Not a DIY homeowner - should I forego getting a wood stove?

[E.Merckx]

I must be misunderstanding...you don't have to be a plumber to own a sink or a toilet, you don't have to be a mechanic to own a car, you don't have to be a chef to own an oven. Pick out a stove, hire an installer, get a sweep to do annual maintenance. Have fun.

 

[xman23]

What are they quoting for the stove / chimney and installation now? My guess is 5-6K. It will take a 5' X 5' corner space and then clearance to the furniture. Be sure you understand the clearance and hearth requirements. They are all different. Most of us here do it all, with our stoves, but you don't have to. Just cost some money, particularly if your burning full time and buying wood. If your buying wood, would natural gas stove be similar cost and no work? As said natural gas stove can be run without power.

 

[Slocochef]

That’s why I bought an eco flow power station. Much cheaper than a generator and I can charge with solar panels, AC if available and DC from my truck. True off grid is that. I want heat and basic electric if the electricity or my NG is not flowing. My folks are in their 90’s so my dad’s stove days are over so I get it.

I do have an eco flow and solar panels in a closet here….never used it….I think I am supposed to use the power and recharge now and again….have you done that? I should try it out as severe weather season is upon us. Dont have a gas line here so if power goes out would love the wood stove for heat and ability to heat water/cook….. eco flow maybe frig or lamps, charging devices, maybe a fan….

 

[Slocochef]

If you cut your own wood any stove can be a N/S loader. Well maybe not any stove.

If I were planning on living in a home as I got older than 70 it would have a natural gas backup generator. My in-laws just got a propane one and it has made their children worry less. The oxygen concentration has minimum 3 days worth of power and more if they conserve. They have had a woodstove for nearly 20 years but have not used it in the last 2-3. I think if heat were life or death they could move one split at a time and keep the stove going but they’re several steps between the garage woodpile and the stove. Generators and transfer switches are expensive but there really is no substitute if you need to power medical equipment.

Can you use a wood stove just fine with an 02 concentrator in the home? CPAP can run I think but need an eco flow …..Does a generac take a lot of maintenance? I would need a gas line to the house for sure

 

[Slocochef]

What are they quoting for the stove / chimney and installation now? My guess is 5-6K. It will take a 5' X 5' corner space and then clearance to the furniture. Be sure you understand the clearance and hearth requirements. They are all different. Most of us here do it all, with our stoves, but you don't have to. Just cost some money, particularly if your burning full time and buying wood. If your buying wood, would natural gas stove be similar cost and no work? As said natural gas stove can be run without power.

For a regency 2450 or 2500….installed 9k+…….with hearth pad….another store in business 40 years is sending someone out April 20th to assess my situation…..it’s so freaking expensive!! Will see how much for the alderlea 4 or 5 installed.

 

[Slocochef]

Is there some value to you in the messing with the wood? This is my biggest source of regular exercise--cutting, splitting, stacking, carrying, loading, etc. Even if you don't do it all from start to finish, there may be some value for you in staying active and connected to nature. As others have said, a simple stove (preferably just an air control) doesn't take much. Most of my DIY projects are self-inflicted. For instance, I had a stove that was working perfectly fine in my basement. I decided that it could really use a nice stone hearth. So the question then became, can me and the 10 year old move the stove out of the way and back in place after the completion of the hearth. She also helped with the hearth construction. Totally not needed, cost me about $50 in child labor, and probably gave her a memory or two for her lifetime. Sorry for the long-winded response. Happy fires, with whatever source you choose.

I love what you wrote…..yes the connection to the land through 🪵 wood and using as fuel is a huge motivator….moving it would be functional exercise and motivation

 

[Slocochef]

Its a "wood board" but I would like to challenge your assumptions a bit. But first some observations. Wood is always going to be more hands on than electric of fossil fuels (oil, gas or propane). It requires more preplanning commitment and space in order to use wood or pellets. There can be debate between pellet users and cord wood users as to which is easier. From an ambience aspect there is not substitute to a wood fire with glass door. Yes some pellet stoves can attempt to recreate it but its poor substitute. There are wood and pellet boilers that have zero ambiance (they usually reside in basement and have zero ambiance and the overall systems are costly. They win as primary heating source 365/24/7 but I will assume they are out of the discussion. From an ambience aspect a good natural gas "stove" with ceramics logs may have the ambiance and backup heating potential that you wish. So if ambiance and backup heating are the major reasons for the stove I think we exclude pellets. Gas stoves should be install it and forget it if they are installed correctly.

You stated you paid to have natural gas run to the home. That is important from a backup situation. The electric grid is always going to be vulnerable to weather. It always has been. There is very powerful lobby running a long term campaign spending tens if not millions of dollars to convince the public that the electrical grid is getting less reliable and in areas of the country most impacted by climate (Northern CA, Florida and hurricane prone coastal areas) the concern is valid. For the rest of the country the reliability of electric power is still quite high but its always good to have a backup. Incidentally in many areas that suffer icing events, its the individual house services that take the longest to restore, if you are in area that requires the lines from the street to the house to be underground, individual outage restoration tends to be far shorter as the utility only needs to fix the damage to main lines in the street. So if you do not have underground power from the street to the house, seriously consider it.

