teens.
Its more commonly around 55-60 when we wake up if there are not a lot of heavy winds going on.

Its inconvenient. But we save a lot of money.
Propane heating was killing us at 6k per winter.
Our wood and electric oil filled radiator set up, 800 per winter max, total! Our wood is free. So thats the electric bill total for the entire winter, 5-6 months combined.
Our winters are evil and long and we dont have a well insulted house. Its a cardboard shack and the winds blow right through it so its worth the trouble to save so much money.
800 vrs 6k ? 

Oh what we dont have in home owners insurance. Cant get it with the wood burner but thats ok since this place has no value and we got it with a land loan because it has no value. We technically bought land with buildings. 
So we just have farm insurance, for the bobcat and liability for the animals and land.
So you may want to check with your insurance agent before you buy.
Some have restrictions.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Larry up the road from us, has a wood stove in his daylight basement. He uses that to heat all his home & also his water all year around, and he doesn't mind it being warmer down there in the summer.

DH built designed and built us a wood stove that he modified to heat our water, too. Our home is just over 2,000 sq ft, all on one level. The farthest room is our master bedroom, which we heat with a radiator (uses hot water the wood stove heats). This involves 2 closed loop systems. One is between the radiator and the water heater, that stores the hot water the stove heats. The other one is between the water heater and the wood stove. That system has multiple pressure relief valves. The only down side to our setup is if the power goes off. Since we have a auto relay switch on our generator, it powers up within seconds. This has happened numerous times with no problems. If for any reason that generator doesn't power up, the pressure relief valves would blow (pressure from superheated water in the pipe not moving due to electric water pump). Our system can be disengaged easily and DH built in a bypass for this, too, since we use passive solar to heat our water in the summer.

Our wood stove? It heats our home, also all the hot water, I cook on it, and the heatilator dries our clothing (steel rack DH built suspended from the ceiling). I keep two teakettles on it, so I have hot water on demand. Since it is now Spring, we won't be burning as many fires to heat our home/water...so... 

The next project DH is building is an exterior wood boiler (he is a licensed Machinist/Welder and we are good friends with a boiler maker, so it will be done right). This will be in addition to the passive solar, for those grey days.

In your situation, I'd go with an exterior wood furnace, no question, and make sure you have a back-up generator for power outages.


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

~~ waving from Western New York.
Caroline, this is our second winter heating primarily with wood. Not 100% because there was about 10 days to 2 weeks were it was so cold that we turned the furnace on to heat the cellar thus keeping the pipes from freezing.
House is a 2 story, 109 y.o. 1200 + sq. ft. We heat with a small box style jotul on the 1st floor. We really only heat the 1st floor on average 64 degrees. We glean firewood off of city streets. This heating season we have already burned 4 1/2 full cords.
Pics & costs are on my blog.

I can tell you that it is phyiscally impossible to heat every corner of a house equally with a wood stove. The room the stove is located will always be the warmest. Room farthest away the coldest ect. 
I to think that you should consider a wood furnace. Check with your local county because I know that some areas they are banned. And as RiverPines wrote ask your insurance carrier.
I would also add that having a well insulated home is prime. Can't tress that enough. We have just finished gutting & insulating the living room also on the 1st floor. Next is a bedroom. Last will be the kitchen with blown in insulation.

Have you checked out the website woodheat.org ? 

Pro's of wood heat -
We have heat even if the power is out (natural gas furnace but electric blower motor).
We burn relatively free firewood-transportation costs, chain saw/maintaince elbowgrease.
Heating alone has run us around $130 this winter.
Nothing heats like wood.
Huge family bonding oppertunity. 

Cons of wood heat -
If your a OCD the dust will drive you to meds.
Effort - from the chimney to the stove to the fire to the wood pile. More so if you harvest your own firewood.
Learning curve, all members of your family need to learn how to safely operate the stove. 


~~ pelenaka ~~


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I forgot to write that we heat 100% with wood. Also, Larry up the road, with a 2-story home, with that wood stove in his basement? Not only does he EVENLY HEAT his upper level 100% with wood, as the lower level is a bit warmer (he keeps his wood stove in a properly prepared room, which is closed off to the basement), but he heats his water at the same time. This is because he uses forced air via a blower. My grandfather had a wood furnace in his basement, with forced air via a blower type system, and kept that 2-story w/basement toasty all Winter. They lived on a Mtn in Oregon. 

