Question for the group regarding what would be cheaper long term. I don't particularly care about the install cost. We currently have a smaller wood burning stove. It's efficient but only takes log up to 16 inches and it's tedious to refill every 1-2 hours. We have a 4500 sq ft house with up to 24ft ceilings and the main heat is geothermal but that system has a hard time getting the house above 60 degrees during the winter so we currently use our stove to supplement. Winter months can get to -20 .
We'd like to replace our current stove with either a larger wood burning stove like the fxp 36 elite nextgen-hybrid or a propane fireplace like the Mendota dxv60. We have a 500 gallon propane tank which runs to another Mendota fireplace in our living room that is more for aesthetic rather than heat. This is separate from the house chimney.
We have to buy wood which this year averages 275/cord for pine. Propane is 2.09/gallon. I expect to use around ~5 cords of wood this year.
To complicate things a little, our house is 2 story plus basement and a single chimney runs through all 3 levels. Currently the floor level has the wood stove and the basement and 2nd story have a wood fireplace. We are going to change out the basement and 2nd story to propane fireplaces since we never haul wood up or down to actually use them. The 2 new propane fireplaces would mainly be for aesthetic.
What would you all choose to put in the main level, a wood burning unit or gas unit? Our biggest complaint with our current wood stove is having to fill it ever 1-3 hours. We were hoping a larger wood unit would reduce that to every 4-5 hours or even longer if possible. I like the aesthetic of a wood burning stove more than a gas unit but not a huge difference. We are under the assumption that wood is cheaper to heat compared to propane but I'm having a hard time exactly calculating the difference.
We'd like to replace our current stove with either a larger wood burning stove like the fxp 36 elite nextgen-hybrid or a propane fireplace like the Mendota dxv60. We have a 500 gallon propane tank which runs to another Mendota fireplace in our living room that is more for aesthetic rather than heat. This is separate from the house chimney.
We have to buy wood which this year averages 275/cord for pine. Propane is 2.09/gallon. I expect to use around ~5 cords of wood this year.
To complicate things a little, our house is 2 story plus basement and a single chimney runs through all 3 levels. Currently the floor level has the wood stove and the basement and 2nd story have a wood fireplace. We are going to change out the basement and 2nd story to propane fireplaces since we never haul wood up or down to actually use them. The 2 new propane fireplaces would mainly be for aesthetic.
What would you all choose to put in the main level, a wood burning unit or gas unit? Our biggest complaint with our current wood stove is having to fill it ever 1-3 hours. We were hoping a larger wood unit would reduce that to every 4-5 hours or even longer if possible. I like the aesthetic of a wood burning stove more than a gas unit but not a huge difference. We are under the assumption that wood is cheaper to heat compared to propane but I'm having a hard time exactly calculating the difference.
