I guess it is no surprise to us wood burners, but they say that the best investment a homeowner can make is to buy a woodstove. They say even with the cost of getting firewood, the added homeowners insurance, and all that, the return on investment for a woodstove is the highest a homeowner can get. Myself, I would add the caveat that the stove should be a wood/coal stove as that gives a homeowner more heating options. For instance in my home I use a combination of wood, coal and propane to heat my Maine home, what percentage is used the most being dependent on current price of any of those commodities. It does make me wonder though why more people do not invest in a woodstove; I suspect time and the labor involved being a major aspect.
People around here don't even cut their own grass. Doing actual manual labor (and being able to actually save money) is becoming a thing of the past for the younger generation it seems. I'm 39, and it shocks me to see the laziness in my generation and the younger generations after me.
I imagine a lot of it is the expense involved. I had a tram multi fuel furnace in my house when I bought it. wood coal propane.. inefficient bastage. think of the different in BTU in those fuels versus volume.. literally went through 400 gallons a month in propane as I was making house livable.. next season installed Woodstove and switched tarm to oil.. 2 seasons later switched Tarm with buderus but kept woodstove. Coal is a thing of past here.. oil may well be next as all new houses have to have 95% efficient furnace or higher for cert of occupancy
Excellent commentary, C. They just gotta do trendy things found on FakeBook, eat exotic, tasteless, overpriced cardboard, living lives of want instead of living enriching lives of substance and selflessness. Pretty sad story, but the way of things anymore.
I think a wood stove is a good investment but not necessarily the best. People have to prioritize based on their individual situations. For some, an immediate investment in insulation and home sealing could provide a good long term cost savings on heating AND cooling. A new roof or replacing rotten portions of a house could be a high priority. Others need to modify homes to ensure access for disabilities. For someone who may be looking to sell their home, updating appliances or improving landscaping could have a better payoff in the sale. Renovations to allow parents or adult children an option for housing could be a good investment as they could share the costs to operate the house. Some people don't spend a lot of time at home so a wood fired heating appliance wouldn't save them as much as it would cost them in lost earnings to stay home to feed it. Don't get me wrong, the return on investment can be huge (and it has been for me) for those who don't have heat pumps or access to natural gas. Passive solar homes with huge heat sinks may not realize the same savings or the payback time could be significantly longer. There isn't just one answer to the best deployment of sometimes limited capital for some people.
Firewood hoarding and burning the wood is not easy or everyone would be doing it. I'm sure there are a lot of good reasons why some people don't. All the people that rent apartments and townhouses and penthouses and some of those wouldn't even think of getting their hands dirty Then there are people that are just not capable, they don't know which end of a hammer to use much less run a dangerous chainsaw, but they could always buy the wood split ready to burn, well now, that's if they buy it a couple years ahead of time so it will actually be dry wood. Some members on here buy all of their wood. When the time comes I just can't deal with firewood anymore I think I'll probably switch over to burning pellets
I'm glad more people arent burning wood! Less competition trying to get free wood! Its cost me $2200 total to replace my old inefficient VC fireplace with a new stove, and building a proper hearth for it after selling the old stove....but I should have a 5 month ROI.
I agree and disagree... I think there are many things that have a higher priority, but cost for cost, I think a woodstove has the greatest return on investment. I can see why people would want to spend money on a modern woodstove, but that does not mean they have too. A new woodstove at Tractor Supply only costs $400, and stove pipe would only be another $50. Two sheets of cement board for a hearth from Home Depot, some free wood from somewhere, and a landowner could be heating their home for less than a months worth of oil....or a new energy efficient window, or a few rolls of insulation. That is an incredible return on investment. And they would not have to go with new reducing their costs even more. Good woodstoves abound out there. I found one online for $100, but ended up getting it for free. The antique stove dealer near me deliberately puts old, but working stoves on a trailer that she gives away to the needy. With repairs and new stove pipe, I got a total of $115 into my installation. Not bad for a rare antique stove. I am just trying to highlight that a woodstove is such a sound investment. I am not even sure that as wood/coal burners we know just how sound our decision to burn wood/coal is.
Like I said, some people work away from home. If you have someone who can feed the stove when needed 7 days a week, the decision is easy. If you travel for work and can only feed it 2-3 days per week, the math is different and it could be a better pay off to insulate and weather seal for the 4-5 days per week that you have to rely on the oil or propane burner. Could get into discussions as to whether or not it would make sense to spend one's emergency fund (for injury or job loss) to get a stove. It is entirely possible that it would make sense financially to put a stove on a credit card and pay 20% but preserve the emergency fund stays in tact. Most here know that the payoff has been quick for us. Your costs should include installation costs for those who don't have the ability or wherewithal to do the installation themselves. Everyone's situation is different.
LodgedTree not trying to argue.. but many are in areas that cannot use a cheap woodstove.. because of emissions and while my install was not normal.. my insurance company was a pita.. how do you build a chimney for 50 bucks? my thru wall Duravent piece to go through wall was $250.. only way I can see doing it for materials (pipe) for less than 50 bucks is single wall pipe from stove to existing chimney... which is great if you got a spare chimney that can pass inspection .. it was cheaper for me to build a new 35 foot tall class A chimney and a chase then to line existing with stainless... our codes do not allow multi fuels in same chimney even if used at different times
Old stove was here with a class A chimney when I bought the place , used EPA stove $450 , a few dollars for new SW stove pipe about $30 , sold old stove for $175, so , about 300 bucks. Plus a couple new thermometers , some more tools, log splitter , and saws 2 saws would do the trick.
My basement stove will be bought used, and offset by the sale of the existing stove down there. Just something small and efficient that won't run you out of the room. Solely to keep the finished half warm, and the unfinished half from freezing. Hopefully out of pocket will be at a minimum. I spent the money on a nice stove.upstairs because with an open floor plan on the first floor, it's a huge focal point, so I wanted something attractive. But not as attractive as that pot bellied stove LodgedTree has. Man, that really is a nice looking stove!
Here you can find used through-wall thimbles and metalbestos chimneys for sale. I got my through-wall thimble from a local hardware store that had it returned by a guy who got the wrong size. I concur that it was an unusual situation, but frugal people are creative people too. My installation is not permanent either, so I can get by with a minimal of materials, but in that regard, so can others. I have no problem with people that spend a lot of money on nice stoves and ideal chimneys, but a cheap used stove will do the same thing and it lowers the return on investment. Heck I have seen people here pull out a window, run a thimble where it used to be and install a woodstove for very little money. It is not something I would want to do with my home, but for the homeowner who is willing to look a little silly, they are going to save a lot of money on heating the place.
