Just gas logs now and I miss wood burning heat
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Alternative Heat
- Thread starter 10thmountain
- Start date
While I have my wood stove , I did add a mini-split heat pump to my house this year.
My main heat pump has a leak in the A-coil, and the air condition companies don't want to fix it, but they will install a new system for 10,000 bucks.
So, I went for new technology, not 70 year old technology. Computer controlled, and my generator can easily run it as it draws less than 20 amps, summer or winter, though I have the wood stove for winter.
So, if you are looking for backup h v a c , you have options
My main heat pump has a leak in the A-coil, and the air condition companies don't want to fix it, but they will install a new system for 10,000 bucks.
So, I went for new technology, not 70 year old technology. Computer controlled, and my generator can easily run it as it draws less than 20 amps, summer or winter, though I have the wood stove for winter.
So, if you are looking for backup h v a c , you have options
The mini Splits are very cool. They work very well.
Anyone have one of those Heat Buddy Propane heaters? How well do they work in a garage or workshop?
they work well , but i don't know about a big open area.
Electric House Furnace then Eden Pure electric heater and propane fireplace logs as back up
I bought something similar to the eden pure.
We use wood primarly but have electric space heaters & mattress heaters when needed over night.
I had started out with just a simple wood stove from Tractor Supply, it can take up to 22" logs which is nice. Worked well for 5 years till I decided to switch to a pellet/corn stove, figured it'd be easier to run. But after two years of using it, we decided to switch back to firewood for safety in case the power were to go out and it'd become useless.
We don't have gas so our cooking situation would be compromised as well. We keep a kerosene heater standing by but it's a hassle sometimes to find extra fuel if something happens and everyone is looking for it. Even though it's a hassle with wood, to us it was the better choice. Wood for this year was completely free from what I cut in my yard & from online posts of fresh trees cut to covered wood that was given away to make space. Biggest issue with that is I have to get it early in the year to ensure it's dried out enough for when we need it and that all that work really does a number on my joints, but it's worth it.
This year I completely took the fireplace apart and resealed it, even sealed the cooking plates to the body to minimize the amount of unregulated air going in.
We tend to burn about 3 cords of wood, only hassle is the first burn when walking into a cold living room but other than that we tend to keep the house around 74-80. It's not perfect but knowing that we could survive a dark winter is peace of mind.
Here's a pick of what I built this year to store the wood, I have more in an vehicle tent & plan to build another one of these next year when I get time to level the area out for it. I built these using free pallet's and metal roofing form Home Deopt. The tarp covered corner of wood is a simple design that uses 3 concrete blocks and 8 - 2x4's to brace it up, works well but is a pain having to replace tarps and keeping them secured so they don't get wet. Also noticed if the soil isn't compacted it can start to lean a little once it settles down.
Reason for taking the pic's
Spotted this one and another the same size chasing a doe a few months back.
I had started out with just a simple wood stove from Tractor Supply, it can take up to 22" logs which is nice. Worked well for 5 years till I decided to switch to a pellet/corn stove, figured it'd be easier to run. But after two years of using it, we decided to switch back to firewood for safety in case the power were to go out and it'd become useless.
We don't have gas so our cooking situation would be compromised as well. We keep a kerosene heater standing by but it's a hassle sometimes to find extra fuel if something happens and everyone is looking for it. Even though it's a hassle with wood, to us it was the better choice. Wood for this year was completely free from what I cut in my yard & from online posts of fresh trees cut to covered wood that was given away to make space. Biggest issue with that is I have to get it early in the year to ensure it's dried out enough for when we need it and that all that work really does a number on my joints, but it's worth it.
This year I completely took the fireplace apart and resealed it, even sealed the cooking plates to the body to minimize the amount of unregulated air going in.
We tend to burn about 3 cords of wood, only hassle is the first burn when walking into a cold living room but other than that we tend to keep the house around 74-80. It's not perfect but knowing that we could survive a dark winter is peace of mind.
Here's a pick of what I built this year to store the wood, I have more in an vehicle tent & plan to build another one of these next year when I get time to level the area out for it. I built these using free pallet's and metal roofing form Home Deopt. The tarp covered corner of wood is a simple design that uses 3 concrete blocks and 8 - 2x4's to brace it up, works well but is a pain having to replace tarps and keeping them secured so they don't get wet. Also noticed if the soil isn't compacted it can start to lean a little once it settles down.
Reason for taking the pic's
Spotted this one and another the same size chasing a doe a few months back.
Natural gas logs in a real masonry wood burning fireplace and a generator to run the blower on the furnace if need be. I love wood burning but I’ve gotten too old and lazy to hassle with it.
