Alternative Heat

[10thmountain]

Gas logs in the old unused fireplace may be on my agenda . Seems straightforward

 

[Horsehat]

What are you using to heat your cabin, shelter, tent, house, structure you live in?

Wood stoves? Kerosene heater? Electric heater? Propane? Solar? Geo thermal?


I am curious to hear what you off grid folks do in the winter . In the suburbs you can just flip a switch and the heat comes on, but what if it doesn’t?

what is your preferred alternative heat source?

We are not off the grid.

We bought this house in 2006 and moved here full time in 2016 when we retired. We have a heat pump which we will use at times we just need to knock the chill off a bit but have heated with wood for the most part. Fisher Mamma Bear. We heat just at 3000 sf on two levels and it does a great job. Usually keep it about 68-72 in the winter but could keep it as hot as we wished. Nothing like backing up to a wood stove.

 

[MIC]

Old school Fisher wood heater in the unfinished portion of the basement. Heats most of the basement and the first floor. Using it exclusively right now since I'm home this week. Gas furnace has not come on since Sunday.

Downside---Without some sort of air circulation system it gets really warm in the basement (80+ deg). I plan to rig up some through-floor registers with 12 volt computer case fans powered by a single PC power supply. I guess it could be tied into existing ducting too. Exhausting the heater worked out ok since I could use the existing fireplace chase, but the materials were expensive since I had to use low- clearance triple wall pipe made for wood.

 

[jeep78]

Wood stove. Been heating about 1800 sqft for 30 years. I have a heat pump but rarely turn it on.

 

[Old_School]

Gas logs in the old unused fireplace may be on my agenda . Seems straightforward

I put ventless gas logs in my fireplace about 15 years ago. It will heat the whole house when we have power outages.

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[10thmountain]

I put ventless gas logs in my fireplace about 15 years ago. It will heat the whole house when we have power outages.

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How difficult or easy are they to install? Do I need a guy to do it?

 

[biker_bill]

Gas logs in the old unused fireplace may be on my agenda . Seems straightforward

FYI - 3 types of gas logs last time I was in the market. Vented, Semi-Vented and Vent-less, Vented has the most realistic looking fire, followed by Semi-Vented (the flue is just open and inch or so), vent-less isn't very realistic looking but it puts out the heat without any fumes or losing any out the chimney. I think vent-less gives you the most bang for the buck....

 

[biker_bill]

How difficult or easy are they to install? Do I need a guy to do it?

No, easy, do it yourself as long as you already have gas running to the fireplace. You remove that connection and connect to the new one, then just place the logs and other stuff like they say in the instructions. I've done several, it's very easy.

 

[Old_School]

How difficult or easy are they to install? Do I need a guy to do it?

It was easy-peasy for me. Already had a gas fire starter in the firebox, so just hooked up to that for my natural gas source. As another poster said, ventless aren't very realistic-looking, but they put off a *lot* of heat. My house is about 2400 square ft & 24" logs heat it almost too well. Have them on low most of the time.

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[Barbwire]

Fisher Wood Stove. Bought it in 1990 and been toasty since. We use about 3 cords on a cold winter. The only way to go. I have seen some on ebay.