RE: Wood Burning Stoves: We’ve had a woodburning stove for more than 10 years and wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Our temperatures here in Northeast Texas only get to the teens (usually) for a couple of months in winter; but we never use central heat. Our home is a 1970’s brick ranch style house; approximately 2100sq.ft.
Benefits:
1) utility bill (our house is all electric) in winter averages around $27.00. One of us lived about 6 miles away until our marriage a year ago, and lived in a very similar house but without a wood-burning stove. Electric bill averaged $198.00.
2) ambiance – our stove has “see-thru” doors; you still get the romance of a fire and on warmer days can leave the doors open – (although this consumes more wood).
Otherwise:
1) yes, you do have to purchase wood if you don’t have a chainsaw and your own wooded acreage. In general, we usually spend about $60.00/mth on acquiring wood.
(It’s not only cheap fun but a good workout to cut your own and stack it!If you don’t have acreage of your own, it’s usually pretty easy to find someone who is wanting to clear or thin some property they have and is willing to have your help).
2) we have small grandchildren and when they visit we just put up a regular free-standing fireplace screen to keep them from toddling into a “hot” zone. These screens can be purchased cheaply, but if you already have a fire-box, you probably have one anyway.
3) you do get more dust and if you use a blower, over time (about 4-5 years when you need to clean and repaint anyway) you can get a discoloration to your light walls and ceilings.
4) we always keep at least one window “cracked” open about an inch to keep carbon monoxide from building up; ceiling fans help with circulation; and the blower is only used when temperatures drop into the lower teens. The house never drops below the 68-72 degree temperature range we prefer.
5) we keep a decorative cast-iron or crockery container of water on the top of the wood-burning stove to return moisture into the air. It does have to be refilled almost daily; but by adding vanilla extract or cinnamon or lavender – or your favorite, it doubles as a “pot-pourri” air fragrance.
We highly recomment one. Also, several of our neighbors have “pellet” stoves that they are very happy with – one more alternative to think about!
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