# What to do?



## ceresone (Oct 7, 2005)

I have central heat and air--gas furnace, and a fireplace. Gas will be on pre-buy next month--with be at least $2000 for the winter--but the prices propane is going to scares me!! I have lots of wooded areas my DS, and SIL could cut for me. the problem is, a wood furnace would wipe out what savings I have, advantages, free heat, and it can be installed in attached garage, so no carrying wood in and out. (I checked with insurance co.)
Decisions, Decisions--what would you do?-(Oh, and house is too big to use fireplace alone)


----------



## BadFordRanger (Apr 26, 2014)

The last house I lived in had a natural gas floor furnace and a fireplace which I burned to help with the gas bill and I swear I think it sucked up more heat than it put in the house until I bought a fireplace grate/blower! 
I think I paid $600+ for it but that brought the gas bill down from nearly $400.00 a month to a bit over two hundred but I had holes burned into it the second year! 
I only bought the first one because I had fell and was disabled can couldn't build one myself, but by then I had started getting a lot better and I pulled that one back out and capped the tubes for the rest of the year and started building one myself! 
The grate had 11 gauge tubes and that was the thickest metal tubes I had been able to find in the industry and that one only had 5 tubes in it and the wood would actually fall between the tubes when it burned down small and it had a fairly small blower on it! 
Well, being able to do that work spurred me into building my own! 
I extended the fireplace a full brick on both sides and the top top and put 13 tubes in the grate! And I ordered a 265 CFM blower! 
I built steel doors that closed up tight and before bed I'd load that thing full of wood and close the vent, and it was more than one night I had to get out of bed and open the front and back doors it got so hot! 
By January I had the gas completely turned off and never looked back! 
I used 1/4" thick x 2" I.D. tubes and when we moved I sold it for $150 which was about what the materials and blower cost me! 
I know metal has went way up since then but you could probably have a good welding shop build you one for $3-400 tops! 
If shipping wasn't so high I could build you one but they weigh right much if you build them to last! 

Godspeed

Ranger


----------



## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Hint: there is no such thing as free wood heat, it costs someone something 99.8% of the time. 

More in line of answering your question; have you priced a fireplace insert? It more or less turns your very inefficient fireplace into a woodstove. Cost would be a lot less than a furnace.


----------



## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

What Michael said. If you have a real fireplace (not prefab), you can probably find a good deal on an insert, maybe even one on Craig's List. It'll likely run you out of the house.

Agree with Michael on cost of wood too, but for me, that is minimal except for sweat equity. I'm traveling right now, but when I get home I need to fill my primary propane tank, and it'll likely take about 125 gallons, my entire propane usage for the past year, which services two furnaces, a gas cook stove, hot water heater, and small wall heater in the master bath. I hope I can get the price down to $2.00 per gallon, but it was looking doubtful when I left.

Good luck finding a solution that works for you.


----------



## ceresone (Oct 7, 2005)

I do have a fireplace insert, quite good one--but it just cant heat 3500 sq ft.


----------



## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

You didn't say it was 3,500 square feet. You just need to move and find something smaller.  You probably do need something like a wood fired boiler or furnace system, but those are pricey. So is propane. I'd almost be tempted to shut off part of the house in Winter and use the insert. It would save you a lot of $'s.

FYI: My stove heats 2,360 without much problem, but it is a very open house with ceiling fans that keep the air circulating.

Good luck, whatever you do.


----------



## haunted (Jul 24, 2011)

I agree with Ramblin Wreck. Close off doors. Only heat the living areas. If your bedroom is far away from the main living areas, get an electric space heater to warm it up some when necessary. If you don't have doors in the right places, consider adding them. If that's not financially feasible, try heavy curtains over the entryways. Drop the thermostat down to the lowest setting in cold weather.
You might possibly be better off to sell your house and move to a smaller one. Less utility cost, less property taxes. Smaller maintenance expense, and less house to have to clean.


----------



## ceresone (Oct 7, 2005)

I guess in a mobile society, selling and moving sounds viable. But when you're 77 years old, lived on this farm for almost 50 years, my Husband died here-just cant do it. I might have to close off some--but then--water pipes are a problem.
May just have to bite the bullet, and be broke for the foreseeable future.-oh, and yes, firewood is free to me, I provide the chainsaw, one of them, kids supply the rest.


