I run a Buck 261 wood stove, rated at 32,500 BTU's in about an 1100 sq ft single level house. It is an old farm house, but I have did quite a bit of work on, insulating, windows etc.... My stove sets in the front room, in between kitchen and den, I have baseboard electric as a backup, which I hardly ever use. Temps in the teens to 20's it will keep house in the mid 70's, if I really crank the wood to it upper 70's. If it gets into single digits or below zero, high 60's to 70 in house. I usually burn 3.5 to 5 cord best I can figure.
Hi Brad, Looks like a great room to spend time with the family & friends. Are upvc (vinyl) double glazed windows the norm over there (they are here)? It surprises me that given the extremes of temperature that you guys have that triple glazed windows aren't more common. I wonder (without wishing to sound too political or cause offence) if it's our more expensive energy costs in the UK & Europe that drive energy efficient measures to be more of the norm. I may (and am probably highly likely) to be wrong on this though Anyway, as I said, great room and set up, to heat that room to 80F/25C that stove must really kick out! Cheers, Jim
Mirkwood Jim , there's different grades of windows. Builders typically use a less expensive, and lower R value than us homeowners do.
Of course. Over here the glazing is rated A-C (maybe lower, I'm not sure) but often people pay to have A rated glass but a shoddy install leaves them with a bit of UPVC beading covering big old gaps at the side which can seriously compromise the efficiency of the window. That teach me to go for the cheapest quote...
Hi Jim, Thanks! We've really enjoyed it so far. Though "builder's grade" double-pane Windows have improved to what they were 30 years ago, they would still be sub-par to many of the other options we have. Most folks that replace Windows always upgrade to something better than what they had. I wouldn't mind casement-style Windows as opposed to the double-hung. They have a much tighter seal, and because the whole window opens/closes, less gaps when they're closed.
Have any pics Huntindog1 ? Once things get up and running (hopefully within the next week or so) I'll be trying to do similarly. Our basement access is through the kitchen and I worry heat will get trapped in the space above the door leading down there. Radiant heat from the floor will have to get the job done. How hot is your basement?
I am using a 12-13 cf firebox on my furnace, which seems huge (30''x23"x32"). Definitely not the most efficient, but keeps me in the woods
Brad. The only windows in my 35 years old house that do not work are the casement windows in the kitchen. I have replaced the crank mechanism twice on them but now I just leave them locked closed. As you observed they do seal well but I like to be able to open a window as I can on all of my double hung windows. I can even open my sliding glass door on the back of the house, but not those casements. When I lived in SoCal there were some very popular windows that bypassed like a sliding glass door. I have never experienced that type in a harsher climate so I don't know if they would be a good alternative.
All great info. Very useful info. The biggest debate/discussions I have with my wood burning buddies is what temp do you leave the house during the day assuming no one is home during day. Restart stove when get home time 5pm-bedtime. Unfortunately for me its not 1970 and me and wife have to work to keep up with the Jetsons . Its a nebulous question since everyone's house is different size and age. Big things we discus is secondary heat source water baseboard vs forced hot air how low to go during day and how long to heat so not icebox when you get home from work and you burn all the savings. I am big fan of programmable Tstats and hooking them in series to heat coolest room if you only have a few zones. BTY - DIN(one Kid) but have never bought wood and burn 4 cord a year for 15 yrs - lol. Keep up the grind woodburners...
