Comments on: Pipe Dream

By: pamb

pamb — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:58:02 +0000

Best money we ever spent. And we had to have it insatlled (40+ feet of chimney liner!) and have to buy most of our wood. We’ve had it 4 years & love it. We have a 2 story, 14 room old farmhouse, so still heat some rooms with ventless natural gas stoves, but the wood stove in the LR handles a huge amount of our heating needs. Ern did a spread sheet on what we saved over our natural gas bills the year before we bought it. We paid a lot for the stove (Vermont Castings top loader) & installation, buy most of our wood, and still broke even in less than two years.

We have the chimney swept each year. The years the g-kids were toddlers, used a big old screen in front of it.

Ern cooks on it nearly every day and keeps an old blue-speckled enamel coffee pot going on the side.

You’re going to LOVE it!

By: monica

monica — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:28:18 +0000

I hope you enjoy your wood stove as much as we do! I had to laugh at the unfinished chimney picture . . .52 is going to finish it right??

One or two trees per year should give you plenty of firewood.

I just came back from the goodwill here in pittsburgh–They had a sewing table/case just like yours for $40. It had the same handles and everything I think! If I was back home, I probably would have bought it!

By: nightsmusic

nightsmusic — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:43:04 +0000

We have a fireplace. Yes, it has an efficient heatolator insert, but no fans. We heat with it all winter, have done so for the past 8 years and have never had the chimney cleaned because our fires are exceptionally hot. We also don’t make a practice of burning green wood. That and “cold” fires, those that don’t produce extreme heat, will fill your chimney with creosote. I don’t think you’ll have a problem.

But we only have one. Our next is going in the bedroom. I may never leave it then

Right now though, it’s what, the 8th of November? I live in Michigan and I’m staring at my fireplace which is cold because the windows are open and it’s 60 degrees out!!

I can haz fire?

By: Shelly

Shelly — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:31:10 +0000

Hope its ready before winter. That’s going to be wonderful.

By: KentuckyFarmGirl

KentuckyFarmGirl — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:02:56 +0000

I grew up with wood heat. I always loved coming home from school and seeing the smoke coming from the chimney. I knew it would be nice and cozy and mom would have something cooking in the kitchen. Of course, my brother and I always dreaded having to carry wood and fill the wood box each evening!

By: IowaCowgirl

IowaCowgirl — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:45:19 +0000

also…don’t worry about burning wood: common sense (and you have that!) will prevail. I have heated with wood for 30 years and it is the best heat in the world (in the country of course). You’ll figure out how to stoke the fire at night with harder and a bit greener wood for overnight; how to keep the pipe clean with good hard burns and chimney sweeps; etc etc etc…..

And the potpourri will be on 24/7!

By: IowaCowgirl

IowaCowgirl — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:39:40 +0000

Yes. It is the best heat in the world. You will love your stove/shrine more than just about anything….

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:27:27 +0000

We love our wood stove, which has been our only heat since Hubby built the house 14 years ago, baseboards heat is installed for insurance purposes, but never used after final house construction was completed. That $200 electric bill was crazy compared to the $55 we pay now. But this year we are pulling out the baseboard and installing a heat pump. We both work days and travel to visit relatives for days at a time over winter holidays so it can get pretty cold in the house when we get back. Sometimes the stove goes out for no apparent reason during the day and the house is barely warm before bedtime. And after returning from a week long trip it can take days to get warm again. So the heat pump should add some reliable back up heat. We plan to set the thermostat at about 55 degrees and then not worry about coming home to a cold, cold house anymore. It also helps with the future, cutting wood is not always going to be an easy option for us.

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:55:36 +0000

I appreciate your concern. I know there’s more to it than playing with kindling, and I’ll have to have help, that’s for sure. Thank you!

By: B. Ruth

B. Ruth — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:45:11 +0000

I am sorry if I sounded rude…I very much admire Suzanne…she is woman, she is strong…I know that.. and she is on the top of my vote and blog list…but I am a grandmother and I am old and weak and a worry wart..LOL Sometimes I forget when reading her posts that are so sincere and real that I forget that I am not talking to someone that I really don’t know and begin a grandmotherly conversation…thru my computer…again sorry…