# NO MORE WOOD



## Trouthead (Dec 21, 2010)

After burning wood for more than 30 years, I converted to a gas stove.  After 1 day of use I have no bark in front of the stove, no slight smell of burnt wood, and a warm house in the morning.  It was very nice to just sit last night and not mess with a fire.  I was not too hot, I was not too cold, it was just right.

In the 30+ wood years I ran through 3 chain saws, lots of fuel, both saw and truck, but my leg just shy of the hospital visit, bought various lots of crappy wood, woke up with a sore back more times than I can count, and probably didn't help the environment one bit.

My wood burning years were all in the rockies of Wyoming.  Little good wood, just pine, aspen, cottonwood, mt ash, and russian olive.  Might have felt different if I had the dilema that some have red oak vs white oak, vs various types of maple or hickory, but I mostly had short burn pine.  Got a load once of old orchard cherry and apple, it was great, fires would last and the bit of smoke smell was pretty sweet smelling, but that only was a one shot deal.

So anyhow, i now have a Hearthstone Santa Fe, with a Skytech programable remote.  Pretty far removed from the old Jotul.  I am pretty happy. My wife sat there last night and would periodically look up and say, "this is really nice".  Not to mention we gained about 8 square feet of floor space in the living room.


----------



## woodchip (Dec 21, 2010)

Trouthead said:
			
		

> Not to mention we gained about 8 square feet of floor space in the living room.



And you never mentioned the space your wood store must have taken up with fast burning pine etc............

I have often wondered whether I would give up the woodburner when I'm older, but I also ask myself how much wood would I need to store to see my days out without all the collecting, sawing, and splitting.....


----------



## Trouthead (Dec 21, 2010)

My 10x20 ft deck was full of wood, and mauls, and splitters, and two big logs to split on.  So I will gain most of that space when my boss comes and gets the "free" wood.  I do know how to kiss up a bit


----------



## Install fire 1 (Dec 22, 2010)

Glad to hear you are enjoying your new gas unit!

It's nice to be comfortable all the time!


----------



## Fake coal burner (Dec 22, 2010)

I did the same thing you did 3 years ago. I do not regret going from wood to gas. I find that gas is cheaper when you compare  all the other stuff. I am happy for you and hope you enjoy your new stove.  Post some pictures of your set up.


----------



## North of 60 (Dec 22, 2010)

Trouthead said:
			
		

> After burning wood for more than 30 years, I converted to a gas stove. After 1 day of use I have no bark in front of the stove, no slight smell of burnt wood, and a warm house in the morning. It was very nice to just sit last night and not mess with a fire. I was not too hot, I was not too cold, it was just right.
> 
> In the 30+ wood years I ran through 3 chain saws, lots of fuel, both saw and truck, but my leg just shy of the hospital visit, bought various lots of crappy wood, woke up with a sore back more times than I can count, and probably didn't help the environment one bit.
> 
> ...




Maybe the rest of us dummies will follow you one day. :lol: Just cant seem to find a gas line laying around here. ;-) 
Enjoy your retirement.
Cheers.


----------



## Trouthead (Dec 22, 2010)

It took 30 years of pestering the gas company and enough people in my 20 acre subdivision to agree to go gas.  It then took $ to the gas company to pay for the line run 1/2 a mile to the end of our subdivision, plus trenching from the lane to the house and paying the plumber to plumb the house for gas.  Modern gas line is expensive.  So far it was worth it.


----------



## North of 60 (Dec 22, 2010)

Trouthead said:
			
		

> It took 30 years of pestering the gas company and enough people in my 20 acre subdivision to agree to go gas. It then took $ to the gas company to pay for the line run 1/2 a mile to the end of our subdivision, plus trenching from the lane to the house and paying the plumber to plumb the house for gas. Modern gas line is expensive. So far it was worth it.



Ironically, I am an A gas fitter. Lived in the big city for 30yrs and built many remote compressor stations for NG top to bottom of B.C. Serviced many boilers industrial and commercial.
There is no NG up here though. Oils $5 a gallon. Propane is close to it now. Pine and spruce is my friend.


----------



## Trouthead (Dec 22, 2010)

It always struck me as funny that NG is produced here in wyoming by the millions of MCF, yet we couldn't get gas in my neigborhod located 1.5 miles from the main street of my 7000 population town.  I can imagine the Yukon must be on a whole different level whe it comes to getting utility service.  With all the Canadian Hydro isn't electricity reasonable?