Effort? Another PRO for heating with wood? Keeps you in shape! We have a large wood stove, so we use larger pieces of firewood in it. They can be cut smaller, if someone needed that, due to weight. DH & I aren't limited on carrying it in.

Another PRO? Drier air in the Winter! Here, where it is humid, that is great 

There is a bit more cleaning up to do around our wood stove, but I have noticed a ZERO increase in dust. I am curious about that. Our intake is from under our home, comes up directly through one leg of our wood stove, goes through airtight pipes through the firebox, and hot heated clean air is blown. 

DH welded a small plate at the top of our stove opening, that is to keep smoke from drifting out when we load more wood into it. 

Any who have a wood stove can hang a drying rack from the ceiling OR get a free standing one to use, and they can fire their clothes dryer (save $ on electricity). If you get one you can cook on, fire your stove (save more $). Use one that heats all the hot water you use, fire the water heater (save more $). Then, keep those tea kettles on and you have instant hot water. You want to germinate seedlings in a nice warm place? Try on the floor a few feet from your stove! Our home was so warm, and the pipes running the hot water from one end to the other (2 closed loop systems I described), we had no problem with our pipes, even when we had record cold temps (we were one of the few without burst pipes last November when we had temps for a solid week under 20F, hovering around 13F).


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## caroline (Sep 29, 2009)

Thanks for all the great info on this.

I live alone, so no family bonding gonna go on. I do not want an outside one. My daughter and her HB have one. I don't like the work. They are younger than me... 

No basement here so that set up is out. Only one story so no heat needs to go up. I will get one that i can heat water and cook on,,,that was one of my original reasons along with the heat of course...

I sleep all winter with the heat set at 60 and am not cold---3 cats and a dog help out there. Plus a huge feather comforter.

The two salesmen I spoke to today said they would put "fans" up to circulate the heat to the other rooms. when I had my pellet stoves, there were small corner fans that fit up near the ceiling to help push the warm air through the house.

So far this year it has cost me (since mid September whe it got chilly enought for heat) till now--the end of March.....a total of $2652 in propane! Including part of April that makes 7 months at 380 a month! That has got to end!!
If I factor in the price of a Lopi medium sized with stove and installation it roughly comes to 2500.00 that divided by 7 will cost me for the first year 350 a month--30 dollars a month +/- the cost of just propane. After the first year I will pay only for the wood and cleaning a couple times a year. 

Both guys told me the amount of wood I would use would be around 7 cords give or take and would cost me about 420.00 total for the heating season.

I think it's a no brainer. I have had one before on my huge organic homestead years ago. It was 10 miles from here and heated the basement and first floor of the house when we needed it. 
I cooked on it and dried the clothes, too. 

I'm looking forward to having one, getting warm again and cutting my bills waaaay down.

Thanks everyone for the good help and if there is any more, please chime in!


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

Just remember to check with your insurance agent before you buy. Dont want something to happen, non wood stove related, and they find out you have a wood burner and your policy is torn up because you didnt have them approve it first.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

Our wood stove is about center in our house. It heats water too, which we circulate through our radiant heated floors.

We also have a ceiling fan directly over the wood stove so it really pushes the heat out. [normally there is a layer of really hot air up by the ceiling, but a fan up there pushing down keeps it all mixed real good]. Having a ceiling fan directly over the stove cuts the fuel use by half, because the warm air is where we are and not up above us.

I made our woodstove, and I installed it; so I can not say how much it costs to buy one or have one installed.


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## Wintergrower_OH (Sep 21, 2010)

I would check into sawdust brick . TSC sell Eco bricks . No worry about bugs ,etc . Less room to store and put out 9000 to 11000 BTU per brick . Cheaper too , less ash . http://www.woodstoves.net/ . Woody is really knowledgeable and won't steer you wrong .


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

ET1 SS said:


> Our wood stove is about center in our house. It heats water too, which we circulate through our radiant heated floors.
> 
> We also have a ceiling fan directly over the wood stove so it really pushes the heat out. [normally there is a layer of really hot air up by the ceiling, but a fan up there pushing down keeps it all mixed real good]. Having a ceiling fan directly over the stove cuts the fuel use by half, because the warm air is where we are and not up above us.
> 
> ...


