Who burns 24/7?

  • Thread starter Thread starter WellSeasoned
  • Start date Start date
  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Status
Not open for further replies.
W

WellSeasoned

Guest
I do, but what I'm doing different from last year, I plan on keeping the oil burner off. I can get usuable heat for overnight, but there will be extremely cold and windy nights when the wife and I will take turns every other night to get up to restoke the fire. I remember last year near morning hearing the oil kick in, and I would jump out of bed to get the stove going. I just plain dont want to depend on oil for heating. Be well
 
I have been burning 24/7 for about 5 years now, I have an oil fired water heater and that's all the oil I use all winter. The furnace almost never comes on for heat. Although I'm dealing with a new stove this year so it will take some time to get used to it I'm sure. My old stove had an ash bin so I could let it die down a little and empty the ash without interrupting the fire too much.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WellSeasoned
I burn 24/7. I have Electric ceiling heat and can't/won't afford to use it. I have had the breakers off since we bought the place. This will be the 7th year of only wood heat.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WellSeasoned
I leave the oil burner set at 60 just in case. The only time it ran last year was my monthly test. As soon as the radiators heated up, about 10 minutes, I shut it down again. I have not used oil for heat in 3 seasons.

KaptJaq
 
  • Like
Reactions: WellSeasoned
Wood has been our only main heat for 30 years. Sometime in the nineties the heat pump expired from lack of use. There are oil filled electric radiators in every room for back up. I have used them a a few days this month rather than messing with the stoves. By the end of the month we will be into morning and night burns. The famous "shoulder seasons" that I call wood burner's hell. This year I will let the electric company take the edges off of it. Their kids gotta eat too.
 
I appreciate your drive to not use the oil in your tank but I'm guessing the taking of turns to re-stoke the stove at 4:30 am may get a little old after awhile. It took me a few years to get the right combination (of wood and timing etc) to get decent coals to re-fire a morning fire. I set my gas furnace to 62 and I will hear it come on occasionally. My main concern is having the coals in the morning, and with that I will usually have temps on the first floor (where the stove is) around 62-66 on a regular basis. The gas use for the furnace is generally around $45 or less. Good luck finding your slippers in the dark :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: WellSeasoned
I appreciate your drive to not use the oil in your tank but I'm guessing the taking of turns to re-stoke the stove at 4:30 am may get a little old after awhile. It took me a few years to get the right combination (of wood and timing etc) to get decent coals to re-fire a morning fire. I set my gas furnace to 62 and I will hear it come on occasionally. My main concern is having the coals in the morning, and with that I will usually have temps on the first floor (where the stove is) around 62-66 on a regular basis. The gas use for the furnace is generally around $45 or less. Good luck finding your slippers in the dark :)

430 in the morning.... Thats when I get up for work! +1 on getting the right wood combo, don't get me wrong, in the evening I'll rake the coals forward add a lg round in the back, no problem with having plenty if hot coals by morning to throw some kindlin on, but I'm talking about those super cold nights (teens, or lower) when you got winds happening, one if us must get up around 1 ish to reload to keep the temps up. (and yes, it gets old, but this may be a few days here, few days there) Thats just my goal this year. Be well
 
Those nights here are usually just in the five degree range but that is why that big ass firebox is there. This joint ain't gonna see 62 to 65 if I have anything to do with it. I like sleeping under a sheet. And I don't do getting up and baby sitting a fresh load. I am old. I need my sleep. :)
 
We do. We have an indirect DHW heater that runs off of the oil burner. We have gone through less than 100 gallons of oil in the oil burner since we put our stove in. I am also looking at purchasing an Econoburn at some point in the future, because the stove just doesn't quite heat the upstairs enough, and we would like to be able to heat the HW with wood. I am looking to build a shop at some point as well, and heating that would be nice without having an open flame in the building.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrotherBart
24/7 here. There is no oil in the tank and there is no plan on filling it at these prices.

With 9 cu ft of fireboxes, I should be okay... if the parts ever arrive.
 
We burn 24/7 in our woodfurnace. Before we upgraded to an EPA certified model I would have to wake early or risk a cool house. Now we set our thermostat on the woodfurnace to 72 and wake to a 70-72 degree house with a little more sleep. We have pretty much eliminated the use of propane for heat, but it's taken some time to get there. If my wife woke to a 62 degree house, I would never hear the end of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WellSeasoned
We are 24/7 unless we are working late/loading softwood. Actualy we have been 24/7 for the past 72 hours with the one stove...but the problem is this afternoon was in the 70s. Little misguided loading this am and we are at 80 degree this evening. Ooppps!

