What is a good add on ( to existing furnace) wood burning stove for a 2900 sq. ft. house? I just received a notice that my propane bill is going up and I can't afford to pay what they are asking so I need to do something. I have a endless supply of wood and I understand the work that goes into it but for now i am young enough and healthy enough to get the work done so I just need to get the best ideas to heat my house?
Thanks for helping
Mark
Can you afford pellets?
I only ask because I have a wood stove that I can not turn down well enough to stay comfortable with. I have it in a very larg room (the room is 1000 sq ft) and after 20 minutes of burn time you can not stand to be in that room.
Pellet stoves can be turned down to a more comfortable level and will run as long as the hopper has pellets!
I'm not sure I interpret your question the way you mean. ???
You say "add-on", as in accessory to... ??
If you mean combine the flues (chimney). No. The flues are totally different and what I've seen the rules/guidelines always prohibit the combining of the flues.
If you mean use a wood burner and a gas furnace interchangeably and use the existing heat distribution system (forced hot air? hot water?), I doubt it. Never seen any such thing. If I'm wrong somebody please tell me.
If you mean installing a stand alone wood burning stove with it's own chimney, etc. then there's a lot to choose from including real wood burners and pellet fueled stoves. And in some areas corn burners, but the price of corn is going up as fast as oil, more or less.
I know that if you go and try to add on a new stove pipe, one very important factor is that you have to mimimize the number of 90 degree bends or elbows you have in the pipe. The more elbows, the less vaccum, or pull you get on the smoke and fumes. Elbows can be your worst ememy. Alot of info here... www.hearth.com .There is a question and answer forum there also which I found to be very helpful.....jb
Maybe I'm a nitpicker, a worry-wart when it comes to wood burning stoves and chimneys. The words "add on" bother me. I conjure up images of people cobbling together chimney pipes from two fuel burning appliances to one chimney. This simply should never be done. One of the reason Victorian era house had chimneys with multiple stacks coming out of one large masonry structure was that they had multiple fireplaces and each one had its own flue.
I've people do dumb things with chimney pipe and it bothers me.