Caroline, I hope you find a good affordable setup for your home! After our 1st year here, with a propane furnace, Len hit the drawing board, designed our stove/built it, and fired the furnace! The following year, he modified it to heat our water and then added the radiator. In addition, set up the passive solar system, too. Only problem is that we don't get enough sunshine for this to be very effective, so DH wants to build a boiler. The most effective setup I saw for a single level home, was a boiler installed in the garage. That heated the water and also hot water was pumped through his radiant floor system.


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## fffarmergirl (Oct 9, 2008)

We bought a Lopi Revere woodburning fireplace insert about 4 years ago and it's one of the best investments we've ever made. It's paid for itself at least twice. We live in an uninsulated ~1700 sq ft farmhouse. I think we were filling the propane tank 3-4 times per year before we got the wood stove, and we've gone over a year on one fill now. We fill the woodstove in the middle of the night when we get up to use the bathroom, and several times throughout the day when we're home. If we don't get up and feed the stove, the propane furnace kicks in. We turn the heat down when we're not home and the furnace keeps the temp above 55.

It's very homey in the living room with a fire going all the time, and wood heat feels soooooo good.

The cons: as you can see from the pic, it gets a little grungy-looking by the end of the winter. We have to clean it up and use stove paint in the summer. We also have to keep two pots full of water on top or the air gets really dry.







The chimney needs to be cleaned every other year or so. When we clean the ashes out, fly ash settles through the living room & dining room and makes it look like I haven't dusted all year. We have to carry in wood every day, but we attached the wood shed to our attached garage so we don't have to go outside to get it.

Cutting & splitting wood is a lot of work but it keeps DH in shape.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Lope is an excellent brand of woodstove. When I did my woodstove research it seemed to be the best value for the money. A Lopi stove will outlast the owner.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I think I would get an energy audit to see if you can lower your demand before buying a stove. You may be able to downsize the stove, save money AND have a more comfortable house.


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## caroline (Sep 29, 2009)

I have called around and Lopi Leyden is the one I am going to get. it is a medium sized stove and will fir my sq ft fine. I am going to have it put in this spring as they are running a sale in April. Then tis summer I will get my 8 cords and stack it--let it season. I am so excited about this change!

Thanks everyone for the good advice you all gave me on this!:thumb:


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## AgrarianDr (Mar 25, 2011)

Caroline (and to all),
Long time lurker of this website, first post here

To be fair, since I am an unknown and this is my first post - there are some things I should probably make known up front;
1. I am somewhat anal, 
2. have a voracious appetite for learning anything and everything,
3. I use a Ben Franklin yes/no comparison spreadsheet more than Ben Franklin dreamed of
4. and I am annoyingly methodical (per my better half).

Admittedly I don&#8217;t always end up with a &#8220;perfect&#8221; solution (no such thing), but far more often than not it&#8217;s a &#8220;good&#8221; decision, and when facing the same question about heating, in my slightly anal, annoyingly methodical search for the &#8220;best&#8221; (relative term) answer, I made the following list of &#8220;all that I knew, had learned and had personal experience with&#8221;. 
(fyi: I also have extensive experience with rocket stoves)

So far my research and decision on heating has served us better than we could have hoped for. Hopefully you can glean some perspective from my &#8220;all I know&#8221; list as well. 
For your purposes Caroline, the first part of this list is general, but should not be skipped. Specifically to your question, that will start at #19