Our house does not see below 68...that is what the heat pumps are set at to start. We both grew up way north, but that is what she likes and the kids too...so just means I get to c/s/s on my off days to ensure we don't run out!
 
  • Like
Reactions: WellSeasoned
I can only pull of about 20/7. I let the NG furnace do a couple of cycles early morning. Keeps ,e from having to get up and takes the chill off the basement.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ashful
24 / 7 for me as well. I work a mid-shift and my wife is a stay at home mom so keeping the stoves loaded is not a big deal since I get home in the early 1-2 ish in the morning. I have a propane forced air furnace but I took the thermostat off the wall during some renovating and haven't put it back up yet.
 
24/7/225 +/- maybe more in our new old house, we shall see I fed the defiant 2x @ 9a &9p. I do like how well the masonry chimney radiates once it gets hot. We'll see when the third week of Jan. hits -30 or worse though.
 
I had a smaller insert (1.7 cf) that we needed to work harder for 24/7 burning on the really cold windy days, but we found it was most effective to run the oil burner for an hour or two in the morning to allow the house even out then let the stove keep the temps. It was worth the extra few gallons of oil to keep the house warmer. This thread was helpful to me Tips for Small Fire Boxes

Waking up in the middle of the night was not an option for us. We bought the stove to be more comfortable and save money. As much as I hate running the oil burner I hate having a cold house more. Ultimately our solution was a larger insert.
 
I'm letting the NG furnace handle the shoulder season duty right now. I'm really sick of hearing it run though! I typically leave it set at about 62 when we start burning wood and then we burn wood 24/7. I heat the in-floor in the garage with a NG water heater. Insurance won't let me keep a wood stove of any sort in the garage and I cannot afford to do any sort of outdoor burner at this time.
 
We burn 24-7 or get cold. I use a blaze king. It is regularly -30 here in the winter with weeks at -60. I heat 1500 sq ft with ceilings that are 12' at the peak. Just load the stove twice a day.
I don't have back up heat.
[Hearth.com] Who burns 24/7?
 
24/7, leaving the oil furnace @ 62. Very rarely will it come on , but I figure it's better to run it once in a while so it's not constantly idle. I do dump a few bottles of Amsoil diesel fuel conditioner in the tank to keep the nozzles clean.
 
been burning wood exclusively, with no other fuel, for 5 years. I have two gas furnaces that have not been used (other than a test fire occasionly, to make sure they still work) since we've started burning wood.

I never have to load the stove overnight unless it's really cold out (in the minuses), then sometimes I do it just to keep it over 70 degrees. We love our woodstoves. When I mentioned to the wife about getting rid of our Napoleon 1900 in the kitchen and getting a cookstove, she got really sentimental. She loves that stove!

since I do tree removal as a side job, we get paid to heat our house. That's a great feeling!
 
We burn 24-7 or get cold. I use a blaze king. It is regularly -30 here in the winter with weeks at -60. I heat 1500 sq ft with ceilings that are 12' at the peak. Just load the stove twice a day.
I don't have back up heat.
View attachment 77429

Celsius I hope. Yikes.
 
I hope to be 24/7 once the temperature drops here in NJ. Bought new BK Scirocco for the longer burn times vs the VC Intrepid II cat. The VC did an admirable job, sometimes got 8-9 hrs out of it, never more than that. Hoping the new BK will keep me warm all night. We are short of 3 votes for Nat Gas on my street, so I am stuck buying liquid hydrocarbon fuel.
 
I have been burning 24/7 for about 5 years now, I have an oil fired water heater and that's all the oil I use all winter. The furnace almost never comes on for heat. Although I'm dealing with a new stove this year so it will take some time to get used to it I'm sure. My old stove had an ash bin so I could let it die down a little and empty the ash without interrupting the fire too much.

As long as you let the coals burn down in the Fireview, so you don't get too deep a coal bed, you won't have any problem removing the ash...just do it early morning after an overnight burn...rake coals forward, remove ash from back, then from middle, then from front, after pushing coals to back. I found the rake that Woodstock sells really helpful with the ashes, used in conjunction with my shovel....
 
I do, but what I'm doing different from last year, I plan on keeping the oil burner off. I can get usuable heat for overnight, but there will be extremely cold and windy nights when the wife and I will take turns every other night to get up to restoke the fire. I remember last year near morning hearing the oil kick in, and I would jump out of bed to get the stove going. I just plain dont want to depend on oil for heating. Be well

Sounds like a plan. Time for a sheepskin rug by your bed and warm slippers....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.