Jotul.....

[Murph]

I've got 30+ acres of woods (free fuel) and a 100 plus year old 3 story house. Even if cap and tax doesn't get forced down our throats this year, I don't see electricity or natural gas getting cheaper.........

 

I'd prefer a fireplace but the idiot before me ripped both chimneys out of this house all the way to the ground meaning I'd have to have a very tall exterior brick/block/rock chimney built and it would be a huge project....

 

The Jotul would just require the steel chimney.

 

Thoughts?

[Blackie]

You have some other ways to go for that type thing .....

[Riverside]

Wood stoves work well - and there may a tax credit in there somewhere...

[milod]

Actually you'll probably get more heat from a steel or iron stove with a stovepipe. Even the old cook stoves can pretty well keep a small house going. Fireplaces aren't that efficient which is why old Ben Franklin came up with his metal stove in the first place. A well-designed double-walled stove pipe with a damper and a decent cap has a number of advantages.

 

Some stoves are built to handle pellets, cobs, pretty much everything except maybe coal that can run pretty hot. A lotta old houses around here went to either the wood stoves or to a hot water system with a wood or coal fired boiler.

 

m

[cookieman15061]

Thoughts?

 

Move in with Axe.

[biggrin]

[Kimbabig]

It's not about getting more heat, it's about the magic of sitting before a fireplace in the middle of winter. I say go for it, I have one even though we don't use it that much.

[badbluesplayer]

I don't know what kind of heat you have now, Murph, but they have those wood furnaces that you add to your existing system. Like Milod mentioned.

 

A buddy of mine had a wood furnace that he added onto his existing system. I don't know if it was a hot water or hot air system, but he used it for at least fifteen years and it worked well.

 

I heated the house for a couple of years with a wood stove. There is always a little bit of a smoke/soot issue with a stove. After a few years, your house will be a little sooty. I remember wondering if the soot was bothering the kids.

 

Good luck with your project. You might be better off not having to use an old chimney anyway.

[FirstMeasure]

It's not about getting more heat' date=' it's about the magic of sitting before a fireplace in the middle of winter. I say go for it, I have one even though we don't use it that much.[/quote']

 

Actually, in the middle of winter it's All About Heat. Nothing works better than a good Wood Burning Stove. Inserts, Swiss Fireplaces, Traditional Hearths, and all that just let the heat go out of the chimney.

 

A good stove (we call them Earth Stoves in this part of the country :P ) allows you to set the flu and draft so you get maximum BTU output from every log. Saves money and is still Romantic Enough for a Bear Skin Rug.

[Kimbabig]

Im not saying he can't have a woodburning stove also, I have a woodburning stove too. It's just a magical experience to have a fireplace in the middle of winter. Im not saying he should heat his house his way, I was trying to say how nice they are and that it's a good idea.