Just breaking ground on my wood stove project to replace a gas fireplace with a Blaze King King Parlor model, and will be burning from November to May, pretty much straight. My house is right at 5,000 sq ft, with 2k on the main level, 1,500' in the finished basement, and 1,500' in the upstairs, with a 2-story entryway. My electric bill was $6-$700/month last winter due to the electric heat pumps, in what was by all accounts a very mild winter. I'm guessing I'll need a good 5-6 cords...what do you think? I have already collected 4 cords of Poplar, 2 cords of Shagbark Hickory, 2 cords of Ash, and another 3 cords of mixed hardwoods (Mulberry, Hackberry, Black Walnut, Oak, and Cherry) that are already in the sub-20% range.
Put it this way ranger. The best advice I can give you is based on your pictures of your stacks from your post on ant control is you have plenty of room to put up wood. So just keep getting it and you'll never have to worry. Bust your azz to get 3 years ahead or more and you'll always have dry wood to burn. Im betting you'll burn a log load a year. Maybe more. Your heating a big area. Do you have a supplemental heat source? Somewhere between 6-7 cord depending on temps and if your using a supplemental source to go along with the wood. So get to work. It's very rewarding seeing 30-40 cord stacked and ready to burn.
Rangerbait I have doubts that any stove can effectively heat 5000 Sq feet on 3 levels especially if you have some vaulted ceilings.. any Woodstove is a space heater so plan on a secondary heat source... my guess.. knowing a BK is a quality stove.. assuming your house is well insulated.. you will burn about 5 cord and drop you electric usage 50 to 60 % not scientific just a gut feeling
Thanks gents...to clarify, I am under no illusion that the wood stove will be my sole heating source; just looking to A. improve the quality of heat in the home B. reduce our dependency upon the electric heat pumps (two systems; both work very well at heating the house, just suck electricity like I have my own nuclear reactor), C. have a heating/cooking source that is still available in the event of a power outage, and D. introduce my boys to the joys of woodsmanship.
I like your thinking, my man! Fortunately, there's an absolutely ridiculous amount of readily available wood around here...I just need more time to get at it!
Your on the right track ranger. No doubt you get it! Whenever you get some spare time get cutting. Even if it's a hour here and and hour there, it all adds up.
Exactly! I would get to work the moment my daughter went to bed, weather was good and sun was still out or light out enough to work safely with the HD equipment like my splitter! It does add up and your work shows for itself!
Here's an idea I'll float by ya. Buy a couple semi loads of logs...that's usually 8-10 cords per (at say, $100 per cord...so 1 or two months electric bills worth) and that will likely get you to, or at least near a 3 year inventory level...so you'll have your dry wood, and then all you have to find time for is to scrounge/CSS what you've actually used that previous winter.
I think I'd move. Seriously though, in WV, how cold does it get? Are you trying to heat the basement as well? How well insulated is the house? First thing I'd do is find out how much insulation is in the attic, then go from there. More will help in the winter AND summer. Put your money and effort into insulation....it pays back as long as the house is standing. Absolutely GREAT investment. As to the wood use, only time will tell. Based on your estimate, you've got about 2 years already, but the Poplar is lacking in BTUs. That can be used in the SS. Also, find out where you might have any air leakage and seal, seal, seal. That'll provide a much more comfortable feel. And of course as always, we'll need pics of the install. Oh, and as brenndatomu said, get at least one log load. You can CSS at your leisure. I've done that a couple times and in the dead of winter, it was nice to get out for some fresh air....even when it was 10 degs. When you get cold and wet, go back inside to a nice warm fire and some hot chocolate. Life is good. 15, 30, 60 minutes/day, and you'll have plenty of wood in no time.
I would say you'll burn 5-6 cords at a minimum. My house is a quarter the size of your living space and I went thru 4 cords last winter. I burn dec- march. There's nothing worse than getting into the end of feb, early March and you've got barely enough wood to last you a couple weeks.
Zactly. Always do more than you think you need, until you find out for sure. It'll change year to year. Brother thought we'd use about 5 cord when we first moved here. He was close to dead on.
it depends on stove.. i got 2400 Sq foot house that 1200 feet of has 17 foot ceilings normal winter and a couple hoarders asked how u could physically burn 4.5 cord.. they live 100 miles south of me and cannot figure out how I burn more than 3.. I believe 1 Hollywood
We down to the low-single-digits a few times a winter, and sometimes even into the neg territory. Most nights are teens to low-20s, but we get tons of winter winds in my neighborhood, which makes it feel a lot colder. The house could definitely use some more sealing and insulation, which is also on my list of projects before this upcoming winter.
I would say around 4 to 5 cords. But like others have said start out with your estimate of 5 to 6 cords and then if you have some spare left over at the end of winter then all the better. I mainly heat my up stairs with my wood stove with no other heat. It is 1500 square ft and pretty well insulated. I use about 3 cord a year and a lot of the wood is pine so I consume more than if I was using hard woods like the folks in the east have access to.
Any kind of hard wood here is usually going to be found in town. Trees that people have planted over the years for wind breaks and in yards. The best I have been able to get so far has been Elm and Ash. This year I have been able to get some more elm so far but I am always scrounging free wood and when you live in a small town word gets around. I live about 30 miles from any major town. I go to the mountains every year for my lodge pole pine. That is 100 miles one way.
That's a long way for firewood...I appreciate how you get your wood for heat, if its worth it, don't stop. I wish I could share my heat with you. Plenty of hardwood here and often for the taking. Just today on my way out of town, I'm driving along the residential streets. I see what looks like an entire cherry tree all cut up in manageable stuff but needs cutting again. Sometimes I have to decline since I don't own a truck and can't just throw anything in the back. I was also headed to my parents and no room in there. So its a damm shame that I see a lot of these BTU's are all over and someone else could used them much much more than me.