1.	The most comfortable and thereby the most perfect home is without question the most &#8220;insulated&#8221; home. A well insulated home keeps the humidity down, keeps the home cool in summer and warm in winter. It requires far less energy to heat or cool a well insulated home - and makes what thermal mass you have far more effective at keeping the temperature constant.
2.	If your goal is to have a home that heats and cools itself naturally without much help from artificial heating and cooling systems then you mix materials that store heat energy and those that slow down heat transfer. In short that means well insulated thermal mass.
3.	Thermal Mass is NOT insulation. Thermal mass stores and releases (transfers) either heat or cold whereas Insulation blocks transference (RValue = resistance value). Thermal mass works by a simple but undeniable principle of physics: heat moves from warmer surfaces to cooler surfaces. When the sun is shining heat will be absorbed by the walls, floor and other surfaces. How much heat they can hold depends on what they're made of and how thick they are. Some materials take longer to absorb heat, but can hold and release it over longer periods. Properly designed thermal mass will absorb heat during the day, and as the air temperature drops, the heat will move from the warmer thermal mass to the cooler air and other surfaces in the room. In summer, thermal mass absorbs heat from the air, providing a cooling effect during a hot day. In other words, thermal mass evens out variations in temperature and keep you comfortable day or night, all year long.
4.	It's therefore vital that thermal mass is insulated from outside temperature fluctuations. Without insulation, thermal mass can actually become a liability.
5. Stones make for great Thermal Mass but Stone houses are notoriously hot during the summer and cold during the winter. Stones have -0- insulation value (R Value). Stones however are great for solar thermal mass or for Masonry heaters where they absorb the stove heat and release it slowly after the fire stops or sun goes down. 
6.	Only the first three or four inches of mass are actually beneficial. You won't get any significant benefit out of thicker mass, so a stone the size of your fist or a large potato is best. Anything larger takes much longer to heat and cool. ALSO Stones directly exposed to an open flame must be replaced every year or so
7.	Like stones, water has little if any R Value. It does however absorb more heat &#8220;per unit volume&#8221; than concrete, stone or other masonry mass.
8.	The time required for most thermal mass to &#8220;naturally&#8221; heat up is roughly the same as it takes to cool down. If under forced circumstances (for example, direct sunlight or fire) the natural cool down is approximately 7-10 times that in which it took to heat up (countless variables). This also works in reverse if using thermal mass for cooling purposes.
9.	Solar home south-facing glazing (window area, not including window frames) should range from 7 to 12 percent of the total floor space, assuming you have a good amount of thermal mass inside the home to absorb the solar radiation. The more solar heat you need, generally the more south-facing glazing. North- and east-facing glazing should not exceed 4 percent of the total floor space. West-facing glass should not exceed 2 percent of the total floor space.
10.	If using passive solar, and if you are in a location where sunshine is intermittent, ie periods of no sunshine for several days, Thermal Mass (Stone or Trombe walls) may actually work against you and take the heat OUT of a solar house
11.	Unlike Stone or Tile which retain the heat, a wood floor actually transfers heat to the slab below it, therefore for a passive solar design the best product to apply over concrete slab used as thermal mass &#8211; is Tile or fieldstone.
12.	Because stone (or concrete) has no significant R Value and simply transfers heat or cold, be absolutely certain to insulate under the entire slab and around the perimeter as well. Two to four inches of rigid foam (XPS) should be sufficient. In most climate conditions a concrete slab, insulated underneath and around the edge, where it is in direct contact with the ground, is the most effective way to increase thermal mass.
13.	Stone is 1.5 times better than Concrete for Thermal Mass usage
14.	The constant temperature of the earth (below frost line) is the average between the average January low and average July high. If the avg July High is 90 and the avg January Low is 30 then the constant earth temp below frost line will be 60. So for interior cooling (air conditioning) it is difficult to find a more ideal solution than Geo Thermal Earth Tubes. If it is hot, the Sun is probably out. If the sun is out, the roof is warm. If the roof is warm, you have convection &#8211; and convection will draw cooler air from the ground into the home. This is often done through a solar roof (modern day) or a Solar Chimney. The solar chimney design has been in use for centuries, particularly in the Middle East, going as far back as Ancient Rome. Solar chimneys are painted black so that they absorb the sun's heat. When the air inside the chimney is heated, it naturally rises and pulls cold air out from under the ground via the heat exchange tubes.
15.	Earth Tubes provide greater fresh air intake as well as a constant cooler breeze which in turn provides thermal mass &#8220;cooling&#8221; during summer months &#8211; and again &#8211; thermal mass works in favor of staying cool as much as it does for staying warm
16. Natural heat (sunlight) can take several hours to travel through a thick thermal mass wall before it is released into the home&#8217;s living areas (roughly 1 inch per hour). If properly designed it should start to release heat in late afternoon or early evening as the temperature starts to fall. 
17.	For passive solar you don't want to have so much glass that the room overheats in summer and loses heat too fast in winter. As a rule of thumb, the exposed area of thermal mass should be about 6-8 times the area of glass that receives direct sunlight. A 12&#8217;x12&#8217; bedroom (144sf) would require 20sf of glass. This would equate to a single 4&#8217;x5&#8217; picture window or 2 windows 30&#8221;w x 48&#8221;h 
18.	Heating efficiency shows how rapidly the heat produced by the fire is transferred to the room. It does not, however, measure how comfortable the room will be, only how quickly the heat is delivered. A combination of high combustion efficiency and moderate heat transfer efficiency is the ideal condition for any home.


