Fill 'er up now or tomorrow morning

[Danny]

Two of my fireplaces uses a Ben Franklin invention - the air flows from an outside vent (it can be closed when not in use) into the firebox to provide the oxygen for the fire, so most of the air flow up the chimney comes from outside and the almost air tight glass doors minimize the air loss from the room. Pretty cool. Gets the temp up so don't have to use the heat until next morning....

Fireplaces that don't have an insert or glass doors are very wasteful and would produce the results stated in the previous posts.

My experience here in Minnesota is that I save over $1000 a year in heating costs by burning wood from my property.

 

[wabmester]

If your fireplace isn't heating your house, you just have the wrong kind of fireplace.   Ours works great:

Tulikivi

Look at Swedish, Finnish, Russian, and German fireplaces for high efficiency.

 

[Danny]

Heat retainability
Tulikivi produces all its fireplaces from its own soapstone. A superior fireplace material taken from quarries close to the Finnish town of Juuka. This stone has the unique property of storing and conducting heat. Just 3 hours of heating are all that most of our models need to keep rooms pleasantly warm for up to 24 hours.

Cool!..I mean that's HOT!...

 

[kz]

Fireplaces that don't have an insert or glass doors are very wasteful and would produce the results stated in the previous posts.

My experience here in Minnesota is that I save over $1000 a year in heating costs by burning wood from my property.

We put in a Kozyheat fireplace when we built 19 years ago. We have found it to be quite efficient. I remember that we paid good money for the fireplace and it took 4 BIG guys to move it into place.

My rough estimates are that we have saved in excess of $15,000 over that time in fuel costs. We have access to all the free firewood we want on friend's 66 acres. And in the last few years we acquired cords and cords of wood from downed trees in the neighborhoold due to high wind storms that moved thru. (oak, maple, and other hardwoods)

We happen to like our upstairs being cool at night (sometimes downright cold) so turning off the heat and using only a fireplace works for us. Relatives have made comments though on the coolness of the upstairs when they are here. (not for everyone)

We also happen to enjoy cutting and stacking the wood. And hubby did opt for a logsplitter a few years back which is a back and time saver. (sold an antique motorscooter that he paid $500 for to a dealer for $1200....enough to cover the splitter)

 

[Martha]

Most of the inserts use outside air for combustion and there is no need to crack a window due to issues of negative pressure created by burning indoor air. They burn cleaner too, using either catalytic converters or other methods to reduce polution.

Keep the chimney clean--some of the newer technology ends up creating dirtier chimneys.

Big difference from the old days of heating with wood. When I was growing up we used to burn 10 cords a year to heat our home with our wood furnace. It burned so hot we never had creosote in the chimney to speak of. Though one of my jobs was cleaning the chimney once a year.

Curious as to cost per cord in different parts of the country.

 

[justin]

My post about net heat loss from fireplaces refers to the traditional type (with no external blower). I don't know much about these new-fangled high-tech fireplace inserts.

 

[Martha]

My post about net heat loss from fireplaces refers to the traditional type (with no external blower). I don't know much about these new-fangled high-tech fireplace inserts.

Must be a southerner, eh?

Every home I have been to in southern California had fireplaces. Seemed weird to me. None were energy efficient as it probably didn't matter.

 

[justin]

Must be a southerner, eh?

Every home I have been to in southern California had fireplaces. Seemed weird to me. None were energy efficient as it probably didn't matter.

I am a southerner. Almost all the houses here come with fireplaces. I don't know why. No one ever uses them. I think they are mostly ornamental. We recently remodeled our fireplace and made it real fancy looking. We painted the inside of it dark black. We'll probably never use it though.

 

[Martha]

Big difference from the old days . . . When I was growing up we used to . . .

Oh, no, I am so embarrassed. I just moved into old fartdom.

 

[TromboneAl]

Site and forum for fireplace questions:

http://hearth.com

 

[Danny]

Site and forum for fireplace questions:

http://hearth.com

Is that Greg and Martha in the Hearth Net Home picture...

 

[Gonzo]

"Curious as to cost per cord in different parts of the country."

Last year in central Wisconsin seasoned oak firewood 16" face cord delivered with a 2 cord minimum for $40.00 a face cord.

Gonzo

 

[Danny]

"Curious as to cost per cord in different parts of the country."

Last year in central Wisconsin seasoned oak firewood 16" face cord delivered with a 2 cord minimum for $40.00 a face cord.

Gonzo

Gonzo, I'm hazy on how many faces in a full cord..is it 3? got to watch how they stack some of them cross-stack... too much air...this old terminology is nice to have in our modern world..No. 2 son just back from a week in the Boundary Waters with portages measured in rods...

 

[Gonzo]

A full cord of wood is 4'x4'x8'... therefore it would take 3-16" face cords to equal a full cord.

Gonzo

 

[greg]

Is that Greg and Martha in the Hearth Net Home picture...

No!!! I say "dang" not "darn." But, other than that it's 'pretty close' for me. I have less hair than Fred. The picture also needs a dog with a hat.

--Greg

 

[Danny]

No!!! I say "dang" not "darn." But, other than that it's 'pretty close' for me. I have less hair than Fred. The picture also needs a dog with a hat.

--Greg

Well...I'll... be...danged!... Fred?...I was thinking of getting sherlock holmes hat and pipe for Lily before the snow flies....

 

[greg]

Just filled up with diesel. Also filled a 20 gal. container for emergency use. Lots of traffic at the gas station. Overheard a couple complaining to each other about having to move pretty soon if the price keeps going up. I'm sure just blowing off steam before paying the cashier?

--Greg

 

[greg]

Did I say Fred? I guess I meant me. Ask Martha, she knows what's going on in my mind better than me.

--Greg