I love reading the wood discussions.  There wasn't much discussion here in Wyoming and I'd bet none in the Yukon.  Wood...... you burn it........ end of discussion.


----------



## Gunks (Dec 22, 2010)

I am glad you enjoy your new stove.  I love burning wood too much to switch.  Not yet anyway.  Will switch when I don't want to swing an axe anymore.


----------



## k0wtz (Dec 22, 2010)

well this is the first winter for my 16 seer heat pump paid 3000.00 for it and more to install.  havent got a electric bill since i turned it on may be sorry i dont know but at 69 and heart surgery i just couldnt handle all the work anymore.

cut wood for 35 years

bob


----------



## Trouthead (Dec 22, 2010)

I didn't mind wood for the first 30 years or so, but as age has crept in, (58), the price of fuel, chainsaws, and the price of wood has gone up if you buy it gas at .65 per therm is a much better bargain.

Cutting used to be fun, the first 50 -100 times,  since then I can't imagine it being a tough decision.....  cut wood or play golf.  cut wood or go fishing,  cut wood or go hunting.

If we had hardwoods I might still be burning, but with aspen, pine and cottonwood, it is a lot more work than you lucky ones with hardwood realize.  As good as the gas stove is, it does not put out the BTUs that the Jotul did, and my Jotul was the smallest one made.

I lived in WV for a while with a hippie farmer college buddy of mine (1975-76)  we burned shagbark hickory, in old fashion non airtight woodstove.  There would still be coals the next morning.  When we up graded to an Ashley we though we died and went to heaven.  If I could get shagbark hickory I would still be burning wood..... but I'd buy it.

Also came close to a huge saw accident once.  Hit my leg with the chain as it was slowing down.  Ripped my jeans and my leg looked like someone took a horseshoe rasp across it.  That beats my neigbor who cut into his leg about an inch.

I am still wating for the breakthrough for solar PV panels.  I'd use all electricity and really reduce my carbon print with a reasonable solar system, but I am still waiting.

Dawn of time technology like wood and gas burning is pretty amazing in the 21 century, but we must be hardwired to enjoy watching a fire dance!  Especially after a million years of evolution.


----------



## Mainely Saws (Dec 29, 2010)

Why not do both wood burning & gas ? I'm 58 & will continue to burn wood as long as I can , but I do buy at least some of my wood now & have even bought & used ECO bricks that I like to use mixed in with my maple or oak firewood . I also bought a used Lopi Berkshire gas stove that I'm in the process of installing & then I'll have both the conveinence of a thermostatically controlled propane heater ( along with the firelike view ) & also have the woodstove to burn as I wish ...............


----------



## k0wtz (Dec 29, 2010)

i kept my wood furnace mainly for resale value of my house that sets on 50a and more dead wood than ever be burned.  i helped a guy cut and load some wood the other day and couldnt do much.  time gets to everyone i can assure you at 59 i could do anything i wanted but heart surgery changed all that.

bob


----------



## Trouthead (Dec 30, 2010)

Mainely Saws said:
			
		

> Why not do both wood burning & gas ? I'm 58 & will continue to burn wood as long as I can , but I do buy at least some of my wood now & have even bought & used ECO bricks that I like to use mixed in with my maple or oak firewood . I also bought a used Lopi Berkshire gas stove that I'm in the process of installing & then I'll have both the conveinence of a thermostatically controlled propane heater ( along with the firelike view ) & also have the woodstove to burn as I wish ...............



We don't have the space, nor the need for that much backup.  The house has electric baseboard heaters,  plus an inverter heat pump AC unit that works (at a price) down to 0, plus now the gas stove. In 30 years we lost power once for 14 hours, and maybe 5-6 other times for a few hours.   Gaining space with the gas stove was a big plus, but trying to find room for two stoves in a 1600 sq ft house would be impossible.

I just get such a charge out of hearing people talk about eastern hardwoods for burning.  Try 30 years of pine, cottonwood, or aspen and you get to the point where you would kill for some real hardwood.  Had we not gotten gas in my neigborhood I would have gone for a pellet stove, but gas right now is much cheaper (.65 per term) than anything else other than getting dirt cheap wood. You really can't imagine how it is to burn soft woods, dirty, messy, and fast burning, pellets would have been a big upgrade from western soft wood.

Tonight it is supposed to get down to 8 and tomorrow -5.  That should give the new stove a bit of a work out.


----------

