Wood Burning Stove: 5 Things I’ve Learned

Here I sit in the mountains typing away with a fire crackling in the wood burning stove, just the sound of the keys getting pecked at and the occasional log popping inside the fire box.   We’ve lived up here over 3 years now and have previously never had a home with a wood burning stove, I have to say it is one of my favorite additions.  Our particular model is the Lopi Answer, I’m reasonably sure it was installed when the home was built so that makes it at least 25 years old.  It’s still rocking quite nicely but I thought to share some of the things I’ve learned since owning this stove, maybe put to bed some myths that seem to be out there as well.  Understand these are my thoughts about a stove from the NON-SHTF Perspective, all could change if things go sideways and it becomes our only source of heat but that has yet to happen (thankfully).  So keep that in mind when you read this article, before you think “yea but if the grid is down for 39 years….”

1: A Wood Stove doesn’t necessarily save you money (you prob spend more)

Shocking?  Maybe to some, not to me and I’m about to break this down for you but before I do there is one critical component that we must agree on. TIME  = MONEY.

As previously stated in other articles we live at around 8500 feet in the Rocky Mountains at the end of a 5 miles of country roads, the last 2 of which are dirt.  I could put a Barrett 50 cal at a 45 degree angle off of my deck and squeeze the trigger and the round would land somewhere in the National Forest.  My internet is satellite because that’s all that is available, yet ironically enough we do have natural gas (others around here are on propane).  All that stated to make the point of, I have a way to heat my home in the winter with the average bill (natural gas) probably like $50-$75 a month or something – bear in mind that’s with us using the wood stove.  We keep the thermostat at 69 degrees and the wood stove heats the upper level of of the home, once it gets cool enough the furnace kicks on and does supplemental labor making sure we don’t wake up to a 50 degree home (I’ve forgotten to turn on the furnace and that’s what happens FYI).  Once the sun rises, and we get plenty of it here with southern exposure and big windows, our main rooms get plenty of heat even on the coldest of days to the point where we leave doors and windows open.

So back to the whole money thing, let’s break this down and yes I do pay for wood.  Let’s say a cord of wood is $225 (because it is) and I burn roughly 4-5 cord a winter.  Realistically that’s a little over $1000 just in delivered wood but wait, you need somewhere to store this aforementioned wood unless you want it just piled up everywhere.  This past summer myself and a buddy built a nice structure to hold this wood, 3 sided with a sloped roof and canvas curtain fronts which can be pulled aside (on steel cable).  That in itself was probably another $1500 in materials.  So if you take these costs and spread them out over the winter months it’s not like burning wood in the stove means my gas bill is cheap and I’m free and clear, quite the opposite.

TIME = MONEY.   There are those of you that will be like, but you are paying for wood like an idiot…I harvest my own etc etc.  To that I would say, I’ve done that as well as recently as this summer and it’s quite the experience.  Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD (especially in a time where we don’t have to).  Myself and some buddies spent all day felling trees, limbed and bucked them on site, dragged them to the truck and down the mountain and loaded them on our own trucks and trailers.  That was day 1.  Then another full day of bucking the logs even further and splitting and stacking the wood, call it 14-16 hours total for my take which was prob less than 2 cord as we all shared.  OR – I give a dude $500 and he shows up with a giant trailer and dumps 2 cord at my doorstep and I stack it in a couple hours or less.  I’m not sure what your time is worth but I’d rather pay a dude and spend the other 2 days doing something else.  Is there merit in the sweat equity?  Of course, but I also pay people to change my oil and all that stuff.  That’s like telling someone not to go the grocery store because “you should go hunting and grow all your own food.”  Yea, I’ll pass.

2: Fire starting material is critical

Over the years I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, I’m sure all of you out there consider yourself reasonably sound on the art of starting fires be it out back or inside a wood stove.  There are a couple of tips I’ve learned that I’ll pass along:

A- Pine Cones are amazing, but I guess that depends on where you live.  Today my wife and I walked around our property with the dogs and picked up so many pine cones, they make amazing fire starters, even better than traditional kindling in many instances.

B- Grocery bags (brown paper) are critical.  Tear up half a bag and get the pine cones going and you are in the money.  Yes, I’ve tried to use traditional paper from the mail or whatever and it’s not good.  Sure it burns but I’ve sat outside and seen flaming embers from that lightweight paper floating out of the screened chimney stack.  This is…no bueno and why I like grocery bags.

3: Dual purpose options abound

We have two cast iron devices on the top of our stove that act as humidifiers up here in the dry climate.  Tonight I added water to both of them and they keep things nice while the fire burns, sometimes my wife adds scents to those to spice up the main living area (I’m not a fan particularly).  In any even that’s an option, cooking on the top of the stove is also an option and I’ve dried clothes out in front of it as well.  Very versatile and a nice tool for sure.

4: Quality inspections (read: Safety) are necessary

I get it, self reliance aka DIY.  Yet there is a part of me that doesn’t mind paying professionals a couple hundred bucks a year to come out to inspect and proof the device that could literally burn my house to the ground.   They get on my roof and pull the stack off, clean the chimney and the stove itself and have made some repairs when necessary.  In a scenario where these types were not available do I have to tools and wherewithal to do this myself?  Yes….but I also have a couple hundred bucks in my pocket that I don’t mind parting with these days to ensure my stove and all associated components are good to go.

5: Peace of mind

Honestly it all comes down to this.  I’ve lived in many places in the US and Europe / Middle East and the wood stove gives one such a peace of mind.  I can keep my family warm, I can cook on it, I can keep things lit at night and much more.  It all goes back to the primitive mindset: wood / fire / survival.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and please comment with your own thoughts!