Wood stove in your garage

[ducpainter]

$275-$400  down south its more like $120-$140 a cord!!!!!!!!

It's warmer there. ...and define cord. Is it 4x4x8?

It's 9 degrees here and will vary between that and 20s till March.

I bet fuel oil is cheaper down there too.

[lethe]

The thing I got along with the FZ600 looks like this, I've yet to hook it up so I can't tell you how well it performs.
I don't feel like going out there to verify the brand but it's similar to this.

http://www.vogelzang.com/vg820e.htm

[ducatiz]

Dry firewood is selling for $275-$400+/cord

it's about 100/cord around me, 150 delivered and stacked.

Wood pellets are selling for about $300/ ton.

Pellets are much easier to maintain a constant temp...wood is either hot or cold as the stove cycles through its' load...which you'll have to replenish every 6 hours or so.[/quote]

might change my mind though, i don't want to have to deal too much with this thing, just want to fill it up during the cold afternoons and fire it for the night.

pellets just sound so.... Soylent Greenish

[lethe]

Maybe I'll start burning rabbit pellets. The wind tends to blow away from my house so the smell wouldn't be an issue, for me at least.

[ducpainter]

it's about 100/cord around me, 150 delivered and stacked.

Wood pellets are selling for about $300/ ton.

Pellets are much easier to maintain a constant temp...wood is either hot or cold as the stove cycles through its' load...which you'll have to replenish every 6 hours or so.

might change my mind though, i don't want to have to deal too much with this thing, just want to fill it up during the cold afternoons and fire it for the night.

pellets just sound so.... Soylent Greenish

That's an interesting description.  

With the type of use you're planning for the wood you already have it may rot before you get a chance to burn it unless you store it inside. How much you think you'll burn a year?

Is a cord measured as 128 cu feet there?

I heated this place with wood only for 12 years...8-10 cords/yr. Log truck loads+...it's just a ton of work.

Pellets are so simple.

Maybe I'll start burning rabbit pellets. The wind tends to blow away from my house so the smell wouldn't be an issue, for me at least.

Get 'em down around 8% moisture and you have a winner.

[The Architect]

Check your local building code, fire code and any other local ordinances that may restrict burning fuels in your garage.



I have both a wood stove and a pellet stove.  The wood stove I got for free and placed it in my basement.  The drawback with having the stove in the basement which you might find with having it in the garage is that, as DP mentioned, it requires a lot of attention.  Having it out of sight means sometimes it's out of mind.  I'll forget its lit.  When things start to get cold I remember.  The stove really needs to be in an area where you can tend to it.  Now having said that, I like the stove in the lower level, it eliminates and reduces that uncomfortable hot cold cycle. 

Is your garage insulated?

The pellet stove is in our living room.  Very little maintenance and an even temperature!     And there's nothing like pushing a button to light a fire.

You might want to check out craigs list for a used stove.   Unfortunately for you these days wood stoves are a hot item thanks to the price of heating fuels.  It easy to tell the condition of a used stove.

[ducatiz]

That's an interesting description.  

With the type of use you're planning for the wood you already have it may rot before you get a chance to burn it unless you store it inside. How much you think you'll burn a year?

Is a cord measured as 128 cu feet there?

here and everywhere, i believe

over half of the cut wood is newly felled red oak.  it won't be ready to burn for another few months.  the rest is about 6-9 months old and burns well. 

I heated this place with wood only for 12 years...8-10 cords/yr. Log truck loads+...it's just a ton of work.

Pellets are so simple.=

i am thinking of changing my focus to pellets or at least a multi fuel stove that does both wood and pellets, it just means more upfront cost.

we have two fireplaces in the house too, and i am looking at wood inserts for at least the basement.

Check your local building code, fire code and any other local ordinances that may restrict burning fuels in your garage.

no problem around here, we can even burn piles of leaves like civilized folk.

Is your garage insulated?

brick over block with blackboard in the middle, so yes.

The pellet stove is in our living room.  Very little maintenance and an even temperature!     And there's nothing like pushing a button to light a fire.

hmmmmm

[cyrus buelton]

How much is a bag of pellets weight, Nate?


Just trying to gauge how many bags are in a ton and see how long that lasts to heat a house

[Speedbag]

Another vote for the wood pellet stove. My brother has one, and it's the shit. All the bennies everyone else has stated previously and no giant wood piles cluttering the yard to house the area rodents.

About the only thing burning real wood has over one of these is the workout you get cutting/hauling/stacking.

[Oldfisti]

Another vote for the wood pellet stove. My brother has one, and it's the shit. All the bennies everyone else has stated previously and no giant wood piles cluttering the yard to house the area rodents.

About the only thing burning real wood has over one of these is the workout you get cutting/hauling/stacking.

Who needs a gym when you can have "body by wood"?

[cyrus buelton]

Who needs a gym when you can have "body by wood"?

You probably enjoy chopping wood while wearing a hammock

[lethe]

You probably enjoy chopping wood while wearing a hammock

How much wood would a woodchuck get from chopping wood?

[cyrus buelton]

How much wood would a woodchuck get from chopping wood?

None, they don't chuck wood

[Langanobob]

We have a wood stove as the main heat for the house and it works fine.  I personally don't like the idea of pellet stoves because I'm a bit of a survivalist (yeah, I own guns, lots of 'em) and don't like the idea of being dependent on trucking companies, the outside world, etc., for a basic need such as heat.  Also, pellet stoves need electricity.  Having said all that, for a normal well adjusted person there's no question that a pellet stove is better.

Our bedroom is also above what used to be the garage before I built a separate shop building.  There is a propane backup heater and also a propane water heater in the garage below the bedroom.  What's interesting is that the heat escaping from those two items, mainly just the pilot light in the heater although the water heater is in full time service, is enough to keep the bedroom above halfway warm.  I can always tell when I forget to close the garage door because the bedroom above gets colddd.  My point is that any air warmed in your garage is going to rise to the ceiling and heat the bedroom floor above and you don't need much heat to do that.  I think a woodstove would take a lot of maintenance and also generate way more heat than you need for your purpose.  But it would definitely keep the bedroom warm.  Sorry I can't make any specific recommendations as to what stove to buy.  Mine is an old inefficient leaky thing that was grandfathered in before all the regulations.

To be efficient you also do need to have an outside air intake.  Without one the stove just sucks in and burns  already heated inside air and sends it up the flue.  Also, about the size of a cord, it's 4 by 4 by 8 feet everywhere in the USA.  Used to sell firewood and the size of a cord is a legal dimension and regulated by the US Department of Weights and Measures or some similarly named organization.

[Oldfisti]

You probably enjoy chopping wood while wearing a hammock

  Never actually wore one. We get a lot of Canadians visiting Lake George in the summer and the men are not shy about wearing them. (whether they fit or not)  I am now scarred for life!   I do enjoy a good chopping session though.