----------



## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

ceresone said:


> I guess in a mobile society, selling and moving sounds viable. But when you're 77 years old, lived on this farm for almost 50 years, my Husband died here-just cant do it. I might have to close off some--but then--water pipes are a problem.
> May just have to bite the bullet, and be broke for the foreseeable future.-oh, and yes, firewood is free to me, I provide the chainsaw, one of them, kids supply the rest.


So if the choice is between going broke heating an old house for just yourself or moving to a smaller place that you can afford to heat and still have spending money, you'd choose to go broke?


----------



## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

We live in an old farmhouse and have wood hot water heat...but not upstairs as no way to install it. So can get pretty cold upstairs; especially when the wind is blowing. Our solution is to use the oil-filled electric heaters in rooms we are using and close off the other rooms. They will easily keep a room toast unless it has too many doorways. They are very efficient and don't run up the electric bill. Don't suggest buying at Walmart. The ones my son got have lighter wiring and quickly died. Get what you pay for!


----------



## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

I had a fireplace insert. Bought 2 for $900 off CL; that included shipping. Lived in a 1,000 sq ft house. If I didn't watch, got so hot, had to open doors. This was in a northern cold state. Gas bills were almost nothing.


----------



## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> So if the choice is between going broke heating an old house for just yourself or moving to a smaller place that you can afford to heat and still have spending money, you'd choose to go broke?


Some things are easier said, than done. Especially if one person is doing the saying, and another is doing the doing.

Mon


----------



## ceresone (Oct 7, 2005)

Thanks, frogmammy. I couldnt explain it to my 33 year old horses, my 3 rescue dogs, or my 2 cats either. Children born here, hubby died here--I'd rather be cold, than lonely.
Still cant decide on a new furnace..


----------



## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Personally, if I was in your shoes, I'd get gas wall heaters. (space heaters?) Easier to deal with a large house with (possibly) many rooms. You can have the temperatures adjusted for each room that way, suitable for what the room is being used for. Should be less expensive, on a monthly basis.

May be difficult for you to keep the fire going (with wood) as you get older.

Mon


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Micheal said:


> Hint: there is no such thing as free wood heat, it costs someone something 99.8% of the time.



True....but you DO get warmed at least four times for the same money.....cutting, splitting, stacking and finally burning.


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

ceresone said:


> Thanks, frogmammy. I couldnt explain it to my 33 year old horses, my 3 rescue dogs, or my 2 cats either. Children born here, hubby died here--I'd rather be cold, than lonely.
> Still cant decide on a new furnace..


But still, surely you can close off some of that 3500' and not heat it ? You can't possibly use all that space all the time.

For a fairly small amount, you could likely have shutoff's installed on water lines, then drain them or fill with RV antifreeze.


----------



## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

TnAndy said:


> True....but you DO get warmed at least four times for the same money.....cutting, splitting, stacking and finally burning.


Make that FIVE times....the 5th time being when she's in the hospital from cutting the wood! They keep hospitals pretty warm.

She's 77 and believe me, it is just NOT the same as when you're in your 30's, or even your 50's.

When I was in my mid-40's I cut my wood for the year, all by myself. Heated a larger 3BR house with no problem. I'm close to 70 and would have to be nuts to try it now.

Mon


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

I'm 64, and wife is 62. We cut all ours. And I plan to for many years to come.


----------



## michael ark (Dec 11, 2013)

Start watching craigslist i seen them on their all the time for cheep or Look at maybe getting another wood stove for the other side of the house . Good luck!


----------



## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

ceresone said:


> I guess in a mobile society, selling and moving sounds viable. But when you're 77 years old, lived on this farm for almost 50 years, my Husband died here-just cant do it. I might have to close off some--but then--water pipes are a problem.
> May just have to bite the bullet, and be broke for the foreseeable future.-oh, and yes, firewood is free to me, I provide the chainsaw, one of them, kids supply the rest.


If possible consider adding plumbing cut off valves to areas to be closed off in winter?

A widow I know in Tennessee did this with her large house after her husband passed and now as winter approaches she scales back to about 900 square feet and in Spring she opens up the closed of areas as she calls it, her summer house.


----------