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## AgrarianDr (Mar 25, 2011)

19.	Metal stoves and wood furnaces typically have relatively low combustion efficiencies and relatively high heat transfer rates. With Metal stoves and furnaces the heat is given off too quickly and the temperature of the fire cannot build to the point where the gases are fully burned. Most metal stoves and furnaces cannot be burned safely over 900 degrees F because the metal simply becomes too hot and are usually not comfortable to be around when burned at over 400 degrees F. 
20.	By contrast Masonry heaters typically attain combustion efficiencies of 88 to 91% and heat transfer efficiency of only 65%. This is a moderate heat transfer efficiency where much of the energy is stored in their masonry mass. Moderate heat transfer also allows the firebox temperatures to reach 1500 degrees F or higher, creating very high combustion efficiency, while the exterior is still only warm to the touch. The result is a short, hot fire heats the masonry mass, which stores and radiates it back to the space slowly and evenly for many hours. This creates a very gentle warmth, with almost imperceptible heat delivery, and makes the masonry heater cherished for its gentle heating nature and extremely efficient use of available wood. 
21.	When located in the middle of an open plan living space Masonry heaters can serve as the primary heater in a modern home of 1500 to 2000 sq. ft 
22.	Forced air systems must have a substantially higher BTU rating to heat the same space, due to the "wind chill" effect of moving air
23.	In super-insulated homes conventional heating systems (particularly woodstoves) over heat the home, because heat transfer efficiency is too high
24.	As noted, a masonry heater is slow to warm up, then levels off for a long time (thermal mass holds the heat) and eventually drops off &#8211; albeit very slowly. In effect, the radiant energy from the thermal mass is self-regulating - heat is radiated very slowly only as the objects in the living space require it. In this way, it is the ideal heating system for energy efficient homes
25.	Despite the ability to provide efficient, evenly distributed and healthy warmth Masonry heaters are not automatic. For those periods when your home is unattended for 3 or more days, a suitable back-up heating system should be considered

It's ironic, every time I come across some thing "radical" and "new", turns out they were doing it 400 years ago (Case in point; Russia, circa 1600A.D. they just called it a "stove". Today we call it a Masonry stove - or if they want to make it sound fancy, they call it a "Russian Stove")

Hope all this helps


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I have a Lopi Leyden and I do love it. My main problem is that it gets too hot during some parts of the day yet I don't really want to let the fire go out as I am lazy about restarting a fire. So I end up opening windows (in the library right now with the inside door closed and the outside one open.) This irritates me but I have not found a balance to dampen the fire down and still use the reburner. This is only my second winter of using it. I still use my old pellet stove on days where the outside temp is above 40degrees as it is on a thermostat and turns itself on and off as needed.
The one bad thing about a wood stove is remembering to feed it every couple of hours or so as I don't build a big fire most of the time.
You probably would not have the daily variation in temperature that I have so you probably will find it easier to find a balance.
Have fun- sitting in front of the stove watching the fire is a real joy.


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## frank (Dec 16, 2008)

I bought a steel wood stove from lowes and love it. 'Glass door, uses outside air (which means it wont suck cold air in the house to draw air for the fire). has a fan to increase heat output from the shielded back side. I installed it thru wall, it's on a wood floor (i put down a 4'by4' " hardiboard panel, then laid slate tile on it with wood trim on the edges. rated for 1800 sq ft.. My house is one story 1500ft. I used "a bunch" of wood this last winter. The heat pump would've killed me without it! Elec bill never over 100 all winter.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Just for any curious to see what DH built:










Our electric bill all Winter was never over $55 per month and DH has a machine/welding shop out there. Of course, we don't need a clothes dryer or water heater... That saves a lot of electricity! Most of the wood we get for FREE or off our property or in bartering.