In vulnerable areas of the country there are standards for critical facilities like public buildings and hospitals and that is to have two sources of backup for electrical power. Generally, the solution is use the electric grid as a primary source and natural gas generation as a backup. Natural gas lines and infrastructure up north is mostly under ground and far less exposed to weather events. Its rare that the natural gas system goes down along with the electric grid so unless you are setting up for major disaster (like a major tornado) and living in hardened "bunker" its questionable if you will have a home standing to worry about heat and power. So in your case, a natural gas fired standby generator solves the electric power issue and install a gas fired stove or fireplace for ambiance. Compared to natural gas, wood is not a great emergency backup as it requires a well seasoned stack of cut and split wood stored undercover somewhere on the property. It takes a lot of wood to heat a house exclusively during an extended power outage and the lights will still be off.

Assuming you have a spouse in the house, you also need to see if they are on board for wood or to a lesser extent pellets. Both can be somewhat messy with cord wood being the messiest. Sure, some folks can minimize the messiness, but it requires a commitment, far more than a natural gas stove which is set it and forget it.

Where cord wood and pellets can win out is that they typically will cost less for heat in the long run than fossil fuels but that is somewhat regional. Natural gas was mostly a waste product of oil drilling until recent years and it is still flared in parts of the country to get rid of it. If you are near a source of natural gas and there is pipeline infrastructure to your area it can be competitive with pellets. The big issue with natural gas is its fossil fuel and at some point soon there will effectively be a carbon tax of some sort on it. It may not be called a carbon tax but its cost will go up to discourage its use and fund cleaner alternatives. Same with propane (also a waste product from oil and natural gas extraction despite with the millions of dollars PERC (Propane Education and Research Council) is spending millions to greenwash it). The US government's policy is to switch over the nations residential heating to non fossil sources in less than 20 years and that is going to lead to major disincentives to burn fossil fuels.

On the other hand, if you live in an area with trees, there is always going to be source of wood for those who are willing to work for it but that require sweat equity which you stated you are not interested in. Nothing wrong with that, its good to be realistic.

Ultimately, unless nothing will replace a crackling wood fire, my recommendation is get a gas stove with ceramic gas log.

 

[Slocochef]

What a well thought out post…..grew up with a gas fireplace in the 60’s and it gave off little to no heat…..but in the fireplace store they had a couple going throwing off a lot of heat….I was dumbfounded! Didn’t realize they could do that….. I do not have gas hooked up from the road to house but had it estimated for install and it was $1200 in 2020…..who knows nowadays! The energy company made it seem like a pretty big deal…I envisioned the yard tore up and a big old mess so just forgot about it! I could call to check pricing again….have no budget to install gas dryer, gas water heater, gas stove as all I have is electric type appliances…..so might consider just a gas heater….fake wood stove thing and leave everything else as is….hard to know which is most economical too…gas was high…then electric Was high…. Smh lol

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Check with the company that makes the O2 concentrater. Once tge stove is lit, i don't think there'd be an issue, but that first spark when lighting it could be a doozy!

When I had gas run to my house, they dug a hole at the road to tap into a line, a hole in the middle of the yard, and a hole at my foundation. They bored horizontally. There wasn't much lawn disturbed at all.

 

[joop]

the stoves are the expensive items if money is tight go for a less expensive stove like a drolet, many others at 2000, 2500 that will do the job

 

[Slocochef]

Check with the company that makes the O2 concentrater. Once tge stove is lit, i don't think there'd be an issue, but that first spark when lighting it could be a doozy!

When I had gas run to my house, they dug a hole at the road to tap into a line, a hole in the middle of the yard, and a hole at my foundation. They bored horizontally. There wasn't much lawn disturbed at all.

I lived for 1 year at 7,000ft in Wyoming….ended up on 02…. Doc said move….so I did….now in MI and the equipment is no longer needed! So grateful….but was curious if folks did live with wood burner in home while using it…..thx!

 

[Wildflush]

I do have an eco flow and solar panels in a closet here….never used it….I think I am supposed to use the power and recharge now and again….have you done that? I should try it out as severe weather season is upon us. Dont have a gas line here so if power goes out would love the wood stove for heat and ability to heat water/cook….. eco flow maybe frig or lamps, charging devices, maybe a fan….

The eco flows can hold a charge for one year. With that said I have used mine for some mini power outages that we have had. Then I recharge fast with AC. Great for lights medical equipment such as cpap machines etc. The bigger power stations are great for fridges, hot water (power vent) etc.

 

[begreen]

Keep shopping. The F2500 should be under $3500 without the nickel trim. The F2500 qualifies for the tax credit of up to $2000 on this purchase. That may be why the inflated price.