anyone have one of those wood/corn cob furnaces for home heat?

[motherofmolly]

since moving, i have been trying to read up on those wood burning furnaces that connect into your existing (most) house heating. It seems like alot of people have them out in the country here.

does anyone have one?
do you like it?
does it use alot of electricity?
does it heat your water too?

[ScrappyDoo]

I read about those in this magazine I subscribe to called "Mother Earth News" but I don't know anyone who has one.

[thompson589741]

we are looking to add one soon. this heatpump for heat is killing me!!! plus we plan to run copper plumbing with it as well so it can be my hot water heater too!

also we thought about figuring out a way to make radiant heat for the crawl space to warm our floors during the winter and keep out pips from getting too cold during the winter.

we really want to get something that isn't brand spankin new, cause those are expensive! but I figure we could find something before too long. of course this would have to be a tax season type purchase because I am sure it will be a pretty penny but the savings is going to be tremendous!

[CW&M Mom]

we are looking to add one soon. this heatpump for heat is killing me!!! plus we plan to run copper plumbing with it as well so it can be my hot water heater too!

also we thought about figuring out a way to make radiant heat for the crawl space to warm our floors during the winter and keep out pips from getting too cold during the winter.

we really want to get something that isn't brand spankin new, cause those are expensive! but I figure we could find something before too long. of course this would have to be a tax season type purchase because I am sure it will be a pretty penny but the savings is going to be tremendous!

We want this...

We can't do any fireplace heating...ours is coal..and um no. LOL..it's been closed off anyways.

Also just to note..if you use ONLY fireplace or pellet stove to warm your house insurance companies are starting to not insure homes that are warmed that way...so you may want to take that into account...but heating oil IMO is the pits too

[thompson589741]

well that is something I will have to look into. right now we are renting to own from my parents. and they are all about upgrades, but I will certainly have to check the insurance issue out, especially since I live in a log house :)

[motherofmolly]

brand new the upper crust of the wood burning ones is $10 k. i was thinking tax time refund and then we have the summer to install and stock up wood.

and scrappy- i get mother earth news too! been reading the ads in there and want to really consider it.

we have propane. propane isnt cheap. i went to the dump today and was looking at the houses that have these. all still have a propane tank. one i noticed that the propane tank was smaller. i wonder if propane is a back up or used for the water heater and stove?

[thompson589741]

i am so ready to replace my ancient range with a propane one. i know it will save us in the long run and I would prefer living a little more off the grid if I can. Duke energy is getting so expensive and unpredictable, they must be "estimating" my power. I haven't had this meter checked in years. there are months in the spring and fall when we barely use the air or heat and our power is the same as if we were using it.

working towards a more self sufficient lifestyle, but it takes time I guess.

Also I have learned to make things from scratch like:
bread
burger buns
dinner rolls(fantastic for sliders!)
Italian bread
pizza dough
homemade ricotta cheese
yogurt

now if I only had some cows then I would be set on milk!

[foggierbard9]

brand new the upper crust of the wood burning ones is $10 k. i was thinking tax time refund and then we have the summer to install and stock up wood.

and scrappy- i get mother earth news too! been reading the ads in there and want to really consider it.

we have propane. propane isnt cheap. i went to the dump today and was looking at the houses that have these. all still have a propane tank. one i noticed that the propane tank was smaller. i wonder if propane is a back up or used for the water heater and stove?

A lot of people who have the woodburning for heat have oil or propane for the back up or to heat water or run their stove. The farmer we get eggs from uses wood mostly but has oil for the water heater. We have oil and it is just for the furnace, but we are looking at getting a wood burning stove and installing over the summer so that next winter our oil bill wont be so high. We are looking at just the cast iron wood burning that is on the inside of the house and venting it through our roof.

[Annye]

We don't have one (don't really need heat where we live) but I know people who do that rave about it. Their's is set up to heat water which goes through coils in the floor though, since it was built into the house design. But they claim it's fantastic, with warm floors even on the coldest of days.

In peace,

Annye

[ScrappyDoo]

brand new the upper crust of the wood burning ones is $10 k. i was thinking tax time refund and then we have the summer to install and stock up wood.

and scrappy- i get mother earth news too! been reading the ads in there and want to really consider it.

we have propane. propane isnt cheap. i went to the dump today and was looking at the houses that have these. all still have a propane tank. one i noticed that the propane tank was smaller. i wonder if propane is a back up or used for the water heater and stove?

Every time I read "Mother Earth News" I want to pack up and move to the mountains.