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## totustuus (Jul 3, 2009)

Hello. We also live in Central NY and have heated our 1800 sq ft home with wood since 1999.
We have a Lopi Endeavor and love it. We average about 12 face cords per winter up here.

The model you are looking at appears to be a cast iron stove with many gaskets. They are very ornate, but will require new gaskets in about 5 years or so.
I highly recommend the all welded construction of the Endeavor model or the Liberty (bigger). 

good luck with your decision.


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## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

Do you have, or are you planning on getting home owners insurance?

Our primary heat source has been wood heat, since 1975. Our current situation is different from yours. Our house is 3 stories and we have a wood burning furnace in the basement, with ductwork to all rooms in the house. We have a Johnson stove, that was sold by the old Farm and Fleet stores, we are on our second Johnson stove. In 2003 we have a rude situation....our insurance man changed carriers and the new carrier would not insure us because our primary heat source was wood. Ended up having a heat pump installed to please the ins. company.


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## frank (Dec 16, 2008)

Here's a link to my stove:

http://englanderstoves.com/images/13-ncplg.jpg


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## Helena (May 10, 2002)

We have heated with wood totally in this old farm house for over 30 years now. No central heat. You think you were held hostage with propane..heat will hold you hostage too. We never plan any trips away from the homestead during the colder months. The stove goes on in October and doesn't go out until April..at least here in upstate PA/NY. Many have given you advice on different styles and types of stoves..we all have our favorites. I know the price of propane has gone up..sky high. But what hasn't lately ?? A wood master or coal master stoves are very efficeint and will heat you out of the house. You can get them at Tractor Supply stores. I would recommend you get a coal master one..even though you may never use any coal..you would have it just in case you wanted too. They are getting high in price but search around and you might get a good deal on a used one. They are just square box stoves that you can also cook on the top. If you are really needing a stove and short on $$'s.. Make yourself a barrel stove. Get a 50 gallon heavy drum and install the doors that are sold in most hardware stores. Keep sand or kitty litter or ashes in the bottom and I promise you the heat will certainly warm you house. They are wonderful if you don't mind the looks of the drum. Good LUck !!


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

RiverPines said:


> We have an old box stove in our living room and heat about the same size of house. The bathrooms are cool but we use small electric radiators to warm them up for bath and shower times.
> 
> Its toasty here in the living room and kitchen in winter, sometime to much and we open a window. LOL
> 
> ...


Your house sounds a lot like mine, very shack like. I couldn't get insurance on my place before I put in the wood furnace. I can't imagine now that I have a wood furnace in now I would have any better luck. I think I got you beat on the lowest temp in the house, when it was 25 below outside with just electric heat on in the house it was 35 degrees. Pretty chilly. I can't imagine paying 6k a year to heat a house. When this place had propane heat I was told by one of the folks that used to rent it that she paid 350-400 a month for propane  My electric heating bill on average seems to be about 250 bucks a month.


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## willowworker (Dec 4, 2010)

caroline said:


> Thanks for all the great info on this.
> 
> I live alone, so no family bonding gonna go on. I do not want an outside one. My daughter and her HB have one. I don't like the work. They are younger than me...
> 
> ...


Hi. I have a Lopi...keeps me warm when I burn wood. I have the largest freestanding one...sits on 4 legs...not the pedestal. Mine has a 2 step top, so I have lots of room to cook on the top of it. Comes in handy when power is out. Good luck.


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## frank (Dec 16, 2008)

I second the barrel stove idea! I just ordered a vogelzang barrel kit for my version of garys' solar water heater (to heat water in winter). They were sold out of the "airtight" version though...and that is definately the one to get for indoor use.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

frank said:


> I second the barrel stove idea! I just ordered a vogelzang barrel kit for my version of garys' solar water heater (to heat water in winter). They were sold out of the "airtight" version though...and that is definately the one to get for indoor use.


Vogelzangs are great!

Ours heats water too


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## roachhill (Jul 8, 2009)

My parents always heated with a Fisher woodstove which was a fabulous heater. I picked up a Fisher last fall for $120 and plan to get it installed for next winter. It's so well built the small one I bought weighs 500 pounds. Chimney pipe has gotten awfully expensive but a good second hand wood stove can be picked up cheap.


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