I think you might be right. Firewood as a main source of heat is a tough proposition; keeping a wood fire going day and night is not at all an easy thing to do.
Because I live in a very rural area, when it comes necessary to cut down a dead or dying oak tree I do and use my hydraulic log-splitter to split the sections into firewood. I then burn them in my wood stove in the basement and in doing so I cut down significantly on my electric (heat pump) and propane gas bill. I imagine others do the same thing.
Growing up, my family home switched to wood as the primary just as soon as my brother and I got old enough to help cut & split wood.
We had an oil burner with forced air circulation in the house. The wood burner went in series with that air circulation. A temp control draft somewhat managed the heat of the fire.
We used it as the 99% of our heat for 8 years. After I went away to college, they used the oil burner more and the wood less.
Mine goes 24/7 starting late Oct...Lot of work messy and dirty.Dont vacuum or dust all winter as its a loosing battle.Woods down stairs/cellar garage and out by the barn, stoves on the 1st floor....Couple trips a day.
Would like to put the Vermont Castings in the cellar but its a field stone foundation and don’t ant to disturb those rocks for a flue.
“I think you might be right. Firewood as a main source of heat is a tough proposition; keeping a wood fire going day and night is not at all an easy thing to do.”
Those outdoor wood burners only need to be filled once a day if that. They have some that will run for a week!
My Yankee brother has two wood pellet stoves in his house with hoppers that feed pellets into the fire slowly. He only has to feed the hoppers once or twice a day from a 50 pound bag of pellets. This IS how he heats his house.
Down here in the South, I use a electric heat pump for my house, but on those few days it is cold I always fire up the stove, too.
If I could only burn wood to generate air conditioning, now that would be awesome! I have acres of trees to chose from.
Again, you’d be surprised what people are willing to do (get up to feed the woodstove, etc) when it comes to a substantial savings. And some folks simply do not have the cash to spend. It’s been a cold winter, even down here in the South. My electric bill for the late Dec-late Jan was almost $900! Easily over $1,000 if I hadn’t burned wood over the coldest nights.
Rocket Stove Mass Heaters heat all day from one firing
http://erica-k-wisner.hubpages.com/hub/Rocket-Mass-Heaters-Efficient-Home-Heating-With-Wood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mZQdu2wNi4
Many more videos styles etc online on this. Very little wood, stealthy burning, very efficient, etc.
I burn wood exclusively. No furnace, other than my wood furnace. What is so difficult to understand. I cut and split wood in the spring season it over the summer and fall and burn all winter. Generally put up 10 cords and that feeds my furnace, my Dad’s stove and as an emergency supply for my son if he needs it. Fill with propane one per year for hot water heater, dryer and cooking.
Correct unless the wood heater incorporates a good deal of stone or other thermal mass for heat storage. See the following:
http://www.firecrest-fireplaces.com/FAQ.htm